Tag Archives: plotting

Teen Tuesday: What Teens Hate to See in YA Books

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Donna Maloy, Author

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 , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Monday Advice from Agents and Editors: Show me the reason why

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Donna Maloy, Author

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 →

Posted in Backstory, Character-driven action, Character-driven action, Characters, Foreshadowing, Interior life; interiority, Motivation, Swordfights, Writing, Young adults | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Monday Advice from Agents and Editors: Face the Consequences

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Donna Maloy, Author

If I haven’t said it before, one of my all-time favorite blogs to follow is Kathy Temean’s Writing and Illustrating. She covers the world of writers with in-depth author, agent and publisher interviews. Her interviews with artists actually feature step-by-step … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Slater, Avoiding coincidence, Character-driven action, Characters, Conflict, Contrived Plots, High Stakes, Mistakes and Consequences, Plotting, Resolutions, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

How to Build a Coming of Age Arc

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Donna Maloy, Author

Some of the most famous books ever written have been about finding oneself while on the journey to adulthood. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The Giver by Lois Lowry A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith Lord … Continue reading →

Posted in Character arcs, Coming of Age stories, Coming of Age stories, Genre elements, Genre recipes, Interior life; interiority, Plotting, Young adults | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Best Writing Advice

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Donna Maloy, Author

John Scalzi is a Film Critic/Columnist, Writer/Editor, Freelance writer, Novelist (his own words). He’s a New York Times best seller in fiction and has won the Hugo, the Locus, the Seiun and Kurd Lasswitz awards. His works have been translated … Continue reading →

Posted in Advice, Craft of Writing, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment