Some weeks before my artist friend Vicki Paret’s baby arrived, she stretched nine canvases of equal size. She gridded nine rectangles on each canvas. Eighty-one rectangles would form one epic painting. She worked methodically, left to right, top to bottom….
When I discover that one or both parents are dead in a YA novel, I don’t feel sad. I think, oh no, here we go again. As 10 Worn-out Cliches in YA states, “The death toll of parents in YA…
“Partway through writing my first novel, I had a terrifying realization: I needed an omniscient narrator.” -Celeste Ng, Dead Darlings post April 7, 2014. Writing a novel is all about making a series of decisions that add up to a…
I told myself I wouldn’t write about winter weather so much this year. But here we are on the verge of another snowstorm. Instead of bemoaning the bitter cold, I’m trying to focus on the benefits: lots of time to…
Every novelist builds a world, but if you’re writing fantasy or science fiction, worldbuilding is a bigger job—one I’m often tempted to skimp on. It’s great fun to think about magic in a new world—not so fun to figure out…
Although here in Boston winter took a long time coming, the temperature has finally plummeted and there’s actual snow on the ground. No more of that 40-degree pseudo-winter! Being a true New Englander, I always embraced winter with downhill skiing,…