Craft of Writing

  • Agent Observations,  Craft of Writing,  Updates

    Exclamation Points! Oh My!

    What’s on Spotify: #Throwback Thursday – Don’t You Forget About Me – Simple Minds So I thought today would be a good today to talk a bit about exclamation points. In recent submissions and requested material I’ve been seeing a LOT of them. Overused. One of the first craft and grammar rules I picked up was to watch the use of exclamation points. It’s one of the first signs of first draft or beginning writer syndromes. As I type up my thoughts at the same time I am texting with friends for plans tonight, and noticed something. We’re using lots of exclamation points to convey our excitement because we’re texting…

  • Craft of Writing,  Teen Authors

    New Post Series

    With so much wonderful information out there on the craft of writing, I wondered what I could contribute that’s different and new. So I thought twice a month I’d post a series for teen authors. Over the past 3 1/2 years I’ve been an agent, I’ve received several queries from teen authors. First let me say, you guys are brave and awesome. It took me many many years to send my first query, and in my late 30s, I was still a hot mess of nerves. So so brave teen authors! Ultimately, I found those queries I received still needed work. Some premises were great, some derivative or too similar.…