Craft Articles
Join us in exploring others’ craft and building our own.
Here you will find explorations of mentor texts – articles that dive into specific craft elements in published books, interviews with authors, and tips on growing and improving as a writer.
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It’s Not Just Letters Anymore: Modern Epistolary in Carrie Firestone’s The First Rule of Climate Club
In First Rule of Climate Club, Fisher Middle School’s new eighth graders get the opportunity to participate in a science class pilot program devoted to climate change. Firestone tells their story through protagonist Mary Kate’s eyes, but uses a slew of different types of communication that creates room for other points of view.
Inspiring Activism: Interview with Carrie Firestone, author of THE FIRST RULE OF CLIMATE CLUB
“My books are all an extension of the activism and community organizing in my life. My teaching was also a reflection of that. I take on political/social realities that I would like to see in the world.” –Carrie Firestone
Perfect-for-This-Book Patterns: Ramen for Everyone by Patricia Tanumihardja
Patterns can help shape a story, from the big-picture themes to the moment-by-moment actions. Giving kids the opportunity to “read” the patterns gives them practice in making meaning. And it gives them satisfaction in reading as well.
How to Write the End Part 2: Finale Meets Theme in The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy
From the All is Lost moment, right before Act 3 starts, to the Climax, The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy has followed each beat from Save the Cat, drawing readers in and compelling them to turn the page. But even after a stellar climax, the story isn't done. There's the opportunity to make the ending fully satisfying. Here's how Ursu does it.
How to Write The End Part 1: The Finale of The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu
The book I’m working on needs an ending. I know it, and I don’t know what to do about it, because I don’t know how to write one. So I decided to see how Anne Ursu did it in her masterful The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy. In this series of blog posts, I’ll share what I’ve learned with you.
Building to the Perfect Irreconcilable Goods Crisis: The Silence that Binds Us by Joanna Ho
By setting up a compelling story question in the reader’s mind, and then increasing the stakes throughout the second act, Joanna Ho has crafted the perfect crisis with its excellent Irreconcilable Goods options.
The Magic Number Three: Brand-New Bubbe by Sarah Aronson
Numbers have power, magic, even. Not the abracadabra kind, but the kind that makes a reader sit up and pay attention even though they don’t know why. Sarah Aronson understands the power of the number three as a literary device and uses it masterfully in her picture book, Brand New Bubbe.
KidLit Craft Goes to the Movies: The Emotional Antagonist in Eddie the Eagle
Some great stories make use of what Melanie Jacobson calls the emotional antagonist. The emotional antagonist is on the protagonist’s side, but the protagonist doesn’t have their approval or support.Jacobson believes emotional antagonist can be a powerful addition to a book because it gives a story an extra satisfying ending–a resolution with the emotional antagonist. We can see the emotional antagonist in action in Eddie the Eagle (2015).
Taking Poetic Risks: A Q&A with Margaret Chiu Greanias
Since I began writing picture books, I've longed to tell the story of my relationship with my Amah (grandmother, in Taiwanese). Even though we saw each other infrequently, I adored her. But like Kylie, my main character in Amah Faraway, I always felt a bit shy at the start of our visits--due to my own cautious nature, the distance, language barrier, and cultural differences.
SUMMER RETROSPECTIVE: SPARE AND LYRICAL STORYTELLING: FULL CICADA MOON, A NOVEL IN VERSE
Verse happily sacrifices parts of the story to the reader's imagination in an effort to draw a more immediate emotional response.
SUMMER RETROSPECTIVE: HERO’S JOURNEY ARCHETYPES IN BOOK SCAVENGER BY JENNIFER CHAMBLISS BERTMAN
By identifying archetypes in my story, I figure out how to strengthen the conflicts as I revise. In researching this blog post, I realized that I’d chosen the wrong character to be the Shadow in the novel I’m currently writing. Understanding the role of the Shadow archetype, and selecting a more appropriate character to play it, made my book’s external plot and main character’s growth path stronger.
SIDEWRITING TAKEOVER: Gossip Your Way Through the Story with Mary Winn Heider
The sidewriting exercise I rely on most is really simple. I write a messy, gossipy version of my story (or scene or conflict). I handwrite it, like it’s a note I might pass in class, and I allow myself plenty of gossipy digressions. . . . I’ve developed a kind of outlining process I love, but sometimes I really crave the structure of gossip, the way it’s built on cause and effect.
Story Questions
Framing your story with a STORY QUESTION that gets answered by the end of the novel works because it adds forward momentum, keeps your reader wanting to turn the page, and--since you delay the final answer to the question until the end--builds tension
The Power of a Good Turn: The Luck Uglies by Paul Durham
Durham has made his job as a writer easier by having a strong turn near the midpoint of the book. He has something to build toward in the first half of Act 2 and something to move from in the second half.
Retro Post #5: Structuring Story with Character Arc in Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly (Part 2)
In your story, consider how your character’s Lie and Fear impact the plot. And look to the Midpoint and All is Lost moments to ratchet up the stakes for your character. See how the climax resolves both the plot problem (what the character wants) and the Lie (what the character needs to change).
All the Impossible Things: Seeding Tension Maximizes the Reading Experience
The strongest novels have main characters who not only want something but want something with serious stakes involved. In All the Impossible Things, Red’s stakes are whether she will ever have a home that truly fits.
