Before G, PG and PG13 movie ratings, we had As and Bs. I was quite young when the rating system changed but I still remember my parents talking in whispers about B movies. Unlike PG13 movies which often ride the popular wave of slapstick sex and references, a B movie might have been more subtle… Read more »
Research
The Vibrant Triangle Part II
“I try to remember now that my words on the page, my manuscripts, even (one day!) my published books are not the finished product. The experience of a child listening to my story completes the process. I just love that idea. It connects me to something bigger than my own self in my own room,… Read more »
The Vibrant Triangle in Picture Books
Why are certain picture books read over and over again? Why do some become beloved bedtime or story time tales? According to Tam Smith, children’s author, the answer is found in The Vibrant Triangle. This is no Da Vinci Code, folks. According to Smith, “The Vibrant Triangle is the dynamic between the picture book, the… Read more »
National Picture Book Writing Week!
Can you write 7 books in 7 days? Or maybe just one perfect picture book. The challenge begins tomorrow. And Paula Yoo kicks it off here National Picture Book Writing Week.
Creating the perfect “inciting incident”
When I’ve finished reading Les Edgerton’s HOOKED: WRITE FICTION THAT GRABS READERS AT PAGE ONE AND NEVER LETS THEM GO, I plan on writing a review – a stellar review – because I’m completely taken with his pin-point logic, instruction and examples. I’m about halfway through so you’ll have to hold your breath. But in… Read more »
The Astonishing Pay Off of Hard Work and Research
It just so happens that the same day I started reading National Book Award Winner, The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by M. T. Anderson, my GoodReads friend, Elizabeth C. Bunce, author of Curse Dark as Gold (winner of the first ever William C. Morris award) posted dozens and dozens of books she read to… Read more »
My Books
