KLC News

Up your writing game this Saturday and next with two workshops that complement each other perfectly. Plot grows out of character and characters change because of plot. On May 10, David Macinnis Gill will guide us through his sticky note plot method, and on May 17, Lindsay Lackey will focus on character in her approach using touchstone moments to crystalize character emotions. Register now!

from anne-marie

Hello, writers!

Hello Subscriber First Name,

On May 1, we released the final episode of Season 2 of the KidLit Craft podcast. My co-host Erin Nuttall and I spent twelve episodes dissecting Kayvion Lewis’s YA thriller Thieves’ Gambit. It’s the opposite of what I write in so many ways, but I learned so much that applies to the sad YA contemporary novels I’m writing. Here are some of my favorites craft takeaways:

• Think about starting and ending your novel with theme. In the first line of Thieves’ Gambit, the narrator Ross Quest tells us, “A Quest never trusts anyone except a Quest.” In the last line, she has a new Rule #1. And yes, it has to do with trust.

• You can keep the pace fast in an action scene by having a longer section of set-up where you show the setting, explain the plan and stakes, and show how your character feels before the scene starts.

• When introducing a large cast of characters, introduce the most important characters first and last. In Thieves’ Gambit, Ross meets her nemesis first, other characters in between, and her love interest last.

• A character’s concrete desire can change, and it helps to have their internal need stay the same and for some big event to happen that changes their focus. In the first chapters Ross’s deepest desire is for friends, and she’s going to fulfill that desire by going to gymnastics camp. When her mom gets kidnapped, everything changes.

I just heard from a friend that someone she knows binged Season 2 on a long drive and said it’s a writing master class. (True story: I re-listen to the podcast once it’s released, and I always learn something new, even though I was there for the recording and the editing!)

I’ve you haven’t listened to the podcast, give it a try! You can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. If you’ve listened, we’d love to have you leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. It helps others find the show.

Everything we do at KidLit Craft is focused on diving deeply into craft to help you improve your writing. Read on to find more info about our summer classes, links to our recent author interviews, and a very special craft book recommendation.

Happy Writing!
Anne-Marie, KidLit Craft founder, editor, and teacher
and the KLC team

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Summer Classes

Do you need an extra boost to take your writing to the next level this summer? Check out our summer classes!

You can find all of our summer and fall classes at kidlitcraft.com/classes.

Recommended Craft Book

New Snack-Sized Author Interviews

Writerly Inspiration

"Here’s the exercise: Describe the thing you want to write next.

“Before you set out to write the next scene, chapter, short story, picture book, one-act play, or epic novel, spend about ten minutes writing about it. Describe it to yourself in a casual, conversational way. this won’t be an outline or a summary. It won’t look like a project proposal or an elevator pitch. It’s just a chat with your notebook. Describe the thing that you want to write next as though you’ve already read it, and loved it, and kinda remember it.

“This simple exercise effectively replaces a messy first draft. Your actual first draft will be more coherent and cohesive, because it will be more familiar. You took the time to remember it before it existed.”

       -- William Alexander, author of A Properly Unhaunted Place and Sunward (out in September), from his essay, “Prophesy & Kinesthesia” in Spinning Toward the Sun

You can find KidLit Craft logo T-shirts, sweatshirts, and other merch at Cotton Bureau. The tri-blend Ts are super soft, and the sweatshirts are ridiculously cozy. We've also added totes and drinkware! All items feature our logo, designed by Sandra Bosscher of Contagious Design.