I’ve just posted a new video over at The CBI Clubhouse about resources to help you find writing jobs online. If you’re looking to earn a few dollars while you develop your children’s writing career, you just might find the answer at the sites I highlight.
Have a look at the video at
Brainstorming can be a frustrating task for any writer, especially fiction writers. And while children’s book authors may be able to think of several different story ideas right off the top of their heads, when it comes to developing characters or brainstorming for specific plotlines, it can be hard to narrow down your ideas to make the right choices. Keep reading for 8 tips for better brainstorming, and more fascinating children’s stories.
Surround yourself with children: It’s the most obvious tip, but it’s also the most effective. Visit with your nieces and nephews, children’s friends and own kids, and eavesdrop on conversations that kids have in public. You’ll quickly pick up on their games, interests and dialog.
Have a goal in mind: Give yourself a specific goal for each brainstorming session so that you have more of a focus. You can devote different sessions to brainstorming about a scene, the main character’s back story, or the setting.
Organize your work: While scratching sudden ideas onto scraps of paper when they come to you is helpful, work on a laptop or in an official notebook that you can keep track of when you sit down for a brainstorming session. If your notes are organized on paper, you’ll be able to see them more clearly in your own mind, too, as you formulate the story.
Write everything down, even if you think it’s stupid: As a children’s book writer, you have free range to use magic, fantasy and even talking animals in your stories. That flexibility applies to your brainstorming too, so write down every imaginative idea you have.
Use metaphors: Use metaphors to describe your characters, concepts, setting and anything else that applies. Compare them to objects, foods, animals and seasons to inspire creativity.
Consider the illustrations: You may not be the illustrator as well as the writer, but thinking about how your story will translate visually can help you develop characters and create scenes.
Think in opposites: Make lists that describe the different elements in your story and write down the opposites. This brainstorming strategy will help you understand the complexity of your story and any conflicts that your characters may face.
Work every day: You’ll lose momentum and progress if you only write when you feel like it. Even if you don’t think you’re feeling very creative or inspired, sit down to brainstorm for at least 30 minutes and to write out a few sentences. You never know when the most important ideas will hit you.
This guest post is contributed by Alvina Lopez, who writes on the topics of accredited online colleges. She welcomes your comments at: alvina.lopez@gmail.com.
Since many aspiring children’s book writers are also teachers, it might be a good idea to offer some advice in a familiar format — a writing lesson plan. We’ll develop this plan step-by-step.
Writing picture book fiction is quite possibly the hardest type of writing there is, and yet editors receive more picture book manuscripts than any other genre. To make your work stand out from the crowd, you need to do more than study how to devise a winning plot and create believable, unique characters. You need to polish your prose until it sparkles. Here’s a checklist to help with the editing process:
* Check the pacing. Picture books are generally 32 pages long, which means you’ll have about 28 pages of text and illustration. So break your text into 28 chunks and place each on a separate piece of paper. Staple the pages together to look like a book and read your story as you turn the pages. Notice the pacing and how the action unfolds. Does the story flow evenly, or are there several pages where nothing special happens? Does something occur on the righthand page or each two-page spread–a rise in action, a recurring phrase, a funny moment– that makes the reader want to turn the page and see what happens next?
* Note the illustration potential. Since you’ve made your manuscript into a “book,” think about what the illustrations might look like. Are there enough changing scenes to inspire a different illustration on each page, or at least every two-page spread? Is the story told with a lot of visual elements (actions and events the reader can see)? Are there long scenes of dialogue that go on for more than one book page? (Note: Making your manuscript into a dummy book and thinking about the illustrations are for your benefit only. When you submit the manuscript to a publisher, you’d type it doublespaced without identifying where the page breaks would go. You’d also refrain from discussing any illustration ideas until the editor asks for your thoughts.)
* Cut words. If you use two words to describe a character, try to find one more exact word to do the trick. Eliminate verbal clutter– words like “big,” “little,” “very,” “almost”– that don’t add any real meaning to the sentence, and instead choose strong, active nouns and verbs. Strike any sentences or scenes that don’t directly advance the plot.
* Use concrete images. Be sure to convey the story through concrete visual images the reader can see and the illustrator can draw. Describe abstract concepts such as feelings with sensory details the character (and the reader) can smell, hear, touch, see and taste.
* Craft a satisfying ending. Does your plot have an identifiable yet surprising climax in which all the action comes together and the main character solves his or her problem? Is this climax contained within one book page? After the climax, is the story resolved (wrapped up) quickly? The resolution must feel complete and satisfying for the reader, but shouldn’t be drawn out. Make it a book page or less, and your readers won’t hesitate to revisit your story many times over.
Interested in learning how to write a book and send it to children’s book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and much, much more!
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