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Advice for Young Writers (…with some help from Buffy)

May 27, 2013 6 Comments ~ Written by E. Kristin Anderson
Advice for Young Writers (…with some help from Buffy)

Hello readers!

I spend a lot of time talking with young writers about writing. Whether it’s the art of putting a novel together or ways to break into the industry, I get asked a lot of the same questions. So I thought I’d compile a list of tips here for writers getting started at any age. Maybe you’ve heard some of these before, maybe not. Either way, I hope they help you along your path.

1. Show, don’t tell.

Yes, you’ve definitely heard this before. A million times over. But what does it mean? The difference between showing and telling is the difference between sitting in a cafe in Paris sipping a latte and reading a menu online.

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Posted in advice, books, lists, pop culture, publishing, reading, writing, YA - Tagged ,

Guest Post from Michaela MacColl: What’s in a Poem? Inspiration for a Novel!

May 26, 2013 3 Comments ~ Written by Guest Blogger
Guest Post from Michaela MacColl: What’s in a Poem? Inspiration for a Novel!

Hi Kristin – so nice to be here at Write All the Words (and lovely to meet you in person at the Texas Library Association). When you asked me to write a guest post I wanted to talk about poetry – appropriate for you, no? Particularly since the mysterious E. in your name is actually EMILY!!!!

I knew I was asking for trouble when I put Emily Dickinson in the middle of a murder in NOBODY’S SECRET. People feel VERY strongly about Emily D. But I was convinced that I could capture her unique voice and have her solve a mystery in Amherst in 1846. I just needed a reason for Emily to want to do it.

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Posted in books, guest post, literature, middle grade, poetry, reading, writing, YA - Tagged , ,

Short Story Month: Rahul Kanakia: The Extra Element

May 25, 2013 Leave a Comment ~ Written by Guest Blogger
Short Story Month: Rahul Kanakia: The Extra Element

In reading through slush piles and student work, most of the stories that I’ve encountered were written by people who knew how to write and knew how to read. Most stories contained a few good turns of phrase and some interesting characters and situations and were obviously the product of thought and effort.

Nonetheless, by the time I got to the end of the story, I was usually thinking “So what?”

So what? Why did I read that? What new experience did it give me?

I think this is a criticism that’s more commonly leveled against mediocre short stories than against mediocre novels. Reading a novel takes a lot of time. And if it can draw you in for five hours and make you feel emotions and care about its characters and forget the world around then, on some level, it’s a success–even if you don’t necessarily feel deeply impacted by it after you’re done reading.

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Posted in books, guest post, literature, reading, short stories, Short Story Month, writing, YA - Tagged , , ,

Short Story Month: Guest Post from Ron Koertge: All in the Family — Ruminating on Flash Fiction

May 24, 2013 3 Comments ~ Written by Guest Blogger
Short Story Month: Guest Post from Ron Koertge: All in the Family — Ruminating on Flash Fiction

If you ask me, Flash Fiction pretty much defines itself: written and read in a flash. There are purists who insist on a FF story of less than 100 words. There are other practitioners who make 1500 words as the final dividing line. (I know that sounds like a mighty long flash, but I can imagine a story with such velocity and headlong devil-may-care that it demands to be read in a single sitting.)

Is it necessary to say that in FF every word has to count? Generic advice (but still good advice) is for Flash Fiction practitioners to write at top speed with a 2 or 3 page limit. Then go back and, like clearing brush with a chainsaw, cut the story at least in half.

Aspiring flashers (you know what I mean and you know who you are) might ask these questions: Is there a real plot and not just a wisp of one? Are there enough but not too many characters? Is every word, like a galley slave, pulling as hard as it can? Does the story end with a twist? And of course — does it begin well?

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Posted in books, flash fiction, grown-up books, guest post, literature, reading, short stories, Short Story Month, writing, YA - Tagged , , ,

Short Story Month: Guest Post from Karen Sandler: Five Tips on Writing Short

May 23, 2013 2 Comments ~ Written by Guest Blogger
Short Story Month: Guest Post from Karen Sandler: Five Tips on Writing Short

I spend most of my time as an author plotting and writing novels. But I originally cut my writer teeth crafting short stories. Along the way, I’ve learned a few tricks about the differences between the long haul of writing a novel and the sprint of writing a short story. Below are some tricks of the trade.

1) Character

Both a novel and short story require well-drawn, compelling characters. But in a novel, the main character, despite his or her imperfections, tends to be likeable in some way. Or if they’re not particularly likeable at the start, they have transformed themselves by the end so that the reader is rooting for them. Even the villain will have some likeable qualities. Because a novel is so long, if a reader doesn’t care about the main characters, they’ll probably stop caring about the story as well.

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Posted in books, grown-up books, literature, reading, short stories, Short Story Month, writing, YA - Tagged , , ,

Short Story Month: Guest Post from Steve Watkins: The DON’Ts of writing short stories

May 22, 2013 Leave a Comment ~ Written by Guest Blogger
Short Story Month: Guest Post from Steve Watkins: The DON’Ts of writing short stories

I could tell you about how writing short stories saved my life, how writing short stories is the best revenge on those who’ve done you wrong, how maddening and time-consuming it is to write short stories that work, how I can write half a novel in the time it takes me to craft a good short story, how I once wrote a story called “Bocky Bocky” which has the actress Uma Thurman as a very weird character who insists on folding a drowned man into various yoga positions, how a Los Angeles Times book reviewer, in a generally favorable review of my story collection My Chaos Theory, speculated that it was only a matter of time before I would be contacted by Uma’s “people,” and how I’ve been nervously living under the Sword of Damocles ever since.

Instead, though, I’d like to share some of the Don’ts of Writing Short Stories from my dear friend Jerome Stern’s wonderful book Making Shapely Fiction. Jerry died fifteen years ago but he lives on in my heart and in the hearts of everyone who knew him—and in the pages of MSF. And if you don’t make it a point to get your hands on a copy, well I feel sorry for you. I really do.

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Posted in books, grown-up books, guest post, literature, reading, short stories, Short Story Month, writing, YA - Tagged , , , ,

Short Story Month: Guest Post from Priya Chand: Horror and the Familiar

May 21, 2013 1 Comment ~ Written by Guest Blogger
Short Story Month: Guest Post from Priya Chand: Horror and the Familiar

Horror and humor are probably the two most subjective genres out there, which makes it difficult to provide a list of tips for success. Maybe this is because I regularly read “The Cask of Amontillado” before bedtime when I was six, but I don’t find Stephen King vaguely scary. Or Lovecraft, or Poe. (I do get nice tinglies from the latter. Also Shirley Jackson. WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE is amazing.)

I’m almost glad I didn’t see this in the theaters. Almost.
At the same time, I’m terrified of heights. I don’t need something that’s horror to give me sweaty palms. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol? Fun movie with great action, but…yeah. And for those of you who have a problem with viscera, I don’t think George R. R. Martin would be called horror by anyone other than the most sensitive, but some of the scenes in the book and the show are gut-churning.

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Posted in advice, books, graphic novels, grown-up books, guest post, horror, literature, movies, pop culture, reading, short stories, Short Story Month, writing - Tagged , , , , ,

Short Story Month: Guest Post from Saundra Mitchell: Playing Dress Up

May 20, 2013 3 Comments ~ Written by E. Kristin Anderson
Short Story Month: Guest Post from Saundra Mitchell: Playing Dress Up

Authors play dress-up when they write short stories. It’s the truth; I wouldn’t lie to you about this.

Most of the time, I sit around wearing my “paranormal fantasy” costume. If a book has my name on it, chances are, paranormal fantasy. It might be psychic powers, or elemental beings, or ghosts—but there will definitely be a little woo-woo involved.

If you ask me to write a short story, though, boy howdy. Experimental fusion fiction! Mysteries! High fantasy! Paranormal romance! And just recently, the most twisted contemporary fairy tale retelling ever. As a writer, being invited to contribute a short story means it’s playtime.

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Posted in books, guest post, literature, reading, short stories, Short Story Month, writing, YA - Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Review: TRINKETS by Kirsten Smith

May 17, 2013 1 Comment ~ Written by E. Kristin Anderson
Review: TRINKETS by Kirsten Smith

What do Moe, Tabitha, and Elodie have in common? Not a whole lot. In fact, pretty much nothing, if you were to ask any of them before the day they meet up in, of all places, Shoplifters Anonymous.

These are girls from all different walks of life. Tabitha is a “typical” pampered princess, Moe a so-called rebel living with her Aunt, and Elodie is the new girl in town, still struggling with changes in her family. They go to the same school, even take some of the same classes, but never, ever would have talked to each other if it weren’t for the one thing they share: stealing stuff. Whether it’s a stick of gum or a designer bag, the girls soon find themselves meeting secretly and challenging each other to take stuff. And as it gets more and more intense, they’re finding that they are — holy crap — maybe even bonding.

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Posted in books, reading, reviews, YA - Tagged , ,

Review: POISON by Bridget Zinn

May 16, 2013 Leave a Comment ~ Written by E. Kristin Anderson
Review: POISON by Bridget Zinn

I really really loved POISON by Bridget Zinn. Like, a lot. I don’t really know how to put all my loviness into a comprehensive review. So I thought instead I’d make you a list. Here are the Top 5 Things I Love About POISON:

1. The protagonist, Kyra, has a companion animal. And it’s not a horse or a fierce werewolf or a clever cat. It’s a pig. A magical pig. A PIG.

2. My favorite series as a young reader was the ENCHANTED FOREST CHRONICLES by Patricia C. Wrede. Kyra would so get along with Wrede’s heroine, Cimorene.

3. Pie. Kyra loves pie. I love pie. Pie.

4. This heroine is a scientist. She makes potions, and, yes, poisons. She is really really good at it, too, which is part of what got her in trouble.

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Posted in books, reading, reviews, YA - Tagged , , ,
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EKA

E. Kristin Anderson grew up in Westbrook, Maine and is a graduate of Connecticut College. She has a fancy diploma that says “B.A. in Classics,” which makes her sound smart but has not helped her get any jobs in Ancient Rome. Ms. Anderson is the co-editor of Dear Teen Me, an anthology based on the popular website. Her poetry has been published worldwide in many magazines and she is an assistant YA and Children’s editor at Hunger Mountain. Once upon a time she worked at The New Yorker. Look out for Ms. Anderson's work in the forthcoming anthology Coin Opera II, a collection of poems about video games from Sidekick Books and Futuredaze, an anthology of YA SciFi from Underwords. She now lives in Austin, TX and blogs at EKristinAnderson.com and MetreMaids.com. She is represented by Christina Hogrebe at the Jane Rotrosen Agency.

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