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Tag: writing

Raising the stakes

November 19, 2011 A. B. Westrick 2 Comments

At the mid-Atlantic SCBWI conference last month, keynoter Han Nolan said, “When a story scares me so much that I…

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Filed under: character, craft, han nolan, process, SCBWI, scenes, writing

Emotional seeds for stories

October 10, 2011 A. B. Westrick 9 Comments

This past Saturday while speaking on a panel at the James River Writers Conference, I choked up and found myself…

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Filed under: character, craft, emotional truth, historical, kkk, klan, literature, prejudice, process, Southern fiction, writing

Details, details, details

September 20, 2011 A. B. Westrick 2 Comments

The smoky odor from a too-hot furnace…a hint of honeysuckle…the racket of bullfrogs—these were the details that brought last week’s…

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Filed under: craft, process, Robert Olen Butler, VCFA, writer's block, writing

Non-linear writing

August 1, 2011 A. B. Westrick 2 Comments

While I was drafting this post, my son peered over my shoulder, and said, “Mom, TL:DR: too long; didn’t read.”…

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Filed under: craft, process, revision, VCFA, writing

On Creativity

June 23, 2011 A. B. Westrick 2 Comments

Last month a young woman told me she was pursuing a PhD in children’s literature instead of an MFA because…

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Filed under: Annie Dillard, creativity, Julia Cameron, MFA, process, story, The Artist's Way, 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

Bringing in the back-story

May 8, 2011 A. B. Westrick Leave a comment

For a few years, I’ve had the privilege of serving as a primary-level reader/judge for James River Writers’ Best Unpublished…

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Filed under: back-story, character, contest, hook, manuscript, protagonist, revision, structure, writing

The difference between content and process

April 30, 2011 A. B. Westrick Leave a comment

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

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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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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Tweets

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Maggie Brown@MrsBrownRRMS·
15 Jan

@what_a_story @ABWestrick I LOVE this book!!! @RRMSLibrary recommended it to me several years ago and I reference it (and recommend it) every year when I teach Reconstruction. Such a great read!

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Corinne Wetzel@what_a_story·
14 Jan

BROTHERHOOD illuminates the murky origins of immediate post-Civil War white supremacy movements. I read this book when it came out, & it remains a top historical fiction choice for kids about these events in our history. @ABWestrick ‘s story of 1867 echoes in our modern time. https://twitter.com/abwestrick/status/1348736294524956674

ABWestrick@ABWestrick

"I was able to explain some of what happened...to my son bc [he'd read your book]," a mom tweeted me. BROTHERHOOD is about white supremacy--about the KKK post-civil war. When I wrote the novel, I had no idea how relevant it would become. @PenguinClass @VikingChildrens

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ABWestrick@ABWestrick·
14 Jan

I'm doing a #BookGiveaway! One copy of AS FAR AS BIRDS CAN FLY by @lindaoatmanhigh. Enter by Jan. 19 and enjoy my interview with the author about all things writing-related: https://abwestrick.com/2021/01/her-grandparents-barn-an-interview-with-linda-oatman-high/ @koehlerbooks #kidlit #middlegrade #fiction #Giveaways #mglit #mgbookchat

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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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