James Preller Interviews . . . Carmen Deedy, author of “THE CHESHIRE CHEESE CAT”
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 Posted in Before You Go, Interviews & Appreciations, Readings, the writing process | 4 Comments »As an author, mine was not the story of the wide-eyed boy who loved weekly trips to the library, the happy ritual of laden arms lugging home precious treasures. No, we didn't do that stuff in my family. For starters, ...
The First Look of the Rough-Draft Book Cover, “BEFORE YOU GO”
Monday, August 1st, 2011 Posted in Before You Go | 6 Comments »And so it comes after all that waiting, the book cover. Via jpg these days, that's how you get the first glimpse of it, clicking on a file attached to an email. And it comes with caveats, apologies, explanations, assurances. The ...
Bad Words in Books: Censorship, and Self-Censorship, in Children’s Literature
Friday, July 8th, 2011 Posted in Before You Go, Bystander, the writing process | 1 Comment »I recently did an interview -- honestly forget where, but it was with a middle-school reader -- who asked the following question about Bystander: Q. What was the reason you added some questionable or inappropriate words? I replied: I don't understand the question. ...
Revision Week: Part 3 (”Kill Your Darlings”)
Thursday, November 11th, 2010 Posted in Before You Go, the writing process | No Comments »For Revision Week here at jamespreller.com, I've found myself going through old manuscripts, seeking salient examples of my revision process. And while there are many, what's even more pressing to me is that I'm revising a manuscript right now. So I'll ...
Revision Week: Part II
Tuesday, November 9th, 2010 Posted in Before You Go, the writing process | 2 Comments »Here's a copy of one paragraph from the edited manuscript for Before You Go (Spring, 2012), my first young adult novel -- a book that just so happens to contain many, many paragraphs. I selected this one because it displays ...
It’s Revision Week at Jamespreller.com!
Monday, November 8th, 2010 Posted in Before You Go, the writing process | 1 Comment »This week we're all about the revision process here at Jamespreller.com. I'd say that we're celebrating revision . . . but let's not get carried away. It's not really a party. I've found that one of the keys to revision involves ...
Stand UP!
Thursday, October 28th, 2010 Posted in Before You Go, Bystander, bullying | No Comments »I'm back from visiting some schools down in Westchester, NY. Great time, loved it. When my kids were younger, I didn't like leaving the house -- and overnight trips just weren't feasible, so I stayed local. But now I find ...
Revising on the Run: A Work In Progress
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 Posted in Before You Go, the writing process | No Comments »In our continued mission to pull back the curtain on the creative process -- without, hopefully, going overboard on the me, Me, ME business -- I submit the following: Every writer works differently, and often individual writers might use different approaches ...