YA Wednesday: Parents in YA — Love ‘Em or Hate ‘Em?
When I discover that one or both parents are dead in a YA novel, I don’t feel sad. I think, oh no, here we go again. As 10 Worn-out Cliches in YA states, “The death toll of parents in YA…
Point of View: Omniscient
“Partway through writing my first novel, I had a terrifying realization: I needed an omniscient narrator.” -Celeste Ng, Dead Darlings post April 7, 2014. Writing a novel is all about making a series of decisions that add up to a…
Friday Feast: Lessons from One-Star Reviews, Mid-Career Author Advice, Slut Shaming in Romance, Spreading the Book Love, and Bookish Street Art
I told myself I wouldn’t write about winter weather so much this year. But here we are on the verge of another snowstorm. Instead of bemoaning the bitter cold, I’m trying to focus on the benefits: lots of time to…
Six Tips for Building a Fantasy World
Every novelist builds a world, but if you’re writing fantasy or science fiction, worldbuilding is a bigger job—one I’m often tempted to skimp on. It’s great fun to think about magic in a new world—not so fun to figure out…
YA Wednesday: Winter Wonderland
Although here in Boston winter took a long time coming, the temperature has finally plummeted and there’s actual snow on the ground. No more of that 40-degree pseudo-winter! Being a true New Englander, I always embraced winter with downhill skiing,…
Friday Feast: Book Sales, Writer Gestation, Unreliable Narrators, Unrealistic Tropes, and the Importance of Writing Carefree Blackness™
This week, I’m indulging in a feast of cold meds and Advil PM thanks to an awesome cold that’s making its way around Boston, which makes it hard to muster any energy to revise the many first drafts hanging around…