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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 Hirsch
Oct 25, 20232 min read
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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 Hirsch
Oct 10, 20231 min read
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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 Hirsch
Sep 26, 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 Hirsch
Sep 12, 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 Hirsch
Aug 30, 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 Hirsch
Aug 15, 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 Hirsch
Aug 1, 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 Hirsch
Jul 18, 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 Hirsch
Jul 5, 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 Hirsch
Jun 21, 2023


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 Hirsch
Jul 9, 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 Hirsch
Apr 26, 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 Hirsch
Feb 6, 2019


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 Hirsch
Nov 24, 2018
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