Children’s Writing Web Journal

One of the toughest tasks for writers is to get inside the brain of a child. Sure, we all have our own childhood memories, but those can be spotty at best. And even accurate recollections reflect a different time and a different mindset.

The standard advice is to observe and interact with children. Being around kids can give a window into the language and interpersonal dynamics of today’s kids. But even this is far from foolproof. Youngsters are thoroughly aware of an adult’s presence and may simply be trying hard to be on their best behavior. There is another way, however, that is remarkably efficient and is a surefire way to get an accurate picture of the likes, dislikes and passions of kids: read some magazines. (more…)

One of the best things about our business is getting to know quite a few of the most successful [TAG-tec]children’s authors[/TAG-tec] and illustrators. As a group, these are some of the loveliest people with whom you could ever become acquainted.

While most are very generous about sharing advice with aspiring writers, they do tend to get overwhelmed with e-mail asking the same questions, so it’s not always easy to strike up a personal connection with them.

So here’s a neat way to say “hello” to a writer who inspires you: wish them a happy birthday! The excellent Children’s Literature site — http://www.childrenslit.com/childrenslit/home.html– has a monthly list of children’s author’s birthdays, each linked to the author’s official website. Find an author whose work you admire and send off some personal birthday greetings. You might just find yourself with a new e-mail buddy!?

(Note: please use courtesy and common sense when doing this — keep your e-mail brief and don’t send a bunch of followup e-mails unless the author responds. The goal is to establish a professional connection, not to pour your heart out to someone you don’t know!)

PS: If you’d like to get direct advice from some top authors without having to wait for an e-mail reply, check out our book In Their Own Words (http://write4kids.com/itow.html). Culled from fifteen years worth of Children’s Book Insider interviews, it’s a collection of the best tips and guidance from such authors as Judy Blume, R.L. Stine, Chris Crutcher and many, many others. It’s an astonishing resource for inspiration and hands-on advice.

Children love rhyme. The rhythm of the text, the way the words bounce off the tongue can be especially appealing to young children who are mastering language and reading. There are two vehicles for verse in the children’s market: poetry and rhyming stories. Both have special guidelines.

Rhyming Stories. Often at writers’ conferences editors will say they don’t like stories with rhyming text. That’s not exactly true — rhyming stories are published all the time. What these editors are really objecting to is bad rhyming text. Too many writers try to copy [tag-tec]Dr. Seuss[/tag-tec], the master of the rhymed story. They imitate the form of his work but not the substance. The rhyme is a vehicle to tell the story, not the other way around. It must still follow all the rules of a good picture book: a strong opening, believable characters, an interesting plot, a satisfying ending. Every word must advance the story - you can’t throw in extra phrases simply to complete the rhyme. Consider the opening lines of The Cat in the Hat. In eight short lines Dr. Seuss establishes setting, mood and conflict. Few books written in prose do so much with so little. (more…)

By Laura Backes, Publisher of Children’s Book Insider

 It’s a great time to be a [tag-tec]children’s book author[/tag-tec] or illustrator. Recently, the industry was abuzz with the news that Brian Selznick won the Caldecott for his 544-page The Invention of Hugo Cabret, published by Scholastic for ages 9-12. Selznick, who wrote and illustrated the tome, described his work like this on Amazon.com: “My new book … is a 550 page novel in words and pictures. But unlike most novels, the images in my new book don’t just illustrate the story; they help tell it. I’ve used the lessons I learned from … masters of the picture book to create something that is not a exactly a novel, not quite a picture book, not really a graphic novel, or a flip book or a movie, but a combination of all these things.”

Not to be outdone, the Newbery committee awarded this year’s medal to Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schlitz, illustrated by Robert Byrd (96 pages, Candlewick Press, ages 10 and up). This book is a series of 22 portraits of medieval characters between the ages of 10 and 15, written in prose and different verse forms, designed to be either performed out loud or read silently. Historical notes appear in the margins, and occasional two-page spreads feature short essays on historic topics related to the narratives. Illustrated with Byrd’s pen-and-ink drawings, it’s not quite a novel, not quite a play, not exactly nonfiction, but rather a wonderful melding of all three. (more…)

Canadian YA (young adult) Sci-Fi/Fantasy Author Simon Rose is profiled in this excellent interview on Carma’s Window (a very useful blog, BTW).

Have a look at:

http://carmaswindow.blogspot.com/2008/05/author-interview-simon-rose.html

Some cool links…..

[tag-tec]Big Universe[/tag-tec] - Online children’s bookshop where you can read and purchase electronic picture books, or create your own for online publication.  Their URL is http://www.biguniverse.com   Here’s a recent piece from Publisher’s Weekly about the site. 

[tag-tec]JacketFlap[/tag-tec] - Terrific social networking site for children’s book writers, illustrators, librarians and publishing professionals.  Free and very easy to use.  Highly recommended.  http://jacketflap.com   (And, after you sign up,  visit our JacketFlap page to become added as one of our friends.)

[tag-tec]drop.io[/tag-tec] - Awesome free tool that allows you fax any document from your computer - without fax software.  Lots of other neat ways to share files, too.  http://drop.io/

[tag-tec]Authonomy[/tag-tec] - A new site, now in beta testing, from HarperCollins that has industry folks buzzing.  It will be a social network site that will allow writers to upload manuscripts, which will be read and judged by other members of the network.  The site will use “the public’s recommendations to search out the cream of the crop – and showcase those titles to the book world at large”.   The actual site will be at http://www.authonomy.com/   There’s a company blog up now which addresses common questions.  Here’s some of what the rest of the blogosphere is saying.

[tag-tec]Snopes[/tag-tec] - Every day I get a forwarded message from some well-meaning person.  Bill Gates is giving money away…Barack Obama is this….John McCain is that….a new computer virus will suck your soul out of your body.  It usually takes me all of 3 seconds to determine that it’s a hoax, thanks to the venerable Snopes.com database of urban myths.  If you get a forwarded message, before you drop your entire address book’s contents into the CC: section and hit send, please, please, please check it out on Snopes first.  (Also, for writers, the site is a hoot — filled with all kinds of wildly imaginative stuff that you can you use to spark your own ideas.  Just be sure to put them in your next book rather than your next mass e-mail!)  http://www.snopes.com

Our little company was born 18 years ago in a Jersey City apartment, and, against all odds, it’s paid our mortgage, put food in our dog’s dishes and baseball cards in our son’s pockets.  If we’ve learned anything about building a business during this time, it’s this:

I didn’t always buy into that notion.  When we first put our website up (way back in 1995) it seemed crazy to give away so much information and I had to be dragged along kicking and screaming.  But, wow, I’m sure glad I got on board.  Since that time, we’ve given away a lot of stuff, asking only goodwill in return.  I have no doubt it’s one of the big reasons CBI is where it is today.   If you’re struggling to make it as a writer, I urge you to consider a similar path.  Give of your talents, help others who need it and be a mentor — and the big wheel o’ karma will surely spin your way.

Right.  Time to get off the soapbox and give you what you came for — [tag-tec]free stuff[/tag-tec]!  We’ve got all kinds of goodies scattered around the web site and they can be tough to find.  I bet, for example, you didn’t know that we have a free ebook called Robert Louis Stevenson on the Art of Writing. It’s really an outstanding read and it’s waiting for you, along with a bunch of other things that won’t cost you a dime.

Here’s where to go to browse and take:  http://write4kids.com/freestuff.html

Enjoy!

 Admit it , you’ve made some of these [tag-tec]grammar[/tag-tec] mistakes. Lord knows I have….

http://insight.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020415,39273376,00.htm