Working Through an Agent’s Critique Letter
Check out my guest post over at the Adventures in Children’s Publishing blog! http://childrenspublishing.blogspot.com/search/label/Lena%20Coakley
Read More10 YA Novels I’m Looking Forward to This Year
So many book bloggers know so much more than I do about what’s coming out in 2011 that I’ve been a bit shy about posting my wish list. But then I realized I AM compiling quite a catalog of YA sci-fi and fantasy novels I can’t wait for. Plus, it’s a good excuse to drool over some purdy, purdy covers! All descriptions are from the publishers’ websites except where noted. Bumped by Megan McCafferty When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society....
Read MoreMiss Hurka: The First Writer I Ever Knew
Is there anyone whose books you loved? Anyone whose diary prompted you to pick up a pen? Anyone in your family, maybe, or someone you knew growing up, who loved books and encouraged you to write? This was the question posed to me this week by the lovely writer Erin Thomas. Today on her blog, she’s posting an interview with Marthe Jocelyn about Marthe’s new book Scribbling Women, and as a lead-up, Erin wanted to include a few blurbs from authors she knew about the scribbling women who had inspired us. Immediately, I thought of Miss Hurka. Miss Hurka was a boarder who lived in the attic...
Read MoreFantasy Worldbuilding: Part Two
Last week I wrote about backstory, worldbuilding as an element of character, and taking each changed element of your world to its logical conclusion. This week I have three more questions you might want to ask yourself if you are writing a fantasy novel and want to make your fantasy worlds rich and satisfying. Okay, I realize this one is similar to #1, but at the risk of repeating myself: 4) Have you made your characters a product of the society you created? One of the things that really makes me sigh in high fantasy is when an author creates a medieval- (or other-) style world full of...
Read MoreFantasy Worldbuilding: Part One
If you are working on a fantasy novel, these are a few questions you might ask yourself to make your worldbuilding believable and satisfying to the reader. Three more questions will follow next week! 1) Are you thinking of worldbuilding as an element of character? Consider how much of who you are is informed by your culture, your religion, the attitudes of your family and your society. Now consider how much of your daily life is affected by where and how you live—city or country, rich or poor, hot climate or cold. The world you live in is not a backdrop for your life like a stage set, it’s...
Read MoreWriting Superstitions, or How I Gave Up True Love with the Mailman to Become a Published Author
I don’t remember why I started it. Plenty of authors do it—or they did before email submissions became so prevalent. I know I did it when I got my very first short story published in the journal Prairie Fire. And after that it became a tradition. Whenever I submitted a manuscript, I kissed the envelope for luck before mailing it out. Now, I was brought up to be a skeptical, logical sort of person—and I am. But lately I’m not as quick to stamp out the little rituals and incantations that help me through the day. I blame the publishing business. So much is out of our control. There is...
Read MoreAbout Me
Hi! I'm Lena, a young adult fantasy author from Toronto.