My writing tip for this month is shifting perspective: describing something that might inspire a strong negative reaction in people with positive words. This can be a fun linguistic game, but also a chance to think of how we view things beyond our own initial perspective. In this exercise, we’re going to: Describe something disgusting… Read more »
Writing Tips
Story Bite 26: Starting a Story (With Just Three Words)
For many students who struggle to write, coming up with an idea—or even a sentence— that feels like a good one is one of the biggest challenges. Often, writers are told to just get words on a page, and the rest will come. But what if your initial words look pitiful and nothing else comes?… Read more »
Story Bite 25: Using Mentor Texts
Mentor texts are books that inspire us, books we love that bring great pleasure to our reading—but also can help our writing too. In this post, I’ll explore some ways to use a mentor text to inspire an idea, or just help you with a scene. 1. Choose a book you love, one that inspires… Read more »
A Writer’s New Year’s Resolution
As I’m about to start the New Year with my third book coming up and another new book on the horizon, I want to vow something to myself as a writer. This is something I’ve struggled with from time to time over the past two years, and I know other authors struggle with it too…. Read more »
Story Bite 13: The Very Beginning (Part 2)
In the last story bite, we came up with an idea. Now we’re going to put that idea on the page. And what we’re looking for is…an opening line. First, I want everyone to know that it is extremely rare for a professional author to nail that opening line in the first writing of the… Read more »
Story Bite 12: The Very Beginning (Part 1)
One of the hardest parts of writing is getting started. This is true for a lot of students I speak with, but also for professional authors. This Story Bite (the first of two) will help you with one part of getting your work of fiction (or nonfiction, though my examples here are fiction) underway. This… Read more »
Year-End Writing Tips
These tips (which I first posted on Twitter tonight) are meant for people writing middle grade fiction. They come from discussions that I’ve had with my son about the books we’ve read and the books I’ve written. He’s an avid reader of middle grade fiction, and the first reader of every one of my books,… Read more »
Yesterday was a pretty rough day for my family (we’re dealing with a local tragic situation), and Flora was there for us. She hopped on my lap first thing in the morning, climbed in my arms as often as she could during the day, and then stuck to my son like glue as soon as he got home. That evening, while he was resting, she came in while I was on the exercise bike. She stayed right next to it, like this, the whole time, as if she wanted me to know I wasn’t alone.
Cats are really there when you need them.
#catsofinstagram #catsagram
Secret of the Shadow Beasts came out on June 14, 2022—one of the worst, most chaotic times for a #mglit book: right at the end of the school year. The ongoing pandemic didn't help either. Right now, most libraries in my home state don't have it. A lot of indies from whom I've purchased books don't carry it. I've been wondering if no one's heard of it, or if people just didn't like it.
This book came from very deep inside of me. I challenged myself to write a complex plot with fully-drawn characters (even the minor characters have a story), themes of agency and empowerment, tinged with humor, infused with immense warmth, while keeping to the page-turning style that I'm known for. I dreamed of kids picking it up, entranced by Vivienne To's incredible cover.
At a recent local book festival, every copy of this book sold out within an hour. The cover, the story on the flap—I heard this title in so many young voices, requesting this as their purchase. Kids who read the first chapter, or thumbed through it, proclaimed it "cool" and wouldn't put it down. I saw how much kids wanted it.
I'm only one person, and it's very hard to publicize this on my own. If you want to help me get this out to young readers who could use an exciting, warm tale of people supporting each other through difficult times, please consider requesting it from your local library, and, if you've read it, posting a review on https://amazon.com/Secret-Shadow-Beasts-Diane-Magras/dp/0735229325. Getting it in libraries will make it available to so many kids. And getting it to the magic 50 reviews will help it appear on searches and reach readers that way too.
I don't usually come here and share this kind of story. But I'm not alone in this struggle: So many authors I know are dealing with the same thing. One of the most heartbreaking parts is thinking of all those #mglit books that are perfect for so many kids sinking into the mist because no one's heard of them.
Thank you for helping.
#middlegradebooks #middlegradefantasy #kidlit #middlegradefiction #middlegradereads #middlegradelit #middlegradeliterature