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Tag: middle-grade

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

Tapping into childhood memories

September 28, 2016 A. B. Westrick 4 Comments

One day when I was about eight years old and a friend’s mom was driving the carpool, she drove off…

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Filed under: character, craft, emotional truth, fiction, middle-grade, process, scenes, story, writing

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley on Craft

January 22, 2016 A. B. Westrick 4 Comments

Last week, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley won the Newbery Honor Award for her middle grade novel, The War that Saved my Life, and just this…

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Filed under: author interview, character, craft, fiction, historical, historical fiction, Jefferson's Sons, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, literature, middle-grade, process, PTSD, revision, Teen Librarian Toolbox, The War the Saved my Life, voice, writing

Author Wendy Wan-Long Shang Talks Craft

April 27, 2015 A. B. Westrick 4 Comments

What a joy to feature Wendy Wan-Long Shang on my blog today! Wendy is the author of the award-winning novel…

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Filed under: author interview, craft, dialogue, manuscript, middle-grade, process, revision, Richmond Public Library, RPL, SCBWI, scenes, story, The Great Wall of Lucy Wu, The Way Home Looks Now, Wendy Shang, writing

Writing a Novel in Verse

May 28, 2014 A. B. Westrick 2 Comments

Listen to these lines from the first page of Caminar, Skila Brown’s debut novel in verse: Our village sat in…

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Filed under: author interview, Caminar, Candlewick, craft, Guatemala, Horn Book, literature, MFA, middle-grade, process, revision, School Library Journal, Skila Brown, tortillas, VCFA, verse, verse novel, writing

Organic writing

May 23, 2011 A. B. Westrick Leave a comment

Last week I popped Katherine Applegate‘s middle-grade novel in verse, Home of the Brave, into my car’s CD player, and…

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Filed under: metaphor, middle-grade, protagonist, verse, writing

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Recent Posts

  • Her grandparents’ barn: an interview with Linda Oatman High January 12, 2021
  • Science is Mystery: interview and book giveaway December 4, 2020
  • Malcolm and Me: author interview and book giveaway November 10, 2020
  • COO: a delightful MG debut: author interview & giveaway October 16, 2020
  • Upper-MG Historical Fiction: interview & giveaway September 18, 2020

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

Tweets

ABWestrick@ABWestrick·
23 Jan

Through Feb. 15, @rvalibrary is taking nominations for YA books written by VA authors, pub date 2020. Spread the word! @LRGiles @CokalSusann @jodimeadows @RobinHaART @Wendy_Higgins @Sonewsy (Judges are currently reading 2019 books and will announce THAT winner on 4/17/21.)

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ABWestrick@ABWestrick·
19 Jan

#BookGiveaway Last day to signup. AS FAR AS BIRDS CAN FLY by @lindaoatmanhigh Author-interview full of insights into Linda's process & career #writing more than 20 books for young readers. #mglit #kidlit #fiction @koehlerbooks https://abwestrick.com/2021/01/her-grandparents-barn-an-interview-with-linda-oatman-high/ Thanks for the interview!

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ABWestrick@ABWestrick·
18 Jan

Hey #mgbookchat, I love that you're talking about Youth Media Awards tonight! 9 PM is too late for me, so I'm chiming in early to say I'm doing another #MG #fiction #giveaway. Signup ends tomorrow: AS FAR AS BIRDS CAN FLY by @lindaoatmanhigh https://abwestrick.com/2021/01/her-grandparents-barn-an-interview-with-linda-oatman-high/ #kidlit

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Articles, Interviews, & Podcasts:

Podcast: Working Title on the 85K Writing Challenge, where I confess that I’ve stopped beating myself up over my process. It is what it is. March 20, 2019

Podcast: Working Title on the 85K Writing Challenge, where I talk about setting priorities in my writing life. February 20, 2019

Podcast: Working Title on the 85K Writing Challenge, where I ramble about my writing process, including how I conquer writer’s block. January 23, 2019

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