By Kelley Lindberg Choosing a name for your character is every bit as important – and sometimes as difficult – as choosing a name for your child. There are plenty of criteria for choosing the right name. You want the name to be memorable, for one. It should also be easy to say (or read). […]
Words, Ideas, Fireworks, and Other Powerful Forces
By Kelley Lindberg Today we’re celebrating the 4th of July. Usually, if we spend any time at all considering why we are celebrating this holiday, we think of the Revolutionary War and the Declaration of Independence. But this year, July 4 falls the day after the 150th anniversary of the Union victory at […]
The Good News and Bad News about Writing at Home
By Kelley Lindberg I’ve been doing freelance writing from home for fifteen years, and I absolutely love it. But working at home isn’t for everyone. Plenty of people I know freely admit that they lack self-discipline, and that they would miss the structure or the social environment of a regular workplace. So I’ve come up […]
100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know
By Kelley Lindberg Ten years ago, the editors of the American Heritage dictionaries created a book called 100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know. It’s a humbling list. I only knew 75 for sure. As a writer, I hang my head. I decided to go through the whole list in the […]
What Teachers Want from Authors (and Vice Versa)
By Kelley Lindberg April found me in Boise, Idaho, at an SCBWI (Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) regional conference that was held in conjunction with a conference for teachers. One of the best results of the combination, for me, was a panel discussion at the end of the conference that included teachers, writers, an […]
The Keys to a Good Mystery
By Kelley Lindberg So there’s this set of keys. Four of them, to be exact. They’re on a simple ring, along with a shopper’s discount card and a membership card to a gym. Yesterday evening, I pulled them out of the outside pocket of my purse. The thing is, they’re not mine. I texted […]
