Villain POVs
I have to admit, I really hate villain POVs. There are so few villains that have any redeemable qualities, and especially starting a book out with the villain’s point of view when they’re murdering and/or plundering just makes me go, …
Tag: writing
Win a critique from me
And by the way, if you haven’t seen me talk about it on Twitter or Facebook, you should check out this post on Cynthia Leitich Smith’s blog in which I interview Tankborn author Karen Sandler—and at the end you’ll see …
FAQ: Muslim protagonists
A writer asks: I recently submitted the first three chapters of my manuscript to Tu Books as per your guidelines, and I am a ball of anxiety. My MC is a Muslim girl, and while the story itself is pure …
On beginnings in speculative fiction
Reader reactions are so subjective. One person might think there’s not nearly enough worldbuilding in a book (“give me more! MORE!”) and another might say of the exact same book that what worldbuilding there is was way too confusing (“I …
Some thoughts on middle grade voice
I’m going through a big stack of submissions that have been languishing for a while (and if you submitted a partial before Sept. 1 and don’t get a request for a full manuscript by the end of the week, you’ll …
On query letters and “requested” material
Writers often ask me about query letters—how to write them, what to put in them, what will hook me. The problem is that I hate query letters. I much prefer a simple cover letter with the first three chapters (NOT …
Some incomplete thoughts on post-apocalyptic worldbuilding
Just a few thoughts that combine from reading a couple recently published postapocalyptic trade books and some of the submissions I’ve been going through recently. This isn’t by any means a comprehensive list of things to think about—just a few …
Some incomplete thoughts on post-apocalyptic worldbuilding Read more »
Submissions update
For those of you who submitted PARTIAL manuscripts, I am nearly up to date on everything that has come in up through June 1. I’ll post when I am, so that you’ll know that if you haven’t heard from me, …
Beyond Orcs and Elves, part 2
See here for part 1. Many authors have broken that mold & followed Ursula K. Le Guin’s admonition to write more of the “other.” But there’s still a strong British tradition—among the biggest touchstones for kids from the 70s and …
“I have this GREAT idea!”
I see this so often—most recently earlier today: A “writer”* tells his or her friends, “I have this great idea for a novel! What do you think? If I wrote it, would you read it?” There’s no way to answer …