Kristin Wolden Nitz

Category: Writing

  • Finding the Way Back into a Novel

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    I was in the middle of a major rewrite of a middle grade fantasy when the revisions for my YA mystery landed on my doorstep.  I had every intention of spending ten or fifteen minutes a day with the fantasy so that I could jump back into it fairly quickly.  In the past, I’ve totally…

  • Naming Characters II

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    In an earlier post, I wrote about some of my naming problems for a protagonist.  When I ran my list of new names for that person past my various critique groups, I got a wide variety of answers.  Elisa was a favorite with many, but my son shot that one down in something less than…

  • Naming Characters

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    Naming characters is always a challenge, but often trying to change the name at a later date is even worse.  Characters can be stubborn.  In fact, one named Werner in DEFENDING IRENE refused.   I offered him at least twenty other options.  Katrin Ladurner from my current work in progress has promised to be equally stubborn, especially…

  • Research all Finished?

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    I had left open our last day in Egypt just in case I needed to go back and do any additional research, but it looked like it was complete.  I had visited all the places that my characters had: Giza, Abusir, Ma’adi, the Metro, the Khan al-Khalili, and Al Ahzar park.  My husband, the man…

  • Forward Progress

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    Goals are good things.  My editor established one goal when she gave me a due date for the mystery revision: February 15.  But it was pretty clear that she’d like to have it sooner, so I have a private goal of getting it out the door by the end of the third week in January.  I also have…

  • Falling into a Classic Writer’s Trap

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    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…

  • Prospecting for Gold Nuggets

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    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.

  • YA Mystery: Chapter 1 Revision is Done!

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    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…

  • Four dimensional characters

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    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…

  • Inserting Characters

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    A few years ago I was on a walk with my son when he was in seventh or eight grade.  He’d just finished reading a first draft of one of my manuscripts. “I really liked Sophia,” he said. “But you’re really going to have to introduce her earlier.” I laughed because he was exactly right. My…