Kristin Wolden Nitz

Author: Kristin Wolden Nitz

  • In Braille

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
    in

    I’m afraid that I have a narcissitic habit of googling my books to see how they’re doing in the world.  Sometimes this can be depressing such as when a teacher or librarian is dismissive of my plot or characters in a blog.  At other times, delightful news can pop up.  That’s what happened today when I…

  • Peeled

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
    in

    Sometime in the next six months or so, I’ll be revising my YA mystery.  It’s current title is STAND-IN FOR MURDER.  (I’ve learned not to get too attached to titles.  I often think that Marketing–and yes, I did mean to capitalize that word–gets the final say.  They’re the people who know what’s out there and what’s…

  • Writers’ Anonymous

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    My name is Kristin, and I haven’t written any fiction in two weeks….    Instead of murmuring approval, fellow members of Writers’ Anonymous are likely to offer advice of how to start writing again.  They might ask things like ‘Why has it been so long?’ Well, my daughter graduated from high school at the end of May, and…

  • Thinking with a Pencil

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    A few days ago, I sat down with piece of paper to outline a note to my agent about how I just didn’t have any  ideas at all for revising one of my novels . She had sent me a very thoughtful email about my project before leaving on a three-week trip to Greece.  I knew that she…

  • Finding the First Chapter

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    While writers are supposed to avoid cliches in their work, they often use them when coaching each other.  Here’s one of the classics about openings: Grab the reader by the throat and don’t let go.  Writers slave over their first pages.  It’s not easy to pull the reader into a world.  But I suggest that…

  • Another Pressing Problem

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
    in

    I had only  made it to the top of page four in my new novel when my character wound up pressing his lips together.  But I’m not going to dither around and find a better way to put it for now.  I’d really like to try moving more quickly through a first draft.   So I’ll…

  • Favorite Fantasy Series for Kids and Young Adults

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    I’m not frighteningly original in my choices for favorite fantasy  series either as a kid, teen or now.  I do have a habit of reading and rereading my favorites in order to spend time with the characters.  But I think that this rereading taught me a lot about plotting, creating characters and inserting the clues that…

  • Alone with the Sphinx

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    “After all, if they wanted a good picture of the sphinx, they needed to do it in the cool, early morning when the rising sun shone directly onto its 30-foot high face.” That’s a short excerpt from my work-in-progress set in Egypt.   And since I was following in the footsteps of my characters, I naturally…

  • A Pressing Problem

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
    in ,

    I was going through the comments that my friend Gina made  on my SCARAB manuscript when I found the following: “Kate presses her lips together quite a bit.  Check for this.”  Using the search function on my computer, I did just that.  Not only did Kate press her lips together quite a bit, she and a few…

  • Adding Local Color

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    In SAVING THE GRIFFIN, laurel hedges were rather important to my plot.  That’s why I took time to describe these evergreen leaves.  The trees and plants weren’t quite as important in my novel set in Egypt, but I still needed to establish a sense of place.  When you’re moving your characters through various forms of…