Author Interview: Karen McManus

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Pen Friends, please welcome Karen McManus, a very anticipated YA debut and Author of One of Us is Lying. 

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SP: Hi Karen! Can you tell us a bit about yourself and when you started writing?

I was one of those kids who started writing early. I was in second grade when I wrote my first book, and I wrote dozens more throughout elementary school. But when I reached high school and tried to write longer, more complicated books, I faltered. I was convinced I didn’t have what it took to finish a novel, so I started the college-career-family trajectory and let my interest in writing slide.

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Do YA Novels Have Worth?

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If you’ve been hanging out here at The Spinning Pen, you’ve probably picked up on the fact that We Love YA Fiction. And if you hang around the bookish realms of the Internet, you’ve probably noticed the debate going on in recent times over the “merit” of young adult novels and their place in literary circles.

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Weekly Feature: Kat McMullen

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Today we’re starting a series on amateur writers and librarians with radio-personality and YA-writer Kat! Kat isn’t just a radio-personality; she studied and performed in local theater productions, is a world traveler, and got her master’s degree in Sheffield, England!

When did you first start writing?

I’ve been making up stories before I could write. I draw a lot. When I was a little kid, I drew all the time, and I would take the pictures to my babysitter or my mom and dad, and make them write down what I was saying. Continue reading →

How to Write Vivid Animals and Fantasy Creatures- Part 1

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We often talk about creating characters, but what about those stories that feature animals as the heroes? There are several great books (and series) with animals manning the cast, while other stories include animals playing side (yet still important) roles. Whether your animals speak, your human character happens to have the ability to speak to them, or you’re writing a story with fantasy creatures, the depth and breadth of possibilities with non-human characters are endless.

For today, we’ll tackle two kinds of characters:

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How to Market Your Book Online

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You finally did it!

You’ve written your first book! There’s been blood, sweat and tears, and now an euphoric high as you hit the final save.

Uh oh.

Now what? You’ve been so focused on telling the best story you know how you haven’t thought much further ahead. In fact, you were only half convinced you’d ever see this day. But you’re a champ and now you’re here. What’s next?

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Meet Noah, Our Teen Contributor

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Pen Friends! We are pleased to announce that we have a new member on our team. Noah Dingman will be our first “In House Teen Contributor!” We are honored to have such a young talented writer for The Spinning Pen. Thanks Noah for joining us!

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Hi! My name’s Noah. I live in the beautiful state of Washington. Seriously, I could never get tired of all the green (to be fair, it is my favorite color). I’ve loved to read for as long as I can remember and I’ve loved to write for nearly just as long. If I’m not reading or writing, you’ll find me singing, dancing, running, hanging out with friends or watching my younger siblings. If I’m not doing any of those, I’m probably sleeping.

 

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What You Need to Know About yWriter5 Writing Software

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pexels-photo-52649-large-1After I started taking writing seriously, I decided that looking for better novel-writing software (say, better than Word) would likely help me to stay organized[1] as I tried to complete one of my stories.

I’ve had Scrivener recommended to me multiple times, along with other paid software, but as a mostly-poor working adult, I wanted to find something else that would serve my needs for free. And eventually I found yWriter5. Continue reading →