by Kelley Lindberg This weekend, I’m headed off to the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) regional conference in surprisingly vibrant Boise, Idaho, with two wonderful writing friends. I’m attending this conference as a participant rather than as a presenter, which means I get to focus on enjoying myself. What a treat! I’ve […]
Why Handwriting and Cursive Still Matter
by Kelley Lindberg Last Friday, the Utah State Board of Education voted unanimously to recommend that handwriting and cursive should continue to be taught in our Utah public schools. That instruction has been required in the state up until now, but under the new Common Core curriculum, it is no longer required. (“Utah Education Leaders […]
Springing into Revision Mode
by Kelley Lindberg Seems like every writer I know is in revision mode right now. Must be something to do with spring – renewal, rebirth, re-emergence of optimism… After a long, cold winter, we’re all ready for some fresh ideas, so we’ve dragged out our dormant novels and are attacking them with budding optimism. I’m […]
Giving Voice to Your Characters
by Kelley Lindberg For the last two weeks, we’ve been discussing different aspects of “voice.” Your voice is the unique sound to your writing that sets your story apart from everyone else’s. They say there are only a handful of basic stories. It’s how we tell them that distinguishes them. Some writers elevate the idea […]
Using Voice to Establish Mood
by Kelley Lindberg Voice – it’s that elusive, yet all-important quality that makes your book uniquely yours. It’s how you observe and write about things. It’s the language you use. It’s the language your characters use. It’s the details that you choose to expound upon, the emotions you sketch upon the page, and the pacing […]
Do Your Sentences Have a Sense of Rhythm?
by Kelley Lindberg Email question of the week: “How can I better improve the flow of paragraphs and sentences? The rhythm, that is.” Great question. As you know already, there won’t be any easy answers because this is where it all becomes incredibly personal to you and that mysterious, amorphous quality called “your voice.” (In other words, […]
