Miraculous Knowing: Instinct, Intuition, and Insight in Fiction
I wanted to chat this month about something that happens quite frequently in fiction (both published and unpublished), something I’ve dubbed “miraculous knowing.” This is when answers or solutions...
View ArticleDo You Know Where Your Antagonists Are? (Part II)
Imagine the opening of a contemporary YA fantasy manuscript. The heroine is fleeing through a forest at night, chased by a hulking, hairy hellhound with sharp claws and sharper teeth. The heroine...
View ArticleIt’s Story O’Clock: Do You Know Where Your Antagonists Are? (Part I)
In fiction craft, it’s a nearly universal struggle for writers to keep track of their antagonists. (If you don’t struggle with this, count yourself lucky. If you do, never fear! You’re not alone, and...
View ArticleAchieving Writing Goals
This month, we asked three NLA authors to give some tips on how they achieve their writing goals. If you set a writing goal, what are two tips to achieve it? If not, what is something that you do...
View ArticleAre We Ready for Pandemic Stories Yet?
Here, in my neck of the woods, we’re heading into our eighth week of lockdown. The longer I’m in this new reality, trying to balance work with homeschool and family life, the more I’ve been pondering...
View ArticleInternal vs. External Conflict
(Just a note, this article was featured in our April 2020 Newsletter. Some references may not correspond with recent events. To receive our articles first, you can subscribe to our newsletter here.) I...
View ArticleYour Protagonist Must Fail
Throughout your story but especially in Act II—that yawning abyss between your story’s beginning and end sometimes referred to as “the swamp” or “the mushy middle”—your protagonist must fail. They...
View ArticleA Brand-New Website & Recent Query Trends
(Just a note, this article was featured in our September 2020 Newsletter. To receive our articles first, you can subscribe to our newsletter here.) Hello to all the PubRants readers sheltering at...
View ArticleSo You Want To Use That Song Lyric in Your Novel
(Just a note, this article was featured in our May 2019 Newsletter. Some references may not correspond with recent events. To receive our articles first, you can subscribe to our newsletter here.) I...
View ArticleThe Thing That Makes You Special
(Just a note, this article was featured in our September 2019 Newsletter. Some references may not correspond with recent events. To receive our articles first, you can subscribe to our newsletter...
View ArticleMiraculous Knowing: Instinct, Intuition, and Insight in Fiction
I wanted to chat this month about something that happens quite frequently in fiction (both published and unpublished), something I’ve dubbed “miraculous knowing.” This is when answers or solutions...
View ArticleDo You Know Where Your Antagonists Are? (Part II)
Imagine the opening of a contemporary YA fantasy manuscript. The heroine is fleeing through a forest at night, chased by a hulking, hairy hellhound with sharp claws and sharper teeth. The heroine...
View ArticleIt’s Story O’Clock: Do You Know Where Your Antagonists Are? (Part I)
In fiction craft, it’s a nearly universal struggle for writers to keep track of their antagonists. (If you don’t struggle with this, count yourself lucky. If you do, never fear! You’re not alone, and...
View ArticleAchieving Writing Goals
This month, we asked three NLA authors to give some tips on how they achieve their writing goals. If you set a writing goal, what are two tips to achieve it? If not, what is something that you do...
View ArticleInterview with Jonathan Messinger, Author of The Alien Adventures of Finn...
This month, NLA’s Tallahj Curry had the pleasure of interviewing Joanna MacKenzie’s client Jonathan Messinger, author of the series The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian, as well as a podcast of the...
View ArticleInterview with Brittney Morris, Author of SLAY and The Cost of Knowing
This month, NLA’s Tallahj Curry excitedly interviewed Quressa Robinson’s client Brittney Morris, author of SLAY and her recently released novel The Cost of Knowing. How has writing for other...
View ArticleFan Favorites and Likability
This month, we asked three NLA authors about their fan-favorite characters and what makes them so likable. Which of your characters is a fan favorite? What makes them likable? Is that important? Why...
View ArticleHonoring AAVE on the Page
When you’re writing Black characters, how you use African American Vernacular English (AAVE) on the page will reveal whether you’ve honored their voice or whether you’re using dialect as a gimmick....
View ArticleWhen the Author Dream Is No Longer the Dream
In fifteen years of researching and writing articles for Pub Rants and the NLA newsletter, I’ve never seen an agent tackle this topic. Many newsletter readers subscribe solely for tips and insights on...
View ArticleAuthor Scott Reintgen on Best Approach for Writing Middle Grade Stories.
This Month, NLA’s Tallahj Curry had the pleasure of interviewing Kristin Nelson’s client Scott Reintgen, author of the Nyxia Triad and the upcoming novel Breaking Badlands, Talespinners series book...
View Article
