by Stephanie Morrill | Nov 22, 2019 | Writing
If you’ve spent much time around Go Teen Writers, you know we value time spent actually writing. Not just talking about writing, thinking about writing, or planning to write, but actually writing. That’s what we want for ourselves during the rest of 2019,...
by Jill Williamson | Nov 20, 2019 | Book Club Posts
Today on the Go Teen Writers Book Club, we’re discussing Chapter Eleven: Promises. Chapter Recap:The whole point of this chapter is to understand that the way you write makes promises to your readers, and it’s very important that you don’t break the promises you make....
by Stephanie Morrill | Nov 18, 2019 | Antagonists, Book Proposals, Brainstorming, Characters, Mailbag, Synopsis
As I mentioned last Wednesday, this is our last week of blogging here on Go Teen Writers until January. This website is a labor of love for all three of us, and we need time away to learn and be creative without simultaneously producing content. “Nothing in...
by Shannon Dittemore | Nov 15, 2019 | The Craft of Writing, Writing
We get a lot of questions here at Go Teen Writers about writing books for kids and teens. “What’s the difference between chapter books and middle grade?” “What distinguishes YA from adult? Is it the age of the characters or the content of the...
by Stephanie Morrill | Nov 13, 2019 | Writing
Hey, writers! I promised Jill a month or so ago that I would host book club today, not realizing that I would instead have a ridiculous schedule that included taking my husband to the airport for a business trip and then doing all the kid-shuttling on my own. As you...
by Stephanie Morrill | Nov 11, 2019 | First Drafts, Plot, Scenes and Scene Structure
I touched on the idea of identifying your core story in my post about how to describe your story in a way that makes people want to read it, but I didn’t go into detail about what I meant or how to best use this tool. What do I mean by the core of your story? I...
by Shannon Dittemore | Nov 8, 2019 | Mailbag, Writing, Writing Life
Thank you again for responding to my Instagram plea and sending in questions. I love these quick hits! I’ve chosen four questions to answer, but please keep sending them over. There’s a form on the website here if you scroll to the bottom and we’ll...
by Jill Williamson | Nov 6, 2019 | Book Club Posts, Editing, First Drafts, Plot, Scenes and Scene Structure, Story Endings, Story Structure
Today on the Go Teen Writers Book Club, we’re discussing Chapter Ten: Twists. Chapter Recap:Mr. James says that every great story will include a twist. He doesn’t say it “should” include a twist, but that if the story is going to be great, it “will” include one. This...
by Stephanie Morrill | Nov 4, 2019 | Author Life, Grow An Author, Writing Life
If you follow me on social media, you’ve maybe noticed that I’ve shared a string of good news in the last month or two. New book contract! A book tour! The Lost Girl of Astor Street is on sale! (The ebook is currently $1.99.) This all looks very exciting....
by Shannon Dittemore | Nov 1, 2019 | Writing, Writing Exercise
I’d like to tell you a story: Once upon a Halloween night, a tiny, gloved hand reached into a cauldron full of treats. The hand swished left and the hand swished right, sending Bubble Yum and Jolly Ranchers tumbling out of its way. When it finally withdrew, it...
