Malorie Blackman and Melvin Burgess say teenagers should read books in high school which tackle realistic sexual relationships as well as realistic sex itself. Their argument is that teenagers are going to get their information on sex and what it's like (or should be...
writing
What Makes Good YA (Young Adult) Fiction?
Every genre has its own characteristics, and characters in novels each have their own personalities, accents, speech patterns, etc. It’s what distinguishes them from each other and makes each character unique, turning them into believable people. YA writing goes a bit...
Falling In Love Can Be Dangerous
As writers, we love what we do. Let’s face it – if we weren’t passionate about it, would we pour our hearts and souls onto page after page, into book after book, not knowing if anyone else will share our passion? Of course not. We also tend to fall in love with our...
The Absence of Writing
Dennis Quaid said, “Good film is the absence of acting.” What a great point. If you notice the acting, you’re removed from the depth of the film itself. Actors need to be natural and to fit their roles, not to deliver a series of choreographed lines and moves that...
Ironic Forbes Error
This misspelling - and obvious proofreading oversight - was in a June 2, 2013 Forbes article titled, "Book Publishing May Actually Save Itself". What's ironic is that the error appeared in an article about publishing! And the misspelled word, which should have been...
Art Inspiring Art
We all go through those times when the writer in us yearns to come out, but our brains just won’t cooperate. It’s frustrating, to say the least. At those times, you can help break through the creative Wall of Silence by letting someone else’s art inspire your art. No,...
Be Careful How You Flash Those Descriptives…
I was reading a take-out restaurant menu when I came across this description - look at the orange word on the first line: "Homely" vegetarian food? In America, that would insinuate "plain, unattractive" food. I'm sure that's not what they were inferring! But in...
National Day Of… (Go Ahead, Fill In The Blank)
As a writer, it’s fun to include some unusual facts in your books or short stories – things that make your readers say “I didn’t know that!”, “That’s SO cool!”, or just make them smile with new knowledge. And if you’re writing a series, they’ll come to expect – dare I...
Wall Street Journal Gaffe
Believe it or not, this typo appeared in the May 20, 2013 Wall Street Journal article, "Considering an Underground Park in New York". Spell check doesn't pick things like this up. Yet another glaring example of why everyone who writes needs a proofreader!
Two To Too Many Misteaks Mistakes Spoil the Story
I wrote a guest blog post about why it’s so important for authors to have at least one “outsider” proofread their work, whether they’re indie or mainstream writers. I started the article with a simple illustrative statement: “Errers can be distracting.” I can’t tell...