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A.B. Westrick

Goodreads Author

Born

in Philadelphia

Website

http://abwestrick.com/

Twitter

abwestrick

Member Since

October 2011

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A. B. Westrick is the daughter of Southerners who sought to leave the South behind. Raised in Pennsylvania, she later moved with her husband to Virginia and spent hours walking Richmond’s brick streets, wondering how her ancestors had fared during and after the War between the States. BROTHERHOOD grew from those wonderings. A.B. Westrick has been a teacher, paralegal, literacy volunteer, administrator, and coach for teams from Odyssey of the Mind to the Reading Olympics. A graduate of Stanford University and Yale Divinity School, she received an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2011. BROTHERHOOD is her first novel. She and her family live in Richmond, Virginia.

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Hi! I heard that you are coming to my school for a Brotherhood/author visit on 4/28/15. I haven't read Brotherhood but I wanted to ask you this question: What is your favorite genre to write about and how do you come up with beginning a story you want to write? I always skip the brainstorming part of my stories that I never seem to finish, and go straight to the final part. How can I improve my writing?

A.B. Westrick Hello! And my apologies for not seeing your question until now. Were you able to attend my presentation? I had a great time on 4/28/15.

I don't have a …moreHello! And my apologies for not seeing your question until now. Were you able to attend my presentation? I had a great time on 4/28/15.

I don't have a favorite genre. I particularly like dramatic, realistic fiction (more than fantasy, sci-fi, etc.), although that being said, I've read HARRY POTTER, THE HUNGER GAMES, DIVERGENT, and many others, and enjoyed them. When I set out to write BROTHERHOOD, I didn't intend to write historical fiction. I was trying to explore a boy's feeling of being stuck in a tough situation, and for me, the history was simply the setting.

I don't decide on my beginning until I've completed a first draft. Or many drafts. I don't always know what my stories are about until I get to the very end. I sit back and ask: what's really going on here? Then I rewrite the whole thing.

The more you write, the more your writing will improve. Some writers enjoy writing the ending first, then going back and writing the scenes that lead up to that ending. Some books begin with the ending of a story, then go into a series of flashback scenes. There are many ways to do it, and no one way is right or the best way. Keep writing, and keep reading, and try to describe the sensory details (using your 5 senses) in each moment, and your writing will come alive. (less)

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A.B. Westrick’s books

Average rating: 3.89 · 741 ratings · 207 reviews · 3 distinct works • Similar authors

	Brotherhood 3.88 avg rating — 724 ratings — published 2013 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Slavery's Descendants: Shared Legacies of Race and Reconciliation by Jill Strauss (Afterword), Shannon Lanier (Contributor), A.B. Westrick (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.11 avg rating — 28 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	River City Secrets: Stories from Richmond by Lana Krumwiede (Goodreads Author), Kristi Tuck Austin (contributer), Elle Blair (contributer) 4.11 avg rating — 19 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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A.B. Westrick's Blog

On Hiatus. #amwriting

Thank you, readers! Thank you, writers. Since March 30, 2011, I’ve enjoyed sharing insights about writing. Now I’m taking a…

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A.B. Westrick wrote a new blog post On Hiatus. #amwriting Thank you, readers! Thank you, writers. Since March 30, 2011, I’ve enjoyed sharing insights about writing. Now I’m taking a…The post On Hiatus. #amwri Read more of this blog post »
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