Craft Articles

Join us in exploring others’ craft and building our own.

Here you will find explorations of mentor texts – articles that dive into specific craft elements in published books, interviews with authors, and tips on growing and improving as a writer.

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Striving for Unfiltered Vulnerability: A Q&A with Misa Sugiura
Author Interview, Middle Grade, Young Adult Kristi Wright Author Interview, Middle Grade, Young Adult Kristi Wright

Striving for Unfiltered Vulnerability: A Q&A with Misa Sugiura

"I create my characters’ flaws, misconceptions, and spiritual wounds around a theme or a question that interests me, and then I give them a personal conflict that directly challenges those flaws, misconceptions, and wounds. After that, it’s a matter of developing broader challenges, events, relationships, and conflicts that can revolve around the same theme." ~ Misa Sugiura

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SIDEWRITING TAKEOVER: Ask "Why?" with Margaret Chiu Greanias
Middle Grade, Picture Books, Young Adult Anne-Marie Strohman Middle Grade, Picture Books, Young Adult Anne-Marie Strohman

SIDEWRITING TAKEOVER: Ask "Why?" with Margaret Chiu Greanias

Margaret Chiu Greanias: Until I was asked to do this interview, I'd never heard of sidewriting. I thought maybe it was something only novelists did. But as I read Erin Nuttall's kick-off post, I realized sidewriting is something picture book writers could do too. And then, I realized it was something that I actually do do.

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SIDEWRITING TAKEOVER: Start with a Glimmer with Sarah Aronson
Middle Grade, Picture Books, Young Adult Erin Nuttall Middle Grade, Picture Books, Young Adult Erin Nuttall

SIDEWRITING TAKEOVER: Start with a Glimmer with Sarah Aronson

When I don’t know the WHY behind a scene or a character, there is nothing more helpful than stepping away from the manuscript. When I am writing away from my story, I am free to explore my characters, setting, plot, theme…well everything. And since it doesn’t “count,” it also doesn’t have to be good—that is the permission slip I need.

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