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Nina LaCour is the author of the William C. Morris Honor Book, “Hold Still”. Los Angeles Times perfectly describes her writing in which they write, “LaCour has a knack for capturing the unique intensity of teenage characters discovering love, sex and intense friendship for the first time while also giving them talents and interests that make moving into adulthood look cool.” In describing her newest novel, “We Are Okay”, New York Times said her latest book is, “Short, poetic and gorgeously written…The world LaCour creates is fragile but profoundly humane.”

In our conversation proudly brought to you by Sun Basket and 'Libby', Nina shares the personal experiences that inspired “We Are Okay”, and how she weaved her experiences with tragedy into her novel “Hold Still”. We discuss why it’s important to immerse yourself in diverse communities, and how to spark inspiration and motivation for your writing by reading short stories.

We cover the importance of brevity in your story and how subplots may distract your readers from the main ideas. For craft-related topics, we talk about writing strong character relationships, writing about grief, and how to write a captivating ending that remains ambiguous. Nina also shares her personal experience querying literary agents the traditional way.

Say 'Hi' to Nina on Twitter and check out the books/resources mentioned in her episode over at her shownotes page by clicking here! :) 

Happy listening!

Xo

Yin

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