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Tag: critique

Try Something New

February 24, 2017 A. B. Westrick 7 Comments

I don’t remember exactly when I met Erin Teagan, but I know it was through SCBWI‘s Mid-Atlantic chapter—either the annual fall…

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Filed under: author interview, character, craft, critique, Erin Teagan, fiction, HMH, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, middle-grade, NaNoWriMo, pantser, process, protagonist, revision, scenes, story, The Friendship Experiment, TheWritePractice.com, writing

Ideas are Overrated

March 31, 2016 A. B. Westrick 4 Comments

People often ask writers: where do you get the ideas for your stories? And I say: ideas. Blah. So overrated.…

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Filed under: American Idol, calling, character, craft, critique, emotional connection, fiction, honesty, ideas, Keith Urban, process, story, tagxedo, tagxedo.com, writing

Leonard’s Ten Rules of Writing

August 27, 2013 A. B. Westrick 4 Comments

Novelist Elmore Leonard passed away this month, leaving behind forty-some books and his “Ten Rules of Writing.” I agree with…

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Filed under: books, craft, critique, Elmore Leonard, KSDK, literature, Marion Dane Bauer, MFA, process, revision, writing

Voice and details

July 13, 2012 A. B. Westrick 2 Comments
Nora Ephron

My agent nixed the novel I finished drafting earlier this year, and it’s taken me a couple of months to…

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Filed under: books, brenda ueland, character, craft, critique, MFA, nora ephron, plot, process, revision, VCFA, voice, writing

The structure of a novel

February 23, 2012 A. B. Westrick 2 Comments

In the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of Poets & Writers magazine, John Stazinski (page 29) bemoans the tendency of MFA programs…

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Filed under: arc, books, craft, critique, Grub Street, john green, kathi appelt, Looking for alaska, manuscript, MFA, novel, plot, Poets & Writers, revision, story, structure, Uma Krishnaswami, VCFA, writing

For the love of Vemont College of Fine Arts

March 30, 2011 abwestrick 2 Comments

Voice. Sympathetic characters. Narrative pace. Dialogue tags.  Emotional arcs. These are the sorts of topics we tackled at Vermont College…

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Filed under: craft, critique, dialogue, low-residency, pace, theme, VCFA, voice, writing

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MFA book giveaway research voice middle grade hook scenes YA plot VCFA process emotional truth literature craft theme books writing fiction revision giveaway middle-grade protagonist author interview Vermont College of Fine Arts structure character rafflecopter story James River Writers manuscript

My Author-Interviews at MG Book Village

James Bird, May.2022
Emi Watanabe Cohen, Oct.2022
Melanie Conklin, Dec.2022
Alex Gino, Jun.2022
Shawn Peters, Apr.2022
Wendy Shang, Sept.2022
Maleeha Siddiqui, Jan.2022
Shawn K. Stout, Aug.2022
Lisa Stringfellow, Feb.2022
Sonja Thomas, Mar.2022
Meera Trehan, Jul.2022
Shirley Reva Vernick, Nov.2022

Interviews with Authors here at ABWestrick.com

Gigi Amateau, Apr.2013
Tina Athaide, May.2020
Sarah R. Baughman, Aug.2019
Karen Magnuson Beil, Dec.2020
Cece Bell, Sept.2014
Anne Blankman, Jun.2017
Emily Blejwas, Oct.2021
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, Jan.2016
Skila Brown, May.2014
Anne Bustard, Feb.2020
Samantha M. Clark, Aug.2021
Gwen Cole, May.2018
Winifred Conkling, Jan.2015
Meredith Davis, Oct.2019
Shannon Doleski, Jul.2020
Kathryn Erskine, Oct.2013
Anika Fajardo, Jun.2021
Robin Farmer, Nov.2020
Lamar Giles, Aug.2015
Dean Gloster, May.2017
Kristen Green, Jul.2015
Frances Greenslade, Apr.2021
Mary Lou Hall, Jul.2017
Mary Winn Heider, Jun.2019
Leah Henderson, Aug.2017
Linda Oatman High, Jan.2021
Cordelia Jensen, Sept.2018
Daphne Kalmar, Aug.2020
Kristen Kittscher, Nov.2013
Lindsey Lane, Nov.2017
Janae Marks, Sept.2021
Cory McCarthy, Aug.2018
Kelly O’Connor McNees, Oct.2014
Meg Medina, Mar.2013
Mary Miley, Nov.2013
Hannah Moderow, Apr.2018
Laurie Morrison, Sept.2018
Kaela Noel, Oct.2020
Sara Pennypacker, Feb.2021
Loriel Ryon, Jun.2020
Adam P. Schmitt, Apr.2019
Ruta Sepetys, Apr.2016
Wendy Wan-Long Shang, Apr.2015
Lindsey Stoddard, Jul.2018
Melanie Sumrow, Jul.2021
Erin Teagan, Feb.2017
Mindy Thompson, Nov.2021
Nicole Valentine, Sept.2019
Padma Venkatraman, Nov.2016
Malve von Hassell, Sept.2020
Steve Watkins, Jun.2018
Lauren Wolk, Mar.2021
Brenda Woods, Mar.2020
Brian Young, May.2021

Tweets

Retweet on Twitter ABWestrick Retweeted
Karen Strong Author Updates @karenmusings ·
9 Jan

Loved chatting about EDEN'S EVERDARK, its themes, and the research for the book! Thanks @MGBookVillage and @ABWestrick for having me! https://twitter.com/ABWestrick/status/1612568382829740032

ABWestrick @ABWestrick

The first of my 2023 #interviews is up at @MGBookVillage! I loved hearing author
@KarenMusings talk about EDEN'S EVERDARK and its wonderful setting based on the Georgia sea islands. Fabulous details, an eerie mansion, a great #MG read! @SimonKIDS #kidlit https://mgbookvillage.org/2023/01/09/interview-with-karen-strong-about-edens-everdark/

Reply on Twitter 1612572631001190407 Retweet on Twitter 1612572631001190407 1 Like on Twitter 1612572631001190407 1 Twitter 1612572631001190407
ABWestrick @abwestrick ·
9 Jan

The first of my 2023 #interviews is up at @MGBookVillage! I loved hearing author
@KarenMusings talk about EDEN'S EVERDARK and its wonderful setting based on the Georgia sea islands. Fabulous details, an eerie mansion, a great #MG read! @SimonKIDS #kidlit https://mgbookvillage.org/2023/01/09/interview-with-karen-strong-about-edens-everdark/

Reply on Twitter 1612568382829740032 Retweet on Twitter 1612568382829740032 2 Like on Twitter 1612568382829740032 4 Twitter 1612568382829740032
ABWestrick @abwestrick ·
5 Dec

I got to chat with @MLConklin about her #mystery for #MG readers, A PERFECT MISTAKE. I loved learning that when she was a kid, she made her own dictionary by hand. Word #nerds are the best. Great book! #kidlit Our interview is up today @MGBookVillage https://mgbookvillage.org/2022/12/05/interview-with-melanie-conklin-about-a-perfect-mistake/

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Recent Posts

  • On Hiatus. #amwriting May 10, 2022
  • Writing Backstory April 12, 2022
  • Rejection March 8, 2022
  • First Drafts February 8, 2022
  • Morning Pages January 11, 2022
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