Encouraging Young Writers: Engaging with the Story
How I encouraged middle school writers in a workshop to share their writing and engage with each other's work in a positive way.
Persisting in the Writing Life: A Guest Post by Laurie Morrison
2018 is an exciting year for me. My debut novel, Every Shiny Thing, which I co-wrote with Cordelia Jensen, comes out in April, and I’ll be working on edits for…
Contested Histories: International Perspectives, Part 2
The second part of my presentation on "Contested Histories" at the AWP conference, which focuses on the Cold War in Latin American and my own writing.
Waiting for the Deus ex Machina
As we hope for a last-minute miracle in real life, some thoughts on the deus ex machina, why writers use it, why we should avoid it, and how we can.
On Giving Support and Eating Dessert First: An Interview with Dean Gloster
I met Dean Gloster in the summer of 2015, when he started in the MFA program in Writing for Children & Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts and…
Between Projects
On finishing a novel manuscript I've been working on for a year and a half, and having no idea what to write next.
A Sneak Peek Prologue
I offer the deleted prologue of my unpublished contemporary YA novel to give blog readers a sense of the story.
My Workshop for the VCFA Young Writers Network, Part 2
Last week I reported on the first week that I led a workshop for middle school writers at New Voices School as part of the VCFA Young Writers Network. That…
My Workshop for the VCFA Young Writers Network, Part 1
The first part of my report on presenting at New Voices School in Brooklyn as part of the new VCFA Young Writers Network.
How to Stay on Task: A Writing Date
A well-timed writing date gets me back on track after a two-month hiatus to promote Surviving Santiago.