Driving your Young Adult Novel’s Plot

posted on: May 10, 2013 | author: KristiCook

This month I’m going to talk about craft–specifically, structuring the plot of your YA novel.  Often when I’m instructing writing...

5 Character Tips to Intrigue Readers

posted on: Apr 26, 2013 | author: Kathy Steffen

One of the best ways to build conflict and suspense in your character and intrigue your reader is to give your character a secret. Better yet, have...

Beware the Dreaded Passive Voice

posted on: Apr 22, 2013 | author: Rachel Berens-VanHeest

If you’ve ever taken any type of writing class or workshop, or even had someone critique your writing, you may have heard about a thing called...

5 Common Problems in Your Young Adult Manuscr...

posted on: Apr 5, 2013 | author: KristiCook

Lately, I’ve been noticing a series of common problems popping up in a lot of young adult manuscripts (and even published YA novels!).  Does...

The #1 Thing Every Character Must Have

posted on: Mar 22, 2013 | author: Kathy Steffen

Do you ever sit down to the blank page and your characters do nothing? You get in the zone, but still, the scene goes nowhere? Are ideas dried up and...

Present Tense vs. Past Tense in Young Adult N...

posted on: Mar 1, 2013 | author: KristiCook

Head to the Young Adult section in your local library or bookstore and flip through a dozen or so new releases, and you’ll find that a good...