By Traci Sorell
In addition to covering publishing news pertaining to Native creators for Cynsations, I am excited to shine a spotlight on fellow Epic Eighteen authors and illustrators, all of whom have a debut picture book coming out in 2018.
One of the first releases from our group is Snow Sisters! Continue Reading New Voice Interview & Giveaway: Kerri Kokias on Snow Sisters! »
I’ve always had a fascination with Bigfoot; the idea that an ape/human creature could be secretly living in the woods both intrigued and terrified me as a child.
So when I got the opportunity to chat with the author and editor of Uncertain Summer by Jessica Lee Anderson (CBAY,
Cynsations Note:
Happy Halloween!
Yesterday we heard from Gillian French about techniques for building suspense.
Today Helena Echlin shares her take on giving your readers goosebumps.
And if you looking for even more ways to scare your readers,
Continue Reading Guest Post: Helena Echlin on How to Write (& Rewrite) a Tale of Suspense »
Cynsations Note:
What scares you? Snakes? Spiders? Bigfoot? It’s different for everyone. Likewise, authors use different approaches for building suspense.
Our Halloween treat for you is a glimpse at techniques from two YA authors for upping the stakes.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Gillian French on Hooking Readers: How to Build Suspense »
By Sarah Albee
If you write for kids, chances are you are working on several things at the same time.
Most writers of books for kids don’t have the luxury of working on one project for years and years. We are short-order cooks, juggling multiple tasks at multiple stages.
So how do we shift gears between projects?
Continue Reading Guest Post: Sarah Albee on Brain Training: How Writers Must Learn to Shift Gears »
People always ask writers how they get their ideas. Ideas are everywhere—people should ask how does a book come about?
Over my 36-year career as a writer of children’s books, I’ve written a dozen picture books.
Normally, an idea comes to me and over a period of months,
Continue Reading Guest Post: Candice Ransom on Working Backwards & Amanda Panda Quits Kindergarten »
In storytelling, our number one job is to make readers care. We want to ensure that our fiction captivates them on many levels and that our characters seem like living, breathing people who continue to exist in readers’ minds long after the book closes.
So how do we do this?
Continue Reading Guest Post: Becca Puglisi on Setting as a Characterization Tool »
I headed to my first writer’s residency at The Ragdale Foundation at the end of March with an imagined vision of open space, open time, and what I call “open expectations” – no finish line, no deadline, no shoulds or have tos about the challenging revision of my middle grade novel in verse or the small community of artists of which I’d be part.
By Amy Bearce
Confession: I have a terrible time with world-building. So, naturally, I consistently write fantasy, where world-building is critical.
You gotta be kidding me! Credit: Pixabay, mintchipdesigns, CC0
In real life, I’m not very observant about the space around me. I notice people’s emotions, but not what they are eating or what they are wearing.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Amy Bearce on World-Building Woes (& Wows) »
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By Lara Herrington Watson
@lashwatson
As I finished writing my second YA novel, I worried that my writing was getting stagnant.
What if I was learning bad habits that I would repeat through all of my future novels?
In order to glean some knowledge about my writing,
