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Russell F. Hirsch
Oct 25, 20232 min read
Descriptive Language that Sparkles
Kill your darlings! Get to the point! Plot over prose! How many times have you heard advice about simplifying your writing for middle...
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Russell F. Hirsch
Oct 11, 20231 min read
SIWC - Simply Inspiring Writers' Conference
We all know the feeling of finding our tribe. Whether we were kids discovering new friends on the playground, teens navigating a new...
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Russell F. Hirsch
Oct 25, 2023
Descriptive Language that Sparkles
Kill your darlings! Get to the point! Plot over prose! How many times have you heard advice about simplifying your writing for middle...
Russell F. Hirsch
Oct 11, 2023
SIWC - Simply Inspiring Writers' Conference
We all know the feeling of finding our tribe. Whether we were kids discovering new friends on the playground, teens navigating a new...
Russell F. Hirsch
Sep 27, 2023
Middle Grade Fantasy Word Counts – Part 2
Last post, I dove into an investigation of Middle Grade fantasy word counts using a random selection of novels from my own shelf. The...
Russell F. Hirsch
Sep 13, 2023
Middle Grade Fantasy Word Counts – Part 1
If you’re an over-writer like me, you probably agonize over word counts. If you’re an under-writer, you probably also agonize over word...
Russell F. Hirsch
Aug 30, 2023
Imagine that! Opening and Closing Images
Great books begin with great openings. It’s our first taste of a story that will excite, move, and enthrall us. And endings are just as...
Russell F. Hirsch
Aug 16, 2023
Making Music With Words
Great writing has two main components: The “storytelling” component — big, structural things, like an exciting plot, good pacing, and...
Russell F. Hirsch
Aug 2, 2023
Setting the Scene
We’ve all heard of writers grappling with the blank white page. But sometimes, writers leave readers grappling with a frustrating...
Russell F. Hirsch
Jul 18, 2023
Exposition 101 – SPELL SWEEPER
Today, we continue to unravel that most dreaded of all fantasy writing phenomena… EXPOSITION! Oh, so messy… Writers know that getting...
Russell F. Hirsch
Jul 5, 2023
EXPOSITION 101 – Fablehaven
Exposition. Few words strike more fear into writers. Not exposition! Noooooo! Exposition is the explanatory stuff within a story. The...
Russell F. Hirsch
Jun 21, 2023
How Gordon Korman uses 6 POVs!?!
With 100 published books (and counting!) Gordon Korman has delighted generations of readers with his signature blend of humor, adventure,...
Russell F. Hirsch
Jun 7, 2023
The Best Action Writer in All of Kid-Lit…
Ten years ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing a great Canadian children’s author who described his books as full of “running and...
Russell F. Hirsch
May 24, 2023
The Secret Genius of THE GIVER
THE GIVER is one of the most successful children’s novels of all time. Winner of the 1994 Newbery Medal, Lois Lowry’s tale still...
Russell F. Hirsch
Jul 9, 2019
REVIEW: The Oddmire by William Ritter
Come with me and delve into the deep, dark woods of William Ritter‘s magical middle grade fantasy, The Oddmire, Book I: Changeling....
Russell F. Hirsch
Apr 26, 2019
REVIEW: Seventh Grade vs. the Galaxy by Joshua S. Levy
This week, Storythreads takes to the stars with a review of Joshua S. Levy‘s funny, fast-paced middle grade sci-fi adventure, Seventh...
Russell F. Hirsch
Mar 8, 2019
Podcast: Adapting Narnia
I rejoin Caitlin from the Words in Living Color podcast blog to chat about The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe–in its book form and as...
Russell F. Hirsch
Feb 6, 2019
REVIEW: Harper and the Fire Star by Cerrie Burnell
Today, it’s my pleasure to shine a light on Harper and the Fire Star, a charming middle grade fantasy and the fourth book in Cerrie...
Russell F. Hirsch
Jan 11, 2019
REVIEW: A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna
Today on Storythreads, the worlds of Indian mythology and space opera collide in Sangu Mandanna’s YA novel, A Spark of White Fire, the...
Russell F. Hirsch
Nov 24, 2018
A Dastardly Plot by Christopher Healy (Guest Review for The Book Wars)
Twelve-year-old Molly Pepper and her mother Cassandra Pepper have inventions that could change the world! Except the World’s Fair won’t...
Russell F. Hirsch
Nov 18, 2018
The YAK Speaks: Messy Rough Drafts
The YAK features articles devoted to Education, Writing, Children’s Literature, and Speech Arts. It is published by The Bolton Academy of...
Russell F. Hirsch
Nov 6, 2018
Podcast: Adapting The Golden Compass
I rejoin Caitlin from the Bookology blog for her inaugural Words in Living Color podcast, wherein we nerd out over Philip Pullman’s The...
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