Confession: I’ve never really bought into the muse idea or writer’s block for that matter. For me, it’s always been a case of “idea in, words out.” As I was finishing up the last WIP, I started brainstorming new projects. There were four stories I wanted to tell, but one in particular really intrigued me. […]

David Teague and Marisa de los Santos Note from Orly: Last September, I was at a local SCBWI conference. The keynote speaker was David Teague. David was discussing his new middle-grade release Saving Lucas Biggs, co-written with Marisa de los Santos. Marisa was at another writing event that day but had taped some remarks to […]

Sierra Godfrey Remember when you booked a flight to Marseille, France for research purposes? You toured Fort Saint-Jean, strolled around the Vieux Port, and lunched on bouillabaisse at a charming little café in Old Le Panier? Or how about the way the fishing boats sounded when they chug-chug-chugged into the harbor and the fishermen poured […]

Kathryn Craft Turning Whine into Gold When do we writers whine? We whine when we feel put-upon by others, even when the obligations demanding too much of us are those of our own choosing. We whine when our story will not behave; it demands craft and life experience we know nothing about. We feel unequal […]

Chuck Sambuchino (This column excerpted from Chuck’s latest book, GET A LITERARY AGENT, which was released in January 2015 and is available anywhere books are sold. Comment on this within 2 weeks for your chance to win a copy of the book. A winner will be chosen at random.) I’m a big student of query […]