Amy L. Bernstein's Blog, page 3

Magic of the Spoken Word

No matter how loudly our characters yell, complain, cry, and laugh in our heads, there's nothing like hearing them given the breath of life.

The Story Inside the Story

Every author must at some point compose a synopsis for their book: tens of thousands of words condensed to a few hundred. As writing chores go, creating the synopsis can be agony.

Reaping Internal & External "Awards"

Both are important--for different reasons.

The Public-Facing Writer

Another "first" for me: displaying my book wares and giveaways as a vendor at an all-day book festival. The experience got me thinking about what it takes for introverted writers (many but not all of us) to perform as ex...

A Mermaid's Search for Meaning

DREAMS OF SONG TIMES, my sapphic YA urban fantasy is about a human mermaid full of secrets, on the run, and ready to risk everything for a future she never saw coming.

The Three-Dimensional Author

I feel most like an author when I'm talking about my books' characters, plots, and "what it all means" with a real live audience. I recently had that pleasure at Still North Books in Hanover, NH, with The Potrero Complex...

The Mystery of Writing a Mystery

How do you go about writing a mystery novel if you���ve never written one before?

Does Reading Aloud Change a Book's Meaning?

I've been thinking lately about the way books can change their personalities depending on whether one is reading words on the page or listening to spoken text.

How Disasters Shape Great Fiction

I had so much fun coming up with an answer to the questions:

When Strangers Say Nice Things

Whether you're F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fyodor Dostoevsky, or Margaret Atwood, you never know how your latest book will be received. Will readers love it? Hate it? Or perhaps worse, feel just "meh" about it?