Ilsa J. Bick's Blog, page 2

Challenged

In all senses of the word. I usually don’t talk about things like this in terms of lookit me, lookit me! I don’t post on Facebook about how many words I got done that day.  Now I used to do … Continue reading →

Gearing Up

Maybe. Quickly–because I gotta a lot to do still today–I’ve been making some life changes as well as page changes here.  With a little nudge from a Facebook friend, I’m slowly building a dedicated author page…which also means that I … Continue reading →

A Little Help From My Friends

So, it’s been awhile.  Have I been working?  Yes.  Have I been doing it quietly?  Yup–writing out loud, reporting my progress (or lack thereof) on a daily basis got kind of wearing.  I can understand how that might work for … Continue reading →

FALL 2016 YA SCAVENGER HUNT

WELCOME TO THE 13TH YA SCAVENGER HUNT! Hey, there, I’m Ilsa Bick, and your hostess for this leg of the hunt—and yes, I might kill you if you try to take my cheese. You are currently hunting on TEAM ORANGE. … Continue reading →

Game Face

This is something my husband says frequently: “You’re so quiet.”  He always follows that up with the observation that I must be thinking about whatever story I’m working on at the time.  Apparently, he’s decided that just as an athlete … Continue reading →

Labor Day

A really very fine book, by the way, if you’ve never read it.  Along with The Cloud Chamber, one of my favorite Maynard books, I think she does adolescence and latency-aged kids very well.  A shame she doesn’t write more books from … Continue reading →

Strategic versus Tactical

THE DAY I have this writer-friend who loves to tell a story about how he once gave feedback to his wife, who’s also a writer.  He read a story or something she’d done and she asked for his opinion.  Before … Continue reading →

This Weekend Was Made for…

Thinking. THE DAY Normally, at this point in a weekend when I’ve written not one new speck, I’m fairly suicidal. For whatever reason, though, I’m not.  I think that’s because there have to be some weekends–some days–that are just made … Continue reading →

When Less is More

THE DAY Actually, this is about the whole bloody week, isn’t it? I’m sure I’ve written about this before, but there are times–especially when you realize what the structure of the book has to be or when you can do … Continue reading →

When You Slow Down

Which I actually didn’t do until yesterday, or maybe it was Friday.  I’ve lost track. THE DAY Here’s the dilemma: when I slow down and the writing’s bad and you feel like you’re pulling words out with a fork, that … Continue reading →