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Tag: plot

The desire for a glass of water

February 23, 2013 A. B. Westrick

Last month, a friend entrusted me with the privilege of skimming and commenting on her draft of a novel. Her…

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Filed under: character, craft, desire, Kurt Vonnegut, motivation, plot, protagonist, revision, structure, The Paris Review, writing

On Plots

February 5, 2013 A. B. Westrick

Plots. So hard to conceive. So necessary to craft well. You’ll often hear writers talk about the struggle to tease…

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Filed under: books, craft, lenore applehans, level 2, megan shepherd, plot, process, revision, structure, the madman's daughter, writing, YA

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

Storytelling à la Pixar

June 9, 2012 A. B. Westrick

Here is yesterday’s fabulous post from io9.com: The 22 rules of storytelling, according to Pixar, written by storyboard artist Emma…

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Filed under: character, Clay McLeod Chapman, Clete Barrett Smith, craft, creativity, pace, Pixar, plot, process, revision, story, structure, theme, 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

The difference between content and process

April 30, 2011 A. B. Westrick

In mid-March, as I staffed the James River Writers (JRW) table at the Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville,…

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Filed under: arc, books, conference, craft, historical, literature, pace, plot, process, scenes, structure, voice, writing

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My Author-Interviews at MG Book Village

James Bird, May.2022
Ciera Burch, Sept.2023
Cathy Carr, Feb.2024
Emi Watanabe Cohen, Oct.2022
Melanie Conklin, Dec.2022
Meredith Davis, Jun.2024
Aya de León, Mar.2023
Sydney Dunlap, Feb.2023
Alex Gino, Jun.2022
Hena Khan, Jan.2024
Jarrett Lerner, Nov.2023
Meg Eden Kuyatt, Jun.2023
Kaija Langley, Aug.2023
Chris Lynch, Mar.2024
Kekla Magoon, May.2024
Stephan Pastis, Oct.2023
Shawn Peters, Apr.2022 and Apr.2023
Mr. Schu, Apr.2024
Wendy Shang, Sept.2022
Maleeha Siddiqui, Jan.2022
Shawn K. Stout, Aug.2022
Lisa Stringfellow, Feb.2022
Karen Strong, Jan.2023
Sonja Thomas, Mar.2022
Meera Trehan, Jul.2022
Shirley Reva Vernick, Nov.2022
Carole Boston Weatherford, Dec.2023
Jeffery Boston Weatherford, Dec.2023
Kelly Yang, May.2023
Jenna Yoon, July.2023

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

ABWestrick @abwestrick ·
3 Jun

My #interview with #author Meredith Davis went up today @MGBookVillage THE MINOR MIRACLE is such a fun read! We all have super powers. What's yours? #kidlit #mg #mgbookchat @WaterBrookPress https://mgbookvillage.org/2024/06/03/interview-with-meredith-davis-about-the-minor-miracle/

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ABWestrick @abwestrick ·
6 May

Thank you @MGBookVillage for featuring my #interview with @KeklaMagoon today! THE SECRET LIBRARY hits shelves May 7. A fabulous, fresh time travel adventure. I loved it, and loved chatting with you, Kekla! @Candlewick #kidlit #mg #fiction #mgbookchat

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ABWestrick @abwestrick ·
3 Apr 2024

The MG debut from library-champion extraordinaire @MrSchuReads is now out from @candlewick and I got to #interview him for @MGBookVillage! Thank you, John, for a great interview and a heart-wrenching story. #kidlit #mgbookchat I loved chatting with you!

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Recent Posts

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