Writing
Short Stories and Articles
A good story is not only an invitation to think, but also to feel. I’m interested in stories that explore difficult feelings, leavening hard things with humor and joy.
The relationship between a writer and a reader is one of trust. From the very first line of a story, I want readers to sense that they can trust me to guide them through a story, and that I trust them, honoring them by being as honest as I can about what it’s like to be a human in the world.
When my youngest child was six, her dream job was to be a Renaissance Woman. I feel the same way about writing. Currently, I write novels and short stories for young adults and flash fiction for adults, but I also have middle grade novels and picture books simmering.
Short Stories by A.M. Strohman
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“Echoes"
Two lonely dog owners encounter each other in the backyard of an empty mansion.
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“What You Don’t Know Now,”
Black Fox Literary Magazine, Summer 2023 issue. Pushcart Nominated. (Starts on page 75.)
Lifeguards Mary-Louise and Nate are on closing, and through a series of flash forward moments, the story explores the future they can’t know in this moment.
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“Essential Manners for Grocery Shopping on a Tuesday Morning”
Reflex Press, 21 May 2021.
This flash fiction piece combines the forms of a grocery list and an etiquette column to explore societal expectations and feelings around motherhood.
KidLit Craft Selections
Articles by Anne-Marie Strohman
One of the best ways to improve as a writer is to look at what great authors do. My writing for KidLit Craft focuses on mentor texts and examines how each author uses a craft technique to tell a compelling story, so readers can apply it to their own writing.
I’ve written about picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, YA novels, non-fiction picture books, and more.
You can hear me nerding out about craft on the KidLit Craft podcast and read some of my favorite posts below.
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Endowed Objects in The Mitchell’s vs. The Machines
Endowed objects are one of my favorite tools to use in my writing. All you have to do is find an object in the story that means something to the character and use it strategically. The movie The Mitchell’s vs. The Machines does this beautifully with a little carved wooden moose.
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Re-reading Harriet the Spy
I wrote a version of this essay during my time at VCFA. My advisor’s assignment asked us to re-read a favorite book from childhood and reflect on our experience reading it now, from a writer’s perspective. Harriet was the perfect book for this project--it filled my child-life with imagination and gumption, and the re-read was surprising.
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How to Write a Big Emotional Scene: Fault Lines by Nora Shalaway Carpenter
I love writing big emotional scenes, and I’m always looking for strategies for how to write them well. I learned so much from Nora Shalaway Carpenter’s dual-point of view novel that I’ve taken into my own writing.
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Drawing the Reader into a Non-Fiction Picture Book: One Tiny Bubble by Karen Krossing
I’ve only attempted a few non-fiction picture books, but after interviewing middle grade and picture book author Karen Krossing, I wanted to learn how she wrote such a compelling book about such a minute topic--LUCA, the first bit of life on earth. I was especially intrigued with how she wrote the story to engage the child reader.