Author: Kristin Wolden Nitz
-
The Missouri Mentorship
I don’t remember how I heard about the Missouri Mentorship for the first time. It could have been a mass email. Or the announcement could have just come in an article for MO SCRIBBLES, Missouri’s newsletter for the local chapter of the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). But when I found out about the opportunity…
-
“Don’t treat your characters like marionettes!”
The driver of the shuttle van rolled down the window and spoke rapidly in French. Shortly after the answering squawk from the speaker phone, the gate swung open slowly, untouched by human hands. Intellectually, I knew that a small motor was performing the work, but the grounds of the Abbaye de Royoument had already begun to…
-
Chapter 21. Not done, but I’m moving forward.
Usually, I do have to have everything in pretty good shape before I go on. Chapter 21 is pretty ragged. I need to work on descriptions of towns, towers, clothing, food and one creature. I now have new links on my list of favorte links pointing to the various models that I’m using for the…
-
Fifteen Rejections
There are plenty of legendary stories about how many times Dr. Suess’s MULBERRY STREET and Madeleine L’Engle’s WRINKLE IN TIME were rejected. (Both were around forty!) Such tales tend to give hope to struggling writers everywhere. My friend Jeanie Ransom had a rather epic number of submissions for her divorce book, I DON’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT…
-
Reverse Chronological Order/Explanation of Dedication Page
One thing about blogs is that people will generally read things from newest to oldest. So I’m going to work my way backwards from my decision to submit SUSPECT to Peachtree to how I came up with the original idea for SUSPECT in the first place. It was essentially a ten-year journey from my first scribbles on…
-
“O Light the Heart that Lingers in Merano”
I first heard the songs from the musical CHESS back in college. One of the guys in my Douglas Houghton Hall dorm at Michigan Tech was demonstrating the astonishing clarity that his new CD player brought to the music. (And yes, this was the latest thing back in the early 80’s.) He started with the radio hit “One Night in…
-
Historical Fantasy
I ran across a new fantasy designation today. Of course, it could have been knocking around for awhile, but here is how Elizabeth C. Bunce, author of CURSE DARK AS GOLD, put it: “Historical fantasy” means my work is inspired by real places and cultures of the past, but with fantastical, otherworldly, or magical elements.…
-
Chapter 20? Done. At Least for Now
I know that Chapter 20 is a bit on the short side, but I decided to declare it done for the time being. It will undoubtedly need tweaking after this draft is finished anyway. And I’m pushing forward into the final “temporary triumph” before the “darkest moment.” Tense moments for my character are helping me…
-
It’s Out There
SUSPECT has now appeared in a few libraries, so I guess it is officially out there even though my launch party won’t be until the first Thursday in October. But I guess that makes the release of my book as a rolling party with lots of little celebrations along the way.
-
A Sparkly, Sparkly Review
SUSPECT’s first review came in from Kirkus, and it’s a good one! In fact the title of this post was also the subject line from my editor when she sent me the review. She noted that it can be hard to get a good review for mysteries, especially in the world of YA. But here…
Kristin Wolden Nitz 