by Shannon Dittemore | Aug 10, 2022 | Elements of Fiction, The Craft of Writing, Writing
We’re back! I know Steph celebrated our return with you last week, but it still feels bizarre that we’ve had two months away from you all. It went like a flash! This summer, the Dittemore family celebrated our son’s high school graduation with a trip...
by Stephanie Morrill | Aug 3, 2022 | Characters
We’re back! It has been a hectic couple of months at the Morrill household, full of summer camps, sports, and travel. Most of the summer camps on our schedule were for my kids, but I got in on the summer fun by being a speaker at the One Year Adventure Novel...
by Stephanie Morrill | May 25, 2022 | Writing
If you’ve been hanging around Go Teen Writers for very long, you’ve possibly noticed that summers look different around here. Our Instagram feed is pretty sparse, there’s no fresh content on Wednesdays, and we stop sending out weekly emails. (Unless...
by Stephanie Morrill | May 23, 2022 | 100-for-100
It’s that time of year! Summer break is coming (or is already upon us!) and that means it’s time for another 100-for-100 writing challenge! If you’ve been around Go Teen Writers for very long, you know this is a writing challenge we host most summers, and...
by Jill Williamson | May 18, 2022 | Creativity, Encouragement, Learning from Other Authors, Writing Life
Jill here. I cannot believe this is my last post before we break for summer. This spring has gone by SO fast! Before I get into today’s post, I want to give you all a head’s up. Stephanie will be running the 100-for-100 Writing Challenge this summer....
by Shannon Dittemore | May 11, 2022 | Discovery Writing, First Drafts, Learning from Other Authors, Story Structure, The Craft of Writing, Writing
Friends! I was listening to the Stories are Soul Food podcast today, and when author ND Wilson shared how he structures the drafting of a novel, it really resonated with me. His process is similar enough to my own style, but with a couple features that I think would...
by Stephanie Morrill | May 4, 2022 | Description, Editing
Writing descriptions has never come naturally to me. My first drafts are very scant on any sort of description, and I have to work hard in edits to fill in those gaps. Stephen King has a great quote about description: “The key to good description begins with clear...
by Stephanie Morrill | Apr 27, 2022 | Characters
Ed Catmull is one of the founders of Pixar, and I really enjoyed his book, Creativity, Inc. about the history and inner workings of Pixar. I especially loved this insight he shared: “The definition of superb animation is that each character on the screen makes you...
by Jill Williamson | Apr 20, 2022 | Author Life, Encouragement, Getting Feedback On Your Writing, Goals, Grow An Author, Learning from Other Authors, The Craft of Writing, Writing, Writing Life
If you have spent any time in the world of education, you might have heard the term: lifelong learner. This is the concept that as time goes on, some teachers lose their motivation and fall into a comfortable routine. They stop pushing themselves to grow in their...
by Shannon Dittemore | Apr 13, 2022 | Author Life, Productivity, Time Management, Writing, Writing Life, Writing Tools
Stephanie, Jill, and I are back at our respective desks this week after six days together at a writing retreat on Puget Sound. It was a lovely time away, and I thought it I’d give you a snapshot of our week as I share thoughts on why retreats like this are so...
