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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
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
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
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
Sep 12, 2018
Lessons from a First Novel: Supercharging the 2nd Act
The Second Act is the middle section of a novel and usually the biggest chunk of a book. It spans from when a character is first thrust...
Russell F. Hirsch
Aug 19, 2018
Lessons from a First Novel: Worldbuilding from the Inside-Out
Perhaps nothing simultaneously excites and intimidates a fantasy author as much as worldbuilding—crafting the geography, history,...
Russell F. Hirsch
Aug 12, 2018
Lessons from a First Novel: Plotters, Pantsers, and Outlines—oh my!
Today, I continue “Lessons from a First Novel” by reflecting on the outlining process. In writer slang there are Plotters and Pantsers....
Russell F. Hirsch
Aug 6, 2018
Lessons from a First Novel: Patterns and Parameters
Last winter, I finished a polished draft of my first novel manuscript. Of course, “finished” and “polished” are words that automatically...
Russell F. Hirsch
Jun 17, 2018
Graced with Epic-ness: Kristin Cashore’s Series Structure
In this post, I finish my examination of Kristin Cashore’s excellent Graceling Realms series. (Part one here!) The title of the post may...
Russell F. Hirsch
Jun 11, 2018
Graces and Ghosts: Kristin Cashore’s Elegiac Fantasy
***Onward, there be spoilers!*** Although the series is beloved first and foremost for its powerful and deep-feeling heroines, a central...
Russell F. Hirsch
Jul 31, 2017
The Impossible and Inevitable Potter
Today is Harry Potter’s 37th birthday and in homage to the birthday boy-who-lived and the continuing summer festivities marking the 20th...
Russell F. Hirsch
Jan 22, 2017
3 Wonderful Writing Resources
Well, we’ve turned the page on 2016 and are getting into the swing of the new year, but if you’re still seeking fresh inspirations for...
Russell F. Hirsch
Jan 8, 2017
Further Reading & Feminist Alternatives to the Hero’s Journey
Further Resources on the Hero’s Journey I hope you’ve found my summary of hero’s journey plot lines useful, but there is really no...
Russell F. Hirsch
Jan 2, 2017
The Hero’s Journey – Resolution
Happy New Year to all! We have reached the 10th and final stage of a hero’s journey plot line and a fitting stage it is for January 1st...
Russell F. Hirsch
Dec 20, 2016
The Hero’s Journey – Climax!
Huzzah! We have reached the Climax, the grand hurrah, the big shebang, a moment so exciting that only funny-sounding words can express...
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