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Category Archives: Story Elements
Monday Advice from Editors and Agents: Motivate Your Characters’ Decisions
Today’s (one day late) advice comes from agent Peter Knapp of New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc. Peter will be part of the faculty at the Pacific Coast Children’s Writers Novel Workshop and Retreat, September 23-25, 2016 in Santa Cruz, CA. (Note: there will … Continue reading
Posted in Avoiding coincidence, Backstory, Backstory, Character-driven action, Character-driven action, Characters, Conflict, Contrived Plots, Craft of Writing, Editing, Foreshadowing, Mistakes and Consequences, Motivation, Pacific Coast Writers, Plotting, Resolutions, Revising, Stakes, Story Elements, Teaching Writing, Teen Authors, Teen writers, Teen writers, Workshops, Writers Conference, Writing, Young adults
Tagged #writingcraft, amwriting, characters, decisions, Dwight Swain, goals, Motivation, Pacific Coast Writers, Peter Knapp, scene and sequel, Writing
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Teen Tuesday: What Teens Hate to See in YA Books
Recently, The Writer’s Dig (a blog hosted by Writer’s Digest) published a guest post by teenage writer Jamie S. Margolin. Margolin has written articles for Teen Ink. One of her articles earned her an Editors Choice award and was voted #1 by readers. … Continue reading
Posted in Action, Advice, Character, Characters, Conflict, Contrived Plots, Craft of Writing, Plotting, Stakes, Story Elements, Teen Authors, Teen Authors, Teen writers, Teen writers, Teens teaching teens, Tips for Teen Writers, Writing, Young Adult books, Young adults
Tagged amwriting, Craft of Writing, Fiction, Mistakes, plotting, Teen writers, teens who write, Writing advice, Writing craft
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Monday Advice from Editors and Agents: Know Mako Mori and Bechdel?
Do you know Mako Mori and Bechdel? No, they’re not hot new publishing houses, or editors, or authors. They are standards/tests meant to rate the gender inclusiveness of a book or film–and some agents are starting to mention them in wish … Continue reading
Posted in #mswl, Agents, Character, Character arcs, Character-driven action, Characters, Craft of Writing, Differentiating Characters, Differentiating Characters, POV - Point of View, Story Elements, Writing
Tagged amwriting, bechdel, characters, gender, inclusiveness, Mako mori, male/female, Writing
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Monday Advice from Agents and Editors: Show me the reason why
Have you ever watched a really awful horror movie and wanted to scream at the protagonist–the one who chooses to go down alone into a dark cellar full of moaning and whimpering instead of calling 911–“Why on earth do you … Continue reading
Monday Advice from Agents and Editors – The High-Stakes Story
Nicole Tourtelot has been a literary agent at Kuhn Projects since 2012. Before that, she worked in the literary department at ICM Partners (literary and talent agency), in the fiction department of Esquire magazine, and as a researcher for the Freakonomics authors. … Continue reading
Posted in Conflict, High Stakes, High Stakes, Stakes
Tagged main character, Nicole Tourtelot, Stakes
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