This past Saturday was our Master Class hosted by Joyce Moyer Hostetter: The Story Safari: Tracking Down the Story Through Research, Focus, and Revision. I read her Bakers Mountain series several years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it, so I was excited to get to learn...
Ask The Right Question Marketing 101 for an author: know thy audience. In my writing workshops, I love to ask kids to raise their hands high if they love researching history. There are always a few budding history geeks with eager hands in the air, aglow with the idea...
What do carpet beetles, Plato, and the diary of a politician from the 1600s all have in common? You can find all of them on the website Project Gutenberg for free. If you are unfamiliar with the website, buckle up—we are diving into the public domain! Read more: Use...
Award-winning nonfiction author, Annette Whipple, discusses writing inspirtaiton.
Where Do Writing Ideas Come From? by Guest Blogger, Theresa P. Pierce About ten years ago, as a Curriculum Coach, I met children’s writer and curriculum instructor Lester Laminack. Over dinner, at the Wrenn House in Salisbury, NC, he taught a room...
Being Thanksgiving Day, I want to show my gratitude for technology. If it weren't for the Internet, Zoom, and our devices, we would be isolated indeed! Virtual Research Are you working on a manuscript, but finding it difficult to do the research you need, since...
Paris is one of my favorite cities. Its history and ambiance intrigue me. There is something about strolling down the streets of Paris, crossing the bridges, or walking along the Seine, even in the rain, that can't be experienced anywhere else in the world. It...
I had the privilege of visiting England the last week of February -- one of my favorite destinations before the coronavirus situation became a deterrent for travel. I am so grateful! Since I am a historical fiction author, researching the location in...
When I was 14 years old, I won the grand prize in a contest: a set of encyclopedias. I know—not very exciting, is it? But this was in the ancient days before computers, personal or otherwise. You’d have thought I won London’s crown jewels! I was so proud of that...
As part of my research for my YA novel Half-Truths , I read a lot of books. And I mean A LOT. Read my pitch and I think you'll understand why: In the heavily segregated South, fifteen-year-old Kate Dinsmore's world is shaken when she realizes she's related to her...
They say the life of a writer is lonely. That’s true in some ways, but the advent of the Internet has connected us in ways we could never have imagined. It has also made research easier than ever. However, easier is not always better. We’ve all heard warnings about...