Mina Witteman – author | editor | teacher of creative writing

Posts by Mina Witteman

Dread Pirate Christmas

Posted on December 12, 2013

This year, my dear writer buddy Stephen Bramucci is offering an audio-telling of his poem “Dread Pirate Christmas” for sale as a fundraiser for SEEDS Arts & Education (501c-3). SEEDS Funds all sorts of cool programing for kids (including writing programs) and he and I want to support their efforts. If you’re so inclined, follow the link below, donate $5 to them via Paypal, and POOF! the MP3 of Dread Pirate Christmas will show up in your inbox (or someone else’s if you put that email under “special instructions”). Happy Holidays from him and his motley crew of freebooters, sea devils, and scalawags! http://seedsed.org/dread-pirate-christmas-mp3/ (Art by the amazing Ben Faubion)

Categories: A Bit of Everything, Books, Children's books

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Daily Prompt: Tattoo….You?

Posted on December 1, 2013

Permanent in Ink My breath hitches when the sleeve of his hoodie sags and gives me a clear look at his inked hand and wrist. Or what seems left of them. A snake’s black and blue, forked tongue licks his middle finger and wraps around it to his black painted nail. The head of the viper is tattooed over and around his hand, the mouth wide open, fangs curved over the knuckles of his index and ring finger. A rush of adrenaline tingles through my body. I lower my voice to a hushed, awed whisper. “What the hell is that?” He blinks and gives me a slight and confused shake of his head. Then his eyes light up. He unzips the hoodie. “The ink?” He…

Categories: A Bit of Everything, Books, Thrillers, YA books

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I Am a Rock – The Twin Warriors

Posted on September 4, 2013

  Without this rock there would be no first book in the Warriors of the Sun series. We so often base our knowledge on the journeys of Odysseus, we pull strength from the adventures of Thor and wisdom from the musings of Vishnu, but we rarely quench our thirst with the wealth of stories that spring from the first peoples of North America. When I searched  Dutch libraries, I couldn’t find a single book that showed Dutch children the true cultures of the United States and Canada. It urged me to write the Warrior Of the Sun series. Research for the series brought me to the lands and tribes of North America. I wandered the desert and the mountains in search of Thunderbird and Coyote.…

Categories: A Bit of Everything, Books, Children's books, Views Abroad, YA books

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Sea

Posted on September 2, 2013

The Weekly Photo Challenge: Sea. I love the water and the wind. For me the sea offers endless options, like the endlessness of that vast mass of water that spreads out at your feet. Anything is possible. My dad was an avid yachtsman and spent as much time at sea as he could. He taught us to sail before we could even ride a bike (that’s a big thing in the Netherlands!). He retired early, sold his home and his business, bought a bigger boat and took my mother on a 12-year trip, roaming the world’s seas. Every now and again, we would hop over wherever they were and sail with them for a couple of weeks. I am currently working on an adventure novel…

Categories: The Views, Views Abroad

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Writing Young Adult Fiction – an advanced writing course

Posted on August 18, 2013

Young Adult is a genre that spans a number of subgenres, including coming-of-age realism, fantasy, and supernatural novels. Young Adult readers are typically between 12 and 18 years old. In this creative writing course we will focus on writing your own YA novel. In eight sessions we will explore techniques on developing story structure and plot, scenes and dialogue, as well as on establishing believable characters. We will dive into famous and less famous YA novels to find out what works in YA fiction. The course will be taught in English with the occasional Dutch words thrown in. Course materials will be available in both English and Dutch. Students may write in English or Dutch. Session 1 – September 22, 2013: Identifying Conflict and…

Categories: A Bit of Everything, Books, YA books