Scarlett Van Dijk's Blog, page 7

Guest Post: Claire Capary - Christmas Hotel Room Lockdown

Christmas holds a very special place in my heart. It was always the one time when my family got together, celebrated and just rested. The resting was always the best part for me. Once the gifts had been exchanged and the big meal had been shared amongst all, everyone just let go of their fears and worries. Following this, there was only a complete sense of peace.

This year, letting go was a real learning curve for me, when my own family turned from three to two unexpectedly. But despite all o...

Guest Post: John Mattox - Character Names

Thirteen Brother Pirates by John Mattox Juliet whispered, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

As writers, we often search for the right name to embody the soul of our character. The right fit is so elusive.

Would the story smell as sweet or be as powerful or as frightening with a different name—the wrong name?

The nameKruegercomes from German and meansmaker or seller of stoneware mugs andjugs. There is nothing frightening about the name per se...

An Indie's Attempt at Book Trailers

Recently I was browsing the internet when, on my Google+ wall, up popped a book trailer for one of my author acquaintances. I consider book trailers as an excellent marketing tool. Most people browsing the internet will stop briefly when something visual catches their eye, quite often missing the posts of carefully constructed words. I don't have a book trailer believing that I didn't have the skills to create something like that. I browsed YouTube for book trailers and came across a large n...

Guest Post: Todd McClimans - Oh, Those Characters!

Literature for adolescent readers lives and dies on the strength and development of its characters. As authors of middle grade and young adult novels, we must create deep, rich characters young readers want to follow down the river Styx, through nightmarish simulations, and onto the cancer ward. Young readers cling to the characters in the stories they love, growing right along with them as if they were close friends or even extensions of themselves. The best-developed characters are ones th...

Getting Around 6/12/2014

Hi everyone. The last couple of weeks have been busy for me. I finished university! I am now a graduate radiographer heading out in to the big wide working world.

Yesterday the lovely Carla Doria Medina hosted me as a guest author on her blog. She asked me to write about myself, my writing, and Sky Stone. Head over and have a read:
https://carladoria.wordpress.com/2014/12/04/guest-post-scarlett-van-dijk-a-writing-journey-past-present-and-future/

Guest Post: Willow Anne Renner - Surviving Bad Reviews

In October 2014, I published my first two books, YA fantasy: The Seeker Must Awaken and Book of Shadows. These two novels are the first two books in The Lux Seekers series. I’ve been writing for years, and trying to perfect my craft, daily. It is a struggle and there is always something new to learn. I revised and revised and revised some more. When I thought the books were ready, I decided to self-publish.

I had put so much time and effort into the books, I became attached to the novels and...

Guest Post: Sarah Cotchaleovitch - Why Do Authors Write Such Depressing Books for Adolescents?

Really, why do they? Being a teenager is hard enough, right? Why in the world do they need to fill their minds with oppressive governments that make kids fight to the death, for instance?

Good question. Isn't adolescent lit simply stuff written for people who are too old for Dr. Seuss but too young for Stephen King? As I learned when I took an adolescent literature class in college, there's a lot more to it than that.

The word my professor used was "liminal." Merriam-Webster lists three defin...

Guest Post: Anuradha Santhanam - Why I Write

To young writers, from a slightly older one: on why I write, and how to make it meaningful.

I am certainly not George Orwell, but this is Why I Write:


Catharsis: Start off writing for catharsis. When you’re overwhelmed, take pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, and write. It is often the most emotional moments that create the most poignant words. Personal recommendation? Always keep a pen and paper handy, even when you’re travelling. You never know when inspiration will strike!


Social Cause...

The Character Is Crying... And So Am I

Have you ever been reading a piece of fiction and felt such a deep connection that you feel exactly how the character does? You don't even need to be able to relate with that character. They could be the complete opposite to you, be in a situation you would never find yourself in, and yet you still understand them deeply. Ever had to stop yourself from laughing at a character while reading on the bus because people may look at you strangely? Ever found yourself with tears running down your fa...

Guest Post: Sylvie Nickels - 70 Years of Writing

I'm rather old as you can tell by the fact that I started writing at the age of ten and have continued for over seventy years (so far). A childhood through World War Two is reflected in several of my books on the effects of war on subsequent generations, three of them (Another Kind of Loving, Beyond the Broken Gate and Long Shadows) forming a trilogy. There has been an anthology of short stories (Village 21), and a Young Adult book on the theme of alcohol addiction.

Somewhere along the line I...