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Writers talk craft, agent hunt, query trenches, publishing industry, and more. Hosted by Mindy McGinnis.
Episodes
Monday Oct 29, 2018
Monday Oct 29, 2018
A roundup of the guests and topics for the month of October, as well as considering a question from a listener about writing in English when it's not the author's native language.
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How Do Bilingual Authors Choose to Write Their Stories? by Katya de Becerra
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Monday Oct 22, 2018
Monday Oct 22, 2018
Today’s guest is Tara Gilboy who holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia, where she specialized in writing for children and young adults. Her middle grade novel, Unwritten, was published by Jolly Fish Press just this month. She teaches creative writing in San Diego Community College’s Continuing Education Program and for the PEN Writers in Prisons Program.
Tara joined me today to talk about selling her book without an agent, and how to process criticism from critique partners. Also Covered: exercises to help you capture middle grade voice, and how to find critique partners both online and in real life. And, can writing be taught or is it intuitive?
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Monday Oct 15, 2018
Monday Oct 15, 2018
Today’s guest is S Gonzales who writes Young Adult contemporary books with twisty plots and a generous dose of romance, featuring witty yet vulnerable characters. She joined me today to talk about landing her agent, Twitter contests, and balancing time difference while living in Australia and interacting with her American audience and publishing contacts. Also covered: Why publish with an initial standing in for her first name? Writing about mental illnesses responsibly and rom coms for queer people.
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Monday Oct 08, 2018
Monday Oct 08, 2018
Today’s guest is Sandra Gulland is an American-born Canadian novelist. She is the author of The Shadow Queen and Mistress of the Sun, novels set in the court of Louis XIV, The Sun King, and a trilogy of novels based on the life of Josephine Bonaparte: as well as The Game of Hope. A YA historical about Josephine’s daughter.
Sandra joined me today to talk about how publishing has changed over time, the differences in the Canadian publishing world vs. the American, and researching for historical novels. Also covered: assigning personalities to people that actually existed, sexism in researching female historical characters, and how to know when to bend the facts in order to keep your fiction interesting.
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Monday Oct 01, 2018
Monday Oct 01, 2018
Today’s guest is Katherine Locke, author of THE GIRL WITH THE RED BALLOON and the upcoming THE SPY WITH THE RED BALLOON.Katherine joined me today to talk about landing her agent, and how her process of drafting ignores the need to be perfect, putting that responsibility on the editing process. Also covered: data for writers – and why we might not want it anyway – and how Katherine approaches historical facts while working with fiction, plus her process of research while writing.
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Monday Sep 24, 2018
Monday Sep 24, 2018
A roundup of this month's guests and topics, as well as my advice on how to grit your teeth and get the first draft down.
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Monday Sep 17, 2018
Monday Sep 17, 2018
Today’s guest is Lauren Gibaldi author of THE NIGHT WE SAID YES, AUTO FOCUS and THIS TINY PERFECT WORLD. Lauren is a public librarian who’s been, among other things, a magazine editor, high school English teacher, bookseller, and circus aerialist (seriously). She has a BA in Literature and Master’s in Library and Information Studies.
Lauren joins host Mindy McGinnis to talk about landing her agent, and how her process of being a punster can occasionally backfire, but nothing is ever wasted. Also covered: how being a librarian has helped Lauren feel more connected to teens and benefited her writing career, as well as portraying artistic teens in fiction.
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Monday Sep 10, 2018
Monday Sep 10, 2018
Support the podcast through Patreon for weekly writing advice, query and first page critiques, as well as exclusive episodes featuring agent and editor interviews. Visit our Patreon to learn more.
Today’s guest is Kelly DeVos author of FAT GIRL ON A PLANE. Kelly holds a B.A. in Creative Writing from Arizona State University. Her debut novel, FAT GIRL ON A PLANE is available now from Harlequin Teen. Her work has been featured in the New York Times as well as SheKnows and Bustle. Kelly joined me today to talk about landing her agent, and how her particular process of being a hardcore planner works to turn the spark of an idea into a novel. Also covered: the inspiration for FAT GIRL ON A PLANE, a discussion of the fashion world and body acceptance and how short stories can help you experiment with new ideas, characters, or methods.
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Monday Sep 03, 2018
Monday Sep 03, 2018
Today’s guest is Megan Shepherd, author of THE MADMAN’S DAUGHTER trilogy, THE CAGE Trilogy, THE SECRET HORSES OF BRIAR HILL and THE GRIM LOVELIES. Megan joined me to talk about her process, and how the spark of an idea can sometimes get lost during the execution. Also covered: writing trilogies versus standalones, and why dark stories appeal to us.
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Monday Aug 27, 2018
Monday Aug 27, 2018
A roundup of the guests and topics for the month, and Mindy's advice on writing unlikeable characters.
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