My new middle-grade novel, 26 Tips for Surviving Grade 6, comes out next month from James Lorimer & Company. Just in time for back to school. It's a comedy aimed at reluctant readers, and it's my first book with a female protagonist: Becky Lennox. I love that girl. Her story didn't take a long time to write, yet it was… Continue reading Evolution of a Novel
Category: writing
Laurel Leaves
I like to stay grounded in the present in my writing (with an eye on future deadlines), but every now and then I try to look back on the work I've done. Or walk back to it, in this case. My first children's novel, Walking Backward, was published by Orca Book Publishers in 2009, which feels like quite a while ago.… Continue reading Laurel Leaves
Making Time to Write
I wanted to blog today in order to procrastinate on writing an Annual Report due Friday - most of my meagre blogging attempts coincide with the due dates of paid writing contracts - but alas, procrastination is not in the cards for me because fellow writer Lizann Flatt has made me her guest blogger today. Check out my interview… Continue reading Making Time to Write
Tips for Teen Writers
I'll be speaking with some grade eight classes this week on the topic of "So You Want to be a Writer...." With that in mind, I intended to revive my Ten Tips for Teen Writers, which I wrote months ago as part of a guest blog on Teens Read Too. But that seems lazy -- and "Go the extra mile"… Continue reading Tips for Teen Writers
Intrinsic Motivation Running Out
I have to drag myself to the keyboard to finish drafting my new teen novel, Across the Water (a sequel to All Good Children, forthcoming Fall 2011 from Orca Book Publishers). It's not that I can't figure out the ending. It's that I know what horror awaits me in revising my rough draft into something readable, let alone publishable. The return… Continue reading Intrinsic Motivation Running Out
Catherine Austen 