Authors, Kai Strand & LA Dragoni

The first Wednesday of every month is officially  Insecure Writer’s Support Group  day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time.  Be sure to link to mastermind,  Alex Cavanaugh's page and display the badge in your post. Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG The awesome co-hosts for today's IWSG posting are  Gwen Gardner,   Dolorah,   Sarah Foster,  and  M. Pax!  Show your support by visiting their blogs. When you're at M Pax's blog, tell her Kai sent you. She's a phenom writing buddy to have. This month I'm going to address my pre-release jitters. I'm balancing on the precipice of a book release. Though I have a couple young adult romance novella...

So I’ve had this mind itch for a while now. I’ll be listening to a book and maybe I’m completely immersed in it, wishing I could just shut off life until I’ve listened to each and every word – or I’m huffing and puffing in frustration over…something. Anything. And in both cases it’ll cross my mind, Would I like (or dislike) this book so much if I were reading it inside my head? Narrators can make all the difference in the world. I’ve fallen in crush with narrators (not always the character). The two that come to mind are Steven Kaplan ; Legend/Prodigy/Champion by Marie Lu, The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler and Sunil Malhotra ; Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. I’ve absolutely loved listening to KateSimses  in Matched and Crossed by Ally Condie. I think her voice really fit the character. However, there seems to be that other side of the coin thing. ReneeRaudman , narrator for I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d have to Kill You by Ally Carter ju...

Hi everyone! Welcome to Building Character. I’d like to introduce you to Kate, the main character in STAR OF THE TEAM by Beverly Stowe McClure. Kate, can you tell us a little about you, please? Hi, I’m Kate Taylor, eleven years old, and I live with my mom and older sister, Zoey. My mom’s also the coach for our basketball team, Angels.  I was all set for the new basketball season and to win a lot of games, then this new girl, Emily, showed up with an attitude, and we’ve had nothing but trouble since. Uh oh, that doesn’t sound good. What kind of trouble?  I have two major conflicts. The first is my tooth. It was knocked out at one of the games. The dentist replanted it but Mom’s afraid it’ll get knocked out again and won’t let me play until the tooth heals. By that time, the season will be over. Then there’s Emily. I don’t want to talk about her, but my mom seems to think she’s great at basketball. I guess she is good, but so am I, if I get the chance to prove it. ...

Last week I posted one reason why it is important for writers to read a lot. So this week I thought I'd recap my 2014 reads. According to my Goodreads shelf "Read in 2014" I read 105 books last year. I've been able to read more titles each year and I attribute that to my changing reading habits. Well, that and a bit of obsession. I do read a lot, but now you'll also often find me with my earbuds shoved in my ears and an audiobook playing. I really think that expanding the audiobook habit to when I'm cooking, driving (I play it through my stereo, I don't wear earbuds while driving - that's dangerous!), exercising has helped me add many more books to my completed shelf. I'm not to fond of talking ill of books. Every book has an audience. I'm including these books on my worst list because I didn't enjoy them. Maybe it was the characterization. Perhaps the story was flat or difficult to follow. Whatever the reasons, they are my reasons an...

Happy Friday! I'm really excited to have YA author, Melanie Hooyenga here to talk to us about her editing process. Ack! Editing is the bane of my existence and I'm thankful for all the tips I can get to make it a smoother process. So, click your fingers on your keyboard for a round of virtual applause to welcome Melanie to Strands of Thought! *** You did it! You finished writing an ENTIRE NOVEL! Turn off your computer, read a book—celebrate! If you’ve ever written a full-length manuscript you know what a monumental feat it is to finally write those elusive words, The End . I’ve written five novels (plus one memoir that we don’t talk about) and typing those six little letters never gets old. Give yourself a week off, then hunker down in your favorite chair because it’s time to work. Everyone edits differently, and what works for me may not work for you, but hopefully these tips will help you get through the dreaded phase of writing: EDITING. 1: The First Read ...

Welcome to my feature, Three Times A Charm. I love to introduce readers to people involved in children’s publishing. Today we June Kramin with us. Younger readers will know her as Ann T. Bugg. June, can you share a little about yourself, please? Ann T. Bugg is my pen name. I write women’s fiction under my name, June Kramin, and didn’t want to confuse the two genres. My nieces & nephews as well as my friends’ children have always called me Auntie Bug, so I adapted a variation of that. I’m the self-proclaimed Queen of my castle in northern Minnesota, where I live with my Knight in shining armor (who has come to my rescue more than once) and my own little Princess Valerie, who inspired me to write these tales. Very cute story behind your pen name. Can we hear more about your children’s books? My middle grade series is titled Before Happily Ever After. They are familiar fairy tales & folklore with a fun and exciting twist that only Valerie & Samantha can deliver....

Me & my daughter - riverside reading When asked what advice I have for beginning writers I usually include, “Read a lot.” I truly believe it’s an important step to developing your own writing voice. The funny thing is I no longer consider myself a beginning writer – I’d probably classify myself as emerging. Yet I’ve realized the advice is still valid. Recently I’ve had a run of what I consider lackluster books. The writing is decent. The plots are fine. But in the end there isn’t enough to really make me want to talk about them to anyone. Maybe there is little or no chemistry between the characters. Usually there are no surprises. I almost always read through to the end of these books, hoping something will happen to redeem them in the end. Then when it doesn’t I’m left feeling like it was a waste of my very precious reading time to have invested in a “formula” story. Guess what. It wasn’t a waste at all! This is the exciting part… As I’m reading stories that h...