For Writers

Fantastic Gifts for Writers & 9 – 12 Year-Old Creative Children

graphic of MUF contributor books includes a heart in center with words MG Rocks

Books, books, books!!!!

Here’s our 2021 New Release posts so you can browse for great new books for the holidays.

(Hint: they make fantastic teacher gifts, too!)

Scroll down for additional gift ideas for the writer in your life (or yourself)!

 

December 2021

November 2021

October 2021

September 2021

August 2021

July 2021

June 2021

May 2021

April 2021

March 2021

February 2021

January 2021

 

Give the Gift of STEM/STEAM Books for the Holidays

 

Award winning books!

SLJ Best Books 2021

 

Want some creative and fun gifts for the writer or reader in your life? Check out these helpful posts:

* Gifts for Writers, 2021 Holiday Edition (plus a giveaway!) by author Tara Lazar {this book tree is so cool and unusual}

* 40 Holiday Gifts for Writers by Julie Glover

* 20 awesome gifts for kid and teen writers by Kim Kautzer

 

If your young creatives would like to make inexpensive bookish holiday gifts, check out this Mixed-Up Files post!

 

Other gift ideas for the writer in your life:

Bookstore and office supply certificates

Create a coupon book to help with extra writing time, inspiration, celebrations for milestones, etc.

Music

Candles

Journals

A day (or weekend) of writing in an inspiring location

Colored pens (glittery pens always make me smile), fun sticky notes and sticky tabs

Delicious writing snacks

A massage (very helpful after hunching over a laptop for hours, days, months…)

Motivational sayings (you can create them yourself or buy inspiring wall stickers like these)

Inked Voices has an incredible community, critique groups, tons of free lectures for members, and workshops

Udemy has some great classes—like these taught by Mixed-Up Files member Donna Galanti

A subscription to One Stop for Writers to help flesh out characters, plot, and show vs. tell.

 

 

If you know a young writer who would love to work on writing craft, here are a few places to check out:

Storystorm – a free month of idea generating led by Tara Lazar with inspiring guest posts and awesome prizes. This is great for writers of any age. Some teachers participate with their students, too.

Writing Barn Youth: A Brand-New Virtual Program for Young Writers ages 8 – 13

 

With so many amazing ideas, I hope you’ll have fun finding the perfect writing and reading gifts.

If you have favorite writer’s gifts to share, I’d love to see them in the comments. 😊

 

Book Spotlight: Wonderworks by Angus Fletcher

It’s the time of the year to be grateful. Grateful for what we have in life. Grateful for communities like From the Mixed-Up Files…of Middle-Grade Authors. Grateful even though life sometimes throws us curveballs. 

Life does throw us curveballs. Sometimes we hit the ball, most of the time we miss. Life also has been known to lob a ball right down the fat part of the plate allowing us to take one heck of a swing. Sometimes we drive those for base hits; other times we knock the ball out of the park. Life provides unexpected opportunities.

Recently, while listening to the fantastic three-part episode on The Little Mermaid from Malcolm Gladwell’s excellent podcast, Revisionist History, life lobbed a pitch that floated across the strike zone as big as a beach ball. 

In Episode 2 of the Revisionist History podcast, Malcolm Gladwell talks to Angus Fletcher, a literature professor at the Ohio State University’s Project Narrative. Dr. Fletcher talks about fairy tales and what makes the oldest of the fairy tale twist stories work for kids while the poetic justice fairy tale stories and their modern “Disney-fied tales really don’t resonate with them.

After listening to Dr. Fletcher’s interview, two things jump out.

  1. Angus Fletcher is a neuroscientist turned English professor.
  2. He has just released a book called, Wonderworks: The 25 Most Powerful Inventions in the History of Literature.

Cover for Wonderworks

Wait! A literature professor with a background in brain science wrote a book about 25 ground-breaking literary inventions?

Count me in!

So I bought the book. I started reading the book. I knew immediately I needed to share this book with my MUF friends and family.

The format of Wonderworks is well designed. Each literary invention is a chapter. It starts with a literary history and a background as existed at the time of the invention. The literary invention is introduced by an author or philosopher in their creative work with an explanation of why the invention worked. Examples are often provided highlighting the use of the invention by different authors.

The kicker, the hook, the thing about this book that reels me in is the section of each chapter where Dr. Fletcher delves into the brain science, the neurology and neurochemistry behind how and why the literary invention works for the reader. Shots of dopamine. Left brain/Right brain interactions, the HPA Axis (Hypothalamus, Pituitary gland, and Adrenal gland), the balance between the amygdala vs the prefrontal cortex. So much awesome, I’m in reader/writer/scientist heaven!

As a scientist/STEM-enthusiast and writer, this connection is what earns Wonderworks a place on the top shelf of my writing resource books. Absolutely fascinating to read a book about the effect literature has on the brain.

Confession time. I fully expected to be completely through Wonderworks by the time this post was due. 

I’m not. But there’s a great reason why.

Each chapter is so intriguing and packed with information, I find myself needing to work slowly through each of the literary inventions. I find myself seeking out the works mentioned as examples. Some of these books I have on my own shelves. Some I find online, while others I’ve found in my local library. I’ve landed on the Project Narrative website at Ohio State seeking more story knowledge and have downloaded academic papers from the participating faculty. Talk about going down the rabbit hole! Each invention listed in Wonderworks has sprouted many paths to investigate, directions to discover, and mysteries to seek out.

Have a wonderful holiday season, everyone! Enjoy the process. Create like the world needs your work because the world needs your work. Be grateful and celebrate the power of words. If you get time, I recommend Wonderworks: The 25 Most Powerful Inventions in the History of Literature.

The story of story, it turns out, is a fascinating story.

 

Five Writing Tips From Five MG Authors

I’m always on the look out for new writing tools and techniques to try, so for this From The Mixed Up Files post, I asked some of my middle-grade author friends how they approach 5 different parts of the process to write a story: world-building, starting a story, pacing, plot and, especially for Halloween, writing spooky scenes. Here’s what they told me:

How do you begin the work of creating a story, from your initial idea to writing your first line?

Lorien Lawrence answered this question. Lorien is the author of THE STITCHERS and its sequel THE COLLECTORS.

“For me, all of my books start with a song. I have to make a soundtrack before I begin. That way, I get immersed in the mood of the story, and I can start to choreograph scenes in my head even when I’m not physically writing. I’ve been creating these kinds of playlists since I was a kid, and they really help me to stay inspired.”

Oooh, great idea!

How do you create the world your story will be set in, and while you’re writing, how do you make that world seem spooky?

Victoria Piontek answered this question. Victoria is the author of THE SPIRIT OF CATTAIL COUNTY and her most recent novel, BETTER WITH BUTTER.

“Creating the world where my story will be set is one of my favorite parts of writing. It’s so fun to invent a world that feels authentic enough to be real yet unique enough to be fictional. To get that just-right mix, I use inspiration from real life. If I see a building or a natural feature in my day-to-day life or travels, I try to remember the essence of the place by jotting down sensory details in my writer’s notebook. Later, when I’m drafting, I look back at those details to help me recall what it’s like to stand in front of a crumbling house or a vast ocean vista. To make my worlds scary, I pick the creepiest of those sensory details and turn up the volume, really leaning into the way an eerie place can feel on the darkest nights.”

Jotting down details is fantastic.

What are you best tools for writing scenes that are super spooky and get your readers turning their lights on at night?

Janet Fox answered this question. Janet is the author of THE ARTIFACT HUNTERS and her most book, CARRY ME HOME.

“I think of all the things that scare or scared me. When I was a kid, I was terrified of the dark. I was sure a monster lived in my closet. I would pile all my stuffed animals around me like armor (literally surrounding myself with my stuffies) – it was the only way I could close my eyes. So anything in the dark, anything that makes an unexpected noise, anything that could sneak up and ‘eat’ me, anything that emerges from the shadows…Really, I try to scare myself as I write. If I do that, usually the reader is scared, too.”

Eeep! Yes, using our own fears in spooky stories is useful.

What tools do you use to figure out the arc for the complete story?

Ash Van Otterloo answered this question. Ash is the author of CATTYWAMPUS and the recent A TOUCH OF RUCKUS. And check out their great plotting table, with drink!

Plotting cards with author Ash Van Otterloo

Ash Van Otterloo’s plotting organization.

“I’ve tried so many different tools for organizing my plot, but what I keep coming back to is very simple and tactile: a basic outline template or beat sheet that best matches my story, a giant dry erase board, an empty table, and 25-50 sticky notes!

A simple story structure template, such as The Hero’s Journey or Save the Cat Beat Sheets, helps me create a to-do list at the start of each new chapter. These lists remind me what needs to happen over the next few scenes, both for the internal emotional arc of the main character and for the external events that nudge that character along their way. (For instance, how does my character need to change in the next few pages? How is their attitude shifting? How will external events help create that shift?)
Sometimes, I know bits of story I’d like to include, like puzzle pieces, but I’m not yet sure what order they should happen or where. I like to keep these on individual sticky notes, so I can rearrange them until they make logical and emotional sense, creating the best tension. Being able to physically move the possible beats around helps me connect with the story’s rhythm best. But don’t be afraid to try many different systems to find what works for your unique creative style!
Most importantly: don’t forget the snacks. The snacks are crucial. I strongly recommend sour gummy worms or raspberries. “

Snacks! Yes, you need snacks to get through puzzling together a good plot. Where is my chocolate?

Pacing is so important in stories. How do you know when to make the action fast and when to give the readers a pause? And what tools do you use to speed up or slow down the story?

Ally Malinenko answered this question. Ally is the author of GHOST GIRL and the upcoming THIS APPEARING HOUSE.

“Pacing, especially in spooky stories is absolutely important. Readers need action of course but too much feels overwhelming. You have to build in a time for everyone to catch their breath. Most of what I learned about pacing comes from reading. I am keenly aware when I’m reading a book when too much is happening and I mark the place where I know I could have used a moment to catch my breath. So when I’m writing, I tend to do a bunch of high action moments back to back and then, when re-reading, determine if I need a pause or a second to catch my breath. For me, it’s something I have learned over time, through trial and error. I think of it like a movie: I want the action to build and build and take it to the top, but then I pull back, regroup my characters and give them a moment to process what just happened. Like in the scary story, when they find a safe room and have a few moments before the hatchet comes through the door. Honestly my best tool for managing pacing is my trust in my beta readers. They always tell me when I’ve fed them too many scares in a row! But it does take some trial and error, as is always the case with writing. So my best advice is read, read, read!”

Beta readers, or critique partners, are so useful for this!

Such great advice from these wonderful authors. It makes me want to get back to my own stories.

Got any tips of your own about these? Share in the comments.