Mina Witteman – author | editor | teacher of creative writing

Posts from the “YA books” Category

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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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

YA Writing Workshop in Amsterdam

Posted on July 15, 2013

Time to announce a writing workshop, my friends! Writing for Young Adults, an advanced writing course with Mina Witteman You have that YA novel brewing in the back of your mind and you want it out on paper? You are working on a — your first? — YA novel and need inspiration and guidance? You would like to hone your YA writing skills? This is your chance! From September on, I offer a course Writing for Young Adults, where we will go into the most important traits of the YA novel. We will explore structure, voice and character building. We will dive into famous and less famous YA novels to find out what it takes to entice young adults into reading your novel. And…

Categories: Amsterdam Views, Books, Children's books, The Views, Thrillers, YA books

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Write Now! Revise Later!

Posted on June 11, 2013

Writing prompts are an excellent way of keeping the writing juices flowing. It is supposed to be an old writer’s adage that you should write every day. Some advise you to write in the early morning, even before the day has begun, with your eyes still closed just penning down what bubbles up from your subconscious. Others think it’s best to allocate a dedicated time frame to writing and force yourself to scribble down anything, even if it’s a shopping list, as long as you keep your hand moving. Both methods and numerous others have their merits, but require at least some form of self-discipline, a trait that we writers seem to lack every now and again, be it because we lure ourselves into the…

Categories: Books, Thrillers, YA books

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Writing Prompt: Fleshing Out Your Protagonist

Posted on June 4, 2013

Exploring my protagonist’s true feelings is hard labor. In this particular manuscript Max hides his feelings as much from me as he does from himself and his fellow characters. I force him to come out and show himself by pulling him into situations he hates. This way I explore the most likely and most believable behavior, acts and moves. For this exercise I used the writing prompt: Describe a time when you’ve settled an argument between two close friends.  I watch them bicker. I know why they fight, but I can’t help them. It’s time that works against them, not their friendship. Time and the second batch of their endeavours that turned out a disaster. The tension between them built since their first failed…

Categories: Books, Thrillers, YA books

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Flexing the Writing Muscles: Character and Love

Posted on May 29, 2013

Another writing prompt. This one features character and love: have two characters sit on a bench and talk about love. Again from the amazing Writing Maps. I watch her from behind a wave of butterfly bushes. She sits on a bench tucked away in a corner of the park. Her hand taps a rhythm on the empty seat next to her. I draw in a breath and push away from the oak. I stare at my feet and how they hesitate, as I cross the nine steps that part us. “Hey, what’s up?” I ask. Her eyes rest on my face for a while, before she lowers her gaze to the joint in my hand. Her nostrils flare when the musty scent of burning…

Categories: Amsterdam Views, Books, Children's books, The Views, Thrillers, YA books

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Writing Prompts on Character

Posted on May 21, 2013

I am a big fan of the Writing Maps from Write Around Town. Nifty maps filled with writing prompts that force you to flex your writing muscles. A must-have for every writer, I think. Great exercises that keep the creative writing juices flowing. Last night I dove into the The Character Map. I read a prompt, thought about it for two seconds and started writing for 15 minutes. This is what the soundtrack prompt on The Character Map inspired me to write. Mind you, it’s a first draft and it should be considered a first draft. Nothing fancy, just a character exploration. He switched on the music without thinking. He didn’t have to, the score was on repeat anyway. There was a slight hitch…

Categories: Books, Children's books, Thrillers, YA books

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