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Updates Made by Joseph Miller
Monday, November 7, 2016 9:01:48 AM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled Embracing the Bad: Or We Need Diverse Villains:
Joseph said, "No matter a person's race, religion, or sex, everyone has the potential to become a villain. Yet, how often are children literature's villains diverse?As I think through the children's stories I've read over the years I can't off the top of my head..." more
Monday, October 3, 2016 8:18:24 AM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled For The Love of Noise: Onomatopoeia and Me:
Joseph said, "One of the things I love about being a children's book writer is the ability to be noisy. Being able to use onomatopoeias in picture books and middle-grade novels is a creative freedom that isn't as present in books for older readers. And boy do I..." more
Thursday, September 1, 2016 8:41:47 AM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled The Wayward Blogger Returns; Or Failure Is an Option. Quiting Isn't!:
Joseph said, "So, if you follow this blog, you know I haven't posted for over a month. I apologize for that, but my writing time got squeezed a bit this summer and I choose to put the blog on hold so I'd have extra time for writing my middle-grade historical..." more
Wednesday, July 20, 2016 8:59:46 AM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled Unexpected Twists and Turns: Or Haven't You Heard of Playing with and Breaking Expectations?:
Joseph said, "Recently, I've been watching a variety of anime. I got into the format because of my job as a librarian, but I've found it has a lot to offer people who love storytelling. One thing I noticed with the latest bunch of anime to come out over the..." more
Tuesday, June 21, 2016 1:47:00 AM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled Manga Madness: The Top 20 Manga Series for Teens:
Joseph said, "So, I've been working on a grant proposal for a Manga Madness event for the Fall Semester. This event would have our students vote on their favorite manga series each month. The series that win each round of voting would get an additional volume..." more
Wednesday, June 8, 2016 1:19:35 AM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled Leaping into the Unknown: Trying out New Genres:
Joseph said, "I like to try new things when I'm writing. Sure, I enjoy writing a nice simple picture book text now and then, but I also like to stretch my muscles and try new genres.My first loves as a children's book writer are comedy, action, adventure, and..." more
Monday, May 16, 2016 9:09:32 AM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled Insights into the Reading Habits of New Adults:
Joseph said, "As an academic librarian, I get a different kind of patron than when I worked in an public library. First, I don't get many requests for children's books. This makes me a tiny bit sad because I think there are some excellent children's books that..." more
Friday, April 22, 2016 8:15:25 AM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled The Asterisk Wars: A Glimpse into the Life of an Academic Librarian:
Joseph said, "As an academic librarian, I don't get to purchase many children's books. From picture books to YA, I have to be very picky about the materials I buy. Personally, I'd love to collect a bunch, but budgets are tight and although we have a Children's..." more
Monday, April 11, 2016 9:23:54 AM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled Where the White Rabbit Leads: Thoughts on Metafiction:
Joseph said, "As I've explored various stories through writing and reading, I realized I enjoy metafiction quite a lot. If you don't know what metafiction is, here's a quick definition from wikipedia:Metafiction is a literary device used..." more
Tuesday, April 5, 2016 12:09:39 AM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled One Stop Poetry Shoppe for Writers and Lovers of Words:
Joseph said, "In case you didn't know, April is National Poetry Month.As an academic librarian, I'm often asked to hunt down good resources for patrons. So to save you some legwork and celebrate National Poetry Month I've gathered twenty of my favorite poetry..." more
Friday, April 1, 2016 8:40:57 AM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled It Takes a Village to Raise a Writer: Success Isn't Just Personal:
Joseph said, "As my manuscript nears the point of being submitted to publishing houses, I thought I'd take time to reflect on how the act of writing might be solitary, but the bettering of a book is (at least for me) a communal act.Like the wave at a ballgame, it..." more
Monday, March 28, 2016 2:36:23 AM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled The Suspension Bridge We All Must Cross: Why Fiction Needs to Be Truer Than Life:
Joseph said, "I recently one of my critique partners was having trouble with a story and I ended up giving her this piece of writing wisdom:"The problem with fiction is it needs to be truer than life or people with think 'that's convenient!'"The suspension of..." more
Tuesday, March 8, 2016 1:41:23 AM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled Write (and Illustrate) What You Can Imagine!:
Joseph said, "Most writers have heard the old adage to "Write what you know."It's a great piece of advice for writers, old and new. It reminds us that even though we are writing fiction, there is plenty of material in the real world we can draw from. We can use..." more
Tuesday, March 1, 2016 12:04:59 AM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled We Interrupted This Blog for Snow, Gaming, and Anime:
Joseph said, "So, it's been a little bit longer than I anticipated between blog posts. I blame three things: snow (we're getting more today!?), gaming, and anime.Yes, I'm playing the blame game, but hey, I needed to do something for a blog post and this was the..." more
Friday, February 19, 2016 10:57:13 AM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled A Wild Bucking Horse Named the Writing Habit:
Joseph said, "So, it's been quiet here for a week or so. There are a few reasons for that.First, I got called into work on my day off and so I lost a day of writing. Second, I was working on my marketing plan for the picture book idea that's almost ready for..." more
Tuesday, February 9, 2016 12:37:58 PM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled You Can't Win if You Don't Play the Game:
Joseph said, "There are a few things that a necessary in order for most people to get published.First, you need to put your butt in chair (or stand up for those who like to go old school) and write.Second, you need to reread and revise your book. Very rarely does..." more
Friday, February 5, 2016 9:33:53 AM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled Learning to Sing "We've Only Just Begun":
Joseph said, "Sharing horizons that are new to us.Watching the signs along the way.Talkin' it over, just the two of us.Workin' together day to day .And when the evening comes, we smileSo much of life ahead.We'll find a place where there's room to growAnd yes,..." more
Wednesday, February 3, 2016 2:11:15 AM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled Good News with a Side of Humble Pie:
Joseph said, "As an aspiring writer, I've read a few "Getting the Call" blog posts over the years. They were always gave me hope that one day I'd climb out of the slush pile myself like a zombie from the grave.To pay-it-forward, I'm writing about my experience of..." more
Friday, January 29, 2016 12:26:54 PM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled Would a Character By Any Other Name Smell So Sweet?:
Joseph said, ""Words have meaning and names have power" -Cervantes.Recently, I realized a lot of my story ideas start with character names.For example:Trixie Thimble the Pixie Nimble: Any guesses as to what her character and story is like? That's right!..." more
Tuesday, January 26, 2016 1:00:38 PM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled The New Hotness (Or Blogging and Writing with Voice):
Joseph said, "Last time on this blog, I mentioned my awesome critique group. Right afterward, I asked them if they sneezed (see Sneeze Cut for more details) and told them about how I had started blogging.They immediately checked out the blog and told me what..." more
Friday, January 22, 2016 3:08:24 PM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled I'm a Feedback Junkie (or Dreams are Easier to Reach with a Little Help from Your Friends):
Joseph said, "I admit it.I'm a feedback junkie. I love receiving critiques from other writers, literary professionals, and good readers as much as a large bar of dark chocolate.I feed off other people's comments on my WIPs. Their thoughts, ideas, and..." more
Tuesday, January 19, 2016 12:36:15 PM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled GMC, It's Not Just a Car Company Anymore:
Joseph said, "Previously on this blog, I admitted to being a panster. Hand-in-hand with this is not really knowing much about my characters before I write about them. Pretty much all I've got when I begin a story are the hooks that compel me to write it.For..." more
Friday, January 15, 2016 9:29:47 AM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled The Very Un-Plan for This Blog (i.e. I'm a Panster):
Joseph said, "So after taking a few days to think about what to blog about next, I thought it would be a good idea to let you in on one important thing:I'm a pantser when it comes to writing and most things in life.I don't make outlines, plans, etc. I like to see..." more
Tuesday, January 12, 2016 2:40:55 PM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled Social Media... It's My Job!:
Joseph said, "Recently, I had a conversation with Nicole (my super awesome agent) and the topic of social media came up.I've never been one to tweet, except during children's literature contests I've gotten involved in. I mainly use Facebook to keep track of..." more
Thursday, December 15, 2016 5:10:12 AM
Joseph Miller wrote a blog post titled Visions of Revisions Dancing in My Head: Critique Giveaway!:
Joseph said, "In the spirit of the Christmas season, I have decided to run a critique giveaway!I will provide a critique (up to 10 pages) of your picture book or middle grade novel.There are five ways to enter:1) Become a follower of this blog.2) Tweet/retweet..." more