23 Oct
I have noticed an increase in comedy recently in children’s books. The Pigeon books are very popular right now and have few words but loads of laughs. I have reviewed a few agents who seem to be looking for the same humor in children’s material. Hope this helps.
http://www.pigeonpresents.com/books.aspx
11 Oct
Dear New Writer,
Let me give you a quick jab and aside to let you know that just because you wrote a great story, it doesn’t mean you are ready for the wide world of editors. The most important thing to do is research publishing houses and find the right match for your work. Your manuscript may be polished and perfect, but send it to the wrong publishers and you will receive only rejections. Do your homework first! I recommend visiting the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators webpage as well as The Children’s Book Council. I like to browse Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Borders just to get an overview of what is selling and who published what titles. Once you have an idea of what publishing houses may consider your work, take the time to find an editor within the house. Research the editor and visit his or her personal website and know what submission guidelines are required. Your chances will be better when you have a steady vision where your writing may find a permanent home. I look at it as finding the right child care provider for your baby…it has to be the right fit.
26 Sep
Writers,
How many times has life put you at a stand still in your writing? For me personally, if life is busy and hectic, the first thing on hold is my writing. The problem with this is you get behind, and the longer you stay away from your writing the more you forget. The more you forget, the more acquaintance you lose with your characters. Once you pick back up, you wonder how your characters are feeling and where they were going in the first place. Staying away from your writing is one of the worst things you can do as a writer. Sometimes, it seems you have to start again from scratch. My advice is: no longer than a one week vacation from your writing. This short break will hopefully refuel the drive but keep the memory of the story fresh.
9 Sep
I think, as writers, we all tend to relate some past experience or familiar traits to our imaginary characters. I know I do this quite often. I’m working on a story that has multiple characters and every one of them is a spin-off of an acquaintance or friend I encountered as an adolescent. Sometimes when you just can’t seem to find the right character in your wandering mind, look back on your past and your childhood and recall some of the issues, problems, and personality traits that made people interesting, boring, liked, or ridiculed. Soon you will have a very believable character that your reader easily relates too and that you personally had a relationship with. It’s much easier to know your character well when you link him or her or even it to a face of the past.
1 Sep
There has been much research done on music as a a motivator. The experts agree that students should study undistracted, which includes silencing the tunes. However, I find writing with my Ipod buds blasting in my ears is the only way I get the real emotion of some of my scenes. In fact, I have written an entire scene of a story with the same song on repeat for four hours straight. I call it “the mojo of music.” Don’t worry about the experts, what do they know about you?
1 Sep
I am entering a writing competition for children on October 4th and have my outline laid out and ready. The only problem is, I wonder if my audience will find the topic interesting and readable. I decided to go straight to the source and ask a few 12 year olds what they thought of my synopsis. It was great listening to their feedback and reassuring that my idea would hold the interest of my audience. Sometimes, all it takes is the right opinion to point you in the right direction.
31 Aug
I am reading about writing and taking courses in English. I am writing and revising, rewriting and editing. I am reading new books and classics as well and searching for what America’s young adults wants to sink their teeth into next. In a world full of books being shelved every week, I am a writer spinning in circles and wondering what to grab a hold of and stick with. I have three books in the works, but not one that is close to being finished. I find most of the time I am my worst critic and shoot my ideas down before they are ever allowed to fly. What is a new writer to do?
31 Aug
It is inevitable as a writer to fall in love with your characters, I mean, you created them so they are perfect. You know what they look like, what they listen too, where they were born, and how they like their eggs. But, a good story can quickly be ruined by TMI. The reader is only interested in the details of a character’s life that pose relative to the actions and unfolding of the present story. Granted, some details should be shared to establish your character’s personality, however, this can be done by describing how the character reacts in current situations. Robby could be a hot-headed Irish teen, but do we really need to know that his father’s mother was a raving alcoholic who immigrated from Ireland to the United States by private ship and gave birth to his father in a New York City ally? Unless you need to establish lineage and past struggles of the family, I would assume this information could be left out. Make sure you strive to develop a here and now character that your reader can relate with and walk beside as he or she reads.
30 Aug
The use of good description in writing is vital to creating your overall impression. By using specific examples and details that arouse the senses, your words come to life for your reader. Instead of explaining word for word how a character feels, simply add some descrition of how the character is acting to portray the feeling.
Example: “As Mason turned the wheel hard following the contours of the road, I felt like I was going to vomit.”
Description Example: “I held tight to the passenger door as Mason whipped around yet another blind curve. Warm beads trickled down my back and needles pricked my face as my stomach churned and I swallowed hard.”
Both sentences suggest that the character is taking a wild ride that is making him or her sick. However, by using description, the reader feels as if they are going along for the ride as well.
Good writing is full of descriptions and real action.
18 Aug
“Oh the brain of a writer is littered with characters, protagonists and antagonists and more.
There are plots and climaxes, beginnings and ends, with epiphanies and ideas galore.
All day they enact in the brain of the writer and play over and over again.
The only problem with all of these thoughts, they never come out of my pen.”
Does this sound like you? Are you a “mind-trapped writer” who lives out a mediocre lifestyle, while inside your mind is screaming to be heard? Perhaps a story you have been considering for some time never seems to make it to the paper because you don’t have the time to make it happen.
Take it from an expert “mind-trapped writer,” there is only one way to create your story and that is: get organized and make it happen.
I am a mother of a three and a five-year old. I work as a full-time nanny for a family of four children including my own two, Monday – Friday from 7am-5pm. I am a full-time online English undergrad at the University of Maryland. I golf every other weekend and I am starting a critique group one Saturday a month in September and I still make time to write and read books.
First of all, I keep a planner and stick to it. The planner helps me keep life simple when things seem complex. I encourage everyone to use one. Secondly, I get up at 5am so I can think, read, or write before anyone in my family is awake. Thirdly, I set up sitters or family on the weekends to watch the kids so I can write uninterrupted for lengths of time. I also read in the bath (a bit personal, but I’m being realistic here). Everyone is different and you will have to find your path, but take time to find it. I mean, read Stephanie Meyer’s success story of raising three young boys at home while writing (http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/bio.html). Get grounded and create time for your writing as if you were going to a job. It is a comitment and if I can do it, so can you! Good luck.
