Illustrator Craig Orback has three new Children's Book Illustrationclasses starting soon. He is the illustrator of over 15 books forchildren including the picture books "The Can Man" and "Nature'sPaintbox: A Seasonal Gallery of Art and Verse". He has been teachingillustration and painting classes locally for 8 years. To learn abouthis work visit his website and... Continue Reading →
Write a novel in a month
Still haven’t written that novel? Lois Brandt is teaching her “Write a Novel in a Month” class again this spring at Bellevue College continuing education.Note: If you are just starting to write for children, Lois highly recommends that you take Peggy King Andersen’s “The Magic of Writing for Children,” (also taught at Bellevue College) before... Continue Reading →
Get to know Sara Crowe
Laurie Thompson interviewed Sara Crowe, one of our conference faculty. Here's a sneak peek:Welcome, Sara! Thanks so much for taking the time to answer some questions for me! Let’s jump right in at the top of my list… with a rather tricky one. Your various bios and listings say you accept nonfiction, but I don’t... Continue Reading →
Wednesday funnies
Dana Sullivan, the creative genius behind Sticky Love, is going to share occasional illustrations that pertain to our craft. Hooray! And to launch this feature, we're starting off with one on editing. I think I've worked for this editor before...
When do you start promoting your book?
Not too long ago, writers promoted their books after they came out by going on publisher-funded book tours. That doesn't happen so much any more.Savvy writers today are getting the word out--sometimes even before they have deals.Beth Revis is one; she's been blogging about the writing process, among other things, for a while. Now that... Continue Reading →
Take a workshop in Point of View
“Start thinking of POV tools, not POV rules,” says writer Alicia Rasley.In this hands-on workshop, Margaret Nevinski helps writers explore POV tools in the context of their own work. Writing exercises--shared aloud for group discussion--will focus on applying POV choices to the students’ own writing. Students will submit a three-page writing sample before the class... Continue Reading →
Good news for Anjali Banerjee
We can all give a shout to acknowledge the release of Anjali Banerjee's third children's novel with Wendy Lamb Books/Random House, SEAGLASS SUMMER (middle grade). It's due out May 11 and she already has a great Booklist Review (see below). The book was chosen as one of six Random House Children's Books titles to be... Continue Reading →
Now *this* is interesting
Highlights Magazine named Karen Meissner their December, 2009 Author of the Month for her story, "Now That's Interesting."Congrats, Karen!
Other ways of showing an emotion
Next time you read a novel, see if a character "quirks an eyebrow" or shapes her mouth into an "O" to indicate surprise. Some people call these "received gestures," and they're a sort of shorthand to indicate emotion. Understandable as they are, they do get stale.How can you avoid them? Well, you could check out... Continue Reading →
Megan Whalen Turner
I'd embed the video if I could; alas, I couldn't figure out how.In any case, it's worth visiting Awesome Adventure Sights & Sounds for a brief interview with Megan Whalen Turner, author of THE THIEF, THE QUEEN OF ATTOLIA, THE KING OF ATTOLIA, and the brand-new A CONSPIRACY OF KINGS. This is an amazing series--one... Continue Reading →