Gail Carson Levine's Blog, page 25
March 4, 2015
Known quantities
Just curious: Did anyone join in the Woozworld event? I found it strange and didn’t feel as if I met anyone, really. If you were there, what was your experience?
Here’s a link to an interesting article in The New York Times about the cheerful bias in journalism and, by extension I guess, in humanity: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/24/science/why-we-all-sound-like-pollyannas.html. I think it’s something to keep in mind as we write stories.
On September 18th or later, writeforfun wrote, I’ve been...
Here’s a link to an interesting article in The New York Times about the cheerful bias in journalism and, by extension I guess, in humanity: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/24/science/why-we-all-sound-like-pollyannas.html. I think it’s something to keep in mind as we write stories.
On September 18th or later, writeforfun wrote, I’ve been...
February 18, 2015
Pain! Agony!
First off: a reminder about my appearance on Woozworld on February 21st from 1:00 to 2:00 PM. I’ll be there in the form of an avatar (with gray hair and gray-green eyes--and the resemblance ends there), answering advance questions and questions that crop up at the time. If you participate, I’ll meet you through your avatar, but we probably won’t recognize each other in the actual universe. My hesitations about the event are that it may be too young for many of you, and (the more serious hesit...
February 4, 2015
Smooth sailing
Before the post, this news: On Saturday, February 21st at 1:00 PM, there will be a virtual launch party for Writer to Writer, which will run for an hour on Woozworld. HarperCollins has set this up and I've never done it before, but I'll be there answering questions. I'm a newbie, so I don't know what it will be like. There's an avatar who sort of looks like me in a funhouse mirror kind of way (minus the wrinkles). It may be a bit young for many of you, but if you're interested in ways that pu...
January 20, 2015
Setting Wake Up
On August 15, 2014, carpelibris wrote, Anyone have the opposite problem: livening up a story that takes place on a single, rather ordinary location?
Let’s break this into two pieces, the ordinariness and the unmoving-ness of the setting and start with the first.
Pick the most boring, most blah place in your life that you can go to right now. Your assignment, as soon as I tell you to, is to take yourself there.
Right now I’m in my most boring space, a Metro North train rattling toward New York Ci...
Let’s break this into two pieces, the ordinariness and the unmoving-ness of the setting and start with the first.
Pick the most boring, most blah place in your life that you can go to right now. Your assignment, as soon as I tell you to, is to take yourself there.
Right now I’m in my most boring space, a Metro North train rattling toward New York Ci...
January 7, 2015
Vive la difference!
I’m putting two related questions and accompanying comments together in this post. On August 2, 2014, F wrote, I've found that over the course of all my stories, my characters seem to repeat a lot of the same kind of traits. Whilst I do sometimes feel like they're independent and distinguishable and have their own voices, I feel like their personalities boil down to be very similar, not to mention that these personalities seem to have, at their core, an enlarged aspect of my own (I guess I re...
December 24, 2014
Hooray for Quests!
First off, the big news: Writer to Writer is OUT--RELEASED--PUBLISHED!!! It came out yesterday. Some of you are in it–no last names, of course. Thanks to you all for making this blog a great, helpful, safe place for writers, and for making this book possible.
Second off: Ho! Ho! Ho! Happy holidays, and best wishes for great writing in 2015!
This question came into the website late in July from Writer At Heart: What are you supposed to do when all of your stories seem to repeat? Like, I've...
Second off: Ho! Ho! Ho! Happy holidays, and best wishes for great writing in 2015!
This question came into the website late in July from Writer At Heart: What are you supposed to do when all of your stories seem to repeat? Like, I've...
December 10, 2014
Thoughtses!
First off, very exciting! Here’s a link to the beginning of the audio version of Writer to Writer: https://soundcloud.com/harperaudio_us/writertowriter_levine?in=harperaudio_us/sets/harperchildrens-audio. At the end, it moves on to another excerpt from a different book. Of course, you can keep going or stop. Hope you enjoy!
On July 26, 2014, Angie wrote, I have a question that pertains both to dialogue and relationship development. I have two taciturn characters who have to spend quite a bit o...
On July 26, 2014, Angie wrote, I have a question that pertains both to dialogue and relationship development. I have two taciturn characters who have to spend quite a bit o...
November 26, 2014
Smile Induction
My best wishes to all of you who are bravely writing away on you NaNoWriMo projects. Hope it’s going along swimmingly!
For any of you in my neck of the woods, I’m going to be part of a kids’ book author panel and then a signing on the evening of Monday, December 8th, from 6:00 to 7:30 at Fox Lane Middle School, 632 South Bedford Road, which is in Bedford, New York. If you can come, I’d love to meet you!
Also, at the suggestion of Lydia S. last week on the blog, we’ve added a new feature right t...
For any of you in my neck of the woods, I’m going to be part of a kids’ book author panel and then a signing on the evening of Monday, December 8th, from 6:00 to 7:30 at Fox Lane Middle School, 632 South Bedford Road, which is in Bedford, New York. If you can come, I’d love to meet you!
Also, at the suggestion of Lydia S. last week on the blog, we’ve added a new feature right t...
November 12, 2014
Picky, Picky
In July, this question came from Leah on the website: What is the right kind of details? Which details are important and which not so much?
I talk about this in Writing Magic, so if you have the book you may want to look at Chapters 8 and 20. For now, let’s start with what a detail is, which is slippery, like most matters in writing.
I’d say that a detail is any snippet that conveys information. Sometimes whatever that is may not seem like a detail. Suppose, for example, our MC is Candace whose...
I talk about this in Writing Magic, so if you have the book you may want to look at Chapters 8 and 20. For now, let’s start with what a detail is, which is slippery, like most matters in writing.
I’d say that a detail is any snippet that conveys information. Sometimes whatever that is may not seem like a detail. Suppose, for example, our MC is Candace whose...
October 29, 2014
Mama Mia!
For those of you who are about to dive into NaNoWriMo, all my best wishes! Don’t forget to eat and sleep and read this blog!
I look forward to meeting one--carpelibris!--or more of you this Saturday in Albany, New York!
Now, imagine fanfare, a trumpet blowing, confetti. See it first here: the final cover for Stolen Magic!
I think it's appealing and inviting, just what we want a cover to be.
And on to the post. Two related questions came in over the summer. On July 23, 2014, Elisa wrote, What do y...
I look forward to meeting one--carpelibris!--or more of you this Saturday in Albany, New York!
Now, imagine fanfare, a trumpet blowing, confetti. See it first here: the final cover for Stolen Magic!
I think it's appealing and inviting, just what we want a cover to be.
And on to the post. Two related questions came in over the summer. On July 23, 2014, Elisa wrote, What do y...
