Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is publishing a monthly series of e-only essays to correspond with Katherine Paterson's two-year term as the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. The subjects of the essays include: writing and literature for young people, the wonder and imagination found within great books, common questions novice writers ask, and Katherine's own personal experiences throughout her historic career.

"In his essential writing guide, This Year You Write Your Novel, Walter Mosley supplied aspiring writers with the basic tools and practical advice needed to write a novel in a single year. In this complementary follow up, Mosley guides the reader through the fundamental building blocks of fiction to deliver a master class on the writer's craft. In a series of conversational and instructive chapters, Mosley breaks down the art of fiction to its most...

Abdul loves telling stories but thinks his messy handwriting and spelling mistakes will keep him from becoming an author, until Mr. Muhammad visits and encourages him to persist.

Rather than a lemonade stand, Rufus sets up a story stand one summer and makes a series of trades with his friends--a story for a shell, for a kitten, for a surprise, and one more as a special birthday gift for his sister.

Writing, for most of us, is bound up with anxiety. It's even worse when it feels like your whole future-or at least where you'll spend the next four years in college-is on the line. It's easy to understand why so many high school seniors put off working on their applications until the last minute or end up with a generic and clichéd essay. The good news? You already have the "secret sauce" for crafting a compelling personal essay: your own experiences...

Although his teacher insists there are stories everywhere, Ralph cannot think of any to write.

Once upon a time, in pencil school, a brave little red pencil sets out to write an exciting story with nouns and adverbs and everything--but first she has to face the ravenous pencil sharpener, the Wolf 3000.

A boy begrudgingly composes a sometimes-rhyming adventure with his precocious little sister.

Plagued by writer's block, Birdie finds unexpected inspiration from her pens, pencils, and markers for creating the perfect story.