Recent Articles
How many drafts do you need to write a story?
One of the most frequent questions I get from young writers and even seasoned writers is: How many drafts do you need to write a story? I have a super helpful answer: It depends. Let me explain. Some of my books only took four or so drafts. (Even saying “only four”...
How to write a book: little steps each day until it’s done
My first book, a middle grade novel in verse, was written in tiny fifteen- or twenty-minute windows, back when my kids were very young. I had a newborn, two 3-year-olds (twins—so double trouble), a 5-year-old, a 6-year-old, an 8-year-old, and not a lot of...
How do you balance multiple projects?
At any given time, I’m working on between three and five manuscripts. Some people’s jaws drop when they hear a thing like that (probably because the average person can hardly imagine working on one manuscript!). Maybe it’s a leftover consequence of my decade in...
How to set goals when so much is beyond your control
As much as we like to think we have everything under our control (or maybe that’s just me), there’s a lot that’s out of our control, especially when it comes to writing. Sometimes kids get sick and writing time disappears. Sometimes there’s a freak snowstorm in Texas...
How to collect ideas
Since you’re having such a wonderfully imaginative September, I wanted to send a short-ish note about collecting ideas. Collecting ideas, for me, is incredibly important. I don’t ever want my ideas to slip through my unprepared fingers. But we’ve all been there:...
How Many Drafts Does it Take to Equal a Finished Book?
When I visit kids at schools, someone usually asks me if I just write my book and that’s that. It’s a humorous question to me; a book is hardly ever finished the first time it comes out on paper (there is, of course, the very, very rare exception). But students are...
How to Fight Off Burnout
I’m a very task-oriented person. I make my goals, I make my list of tasks to support those goals, I work myself every hour I have and don’t quit until the clock says my work day is officially done. This means that while I accomplish a ridiculous amount of tasks during...
Write a GREAT Book Even When Your Time is Limited
