Ruta Sepetys on Historical YA Fiction

Jul 22, 2023 | Craft

Ruta Sepetys is a historical YA author and self-proclaimed seeker of lost stories. In a recent interview, I spoke with Ruta about her writing, research processes, and POV (point of view) in two of her novels, Salt to the Sea and In Between Shades of Gray. These two...

Developing and Complicating Characters

Jul 19, 2023 | Craft

As I am working through the draft of my novel, I notice how my initial character sketches are evolving. This prompted me to take a closer look at a chapter on character in DEEPENING FICTION by Sarah Stone and Ron Nyren. Stone & Nyren recommend approaching...

Voice & Subtext Part 2

Jun 28, 2023 | Craft

When analyzing voice in literature, we also need to look at tone. In CRAFT IN THE REAL WORLD Matthew Salesses defines tone as an “orientation toward the world.” (vs. Aristotle “who describes emotion as an ‘orientation to the world.’” He writes, “if we think about what...