KidLit Craft Podcast
At KidLit Craft we look at mentor texts to discover ways to improve our own writing. Our Deep Dive series looks at one novel over multiple weeks.
Listen on:
Episodes
Thursday Jan 16, 2025
Thursday Jan 16, 2025
In Episode 5, Erin and Anne-Marie examine the complicated family relationships in Thieves’ Gambit and explore why to use them, how to introduce them for maximum effect, and how to leverage those relationships to create more tension without taking away the main character’s agency.
Things we mention in the podcast:
Our new website! kidlitcraft.com
Writing Middle Grade for Picture Book Authors class
Revise a Novel with Me! class
Ask the Author Book Club
Jan 18: Stacey Lee, KILL HER TWICE
Feb 25: Michael Leali, THE TRUTH ABOUT TRIANGLES
Mar 25, Randy Ribay, EVERYTHING WE NEVER HAD
April 22, Lindsay Lackey, FARTHER THAN THE MOON.
Get your copy of THIEVES’ GAMBIT from Bookshop.org and support the podcast!
Find more content like this at kidlitcraft.com
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Thursday Feb 06, 2025
Thursday Feb 06, 2025
Introducing a lot of characters can lead to a muddle in readers’ minds. Erin and Anne-Marie explore why you may want to use a big cast, identify pitfalls to avoid, and break down how Kayvion Lewis introduces the nine teen thieves in Thieves’ Gambit in a way that draws readers in rather than confuses them.
Books we mention in this episode (affiliate links):
One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus
The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (also see Erin’s craft article on pacing and plot in Inheritance Games)
First Rule of Climate Club by Carrie Firestone
Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson
How it Went Down by Kekla Magoon
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall (also see Anne-Marie’s craft article on POV in The Penderwicks)
The Lovely War by Julie Berry
Get your copy of THIEVES’ GAMBIT from Bookshop.org and support the podcast!
Find more content like this at kidlitcraft.com
Patreon
Buy T-shirts and sweatshirts (click on “small logo” or “big logo” for a range of styles)
Email us at podcast@kidlitcraft.com
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Friday Feb 21, 2025
Friday Feb 21, 2025
Like character arcs and story arcs, relationship arcs can span the course of the novel, explore themes, reveal and challenge the main character, and complicate plot lines. In Episode 7, Erin and Anne-Marie examine Ross’s friendship arc with Noelia and her romance arc with Devroe.
Things we mention in this episode
KLC’s Ask the Author Book Club, February 25 guest author is Michael Leali
Our episode on Romance in Buffalo Flats (Season 1, Episode 8)
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (the movie)Mr. and Mrs. Smith (the series)
The movie with sexy banter during fight scenes with Ryan Reynolds, the Rock, and Gal Gadot: Red Notice
Emma Kress and her YA novel Dangerous Play
Get your copy of THIEVES’ GAMBIT from Bookshop.org and support the podcast!
Find more content like this at kidlitcraft.com
Patreon
Buy T-shirts and sweatshirts (click on “small logo” or “big logo” for a range of styles)
Email us at podcast@kidlitcraft.com
Sign up for our newsletter
Thursday Mar 06, 2025
Thursday Mar 06, 2025
Action scenes in a thriller novel need to be fast-paced, but fast-paced means more than lots of really quick actions in a row. Erin and Anne-Marie break down three different kinds of action scenes in Thieves’ Gambit to find tips and tricks for hitting the perfect sweet spot of pacing.
Books we talk about:
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Register for our Ask the Author Book Club at kidlitcraft.com/book-club
Get your copy of THIEVES’ GAMBIT from Bookshop.org and support the podcast!
Find more content like this at kidlitcraft.com
Patreon
Buy T-shirts and sweatshirts (click on “small logo” or “big logo” for a range of styles)
Email us at podcast@kidlitcraft.com
Sign up for our newsletter
Thursday Mar 20, 2025
Thursday Mar 20, 2025
The pacing of a story determines how a story feels to read, and writers get to control that pacing by placing story elements at certain moments in the book and by how they move from chapter to chapter or scene to scene. In this episode, Anne-Marie and Erin explore how Kayvion Lewis keeps the pace fast and the tension high.
Books we talk about:
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Nina Lacour’s books (like We Are Okay and Watch Over Me)
The Davinci Code by Dan Brown
David Gill
Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (our blog post on how Christie keeps tension in the story)
Murder on the Orient Express film (trailer)
Erin’s percentages for overall structure and pacing:
Hook–1% pg 2 Gambit invite
Inciting Incident–10% Mom kidnapped
First Game of Gambit–13%
Intro to Thieves–14%
Romantic intro–16% pg 59
2nd Game–Museum–21%
Character Reveal–27% unwilling to leave injured player even risking gambit loss
3rd Game Train–42%
Plan Heist 3rd Game—50%
New Info–64% pg 249
Big Obstacle-70% (pg256) handcuffed to balcony
Kiss–80%
Mom’s 1st betrayal–Comes at 88%
Double Cross the Gambit–89%
Twist/ Devroe’s betrayal–94%
Mom’s 2nd betrayal–comes at 98%
Register for our Ask the Author Book Club at kidlitcraft.com/book-club
Register for our FREE March 29 workshop, “Making Emotions Concrete,” taught by Anne-Marie
Register for our April 26 workshop, “Building a Novel with Touchstone Moments,” taught by Lindsay Lackey
Get your copy of THIEVES’ GAMBIT from Bookshop.org and support the podcast!
Find more content like this at kidlitcraft.com
Patreon
Buy T-shirts and sweatshirts (click on “small logo” or “big logo” for a range of styles)
Email us at podcast@kidlitcraft.com
Sign up for our newsletter
Thursday Apr 03, 2025
Thursday Apr 03, 2025
Episode 10
Pacing scenes and chapters in an action/thriller might seem to be all about how to move through the story as fast as possible, but in this episode, Anne-Marie and Erin focus on controlling the pace, why you want slower moments, and how to move fast without sacrificing clarity or emotional resonance.
Things we talk about:
Dopesick
Henry James
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
The Golden Bowl by Henry James
Mission: Impossible 2
Dangerous Play by Emma Kress
Register for our Ask the Author Book Club at kidlitcraft.com/book-club
Register for our April 26 workshop, “Building a Novel with Touchstone Moments,” taught by award-winning middle grade author Lindsay Lackey
Summer Classes are now open for registration! kidlitcraft.com/classes
Get your copy of THIEVES’ GAMBIT from Bookshop.org and support the podcast!
Find more content like this at kidlitcraft.com
Patreon
Buy T-shirts and sweatshirts (click on “small logo” or “big logo” for a range of styles)
Email us at podcast@kidlitcraft.com
Sign up for our newsletter
Thursday Apr 17, 2025
Thursday Apr 17, 2025
Episode 11
We’re gathering the people with essential skills, making a plan, anticipating obstacles, doing reconnaissance, and pulling off a heist. Erin and Anne-Marie break down the elements needed for a heist and analyze how Kayvion Lewis designed and executed the (writing of the) sarcophagus heist in Thieves’ Gambit.
Things we talk about:
Ocean’s Eleven
Ask the Author Book Club with Lindsay Lackey–NOTE: NEW DATE–May 13, 2025, 4:30-5:45pm Pacific/7:30-8:45 Eastern
“Building a Novel with Touchstone Moments,” taught by award-winning middle grade author Lindsay Lackey–NOTE NEW DATE AND TIME: May 27, 2025, 9:30-11am Pacific/12:30-2pm Eastern
Summer Classes are now open for registration! kidlitcraft.com/classes
Get your copy of THIEVES’ GAMBIT from Bookshop.org and support the podcast!
Find more content like this at kidlitcraft.com
Patreon
Buy T-shirts and sweatshirts (click on “small logo” or “big logo” for a range of styles)
Email us at podcast@kidlitcraft.com
Sign up for our newsletter
Thursday May 01, 2025
Thursday May 01, 2025
Episode 12
In our last episode of season 2, Erin and Anne-Marie take a closer look at THE END of Thieves’ Gambit, specifically, how Kayvion Lewis creates a satisfying ending for this novel and at the same time sets up the sequel.
Han Solo in carbonite
The Twilight series
Kurt Vonnegut–The Shape of Stories
How I Met Your Mother–Slap Bet
Upcoming KidLit Craft Events
“The Sticky Note Plot,” taught by award-winning YA and MG author David Macinnis Gill–May 10, 2025, noon-1:30pm Pacific/3-4:30pm Eastern
Ask the Author Book Club with Lindsay Lackey–NOTE: NEW DATE–May 13, 2025, 4:30-5:45pm Pacific/7:30-8:45 Eastern
“Building a Novel with Touchstone Moments,” taught by award-winning middle grade author Lindsay Lackey–NOTE NEW DATE AND TIME: May 27, 2025, 9:30-11am Pacific/12:30-2pm Eastern
Register for summer classes! More info here: kidlitcraft.com/classes
Get your copy of THIEVES’ GAMBIT from Bookshop.org and support the podcast!
Find more content like this at kidlitcraft.com
Patreon
Buy T-shirts and sweatshirts (click on “small logo” or “big logo” for a range of styles)
Email us at podcast@kidlitcraft.com
Sign up for our newsletter
A Deep Dive
At KidLit Craft, we look at mentor texts to figure out the mechanics of how writers do what they do, so we can improve our writing. Each series of the KidLit Craft podcast will focus on a different novel or shorter work.
Season one focuses on the YA novel Buffalo Flats by Martine Leavitt. We encourage you to read along as you listen.
If you like what you hear, you can support KidLit Craft on Patreon.
We also have T-shirts and sweatshirts. Find them at Cotton Bureau.
Tell your writer friends about the podcast.
We can't wait to nerd out with you.
Your Hosts!
Erin Nuttall (left) holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is an active member of SCBWI and ALAN. She lives outside of Chicago with her family where she writes stories for middle grade and young adult readers that offer a humorous take on friendship, identity, feminism, and romance. She is a regular contributor to KidLit Craft.
Anne-Marie Strohman (right) writes everything from picture books to young adult novels, and writes flash fiction and short stories, too. She is an active member of SCBWI and holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She teaches courses on writing for kids, lectures at regional conferences, and co-founded and edits KidLit Craft. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she finds all her best ideas on long hikes.