Audacity Jones Steals the Show: Review, ARC Giveaway, and a Mini-Lesson on POV

Congratulations to Sandra Warren for winning Augusta Scattergood's book, MAKING FRIENDS WITH BILLY WONG.

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Here's the question:

On a multiple choice test, which would you choose?

a. Kirby Larson's newest book, Audacity Jones Steals the Show (Scholastic, 2017), is about an eleven-year-old girl ("Audie to her friends") who makes an elephant disappear.

b. Audacity Jones is about Cypher, who in his new job with the Pinkerton Detective Agency, is charged with the duty of keeping an eye on Theo Quinn. 

c. Audacity Jones is about a young scientist, Theo Quinn, who provides Houdini with the necessary illusions to cause a seven-foot elephant to vanish. 

d. Audacity Jones is about Harry Houdini's newest and most fantastic trick ever.  

e. Audacity Jones is about Min; a persistent, smart chocolate-striped puss, who speaks Dog, learns to speak Elephant, and refuses to let her girl out of her sight. 

f. Audacity Jones is about the fraud Oberon who thinks he can use Theo Quinn to outwit Mr. Harry Houdini and become the world's greatest magician in his place. 

g. All of the above.

Third Person Omniscient POV

The answer is probably obvious, but I gave you these glimpses into this story for a reason. Although Audi is the heroine, Kirby Larson uses third person omniscient point-of-view to show readers what these important secondary characters think and want.

The interplay between these characters moves the story forward at a fast pace. Since this device is not seen in too many contemporary books (and generally advised against, particularly for new writers), I asked Kirby what prompted her to write Audacity Jones in this manner. 

She said, "I do not have any fancy names or explanations for the method I used in writing this book. I was aiming for an old-fashioned storytelling feel, thus the moments of omniscient narration; I also chose to break the “fourth wall” by speaking directly to the reader on a few occasions (a nod to Jane Austen). And I do know that we writers of books for children are advised not to use multiple viewpoints, etc., but honestly that is how I felt the story needed to be told. And I am lucky enough that my editor and publisher supported my choice, no matter how many “rules” there are against it!" 

A recent Writer's Digest article, "Why Point of View is So Important" by Joseph Bates, concludes: "Oftentimes we don't really choose a POV for our project; our project chooses a POV for us...Often stories tell us how they should be told--and once you find the right POV for yours, you'll likely realize the story couldn't have been told any other way."

Min's Voice

As I think you'll see from this scene from STEALS THE SHOW, that's exactly what Kirby Larson has done. This is from the POV of Min, one of my favorite characters. In this scene, she has snuck on board a train bound for New York City, for "Where the girl went, so did she." (p. 15)

Despite her abilities and intuitions, Min was stymied by the cargo put aboard at the most recent stop. More cage than crate, it took six men to load it into the baggage car. The creature inside was ten times greater than the heft of both Corgis combined and a thousand times more intelligent than the chickens. Min struggled to interpret the new creature's language, reminiscent of Bison, with a hint of Eagle. It didn't help that the language--or perhaps it was the speaker; Min hadn't worked that out yet--was rather nasal in tone. Min had worked out that the creature was either named Punk or was a punk; at least that's what the men had called it. By its limited vocabulary, she had also surmised it was not full-grown. It smelled of hay and apples and something else: The young thing reeked of sorrow. Once the cage had been situated in the baggage car, that smell did more to keep Min awake than all the clucking of those flibbertigibbet hens.

Early on, Min had learned how to comfort little Audie during lonely nights. Min hesitated: Would this baby, huge as it was, also welcome such comforting? If Punk stepped on her, then farewell to one of Min's remaining lives. Yet, she could not bear the creature's melancholy any longer. She padded close, straw shifting and scratching under her paws, to rub her scent against the metal bars of Punk's crate. After a few moments, the creature slowed it's rocking. Made a snuffling noise. Min waited, not a muscle twitching. Then something stroked her back through the bars. It was Punk's curious appendage, the one that hung from between his eyes. If it was Punk's nose, it was the most ridiculous nose that Mind had ever seen on an animal, but she kept that to herself. Hard enough for this baby to be alone; no need to rub salt in the wound by pointing out how homely he was. But then truthfully, what animal compares to a cat?

"Moww-rr?" Min inquired, paw poised in midair. 

Punk snuffled again. Puffs of warm air from his long appendage blew tracks in Min's chocolate-striped fur. Min took this as permission and eased slowly between the bars, into the cage, a cage too small for Punk to do anything but stand. She pressed against Punk's front leg and he stopped rocking altogether. Then he slowly eased his solid self into a lean agains the metal bars. Min leapt to a spot at the back of Punk's flat head, between ears as big as boat sails. Turning once, twice, three times, she settled herself, purring. Though Punk could not lie down, Min felt him relax.

Min locked at the leathery skin beneath her. It was dry. Punk needed water. Needed rest. Needed...

He said something.

Punk said something. And Min understood.

Thank you, he said. Thank you, friend.  (p.39-41. Used with permission.)

Giveaway and Resources

I have an autographed ARC to send to one of you. If you share this on social media or become a new follower of my blog, I'll enter your name twice. Just be sure to leave me your email address if you are new to my blog and tell me what you have done. Giveaway ends on February 17. Kirby is donating a portion of her royalties to The Elephant Sanctuary.

For other resources on using the third person omniscient POV see:

Third Person Omniscient vs. Third Person Limited  by Nathan Bransford

How to Write in Third Person Omniscient POV by Brian Davis. Brian gives good examples of "head-hopping" (which is NOT what Kirby has done) and subjective vs. objective omniscient. 

Whose Head is it Anyway? by Janice Hardy.

Immersive POV by Donald Maas. Not specifically on third person POV, but excellent article. (Aren't all articles by Maas eye-opening?)  

A Chat with Janice Hardy: What Would You Ask the Person Behind Fiction University?

Facebook can be a huge distraction but it also can be a way to connect with people and find out what's going on in their lives. I'm never sure who I'm going to read about, but at times I find out interesting tidbits about a friend's life. 

For example, several months ago Janice Hardy, author and blogger extraordinaire, mentioned she'd just moved to central Florida and was trying to make her way through a pile of boxes. Wow! One of my favorite blog personalities was living just down the road from me! (Not exactly...but close enough.) I jotted an email and asked if we could meet sometime. It took a few months of coordinating schedules, but we finally met. 

Here are some notes while we ate a delicious lunch at Turner's Kitchen and Bar in Leesburg, Fl. (BTW, they specialize in fresh, local food if you're in the area!)

Janice's Background

CAROL: I'm always impressed with your depth of knowledge about the writing craft. How did you learn so much?

JANICE: I taught myself "on the job" and by reading every writing book I could put my hands on. I learned a lot about writing by critiquing other people when I was a member of Critters Writing Workshop.

CAROL: I'm surprised. I thought you had a degree in writing!

JANICE: My training is in commercial art. I did that to make a living, but I’ve always wanted to write. When I was little I drew stories and then wrote stories about them.

Finding the Time

CAROL: You're a novelist with three fantasy books in print, you write and self-publish excellent books about writing (Planning Your Novel: Ideas and Structure Foundations of Fiction Volume I) plus you post A LOT of blogs. How do you find time for everything?

JANICE: I don't. (grin) Some stuff just doesn’t get done.  And I have days when I feel like I'm behind in my own writing. My goal is a minimum of 2000 words a morning (I write for about 4-6 hours). If I'm disciplined I can write 80,000 words in two months. And that’s a book. I keep a structured schedule but make sure I take breaks. 

This might not be the best writing in the world, but it’s a pretty good draft.  In the afternoon I also try to write 1000 words a day on my writing books and/or blog posts.

I don’t check my email until noon and can walk away from it if it's not important. 

It helps to have a guest authors every week on the site besides myself. I have posts that are just story prompts. My Indie column features Indie authors and I also have a monthly, "How do they do it?" series. I've recently begun re-posting old articles on my Refresher Fridays. Real Life Diagnostics runs on Saturdays, and sometimes they can be pretty quick to write, but not always. 

I'm always trying to make writing easier for my readers, that's why I cross post to previous blogs. My husband Tom said it is more like a writer resource site than a blog.

Inside Fiction University

CAROL: What is your favorite thing to do on your blog? 

JANICE: Finding different ways to approach a tough subject for people. For example, how do I explain show don’t tell? It's gratifying when I know I have helped a writer take the next step. 

CAROL: What is the most common mistake you find in Real Life Diagnostics? 

JANICE: A lack of conflict; no sense of a problem. 

Inside Janice Hardy

CAROL: What are you working on right now?

JANICE: I'm revising an adult paranormal suspense that I began as a Nano novel. I wrote it for fun and it's making me laugh. I may self-publish it since I know there are readers out there for this type of book. I'm also working on a young adult science fiction fantasy. 

I'm working on a writing book on revision that I will self-publish. Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Final Draft is due this summer; it's a more fleshed out writing workshop.  I have a third Planning Your Novel Workbook that is a companion book to the writing book.  

CAROL: How long did it take before your first novel was published?

JANICE: Fifteen years. I received lots of rejections in the beginning because I didn't know what I was doing. When I had the  right book, the process of getting an agent and publisher went fast. 

CAROL: What's your opinion on critique groups?

JANICE: The sweet spot is being in the middle skill-wise. Having a few people better than you who you can learn from and a few people under you who you can help is ideal. You learn by teaching; you'll see stuff in other people’s work and either check it in your own or realize you do it too.

I have critique partners who give me different types of feedback One on characterization, another on descriptions or worldbuilding. All my beta readers have different strengths and bring something strong to the table. 

CAROL: If you could give advice to other writers, what would it be? 

JANICE: 

1. Don’t send your manuscript out until it’s ready.  
2. Read and write a lot. Read widely. In your genre and other books also. It gives you ideas about how other writers handle things. 
3. Focus on what’s unique about your story and run with it. 
4. My high school creative writing teacher told me: “Stories are interesting people solving interesting problems in interesting ways." When your character resolves his problem, the book is over. 
5. Write your query first. Set up the world, the characters, and what the problem is and how they’re going to resolve it. The better you know the ending, the more you'll know where you're going with your book. 
6. A great story trumps writing skill any time.  

If you haven't already found the wealth of information Janice has on her blog, what are you waiting for? Fiction University is at your fingertips and like One Stop for Writers, is another amazing writing resource.

Writing Tips #5: Nuggets of Wisdom on Editing & Revision

Congratulations to Kathy Weichman who won Beginnings Middles & Ends by Nancy Kress.  Thanks to all of you who contributed to the this series. You can find the previous posts here: Part I and II included General Advice; Part III was on Deep Point of View; and Part IV was on Story Making. 

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"During my time as a facilitator of various writing groups, I saw the tendency of overusing the words ‘that’ and ‘was’.

THAT is a word THAT should not be used THAT often. 

It is reasonable to say, eighty percent of that’s are not necessary.

"WAS is another overused word that takes away from the action.  I once had a writing assignment in college where the professor wanted a two thousand word story written without the use of ‘was.'  Almost impossible to do.  Try replacing 'was' with action words or dialogue.  If you use it more than ten times in a two thousand word story, you are abusing the word.   

"Misplacing a comma can turn the meaning of a sentence into something other than intended. Always place a comma before a person’s name when used in dialogue.   

 “Let’s go out and eat Nancy.”

 “Let’s go out and eat, Nancy.”

"In the first example, it looks like Nancy is dinner. 

In the second example, with the comma before Nancy’s name, the meaning isn’t so graphic."  Tommy Styles, short story writer.

"Editing will require you to kill phrases, paragraphs, maybe even entire chapters or characters that you love. Sometimes they’ll be the bits you think are clever and beautiful and certain to be the ones your fans will be quoting and sharing on social media. You must be willing to do it anyway. You must learn to become brutally analytical about your own work. If it doesn’t help the story, it is not necessary. Period."  Shannon Wiersbitzky, author of What Flowers Remember.

"I am beginning an extensive revision and working hard to cut what needs to be cut, but it helps to remember that what is cut doesn't need to be trashed. It can be saved to be used another day. Maybe it won't, but it's easier to cut when I have that mindset." Kathy Cannon Wiechman, author of Like A River.

"When you cutting, words, sentences, paragraphs don't just throw them away. That's too emotional for many of us. Open a "shards" or "discards" file for each WIP and save those cuttings. You'll be able to use them another day in another project." Jean Hall, founder of Write2Ignite.

"Writing and publishing is a long-term pursuit, so don't rush what you are working on, and don't submit before it is polished. Revision is the key to publication." Christine Kohler, author of No Surrender Soldier.

Found on http://madwomanintheforest.com/wfmad-day-18-revision-roadmap/ 

"Put away your work for a good while before revising." Rosi Hollenbeck, SCBWI critique group coordinator for Northern and Central California and blogger.

"There comes a time to put down the writing books, the notes from conferences and classes, the "he said she said" telling you what to do or not to do and JUST WRITE THE STORY THAT'S IN YOUR HEART. Sandra Warren, author of Arlie the Alligator.

If you need more inspiration, check out Janice Hardy's month of outstanding at-home revision blogs. Kathy Temean has an excellent list of things not to miss when editing your work. And here are some top editing and proofreading tips from the folks at Romance University.

Finally, here is advice from a fourth-grade teacher; I use this quote whenever I teach writing: 

  "The red pencil is your best friend." 

Writing Resources Part II- and a Giveaway!

Congratulations to Janet Brantley who won Phyllis Naylor's book, "The Craft of Writing the Novel."

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Just as there is a large number of writing blogs to choose from, there are also many books to help writers improve their craft. I have selected a few of my favorites as well as two on my "to be read" shelf. 

My mentor Rebecca Petruck recommended the first two; they accompany me whenever I travel.

Lisa Cron advertises that this book answers the question, "What does every brain crave in a story it hears?" And it does. The back of the book blurb states, "Each chapter of Wired for Story zeroes in on an aspect of the brain, tis corresponding revelation about story, and the way to apply it to your storytelling right now." Don't believe me? Read this excerpt.

Although Save the Cat was originally penned for screenwriters, hoards of novelists now use Blake Snyder's book to plan and outline their stories. This six minute cartoon demonstrates the 15 different beats that are central to Snyder's manual. His model is so popular that other writers have adapted and published worksheets for novelists based on his book. Trust me. You'll want the book too.

No list of recommended craft books would be complete without a book by Donald Maas. This is a follow up book to Writing the Breakout Novel and is stuffed full of writing exercises on building plot layers; creating inner conflict; strengthening voice, point of view, and theme; as well as heightening your protagonist and antagonist. The exercises are well worth your time and effort. 

Last week I mentioned how much I have learned from Janice Hardy's blog, Fiction University. In this book Janice has provided a step-by-step guide to planning a novel. I wish I had it before I started Half-Truths eight years ago! I'm particularly looking forward to working through her section on writing a synopsis--something that is very difficult for me to do.

This list would be incomplete without a book particularly for children's  writers. From the back cover:

Mary Kole's candid commentary and insightful observations, as well as a collection of book excepts and personal insights from bestselling authors and editors who specialize in the children's book market, are invaluable tools for your kidlit career.

I've heard fantastic things about this resource. I just need to find time to read it!

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This week's giveaway is a brand new copy of:

A description from the Writer's Digest website:

Successfully starting and finishing a publishable novel is often like fighting a series of battles. You not only have to work hard to shape memorable characters, develop gripping plot points, and craft dazzling dialogue, but you also have to fight against self-doubts and fears. And then there’s the challenge of learning to navigate the ever-changing publishing industry.

That’s why award-winning novelist James Scott Bell, author of the Write Great Fiction staples, Plot & Structureand Revision & Self-Editing, came up with the ultimate novel-writing battle plan: The Art of War for Writers.

You’ll find tactics and strategies for idea generation and development, character building, plotting, drafting, querying and submitting, dealing with rejection, coping with envy and unrealistic expectations, and much, much more.

With timeless, innovative, and concise writing reflections and techniques, The Art of War for Writers is your roadmap to victory.

Leave me a comment by Thursday, February 29 and I'll enter your name in this giveaway. If you are new to this blog, make sure you give me your email address! Post this on social media, become a new follower of my blog, or tell me your favorite writing craft book and I'll add your name twice. 

Writing Resources Part I- And a Giveaway!

Congratulations to Jan Brent, who won the audio CD of "A Secret Sky."

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If you are a writer you know the Internet houses more writing blogs then you have hours to read. Add to that the number of books about writing and you can be overwhelmed with just learning the craft! To help you out, over the next two weeks I plan to share some of my favorite blogs and books. And since I'm on a decluttering mission, I plan to give away a few craft books of my own.

After schlepping boxes of books from Charlotte to our rental home in
Greenville, I'm determined to divest myself of a
few more book before we move again!

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My top two blogs on writing craft, the publishing world, and the ins and outs of writing life are Janice Hardy's Fiction University and Writer Unboxed.

Janice Hardy appropriately named her blog "Fiction University." She consistently provides thought-provoking content about voice, character development, beginnings, world building-- you name it. I appreciate how each of her blogs links back to previous blogs on similar topics and her a once-a-week feature entitled, "Real Life Diagnostics" where readers submit a writing sample and she provides a critique. I've used her blog on writing scenes  over and over again.

On the other hand, Writer Unboxed is a blog featuring a host of well-known (as well as lesser known) writers with equally amazing articles about craft. Study the posts that pertain to your work; the comments are often just as informative as the articles themselves. I've used Donald Maas's recent article on Stirring Higher Emotions  to dig deeper into Kate and Lillie's negative--as well as positive--emotions. 

Writers Helping Writers is exactly that. Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman are co-authors of several thesauri that need to be on every writers' bookshelf. Another cool feature is that they highlight different occupations and/or talents and delve deeply into each one. A recent post on farmers gave me great insight into Kate's background making me think about aspects of her personality that I'd missed.

My list wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention two of my favorite children's writers blogs.

Kathy Temean is the regional advisor for SCBWI-New Jersey.  Her blog, Writing and Illustrating, offers a wealth of information on writing, illustrating, and publishing work for children and young adults. Every Saturday she invites a different illustrator to demonstrate their work--a frequent source of amazement to me! In addition, she interviews agents and hosts critiques from editors or agents.

Speaking of good blogs for children's' writers, Last summer Kami Kinard and  Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen hosted a month of blogs about character development on their Nerdy Chicks Write site. The daily lessons and worksheets were invaluable and I still go back and use them to probe my characters' psyches. If you subscribe to their blog you will receive information when registration for next summer opens up.

What do all of these blogs have in common? They are all free resources from writers to writers--with the sole purpose of helping you improve your craft. Pretty amazing! 

I want to help you too. So, this week's giveaway is a gently used copy of:

Leave me a comment by January 22 and I'll enter your name to win a book by an award winning author. If you tell me your favorite writing blog, I'll enter your name twice. Make sure you leave me your email address if you're new to this blog!

These are A Few of my Favorite Blogs

With apologies to Rodgers and Hammerstein and the strains of "These are a Few of my Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music playing in my head, I thought I'd share some of my favorite writing blogs with you. 

But first, a disclaimer. This list does not include every blog I read. The ones listed here demonstrate excellent writing; they  are consistently great sources of writing instruction and advice; and are ones I point my writing students to.  For the most part, the authors of these blogs don't promote themselves, their books, or their services. They generously provide their expertise to the writing community- both for those who write for children and young adults, and for those who write for adults. 

So, in no particular order and without further fanfare here are my top picks:

Janice Hardy writes fantasy and science fiction for teens, is a former Writer's Digest writing instructor, and offers tremendous writing advice on The Other Side of The Story. My favorite posts are her Real Life Diagnostics;  "a weekly column that studies a snippet of a work in progress for specific issues." Readers send in their work with questions and Janice diagnoses them on the blog. Thus it is part critique and part example.  As we all know, one of the best ways of learning to write is figuring out what works, what doesn't, and how to change it. Janice generously offers solution to writer's problems. I am looking forward to finishing this draft of Half-Truths and submitting a snippet myself!


Kathy Temean's blog, Writing and Illustrating, was one of the first blogs I started following dedicated to writing and illustrating for children and young adults. Kathy's posts include interviews with agents, authors, and illustrators; publishing news, industry trends, contests, book reviews, and more. Each Saturday she features a different illustrator who shows the process he/she took to create a picture book. These inevitably knock my socks off. I can't draw a decent stick figure and it is a privilege to view the behind-the-scenes work these illustrators put into each drawing.  By the way, Kathy is an author, award winning artist/illustrator, and the Regional Advisor for the NJ SCBWI. I wonder how she has time to breathe. 

I met Lorin Orberweger last year at the Free Expressions Your Best Book Workshop in Charlotte which she coordinated. She is an author, independent book editor, ghost writer, writing instructor, and one of the most encouraging yet "this-is-what-your-manuscript-needs-nail-it-on-the-head-person" I have met in my writing journey. Her Write Line blog includes book reviews, a First Page feedback column, insightful articles about the writing craft, industry information, as well as writing challenges and prompts. 

Janet Reid, the literary agent better known as the Query Shark, is to queries what Janice Hardy is to book snippets. Janet invites writers to submit their queries which she critiques. Once again, writers can learn from her as to what works and what doesn't. I'm not at the query stage yet, but when I get there, I'll be hunting through her blog to glean from her generous instruction. And after I've spit-polished my query, it'll be in her submission queue. 

Emma Darwin is the novelist and short story writer behind This Itch of Writing. Each of her blogs are like mini-writing courses. They are meaty, thought-provoking, and include much of what novelists need to know. In this particular post, Emma lists 13 posts that will help writers get published. I go back and re-read her posts when I am stumped with such tricky questions like psychic distance-which I didn't even know existed until I read her blog!

Jeannie Campbell's blog, The Character Therapist, brings a unique twist to the writing blogosphere. She is a a licensed marriage and family therapist as well as a freelance writer, author, editor, and book reviewer. Her posts provide writers with psychological insights into characters which they might not have considered. Since writing is all about delving into and showing the complexities of people and relationships, Jeannie's blog is a unique source of information. She recently began a series on character archetypes. Don't miss it. 

So, here's a thankful round of applause to all of these bloggers who generously feed the rest of the writing world. 

Now it's your turn. What is your favorite writing blog? 

When the Teacher Becomes the Student PLUS a Great Giveaway!

My most recent book is Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Grades 4-8. Although intended as a teacher's guide for upper elementary and middle school students, I draw upon it when I teach writing classes at Central Piedmont Community College. 

I was looking over this week's class on Creating a Character and found my instructions for students to write "fast" by revealing their characters through their

    F-  Feelings

 A-  Action

 S-  Speech 

     T- Thoughts

Besides teaching, I am also deep into the second draft of my historical young adult novel, Half-Truths. I am fortunate to have Rebecca Petruck as a writing coach; she consistently pushes me to reveal who my characters are. 

Rebecca & I recently talked shop
at the Whole Foods in Wilmington, NC

In my opening chapter I had written a scene where Lillie, my protagonist, overhears her grandmother's employers arguing with one another. I had written:  

“What’s going on?” Lillie asked. 

“Missus Dinsmore is fussing at Mr. Dinsmore like usual,” Big Momma said, fanning herself with her apron. “Telling him that while his grandchildren are visiting he’s got to get his nose out of his books and stop playing around with his glass thingamajigs.”  

Rebecca commented, "We don't have much from her other than to be present and watch what's happening. I want her reaction to things, her interpretation of the world around her. This is her chapter, so we need to get to know her more. [I want to see more] of Lillie's internal experience."

I could have slapped myself "upside the head" (as a character in my book might say). I had forgotten the "T" in FAST. In fact, there wasn't much "F" (feelings/emotion) in this snippet either!

Several rewrites later, this passage now reads:

 In between claps of thunder, Lillie heard bickering coming from the other side of the kitchen wall. “Mr. and Missus Dinsmore fussing again?” Lillie asked. Missus Dinsmore was always acting better than everyone else.  But Lillie had overhead enough arguments to know that she could be as nasty as a barnyard dog.

 Big Momma fanned herself with her apron. “Missus Dinsmore be reminding him to get his nose out of his books and stop playing around with his glass thingamajigs while his grandchildren are visiting.”  Lillie knew exactly what Big Momma was talking about. A few times Mr. Dinsmore had invited her into the library to look at the different colored glass pieces displayed on his shelf. Cullet, he called it. Leftover glass from factories he’d worked at as a boy. Missus Dinsmore didn’t appreciate her husband’s glassmaking stories the way Lillie did. 

I thanked Rebecca for helping me to instill more internalization in my story and she wrote back: 

"I think calling it internalization isn't really correct because it is a very active connection with the protagonist--we are in her mind, trying to process the world, understand the why of things. That's where the story is for us, much less so than the actual stuff that happens." 

Along with providing helpful insights into my manuscript, Rebecca encouraged me to read Wired for Story by Lisa Cron, retyping sections of other books in a similar genre, and reading when the Show, Don't Tell rule may be broken. 

I have learned a great deal working with Rebecca from her critiques as I write, revise, and write again. (Here is a helpful handout from Teaching the Story that demonstrates the revision process.) Her suggestions reminded me of to Lorin Oberweger's handout on Deep Point of View that was part of the Your Best Book packet. And a recent post on Janice Hardy's blog, also offered excellent advice on how to include internalization in your story.

Since Rebecca is such a wonderful writing advocate and coach, she is providing this week's giveaway! She is donating either a ten-page critique of a middle grade or young adult manuscript, or a copy of Wired for Story-winner chooses. I am so pumped about Rebecca's giveaway offer, that I'm giving you TWO chances to win.

• Post this blog on your social media site of choice OR become a new follower of this blog and I'll enter your name once. 
• Post this blog on two different social media sites, OR on one site on two different days, OR become a new follower of this blog AND post it on a social media site and I'll enter your name twice.
• Either way, leave a comment with your email address (if you are new to my blog) with what you did. 
• Winner will be drawn on Saturday evening, February 16th- so get those entries in!

Good luck to all of you and if the winner chooses a critique from Rebecca, get ready to grow your writing and revising skills!