I’ve loved writing ever since I can remember—I wrote poems and stories at home, and it was my favorite part of school (and not just because I usually received A+ on my writing assignments). When I started writing middle grade novels, I was surprised that my talents weren’t enough. I think I do a great job of coming up with ideas, and creating fun, vivid characters, but I didn’t realize that most writers have at least one area they have to work on way harder than the rest. For me, that was plot. I kind of masked my problem, because I was able to add tension to my manuscripts by always considering the worst thing that could happen to my characters…but that wasn’t enough to create a full, exciting arc that could propel readers through an entire novel. I’m always working on finding ways to improve my writing, and am thrilled to see how much stronger my plotting is now.

I’ve never been a fan of outlines, but I realized that just knowing the beginning, ending and some possibilities for the middle, plus character sketches, wasn’t enough. After studying plotting, I found a method that works great for me. It’s a Plot Clock, created by writing coach and mentor, Joyce Sweeney, and breaks the novel up into four acts, starting in the normal world, which prevents me from jumping into the middle of a situation before readers care about my characters.

When I first started writing children’s books, I had no idea how deeply I’d have to dive into revisions. I love seeing characters come alive and watching all the wonderful layers evolve through revision after revision. I don’t remember having to revise my stories when I was in school. We’d get an assignment, hand it in, get a grade…end of story. I’ve really been impressed with the way I see writing taught now—with children as young as elementary school receiving feedback and being asked to revise their writing. I can’t even imagine writing children’s books without receiving critiques—feedback from peers and professionals really can help your writing grow!

Here are some things I’ve learned that I hope will help you, too:

• Take a good look at your strengths and weaknesses. It’s important to know what they are, so you can really focus on them! If you’ve had writing critiqued, what types of comments are there? I used to hear that some of my earlier manuscripts seemed episodic…it took me a while to realize it was because my plotting wasn’t strong enough to propel readers through the entire story.
• Try to swap critiques with people whose strengths are your weaknesses.
• Critique often—it helps the person who wrote the manuscript or story, but it also helps you a lot, too. It’s easier to spot areas that can be strengthened when you critique the work of others…and in time, you become better at finding those areas in your own manuscripts.
• Read as many books as you can, and stretch past your favorite genre to explore other types of books, too. Once you know your weaknesses, you can search for books that master those aspects.
• Read your story out loud. It’s easier to find places that need streamlining, dialogue that doesn’t feel natural, and where you can improve the pacing. Reading out loud often feels different with an audience, so even if you’re alone, you can record yourself, or read to your pets.

Teachers and parents—I’d love to know what you’ve noticed about the strengths and weaknesses of your students or children, and what you do to help them become stronger writers. And to all the writers out there—what are your strengths and weaknesses, and how have you overcome your weaknesses?

Mindy Alyse Weiss writes humorous middle-grade novels and quirky picture books. She’s constantly inspired by her twelve and fifteen year-old daughters, an adventurous Bullmasador adopted from The Humane Society, and an adorable Beagle/Pointer pup who was rescued from the Everglades. Visit Mindy’s blog or Twitter to read more about her writing life, conference experiences, and writing tips.

No, I’m not talking computer viruses… I’m talking that other dreadful predicament that faces every writer at one point or another: the old brain freeze. Drawing a blank.

The bad kind of Writer’s Block.

Writer’s block.

Despite a mind that’s full of ideas, always mulling over something, I sat down at the computer to write this post and I had… nothing. Nothing, I tell you. This was doomed to be the Seinfeld of blog posts. So, like my old writing teacher used to say: write what you know! Which means, today I’ll look at some of my favorite ways to battle the Blank Screen of Death (before ending up like that unfortunate follow there on the right…).

• Step away from the Internet. I repeat, put down that mouse and back away slowly!
  Yeah, you know what I’m talking about, right? You flip open the laptop, chug back some coffee, fire up MS Word… and there’s that little Safari icon, beckoning. Like a junkie, you figure — just one click. One. That’s all. I’ll check my email, pop over to Twitter, maybe a quick Facebook status update (clearly I’m working if I tell everyone I am, right?!?). Next thing you know, you’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of Yahoo! News (Kim Kardashian wore what? where?) and you’re Googling how to make homemade body scrub (handful of coffee grounds, sea salt, brown sugar and some olive or coconut oil — total mess, but exfoliates like a dream!). Short of engaging in electro-shock therapy (or buying that software that shuts down your web connection entirely), I simply tell myself I’m not allowed to make that click until I’ve achieved some sort of objective. Nothing like the burning need to read yet another friend’s “Some eCard” to get me going, which leads me to…
• Reward yourself.
  Back in my corporate days, there were always little pats on the back for a job well done. Office parties. Performance reviews. Bonuses. Being self-employed doesn’t mean we stopped deserving recognition. In fact, we may need it even more now — cause if we don’t do it, who will? So I set goals for myself — finish one chapter, get a mocha at Starbucks; polish off a whole book, time for a pedicure and new shoes to show it off! Of course, if that doesn’t work, sometimes it’s necessary to…
• Change the scenery.
  Amazing how a good drive, walk, trip to the gym or nice hot shower can clear the mind and get those creative juices flowing. In fact, I often get my best ideas while in motion or surrounded by steam. (Needless to say, thanks to my writing endeavors, I’m quite fit. And clean. And lately, smelling an awful lot like a Frappuccino. The dog won’t stop licking me.) And when all else fails…
• Just Do It!
  I like to imagine whoever came up with that Nike slogan was some poor stumped advertising exec who, after staring at the Blank Screen of Death for too long, simply banged his or her head against the desk and yelled “Just DO IT already!!!” — and a legend was born. Because sometimes, just doing it is the only thing you can do. There comes a point when it’s time to stop over-thinking things and put a word on paper. Type something — anything. Getting that first word out is often like pulling your finger from the proverbial hole in the dam. Boom! The rest of the words start flowing. Suddenly, there’s an outline. A chapter. A story… A, ahem, blog post.

Yep, I think now I’ve earned one of these:

So, tell me — how do you battle writer’s block? Let me know in the comments below. And then, for Pete’s sake, quit procrastinating and get back to work… .

Jan Gangsei has become such a regular at her neighborhood Starbucks, the baristas not only have her coffee ready the minute she walks in — they’ve also been known to deliver it to her if she happens to be in the shop next door. She’s beginning to think perhaps she rewards herself a little too much…

Last week, I raised three questions for authors to consider based on our collective experience with terrorism. We got some informative comments, and I’ve had some additional thoughts as events have continued to unfold here in Boston. And I have a confession to make, later in this post.

What can responsible authors do to help readers deal with actual or potential violence in their lives?

Reading teaches empathy. Children who read learn how to feel for others by immersing themselves in the lives of protagonists. The very nature of what we do helps children learn to care for and understand others. It’s a noble gig.

–Nicole Valentine

Books can be wonderful tools for helping children through their problems, anxieties, and rough patches. As Nicole said, children immerse themselves in the lives of protagonists, and through those protagonists they can explore difficult topics from a safe space. A librarian is often the best person to consult when a child is dealing with bullying, divorce, the arrival of a new baby, the departure of a best friend, or even the death of a loved one.

So what about terrorism?

Terrorists want to disrupt our lives and cause us to fear the places and activities we used to think of as safe. To some extent they have succeeded, even with adults, and especially with the adults in charge of airport security. Children are even more vulnerable than adults, because they have less control over their environment and less experience in determining odds and risks, so we are right to worry about how they can be impacted.

The trouble is, a terror attack is not just one traumatic issue. Victims may be dealing with injuries, permanent disability, lost friends or family members, shocking memories, nightmares, stress, fear, insecurity, and more. No book is going to speak to every victim in the most helpful way. No book is going to turn back the clock and put everything back the way it was. And no book is going to prepare a child beforehand for every possible terror attack they might experience in the future.

Responsible books are the ones that present acts of terror as realistically rare, show that good people are working hard to keep us safe, and let us know that life goes on even after the worst things that can happen.

Can we make things better, or should we just try not to make things any worse?

As writers, we need to [write] with care, compassion, and integrity to developmental needs and not cross the line with information that can increase trauma or secondarily traumatize like the media often does. Knowing how much and how to present is an art and requires research on difficult topics. If you are using difficult subjects and are not an expert, seek out a consultation.

–Diane Kress Hower

Secondary trauma is something to worry about. It’s impossible to entirely avoid. Diane’s advice is important for anyone who is intending to write about terror in a realistic way, but even if we are not, we can never know what might trigger a post-traumatic event in a reader we have never met.

Jerry Spinelli wrote Maniac Magee long before last week’s bombing, and at the time could never have anticipated that someday a child might associate running with the horrible images of the Marathon finish line. I don’t know any children or adults for whom running is now a trigger, by the way, but they certainly could exist. We can imagine any number of possible triggers. In the news today, a child might be exposed to a theory that the elder Tsarnaev brother was a boxer who suffered a drastic personality change, possibly after too many blows to the head, and suddenly any book about boxing could become a trigger for devastating flashbacks. Or a scene with a pressure cooker. Anything we write has the potential to bring back echoes of tragedy in the mind of a particular reader.

We authors do have an advantage over some other media because we are able to deliberate over what we write. We have extra time we can use for research or consultation, as Diane suggests. We can maximize the good we do but there’s no guaranteed way to avoid any chance of causing harm.

Or should this not even be a consideration at all when it comes to telling a good story?

We need stories.

So tomorrow I will start back again. I will get it all as right as I can.

–Lisha Cauthen

Our heroes need villains, and what can establish villainy better or faster than a terror attack? When Darth Vader blows up an entire planet in the original Star Wars movie, it stays with us. When a James Bond villain reveals his or her master plan, it needs to be something a lot more potent than voter fraud or insider trading. Terror is a classic plot device, or at least the fictionalized terror we see in most stories. But thankfully fictional terror is not realistic, because realistic terror makes bad fiction.

Fictional villains need to be smart and resourceful, while real terrorists often succeed through dumb luck and the fact that an overwhelming majority of people are good and trusting of each other. Fictional villains need to have a logical plan and understandable motives, while real terrorists tend to be deranged ideologues who believe they can advance a cause through random violence against innocent people. Our stories promote a larger narrative with positive values and hopeful results, while realistic terror is just random and horrible.

Nobody wants to read about dumb villains stumbling through a half-baked scheme that hurts trusting people for no good reason, but that’s the story that is emerging from the news reports.

So here is my confession.

There’s a fictional terrorist act in one of my middle grade books.

In The Challengers, after Earth first makes contact with aliens, a political movement promotes planetary isolation in order to preserve the traditional cultures of Earth. In the story, some Seclusionist groups are passionate or desperate enough to commit acts of violence. One of them bombs a stadium that was set to host tournament games between Earth and other worlds, on a day when the players are attending an orientation there.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this scene over the past week. I’ve been wondering whether it might cause secondary trauma to readers who have been through an actual terror event. And I’ve been feeling all kinds of guilty. But this scene is integral to a larger story about humanity’s most positive attributes, and that larger story has more potential to inspire and uplift than to cause harm.

And of course, since real terror makes bad fiction, my fictional terror scene is not much like real life at all. For starters, my terrorists call in a warning ahead of the detonation, because they don’t want to hurt anyone. My terrorists just want to damage the stadium enough to prevent its use, which makes the bombing an understandable method to further an understandable motive. My terrorists are taken seriously by competent security forces who evacuate the team and ensure that nobody gets hurt. My terrorists are immediately denounced by other Seclusionist groups who share their goals but find their tactics deplorable. And most importantly, my terrorists do not succeed in stopping the Galaxy Games.

I drew strength from rereading that scene this past week, because it models a victory over terrorism. The Games go on, the people refuse to be intimidated, and humanity proves itself to be on the side of goodness except for the few bad apples who try to ruin things for the rest of us.

Stay strong, everyone!

Greg R. Fishbone is the author of the “Galaxy Games” series of midgrade sports and science fiction from Tu Books at Lee & Low Books. Visit him at http://gfishbone.com.