Anna Staniszewski

Categories: Resources

• Tension = Conflicting Emotions

  I’m almost finished reading The Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass, and I think his chapter on tension is one every writer should read. Tension is what keeps us turning the pages. It can come from a variety of things, but as Maass points out, one of the most effective ways of creating tension is

• Writing Links and Taco Dogs

  Now that WriteOnCon is over, my Google Reader is stuffed full of starred items! If you missed the conference, here’s a handy WriteOnCon roundup from the lovely ladies at Adventures in Children’s Publishing. And if your mind hasn’t already exploded from information overload, here are some other writing links you might find useful:
  -The Spectacle has

• 3 Ways to Get to Know Your Characters

  Some characters seem to come fully formed and ready to tell their stories, but some are a little more reserved and mysterious. I usually get to know my characters by putting them in various situations and seeing how they react, but my current WIP contains a character who just won’t let me in on her

• Friday Link Roundup

  Thank you to everyone who’s entered my 100 Followers Contest so far. I’ve gotten tons of great book suggestions (as if my reading list needs to be any longer). But the internet has been hopping with more than book giveaways this week. Here are a few helpful writing links I came across recently.
  “How to Grab

• WIP Wednesday: Cutting the Important Things

  Just when I thought I was done revising one of my WIPs, the darn thing yanked me right back in. I know the new revisions will make the manuscript stronger, but I must admit I’ve been going a bit cross-eyed. That’s why it was so comforting to read this bit about revision in Annie Dillard’s

• People Read to Worry

  I’m back to share some more wisdom from James Scott Bell’s fantastical little book, The Art of War for Writers. While Bell gives several helpful exercises to develop your writing, he also shares insight into the art of storytelling in general. Last night I read this gem:
  They [people] read to worry. They read because they

• The Company of Writers

  First off, agent Mary Kole just started an interesting series on her blog where she’s critiquing submission excerpts line-by-line. It’s a great glimpse into how agents evaluate manuscripts.

  Now, I think I’ve mentioned before how lonely writing can be. Luckily, I have a writing date scheduled with my friend Alisa Libby today. Then we’re going to

• Fun Link Friday

  Despite the fact that I’ve been on spring break, this week has been even busier than usual. I blame those neverending revisions! (Oops, do you think my WIP heard me?) So while I had a fun little topic I was going to post on today, I’ve decided to leave that for Monday. Instead, here are

• Memorable Opening Lines

  We’ve been talking a lot about story beginnings in my writing classes this semester. Last week, I had my students read this excerpt on opening scenes from Hooked by Les Edgerton. He makes lots of great points, but the one that really stood out to me was about opening lines.
  Spend an awful lot of time

• Two Great Writing Links

  I know it’s an off day for me, but I just wanted to take a moment to point you toward a couple worthwhile blog posts that I came across yesterday. Check them out when you have a minute.
  I’ll be back tomorrow for a WIP Update.
  Andrea Vlahakis continued yesterday’s POV discussion with some great thoughts on