Sometimes when I feel stuck with my own MS, it helps to give my writer friends feedback on their work. Seeing their efforts & progress, and hearing their encouragement to me makes a big difference. #CritiquePartners #WriterFriends #Motivation

If anyone has any advice you are willing to share for how to write a 1 page synopsis for a dual POV middle grade novel, I’d be most thankful. (Seriously, I’m lost 😳)

Today I sent my agent a draft of a picture book. She didn’t know I wrote one, & I have no idea if she wants to look at it. But after feeling stuck & overwhelmed by everything internally & externally, it felt good take an action toward my publishing goal, even if it was just a little one. #writing

Got a new library card today, so now I have access to even more books! 😁 📚

My creativity & joy has been lost for weeks. But today I’m taking the advice from my critique group to try to work on revising my MS. It’s far more of a struggle than it’s even been before. But I need to do something to remind myself writing is my joy. #Writing #Editing

Did I #write my book today? No. But I did write a letter & I hope that the knowledge that I did something to make my voice heard will help get me back in my writing mind again.

THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS + THE PROMISED NEVERLAND Humans are livestock and 10yo Rachel has just been sold as veal. Now she must do everything in her power to convince her new owner that she is worth more than a pound of flesh #BluePit #Q #A #SF #H #SPF 📖

A Fate Inked In Blood x Heartless Hunter When a man from the enemy clan murders Älva's father, she swears revenge. But then her family is cursed to die. The only way to break the curse? TRUE HATE'S KISS The man she hates the most must kiss her of his own free will. #BluePit #NA #Romantasy #Q

11yo Betsy has hearing issues, but these stupid hearing aids can’t fix her real problems. She’ll have to learn to accept her new reality if she wants any hope of repairing her broken friendships, or achieving her drama club dreams. 📖 #BluePit #OS #MG #Dis #OV #Agented

Boris Bogwash has never done anything of any significance in his life, now he's royal dragon trainer. He's up against it. The dragons are lazy, moody and out of shape. Will he get them to fly or will he be toast? Black Adder meets Monty Python #Q #MG #BluePit @bluepit.bsky.social

Elizabeth must get Grandma to stop calling her gooey baby names: Sweetie Pie, Muffin, Honey, Sugar! But she doesn’t want to hurt Grandma’s feelings. And she hasn’t thought ahead about what happens at bedtime if she gets her wish. #BluePit #PB #Q

Think INSIDE OUT with blood cells & brain cells instead of emotions X MEAN GIRLS 📖 #BluePit #OS #MG #Dis #OV #Agented

When a wealthy heir is murdered, 12yo Hunter & his friends must work fast to find the real killer - until Hunter discovers his father, an art thief, is a prime suspect. Nancy Drew X Riverdale #MG #BluePit

GOOSEBUMPS x THE LAST KIDS ON EARTH📖 When childhood rivals Ford and Taylor discover a magical curse turning their neighbors and friends into contagious sleepwalkers, they must unravel it's secrets to save the town—before they fall to THE STUMBLERS TOUCH. #BluePit #Q #MG #M

Meet Change. Change can be a lot of things; good, bad, scary, fun, fast, slow. You might not always welcome Change, and that’s okay. But if you work with Change, as you go, you'll be amazed with how much you'll grow. 📖 #BluePit #WIP #PB #Dis #Agented

📖 12 y/o Vanessa broke 2 of her friends’ unspoken rules: 1) She joined the swim team, not soccer 2) she befriended a boy outside the “in-crowd”. SWIMMING AGAINST THE CROWD: humorous, MG sports-themed take on the mean girls trope & story of being true to oneself #BluePit #MG #Con #Q #Dis

12yo Mackenzie's determined to be the star of the gymnastics team. Little red blood cell Cora's goal is to protect the body. When an internal danger threatens both their dreams, they'll have to rethink everything they thought they knew about what winning really is. 📖 #BluePit #OS #MG #Dis #OV

#Bluepit is today 📝 #writingcommunity #amwriting #amediting

Jack is stuck inside on the couch with a broken leg, but he won’t let that stop him from going on adventures. After all, the most daring pirates have peg legs. ~ COUCH PIRATES 📖 #BluePit #WIP #PB #Dis #OV #Agented

Y suffers an identity crisis when the alphabet gathers for a consonants vs vowels dodgeball tournament. Can 1 game determine where a letter truly belongs? 📖 #BluePit #PB #Dis #WIP #Agented

I’m curious, how do people feel about a #MiddleGrade novel written in 3rd person present tense. Are actual middle grade readers cool with that? (I’m considering rewriting my 3rd person past tense novel in 3rd person present tense.) #Editing #Revising #MG #KidLit

I have not made much writing progress this month, for various reasons. However today I finished a beat sheet for a new #MiddleGrade novel. Any progress is better than none.

#MGlit I have been tasked with making a mood board for my MG novel on sub. Can someone please explain to me how to do that? I’m not understanding what I’m supposed to communicate or how to choose the proper images. I’ve seen mood boards, but I never get the purpose/meaning. #kidlit #writers

#kidlit writers, does anyone have suggestions for MG books written in 1st person present tense? I feel that’s the right POV for my WIP, but I’m struggling with the present tense part. I’m hoping by reading done good examples I’ll get in the right mindset. Thank you for your help!

I thought I knew what I wanted to write today. The scene is so clear in my head. Then when I go to type random words appear on the screen and the scene becomes 5 times longer than I want it to be. I know I’ll be able to fix it in revision, but it’s still frustrating. #writing #RoughDraftStruggles

Puzzle complete! Now, in order to do another puzzle, I have to finish the rough draft of my WIP by 12/31. (Yes, I award my writing accomplishments with puzzles)

#kidlit friends, I have a confession to make. I haven’t been writing. I’ve been working on a puzzle (a very cool Snoopy one). But it’s time I get back to writing, so I have until 8/31 to finish Snoopy, then I have until 12/31 to finish the rough draft of my newest WIP. Wish me luck.

Querying writers in the disability community, check out #PitchDis! #PitchDis is what inspired me to write my 1st novel & is also how I connected with my agent. Definitely worth checking out.

Kate DeCamillo’s closing keynote at #scbwiSummer24 was so emotional and valuable to hear. It highlighted the true importance of words. It also highlighted why we need to write, regardless of & especially when we are experiencing challenges.

#scbwiSummer24 keynote “give yourself space to experiment.” ~ Felicita Sala Such a simple idea, yet so hard to do sometimes. It’s important to remember not everything has to have an end goal. Giving ourselves time to experiment & play with our art/writing is an important part of the process too.

#scbwiSummer24 keynote “give yourself space to experiment.” ~ Felicita Sata Such a simple idea, yet so hard to do sometimes. It’s important to remember not everything has to have an end goal. Giving ourselves time to experiment & play with our art/writing is an important part of the process too.

I’m up 2 hours earlier than usual & eager for Day 3 of #scbwiSummer24! Hope everyone is enjoying it as much as I am. 😊

I am very proud of my introverted self for participating in the peer critique and both coffee chats during #scbwiSummer24 day 2. (The panels and presentations were fantastic too, but I don’t have to talk during those, so there’s nothing to be nervous about.)

I’m not an illustrator, but the Illustrator panel at #scbwiSummee24 was fantastic! I learned a lot about the querying/publishing process from a new perspective & would love to connect with #kidlit illustrators to support see all the amazing work they do!

SCBWI Summer Conference orientation & the Unbanning books panel were fantastic! #scbwisummer24

Revision Update: - 25% of my WIP revised - 625 words have been deleted in my quest to get my work count under 100K - My page count is down by 1 My goal is to complete this revision by July 1, and to delete another 1245 words.

I did the math, if I can purge an average of 36 words from each remaining chapter of my MG WIP, I can get the word count below 100k. That’s the goal (along with making sure my story & writing are strong.) I can do this!

Hello writers, editors, readers, & publishing people! How are you today?