Kind words leave a pleasant, tickling sensation, whereas mean words will cause uncomfortable itching-the worse the words, the more severe (and horribly distracting) the itching. Words that anyone uses when talking about Elyse appear on her skin. In the book Sticks & Stones, by Abby Cooper, 12-year-old Elyse has a rare genetic disorder in which words can literally hurt. I’m going to briefly mention two: Sticks & Stones and Out of Tune. I can sincerely say that I love the books Abby and Gail have written! Their main characters are spunky and courageous and the stories are humorous, thought-provoking, and lots of fun to read. One more thing that’s great is that I’ve found new names to add to my “favorite authors” list. I got acquainted with my two wonderful mentors, I learned a ton, and by the deadline, I ended up with a novel I was proud of-whereas before I had a novel I kinda liked, but knew needed work. While I haven’t yet signed with an agent, the contest was overall an incredibly positive experience for me.
Long story short, I received a few agent requests when the contest was done. I learned to tighten my writing, watch for repetitive actions (apparently my main character did a whole lot of staring), to cut scenes or subplots that weren’t necessary, a lot about writing for a slightly younger audience, and so much more. Gail Nall Abby CooperĪbby and Gail were positive and supportive, and had such great insights into what I needed to change, what I needed to keep, and how I might make my story better in so many ways.
I’m so honored and grateful that they chose to work with me.
I was thrilled when Abby and Gail chose to be my mentors, and they were fantastic! I can’t say enough about how much I loved working with those two. (For information about this online contest, go to this link and learn all about it.) This contest gives writers a wonderful opportunity to revise and improve an entire novel while working with guidance and input from published authors. They were my Pitch Wars mentors last fall. The authors in question are Gail Nall, who lives in Kentucky, and Abby Cooper, who lives in Minnesota. I’m going to share brief reviews of two of their books, and will also share a couple of recipes to make a meal inspired by those books. Today I’m going to share an experience I had meeting (in a virtual, online sense) two talented authors, thanks to the Pitch Wars online contest.
Ever since I started writing, I’ve had the chance to meet some amazing people.
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