Author: Kristin Wolden Nitz
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In Celebration of Agent Appreciation Day
I found out this morning that today is Agent Appreciation Day. I feel truly blessed to be represented by Erin Murphy, who is kind, frank, thoughtful, accessible and funny. Below, I’m pasting in the email that I sent out to writer friends after my unexpected pitch session with her: So I walked into the SCBWI conference this morning…
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Stand-in for Murder
It’s not a 100% certainty, but it looks like my YA mystery will be released in the fall of 2010 with the title of STAND-IN FOR MURDER. This morning, I finished the preliminary revisions to the first three chapters. I’m sure that they’ll need some polishing, but I want to wrap up a draft by Christmas…
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Dreaming of Egypt
Today, fifty mile an hour winds whipped the snow past my windows. But a year ago this week, I was in Egypt to research a possible sequel to SAVING THE GRIFFIN. The wheels of publishing often turn more slowly than the wheels of justice for many writers like me, so I’m patiently waiting for word…
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Researching Contemporary Fiction
On my instructor’s brochure for the Institute of Children’s Literature, I have the following quote: “Don’t just write what you know. Write what you care about. Pursue the subjects that fascinate you, and your passion will shine through to the reader.” Yeah. This recommendation does sound a bit highflown, but I believe in it completely. I…
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Recasting Scenes
No, recasting a scene doesn’t mean trying it again with different personnel. It’s about change the shape of events. Stories aren’t “cast in stone” until they’re sent to the printers. My editor suggested that I recast some of the events of the third chapter of my YA novel with respect to interactions and emotions. And…
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Falling into a Classic Writer’s Trap
A friend and fellow author gave me some good feedback on the first chapter of my mystery. Among other things, she noted that I was throwing a lot of character’s names at her, so she was having a tough time keeping track of everyone. I looked through things. She was right. I’d fallen into one of…
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Referring to Parents
One of the things that all writers struggle with is figuring out exactly what to call the main character’s parents. I usually go with Mom and Dad unless I’m writing a fantasy and then I go with the local equivalent. But I recently ran across a great explanation on Orson Scott Card’s website on exactly why…
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Prospecting for Gold Nuggets
My article Prospecting for Gold Nuggets is now up on the Institute for Children’s Literature’s website. It discusses how important it is to come up with a strong premise for your writing projects.
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YA Mystery: Chapter 1 Revision is Done!
First chapters and last chapters are often among the hardest ones for any novelist. You have to first pull the reader smoothly into your world with the first and ease them out in a satisfying way in the last. It’s necessary to put in just enough information so that the readers know exactly what’s going…
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Four dimensional characters
Every writer learns that it’s important to create three-dimensional characters. The people who come to life in books must occupy fictional space in unique and interesting ways. But because most stories are about a protagonist’s personal journey–even if that person never leaves the backyard–characters should truly be four-dimensional. The character at the end of the…
Kristin Wolden Nitz 