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Patricia NewmanPatricia Newman
Sibert Honor Children's Book Author & Environmentalist
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Writing my first YA novel

July 29, 2011 The Process No Comments

A character named Vinnie just popped onto the page. Who is he? How does he know my main character? And most of all, what is his purpose? According to Deborah Halverson (@Dear_Editor) in Writing Young Adult Fiction for Dummies, “If a new character happens to pop into your story as you’re writing it, let him hang out a while to see whether he fits in. Secondary characters have a way of arriving before you even knew you needed them…”  Okay, Vinnie. Show me what you’ve got!

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  • Home
  • Books
    • Sharks Unhooked: The Adventures of Cristina Zenato, Underwater Ranger
    • Giant Rays of Hope: Protecting Manta Rays to Safeguard the Sea
    • A River’s Gifts: The Mighty Elwha River Reborn
    • Planet Ocean
    • Eavesdropping on Elephants
    • Neema’s Reason To Smile
    • Zoo Scientists to the Rescue
    • Sea Otter Heroes: The Predators That Saved an Ecosystem
    • Plastic, Ahoy! Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
    • Ebola: Fears and Facts
    • Jingle the Brass
    • Nugget on the Flight Deck
    • Surviving Animal Attacks
    • Elite Operations series
    • Energy Lab series
    • QuickReads Fluency Library
    • Books for English language-learners
    • Writers write all kinds of things
  • Author Visit Programs
    • FAQs
    • Calendar
  • Blog
  • Educator Resources
    • STEM + Literacy Activities
    • Teacher Guides
    • Earth Day Every Day newsletter archive
    • LitLinks
    • KidLit creators who make kids want to read
  • Writer Resources
    • Writing Classes
    • Manuscript or Proposal Critiques
    • How I got my start
  • Who is Patricia Newman?
  • Contact
    • Stay In Touch
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