Category Archives: Words

A Dose of Encouragement

Posted on January 31, 2022 by Chuck Mall

All of these scenarios about writers exist: * Someone wrote a first novel that sold well and made them famous. But after that success, none of his other books did well. * Someone wrote for 25 years, completing several manuscripts … Continue reading →

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Way Back in the Wayback Machine

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Chuck Mall

To write kidlit, you need to mine your own past and reflect Continue reading →

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Throwing Out the Misdirection

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Chuck Mall

I am going to publicly embarrass myself. I decided to be a writer in elementary school, and by the time I was in high school, I was prolific. There was no emotion or reality in my fiction, though. Being a … Continue reading →

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Imbue Your Work with Love

Posted on June 3, 2020 by Chuck Mall

The secret to writing well lies with experience, and another “magic” ingredient you didn’t know. Continue reading →

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3 Hot Tips to Make Your Middle-Grade Novel Saleable

Posted on April 5, 2020 by Chuck Mall

If you’ve been studying writing awhile, you’re well-versed on how to create a character, how to structure a plot, and how to find the novel’s “voice” (by far the hardest thing). But did you know these three extras that really … Continue reading →

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Transforming Fear into Fiction

Posted on March 25, 2020 by Chuck Mall

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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When Your Own Writing Spooks You

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Chuck Mall

Clean the basement. That’s how you find pieces of writing you never remember writing. I found one, and am going to throw it away. It isn’t bad as much as it is strange. In 2008 I took a stream-of-consciousness writing … Continue reading →

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Angst. Just your general angst.

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Chuck Mall

I know writing is not supposed to be fun. I know it is not necessarily supposed to be hard. I know it can work well as you get into the “flow” and time and space disappear beneath the rapid-fire sequence … Continue reading →

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The Strangest Quotes You Have Ever Heard, No Kidding

Posted on July 11, 2015 by Chuck Mall

Here’s what happens when you open an old box you forgot you had and look inside… Continue reading →

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