David Macinnis Gill's Blog: Thunderchikin Reads, page 35

BBYA Chicago Report

The best, best part of YALSA's Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA) process is the traditional student feedback session held during the ALA Annual Convention. Each year, dozens of teens gather to testify about their favorite books of the year so far. This year, School Library Journal asked Diane Tuccillo to report on the sesssion. Her article is a spot-on summary of teens' comments.

My favorite part was their commentary on The Roar, which wasn't even on my radar at that point, and Soul Enchilada, w

How to Write a Logline

How to Write a Logline for Your Novel

I've decided to do a series of how-to posts about aspects of writing. Hope you find something of use.

Definition

A "log line" or "logline" is Hollywood terminology that means a 1-2 sentence descriptor of a story. It gets its name, I imagine, from a time when someone had to log each story line, and they wanted to write as little as possible. No matter how they started, log lines are an ingrained part of the film industry and to some extent, the publishing indust

How to Write a Log Line

How to Write a Log Line

I've decided to do a series of how-to posts about aspects of writing. Hope you find something of use.

Definition

A "log line" is Hollywood terminology that means a 1-2 sentence descriptor of a story. It gets its name, I imagine, from a time when someone had to log each story line, and they wanted to write as little as possible. No matter how they started, log lines are an ingrained part of the film industry and to some extent, the publishing industry, as well.

Uses #1

Log line

Buy Local, Not Loco

I'm a firm believer in relationship buying. There are two huge home improvement chains less than two miles form my house. There is also a tiny hardware store that's been family-owned for decades. The building is decorated with family photos, old signs (the real ones, not the faux ones), and notes from customers. Everything in this building costs a little more than the chain store, but the people know their stuff, and they have things that you just can't find in the big boxes. Plus, they sponsor

Want to Bet?

John Green has been talking about the future of the book on his blog. Like many, John predicts that the bookstore an entity will disappear, much the way that the corner record store went away. I bet him a classic comic that his dire prediction was wrong. If I'm wrong and still ambulatory in 10 years, I'll pay up.

Here's why the book is not going to go the way of the album/LP/CD. The creation of digital formats for music playback was a huge innovation that so drastically improved the listening exp

AASL National Conference

November 6th, time TBA

Author PitStop at AASL National Conference (Charlotte, NC)

Nov 20-24: NCTE National Convention (Philadelphia)

Nov 20-24: NCTE National Convention (Philadelphia)

Time: TBA

Activity: Signing SOUL ENCHILADA in the HarperCollins booth and speaking on a panel at ALAN Workshop with Jen Bryant and Chris Crowe.

Oct. 9-11: Southern Festival of Books (Nashville TN)

Oct. 9-11: Southern Festival of Books (Nashville TN)

Time: TBA

Activity: Speaking and signing SOUL ENCHILADA

September 25-27: SCBWI Carolinas Conference Speaker (Durham NC)

I'll be speaking at the SCBWI Carolinas Conference at the Sheraton Durham, as well as signing SOUL ENCHILADA. Times TBA.

New Harper Author Pages

HarperCollins has redesigned it's author pages, and they look marvelous, if I do say so myself. Check it out for bios, new books, contests, and more.Here's mine, with a snazzy photo and my personal 6-word memoir.