The deadline for our Aspiring Writers Competition is just a few weeks away on November 8. For those of you still working on your submissions, we thought we’d offer a few writing tips for you to consider as you make that final push toward polishing your manuscripts. Cut, Compress, and Tighten We all know that reading is a joy, but it requires a lot from the reader, namely time. As a writer, it’s important to respect your readers’ time, so make sure each word of your story is absolutely essential to the piece as a whole. Try looking at the …
Among other things, Halloween is about candy. So with candy on our mind, we started thinking about which candies go best with some of our favorite books. If you’ve wondered the same thing (and who hasn’t?), you’re in luck. We’ve put together a list of book and candy combinations. Tell is which one is your favorite and add your suggestions in the comments section. It by Stephen King + Wax Lips Image courtesy of https://bit.ly/1H56eBZ Part costume, part candy: wax lips can be kind of creepy. Though they aren’t as creepy as Stephen King’s horrific creation Pennywise, the murderous clown from It, …
For many, the spirit of Halloween is best captured in the timeless stories and legends we relive each year. As the fateful day approaches, we’ve compiled a list of our 13 favorite spooky poems. While each can be enjoyed alone (if you’re brave enough!), these poems are even spookier when read aloud. We’ve collected our favorite excerpts from these poems, but reading the poem in its entirety is definitely worth your while. So turn out the lights, gather around the fireplace, and try not to get too scared. “Haunted” by Siegfried Sassoon An evil creature in the twilight looping, Flapped …
The ALCS battle between the Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays is heating up, and not just on the field. Each city is being ferociously backed by its respective libraries. That’s right, Toronto’s public library and Kansas City’s public library are currently involved in a heated Twitter battle. It began with a basic and pleasant exchange: @KCLibrary Let the games begin! Exciting week ahead for both of us :) — TorontoPublicLibrary (@torontolibrary) October 15, 2015 But once Kansas City took the first two games, sportsmanship was tossed out the window: Some #bookspinepoetry for our friends @BlueJays & @torontolibrary #TaketheCrown #GoRoyals …
In light of our Aspiring Writers Competition (where we invite you to submit the first 500 words of your unpublished novel for the chance of winning one thousand dollars and a session with a world-renowned literary agent, among other prizes), we thought we would share some of our favorite opening passages from books published in the twenty-first century. Use these as inspiration to build your reading list, and be sure and let us know which of these opening lines you enjoy the most and if we missed any that should be on the list. Then We Came to the End by Joshua …
