Hop over to the OWL (Outrageously Wonderful Literature from the Middle Grades) today, where teacher/blogger Jill and her 7th graders ask me the best questions ever, like: When you were in middle school, what kind of student were you? Were school lunches just as yucky then as they are now? (Plus some questions about writing… Continue reading Gum, Fries, and Unwashed Drafts
Tag: revising
Friday Fable: A Writer, her Delete Key, and their Story
You may know the old fable, A Man, his Son, and their Donkey: A man set out on a trip with his son and their donkey. His son sat up on the donkey while the man walked beside them. They were happy on their way. As they passed through town, a man said: “That healthy… Continue reading Friday Fable: A Writer, her Delete Key, and their Story
Evolution of a Novel
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
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
Dreaded Edits
"Editing is the same as quarreling with writers -- same thing exactly." - Harold Ross, founder of The New Yorker magazine I am SO happy because I have finished Round One of edits on both my teen novel, All Good Children, and my middle-grade novel, Title Being Rewritten as Part of the Editing Process. I have… Continue reading Dreaded Edits
Catherine Austen 