Linda Gerber's Blog, page 7

Friday Winner!

It's Friday! Which means I am late in announcing the winner of the Amazon gift certificate and Possession swag. I do apologize. Deadline weeks are insane.

And now, without further delay, the drawing.

*Drumroll, please*

And the winner is... Erica.

Please send your mailing info to gerb (@) lindagerber (.) com and we'll get your gifts sent out to you.

Everyone, please join us back here on Tuesday for the return of Tip Tuesday, and next Friday for another Freebie. Have a stellar weekend!

FF - Possession by Elana Johnson

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Elana is a GCC sister with a unique vision of the perfect world. (In her world, Oreos and bacon would be the only food groups...

For Writers - Watch a Movie with Kristina McBride

Happy Tuesday, everyone. Today's tip is coming your way from the beautiful Wasatch Mountains. I'm in Utah this week, loving the scenery. Here's a bonus tip - if you ever need to feel inspired, find some mountains to fill you with awe. *Sigh*

(Picture courtesy of Utah is Awesome.)

Our real tip this week is courtesy of Kristina McBride, author of the gripping YA novel, A TENSION OF OPPOSITES (paperback edition just released this week!) If you have not read this book yet, you should. Seriously.

Kr...

For Writers - How to Trick Your Brain into Writing with Jessica Brody

@font-face { font-family: "Courier New"; }@font-face { font-family: "Wingdings"; }@font-face { font-family: "Calibri"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }ol { margin-bottom: 0in; }ul { margin-bott On today's special edition of Tip Tuesday, we are celebrating the release of Jessica Brody's latest novel, MY LIFE UNDECIDED.

Here are a few fun facts about Jessica Brody's own...

Tip Tuesday Returns with Tera Lynn Childs

Hi, all! I'm baaack. Some pictures of my trip are posted over at Teen Fiction Cafe, if you're interested. Meanwhile, I'm honored to welcome this week's tipper, Tera Lynn Childs.

Tera is the author of unbelievably fun mythology-based YA fiction, including OH. MY. GODS., GODDESS BOOTCAMP, and FORGIVE MY FINS. You can check out her CITY CHICKS e-books, and be sure to watch for FINS ARE FOREVER in June, and SWEET VENOM, coming your way in October.

Tera had a nomadic childhood, moving around more t...

For Writers - Reading Aloud with Micol Ostow

This week's tip comes to us from Micol Ostow, author of 12 YA books, including POPULAR VOTE, EMILY GOLDBERG LEARNS TO SALSA, twin Simon Pulse comedies, a couple of SASS titles, and her newest release, family.

Told in episodic verse, family is the story of seventeen-year-old Melinda Jensen, who hits the road for San Francisco, leaving behind her fractured home life and a constant assault on her self-esteem. There, she meets Henry, the handsome, charismatic man who comes upon her, collapsed o...

For Writers - Vacuums Suck

Before we begin, I want to give a shout out and special congratulations to Marsha Skrypuch for her Crystal Kite win. Her book STOLEN CHILD is the selection for The Americas. (Crystal Kite winner list here.)

As one of Marsha's crit partners, I had the privilege of reading much of the book in early stages as well as the completed book, and I highly recommend STOLEN CHILD (and her entire list.). Marsha's research and detail in writing are excellent. But it's how she brings the characters to life ...

For Writers - Where's the Beef?

It's another wild day here in Dublin. I'm racing to get this posted before the next band of storms arrives. (I can see the mass swiftly approaching on the Doppler. Kind of freaky.) So, quickly, and without further ado...

This week's tip comes from another reader question:

Q. I like my story idea, but sometimes when I write, it seems like nothing is happening. What am I doing wrong?

A. It's tough to diagnose without actually reading your work, but if you think nothing is happening, it sounds...

Check back!

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Apologies to anyone looking for the Tip Tuesday. I'm still away from my desk (long story) so it looks like this week's post is going to become a Writers' Wednesday instead. Check back tomorrow!

Ciao!

For Writers - Which Tense?

Today's tip is an answer to a question I received this week regarding tense...

Q. My critique group read the first few chapters of my YA. The main criticism they had was that I kept bouncing between past and present tense. One member told me I should stick with present tense because it's good for YA, but another said present tense wears the reader out and I should stick to past tense. I asked for a tie-breaker, but the other member said it doesn't matter as long as I stick with one or...