Category Archives: fiction

Middle-Grade Book Know-How

Posted on March 30, 2020 by

Write Well, Learn the Genre, and Learn Advanced Techniques I can’t tell whether I’m writing a middle-grade book, a chapter book, or a YA. Have you ever thought about this? I’ve heard it at writers conferences and critique groups for … Continue reading →

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Transforming Fear into Fiction

Posted on March 25, 2020 by

How to use these strange times to propel your words Never have we seen such widespread fear in our society. Yet we were warned. Scientists have predicted a major pandemic. We all coasted along, visiting the world easily, indulging ourselves, … Continue reading →

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Rolling with Middle Grade Reading

Posted on February 25, 2020 by

Three “teaching” middle-grade books for writers After my last post I got emails and texts, asking me to talk about more middle-grade books I’ve read recently. So here are capsules of a few more. I don’t always read books in … Continue reading →

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Middle-Grader Road Grading

Posted on February 17, 2020 by

Why are middle-grade books my chosen writing genre? I’ve written middle-grade and young-adult fiction, and picture books (which I’ve tried to write; but can’t do it well). Somehow middle-grade plots, characters, and ideas are what populate my mind.  Perhaps it’s … Continue reading →

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The Useful Cage

Posted on February 2, 2020 by

How the Storytelling Format Can Limit a Fictional Narrative Strategically As a writer who has created almost all of his fiction in third person limited, using a standard narrative format, I’m always exploring how established novelists use or misuse format … Continue reading →

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Love, a Dream, and a Theft

Posted on March 14, 2018 by

My Secret Relationship with Ursula K. Le Guin’s Mother by Chuck Mallory To understand, you need to know I grew up in a very small town in the 1960s. My mother was able to put me in first grade at … Continue reading →

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