We’ve been working hard over here, friends, and today, we have some super fun news about our upcoming book release: GO TEEN WRITERS: WRITE YOUR NOVEL. The book releases on December 3rd. That’s just three weeks away (!!!), and we couldn’t be more excited to share it with you.
Here’s the fun part: When you order the book anytime before the end of the year, we want to send you a thank you gift. The first 100 readers who submit their receipt and mailing address via this form, will:
- Receive (1) bookplate signed by all three authors: Stephanie Morrill, Jill Williamson, and Shannon Dittemore.
- Receive (1) Go Teen Writers bookmark (front and back pictured below).
- Be entered to win 1 of 10 spots in a virtual “Ask Us Anything” session with all three authors (to take place in early 2021).
You can pre-order the ebook now, while the paperback will be made available on 12/3. The good news is that either purchase qualifies you for the gifts, as long as you submit your receipt before the end of the year. Exciting stuff, right?
One other bit of housekeeping for today. If you were unable to attend our first live event, WINTER COMES TO GO TEEN WRITERS, it was a blast and you were missed. Thank you so much for helping me celebrate the launch of WINTER, WHITE AND WICKED. Because the internet is all sorts of magic, you can catch the replay by tapping the graphic below. If you’re asked for a password, type: 1Zx!9+U8
NOW! Tell me, how’s your writing going, friends?! I want to cheer you on.
Shannon Dittemore is an author and speaker. Her books include theĀ Angel Eyes trilogy, a supernatural foray into the realm of angels and demons, as well as the fantastical adventure novelĀ Winter, White and Wicked. Its sequel, Rebel, Brave and Brutal is due out January 10, 2023.
Shannonās stories feature strong female leads grappling with fear and faith as they venture into the wilds of the unknown. Sheās often wondered if sheās writing her own quest for bravery again and again.
Itās a choice she values highly. Bravery. And sheās never more inspired than when young people ball up their fist and punch fear in the face.
To that end, Shannon takes great joy in working with young writers, both in person and online at Go Teen Writers, an instructional blog recognized by Writerās Digest four years running as a ā101 Best Websites for Writersā selection.
For more about Shannon and her books, please visit her website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Wow, this sounds SUPER EXCITING!!!!!! My writing is not going very well. I had this goal to finish the second draft of my WIP by the end of November, and I covered so much ground in Oct. but now I can’t seem to get myself to actually write. Maybe December will swing through easier…
I know exactly how that feels. I had a million deadline goals while I was drafting my WIP that kept getting pushed back for one reason or another. But the important thing is that you do finish, which you will at some point as long as you just keep at it. And sometimes, the more time you have to spend on it, the more ideas you get that you never would have thought of before.
Best of luck to you as you move forward! You’ve got this!
THANK YOU, Em!!!!!
No doubt, some months are easier than others. I’m getting started on NaNo about ten days late, so I understand. Rooting for you!
[Formerly known as Lacey]
YAY! I’m super excited for the Go Teen Writers: Write Your Novel book! And thank you for providing us a way to see a recording of the live event. š So, in my writing, I’ve been working on a free-spirit poem. It’s going great so far. I work on it in my spare time. Thanks for asking.
Me writing is going…. meh. My biggest problem right now is trying to make something happen. Iāve been yelling at my MCās to figure out that they like each other, but they didnāt seem to be getting the message. My mom said that there was really no way for them to actually talk to each other (kudos to me for making a secure prison!) so I need to figure that out… any help would be appreciated!
Also, Issabelle, I feel like thatās partly my fault because Iāve been commenting on Teen Writers Nook so much and distracting you. Good job on commenting first, by the way. Iām honestly just gonna give up now. Iām NOT a morning person. In the interest of my health (and my familyās mental sanity) I crown you queen of first comment. Yay, you!
Iām going to order the book right away! My uncle gave me a gift card for my birthday… all I need to do is go onto that form. And, BONUS, thereās free stuff! Who doesnāt love free stuff, am I right?
Im not really a fan of e-books. I like the real, tangible thing in my hands. So now Iām sad, because itās only available on Kindle. ????????????
It’ll be available in paperback on 12/3!
Oh, no. It’s not your fault. It’s really that school’s been pretty heavy this month, I’ve not even FELT like writing. Actually, I LOVE every one of your comments on my blog. You bring so much energy to the site, I’VE JUST LOVED IT!!!!! Plus my post was about books, so it only made sense for everyone to chat a lot because WE LOVE BOOKS!!!! I’m just soooo happy that you’ve been coming to my site. And I treasure each and every comment, ’cause when I first started blogging, comments were REALLY HARD to get, and I just love reading them. So, basically this jumbled up comment is supposed to say YOU HAVE TOTALLY NOT BEEN DISTRACTING ME. Yay, queen of the first comment. Can I get a badge or something with that on it? š You did really great, though. I mean you’re only like thirty minutes behind me. ? (Also, I’m pretty crazy ’cause I’m a night owl and a morning person. It’s pretty strange.)
https://www.canva.com/design/DAENN0JxDHw/K-vE5LlibUHQf0esUKj0DA/view?utm_content=DAENN0JxDHw&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sharebutton
Your badly designed Queen of the First Comment thingy-thing.
Oooh, I LOVE IT!!!!!! Is it okay if I put it on my blog, I would totally give credit back to you?
Sure, be my guest.
WOW! What a cool design, Ally.
Ooh, this is all so exciting! Looking forward to reading Write Your Novel!
My writing time has been super fun. As I’m not writing as a career, I’ve just been jumping from story to story, adding to each one as I have inspiration. Lately my time has been spent in one called The Villain’s Children, and another called A Thousand Shards of Paper. (If you can’t tell, I love crafting book titles!) My word count has been low of late, though, so on Sunday I am going to set myself some solid word count per day goals and actually WRITE the stories, rather than just brainstorming characters and settings.
Also, thank you for sharing the recording of the live event!
That sounds like me. I have so many ideas that I try to write them all at once. š Ooh, your titles are AMAZING! I especially love “A Thousand Shards of Paper.”
Thank you, Katherine! It’s nice to know I’m not the only one here who story jumps. š
Awesome! I’m so glad your writing is going well!
I love coming up with titles too, Camille! My current WIP is titled “That No Man Take Thy Crown”, and another (idea, not solid story *yet*) “Just Passing Through”.
Should I be sharing my titles? Hm… ??
Riley, those are awesome titles! Both of them! I have a ton of titles without stories to accompany them, too. š And I see no harm in sharing titles — we all understand their sacred importance š
Wow! Cool titles, Riley!!!!! They sound intriguing!!! š
Can’t wait to read Write Your Novel! Reading writing related things always gets me hyped to actually write, so that will be a great motivational resource. š
Also, my copy of Winter, White and Wicked arrived a week or so ago. I’ve had a few other books on my plate, so I haven’t gotten a chance to read it yet, but I’m really looking forward to it. All the promotional stuff you’ve done for it has me really excited about the story and characters, and the physical book itself is so. Amazingly. Pretty! Congrats again on the release!
Hooray, Elizabeth! I’m glad it arrived! Wishing you an exciting journey when you’re able to dive in.
I’m very excited for Write Your Novel to release! I’ve already been imagining it sitting on my bookshelf, right there beside the first book, Edit Your Novel.
My writing has been going a little slow, but I’m picking up the pace. Right now I’m working on a re-re-write (if that’s a word, lol) of my story, a Christian historical fiction set at Pearl Harbor. I sent it to my writing friend as well as my parents about a year ago to get their feedback, and with their advice combined with the time away from it and being so emotionally invested in it, I was able to pick out some problems and ways to fix them. So, now, I’m working on that. Sometimes it’s frustrating trying to figure out how to take those ideas and incorporate them into the story, but I’ve been praying about it alot. The Lord really has been helping me, both in helping me to see things clearly and by things like giving me time to talk with my writing friend and being able to watch the Go Teen Writers live event (thanks so much for doing that!). It’s amazing what a difference it makes when I try to actively include the Lord in my writing!
Sophia, that is an AMAZING story idea! I love the premise, and would/will definitely read it. š Also, you are 100% right about communication with God in the writing process. I’ve noticed the same thing when I write. Inviting Him to work through your writing is a sure way to fill it with truth.
Ooh, “a Christian historical fiction set at Pearl Harbor.” That’s AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love Christian fiction and historical fiction. I love that you include God in your writing. He helps us and it’s great for Him to be in the center of everything we do.ā¤ļø He’s also the one that inspires us.? You go, girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *cheering*
I love all of this! And what a cool concept! Cheering you on, friend.
That is so awesome, Sophie! I’ve been praying that God would help me in my writing too! ?Mine is a 17th century Christian somewhat-fantasy novel. I have a few close friends that love to read, I give them what I have of my first draft every few pages. I even have a friend who seriously wants to be my editor. ?
Hey guys-
I just had a really quick question. How many of you use pen names in your book? Not sure why Iām asking, I guess Iām just curious.
I don’t use a pen name. I think if I were to try, I’d get really frustrated trying to come up with one. ??
Cool question! I do not write under a pen name though. Do you?
(Fun fact: I’m pretty sure John Adam’s wrote to a newspaper by the name of Humphrey Ploughjogger. :O He could have chosen any name in the world, and he chose Ploughjogger. Just thought that was funny.)
I do, actually. I find it super fun to create random names for yourself. I mostly use Brit Chao (Not sure why, it just sorta came to me) but I also am particularly fond of Amber Highlands.
Ploughjogger? WHAT? That is an amazing name. Hats off to John Adams.
My writing is going… um… Well, actually I kind of haven’t a clue. There are some days where I get two or three pages written, then other days where I just stare at the screen, not sure of what to write. I’m 111 pages into my first draft, though. Huzzah!!!
One thing I find motivates me, is whenever I finish ten or so more pages, I print, and give it to a couple of my closest friends. They love reading what happens next, and I like to get their feedback! (which sometimes is “uh… it’s good!”) So then I have to practically annoy them to bits with, “Well, what do you think of this, and this, and this…”
I have a friend who wants to be my editor, which is cool! And he wants to write a story too, so I’ll be his editor!
I’m excited to see Write Your Novel! I’m probably gonna wait until it’s available in paperback, I’m excited to read it!
P.S. Does anyone else find it hard to stick with their main theme sometimes? Or is it just me?
That’s awesome, Riley! I can definitely relate to the uneven word counts, and sharing snippets with friends! I don’t give them EVERYTHING, (just a fun chapter or scene once in awhile,) as I like to keep my crazy drafts pretty private and don’t want to break anyone’s heart by removing a beloved character, but I can totally see the value in the feedback and motivation sharing as you go might have!
I’ve no major thoughts on theme, sadly, as I’ve only completed one draft. For me, threading a consistent theme throughout the novel would happen most in edits.
Sorry ’bout all the long comments today š
I’ve discovered that I bounce around with my theme quite a lot! And I know what you mean about crazy writing schedules. Ever since school started back up, my writing time has begun pretty flip-floppy.
For me, theme was some far-off galaxy that I decided I would have to land in, many lightyears after my first draft. It wasn’t that big of a deal to me back then, because the idea for my WIP came from something I wrote for a school writing assignment, and my teacher was mostly just surprised I wrote something with chapters. When I decided to re-write it into a story, that’s when I started to think about theme.
If you’ve already got a theme in mind, but have a hard time applying it, or just sticking to it, maybe try brainstorming ways you could thread it into your story. I found tackling the theme was a lot easier to do in the editing process, rather than as I wrote it for the first time, but maybe that’s just me. Doing theme as you draft the story, though, is totally fine. You’d just be getting a head-start on working with theme in edits! ?
I hate that when I get super busy, I forget to check this site. So excited for this book to come out! I’m gonna ask for it for Christmas.