Recommended Resources: Writing Advice

Last, but certainly not least, we recommend the following awesome Internet sites for writing advice! Whether you need help in learning the rules of the craft or simply need to research plot elements or character traits, we've checked into it all:

"Website of Newbery winner Linda Sue Park features lots of suggestions and exercises for writers, including a useful handout on novel structure and a great article on the importance of reading." Elizabeth C. Bunce

"Darcy Pattison hosts a wide variety of guest bloggers, including many of us from the Class of 2k8! And Darcy is the Queen of Revision - be sure to check out her thoughts on the editing process. Also The Rejection Collection is a must-visit site for anyone who is bummed out about a recent rejection. Read rejection letters sent to writers all over the country, and then read what the authors think about them. A scream!" Kristin O'Donnell Tubb



"Author Cynthea Liu has some of the best advice for writers out there. Her site answers pretty much every possible question about both the business and creative sides of writing for children and teenagers." Jenny Meyerhoff

"The Blueboards totally rule! A wonderful and truly community-minded place for kid lit writers to give and receive news, advice, and support, or just be silly together. If you have a question about anything in the world of children's books, someone here will know the answer." Marissa Doyle

"Lizzie Skurnick's Fine Lines is the best writing about YA on the web. She's brilliant and thoughtful and funny and nostalgic but also biting, as she writes about the best books of our youth. She's awesome (and she just landed a book deal!)" Laurel Snyder

http://www.redroom.com/ "There are a great group of authors there, and a different one is featured either weekly or monthly. Many of them blog on their redroom page. They have interesting discussions. These discussion are geared toward an adult audience and are of more interest to a librarian, bookseller or teacher." Stacy Nyikos



"Author2Author is a blog I do with 4 other authors at different stages of our careers. I just finished a three-part writing series on beginnings, middle and ends. So we do craft-related posts, but also talk about things we are going through, like one person is looking for an agent, one person is recently repped and doing revisions hoping to sell her book." Lisa Schroeder

Through the Tollbooth "OK, I'm part of this group, so of course I love it! Nine Vermont College MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adult grads who have gone on to publish picture books and/or middle grade or young adult novels each take a week to blog about the craft of writing. We also interview other authors, editors, agents, and general book lovers! I've learned so much from my fellow Tollboothers, including 2k8er Zu Vincent. Some weeks are very analytically minded, some are instructional, some inspirational, and some are just plain fun. We've just started monthly reviews of craft books, too." Liz Gallagher

http://www.getmortified.com/ "You will howl with laughter at this site. They 'collect artifacts of adolescent expression' - diary entries, artwork, poems, songs, short stories, etc. - all written in those 'tween-to-teen years. A gold mine for YA authors. WARNING: Although these entries were written by teens (from years past), the material can be explicit. The site is geared toward adults, and is definitely *not* for younger readers." Kristin O'Donnell Tubb

"To get in touch with my inner teen, I hit sites like The Diary Project and Post Secret. They remind me what real problems and daily life look like." Brooke Taylor