Kristin Wolden Nitz
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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…
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Peeled
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…
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Writers’ Anonymous
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…
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Thinking with a Pencil
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…
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Finding the First Chapter
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…
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Another Pressing Problem
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…
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Favorite Fantasy Series for Kids and Young Adults
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…
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Alone with the Sphinx
“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…
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A Pressing Problem
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. …
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Adding Local Color
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…
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Kristin Wolden Nitz 