Alice Kuipers | Bestselling Author and Writing Coach

Talking Books

Thursday, November 4th, 2021 - Book Club, Books For Writers, Places for writers, Reading

I love talking about books and I’m so happy to share five of my favourites here. The first book I talk about on this list is How to Pronounce Knife.

Why this book?

I’ve always been a big reader of short stories (I have four children and can pretty much tune them out for a short story, whereas reading a novel requires me to actually go into hiding.) These stunning stories took me out of place and time to the lives of many other people, all of them dislocated in the world. Souvankham explores the immigrant experience so artfully, and I love how she titles these works—bringing so much extra to the story, the way that artwork in a gallery is enhanced for me by the title on the wall.

Read the rest of my suggestions over at Beta Shepard where they’re talking books all day long!

Arthur Slade’s Writing Prompt

Thursday, March 19th, 2020 - Places for writers, Prompt, Quickstart

Here’s a great prompt from Arthur Slade for writers. Arthur is the author of so many great books that it’s hard to keep count! Check out him reading to us on his F B page, and sign up for his wicked fun newsletter for lots more writing news from him (and to get a free book!)

Prompt: Take a favourite character or creature and change three things about them. This is a fun way to invent something new. For example you could choose a unicorn and give her a lightsaber for a horn. Then give her wings. And finally put her in the middle of Mars. Now write a story about what that new creature or character will now do. This “three changes” trick can be used on anything: what if you changed three big things about the world?

For extra marks: Read this article: https://www.nytimes.com/202 0/03/17/science/mammoth-bones-circle.html?fbclid=IwAR3nHcO1h729AedFHi5NmzilUns36vkD9WgcM4aaCBaT2WBDVUIO5gmTi7M write a story that explains why they built this giant circle of mammoth bones.

Have fun!

http://www.arthurslade.com

Susin Nielsen Gets Us Writing

Wednesday, March 18th, 2020 - Places for writers, Prompt, Quickstart

Lots of you are looking for writing for kids (or for yourselves) during these strange times. Canadian super star, Susin Nielsen, has shared a writing prompt for us and I know you’re going to have a lot of fun with it.

Check out Susin’s books on her website, where she also has lots of fun information about her cats!, and her whole extra life as a TV writer and creator (her TV credits here might give you some ideas for shows to watch!) (She also has two book quizzes here that kids will love).

Here’s her prompt:

Sometimes I give kids a fun opening sentence to get their creative juices flowing. One of my favourites is:

“She had only taken her eyes off her baby sister for a minute. Two, tops.”

I like this because it can go in any direction – historical, fantastical, sci-fi, suspenseful, or contemporary. My big message always is, “Just have fun with it.” There is no right or wrong way to go with something like this – it’s all about letting your imagination go wild!

www.susinnielsen.com

Talking Books

Why this book?

Arthur Slade’s Writing Prompt

Susin Nielsen Gets Us Writing

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