Three quick ideas for spring cleaning—for your writing. Experiment with point of view. Ideas: 1) change
up a first person story to a third person 2) write
a story from a minor character’s point view 3) look at a picture sideways (see above) and describe what you see. 1) “You go through vampires, you go through dystopian, you go
through contemporary, you go through fantasy,” Ms. Strauss-Gabel said. “The
last thing you want is an author saying, ‘That’s what’s selling right now, so
that’s what I’m going to write.’ That’s the point at which a trend gets icky.” 2) “We’re in an era where the
definition of a young adult book is completely up for grabs, and people are
willing to reinvent it,” she said. “There’s no one saying, ‘You can’t do this
in a book for children.’ ” Last, singular thought: if you haven't read BEFORE MY EYES, my new young adult novel, it's out now as a trade paperback! --Caroline |







