Children’s Writing Web Journal

Welcome! If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. We'll be updating the blog on a daily basis, with plenty of exclusive tips, articles and goodies for aspiring children's book writers. So why not subscribe now and have easy access any time you'd like!

Several years ago, Anastasia Suen sent us this note, which still appears on our web site: “Yesterday’s mail brought copies of Hodgepodge, with my poem on the back page, and an acceptance letter from Babybug for another poem! My poems in Shoofly will be out in April. ALL these leads came from Children’s Book Insider! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

If you go to Anastasia’s own web site today (www.asuen.com) you’ll see that she’s the author of over 100 books, she leads online writing workshops, speaks at numerous conferences, and gets $1250 per day for a full-day school visit ($1500 if she has to travel). We like to think of Anastasia as our own personal CBI-success story, but really we can’t take any of the credit. Anastasia did it because she’s got what it takes to be a prolific, published children’s book author. One thing Anastasia, and other writers like her, has is a certain stick-to-it mentality that says, “I want this, I can do this, and I absolutely won’t give up.”

(more…)

Let’s continue our series which will take us, step-by-step, from absolute beginner to published author. The topic of the previous issue: What Should You Write About? If you missed it, you can read it here.

If you’ve been with us since the start of this series you’re (hopefully) well motivated, you know who your audience is and what you’re going to write about. Now it’s time to learn the rules of the game. Because kids grow and change so quickly, children’s book genres are far more structured and tiered than adult genres. What a 2nd grader and 6th grader read are worlds apart, and the “rules of the game” reflect that.

These rules, which cover page length, word count, subject matter and other elements of a book, aren’t really official. There’s no rule book, and no one standard to adhere to. They’re pretty much an unwritten set of expectations that editors have when they’re looking at a particular type of manuscript.

So, let’s fix that — by writing some of them down. For whatever age group you’re targeting, find the rules and follow them closely when drafting your first manuscript. (A note: As with all “unwritten rules”, these aren’t written in stone and can be a bit flexible from publisher to publisher. But our interpretation of the rules should work for most cases. Also, experienced, successful writers can and do sometimes get away with breaking these rules — but newer writers should stick closely to them.) (more…)

If you’re looking for a story idea, or just want another way to procrastinate, check out Found: The Best Lost, Tossed, and Forgotten Items from Around the World compiled by Davy Rothbart, and Found II: More of the Best…. Each volume holds pages of letters, postcards, photos, fliers, napkins, ticket stubs, and other discarded flotsam sent into Rothbart with a note from the finder speculating about the person who owned the item. All are scanned in as is, so you see the coffee rings, blood stains, tear marks and creative spelling.

Here’s a freebie, from Found II:

LOST DOG

Mid-Night

Large Black Dog, Very Ugly!!!

Not sure what breed she is. Definitely MIXED! Appears to be a cross between a Lab, Greyhound, Border Collie and a Deer. Extremely Fast!!!

Very good with children, but extremely destructive to the yard…. If you find her, please place her in your garage immediately (as she will quickly destroy your yard). Also, make sure that you remove everything from her reach as she likes to chew and will destroy anything she can get into.

Please call immediately as we miss her and would really like to have her back….

Reward $0.05

(I know it’s not much of a reward, but trust me, if you survive 1 day with her you will want to pay me to take her back.)

Note from Davy Rothbart: Mid-Night was indeed found and returned to her happy owner.

Now go. Write.

Are you writing (or attempting to write) a YA novel for boys? Check out this article from Publishers Weekly by a 13-year-old New Jersey boy who dissects all that’s wrong with modern YA and tells you what he wants to read. Even if your novel is purged of “Methinks” and you have a badass protagonist, it’s still worth a look.

Don’t like being told what to do by a 13-year-old? Remember, he’s published in PW. Are you?

Let’s continue our series which will take us, step-by-step, from absolute beginner to published author. The topic of the previous issue: Who Is Your Reader? If you missed it, you can read it here: http://write4kids.com/update101008.html

Today let’s talk about what you should write about.

Perhaps it’s best to begin with a few things you shouldn’t write about:

• Subjects that have been beaten to death. If you want to write another alphabet book, or a book in which our hero learns that it’s OK to be different, or a story about a talking squirrel and his magical forest friends, you had better have a really fresh take on things, or else you’re wasting your — and the editor’s — time. The best way to determine over-covered topics? Ask your local children’s librarian about the kinds of stories she hopes never to see again. You’ll get an earful — and a roadmap of where not to go.

• Subjects that have been covered better than you can possibly manage. As far as I’m concerned, no one should ever attempt to record a cover version of an Otis Redding song. Really, what’s the point? Is it even remotely possible to do that song better than Otis did it? But yet, some have tried. And they’ve failed.

  If you’re inspired by a truly great writer, that’s wonderful. Generations of writers have been sparked by the work of Dr. Seuss, or Judy Blume or Gary Paulsen. But no one will ever succeed simply by copying what those extraordinary talents have done. If you read Hatchet and decide that you’re going to take a crack at your own story about a boy stranded in the wilderness after he has to land a plane on his own, you’re missing the point. If you read Hatchet and decide that you’re going to write an entirely fresh and original adventure story for boys, you’re on the right track.

• Subjects you don’t care about. So you read that horror for teens is hot right now, and you decide that your ticket into the publishing world will be a YA novel filled with frights and chills. That’s cool — if you understand and appreciate the genre. But, if you aren’t inclined to read horror books on your own time just for the fun of it, what makes you think you’re at all capable of doing the genre justice in your own writing? “Write what you know” is an absolute truism, but I would amend it to “write what you’re passionate about”. That’s the real key. (I have a simple and foolproof technique for determining this coming up at the end of this piece.)

So, with that in mind, here are my two tips for coming up with a story idea that will resonate with readers and give your talent the best opportunity to shine:

1. Write about something from your own life and make it meaningful to today’s readers.

In the last installment of this series, I suggested that you create two imaginary children to represent your readers. Here’s the key point from the piece:

Before you start your manuscript, create two “characters” to represent your potential readership. One boy, one girl. Give each one a name. Imagine their age, their physical appearance, the way they speak and how they dress. Think about what they do with themselves in the hours not spent reading your book. Who are their friends? Who are their antagonists? What else do they read? In what kind of house or apartment do they live? And, most importantly, what are they looking for when they pick up your book? To be entertained? Enlightened? Scared? Tickled pink with laughter?

Don’t start writing your book until these two youngsters truly become real to you. Now, start writing your book for them. Forget the publisher, forget the editor, forget the (hopefully) hordes of other kids that will ultimately read your book. Write this book for those two kids.

Now examine your own life and find the things that have the most meaning for you. Did you overcome a great obstacle? Accomplish something you never thought possible? Experience a tragedy? Have a family member who got ill or was disabled? Develop an unusual hobby or interest? Make a list and see what speaks loudest to you. Now go back to your imaginary readers, take yourself out of the event and place one of them into it. In one stroke, you’ve obtained the necessary distance to write this story. Set your story in the child’s world, not yours. Let the child deal with it in his or her own way, not necessarily in the way you dealt with it. Let go of the story and allow your new protagonist to take over. You just might find that your story is a heck of a lot more fascinating, unpredictable and meaningful than you’ve ever imagined.

2. Discover Your True Passions and Write About Them

Here it is, my foolproof method of determining the things that you truly and deeply care about. And it couldn’t be simpler. Just answer this question:

When you’re browsing magazine racks in a bookstore, to which section do you go first? Which section do you head to next? And after that?

You just listed your top three passions. Simple, right?

Me, I go to the music section first. Then I look at martial arts magazines. Then political magazines. How about you?

There, you’ve just discovered the subjects you should be writing about (unless, of course, your first three stops are Hustler, High Times and Soldier of Fortune, in which case I suggest you might reconsider this whole children’s writing thing).

Our brand new podcast magically boils down the mysterious process of writing a picture book into about four and a half minutes.

Yes, we really are that good.

Download or listen online….and then start writing!

Download the podcast by right-clicking this link and selecting “Save as”

This one’s for the newbies…..

I HAVE A STORY I’VE WRITTEN FOR CHILDREN. DO I NEED TO FIND SOMEONE TO ILLUSTRATE IT BEFORE I CAN SEND IT TO A PUBLISHER?

Nope.

In fact, in cases where the author of a picture book is not also an artist, the publisher prefers to find its own illustrator for the book. The reason for this: often a publisher will match up a new author with a more experienced illustrator who has some name-recognition among book stores and teachers. Also, publishers have a stable of illustrators they have cultivated, and are always looking for new manuscripts for these illustrators to work on.

Finally, publishers have a certain “look” they have developed for their individual lists, and the illustrator you choose for your manuscript may not have a style that fits with other books already published by that house.

If you do know an artist that you want to work with, you can submit illustrations with your manuscript, but be prepared that the editor may like only the writing or only the illustrations and won’t want to buy the entire package.

Laura Backes, Publisher

Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Writers

Dear Laura

Could you address point of view and the picture book? I’m working on a 1200 word picture book story, with several characters and lots of action, for ages 5 - 9. It seems more economical word-wise to write it from the omniscient view point, although that is often cautioned against. But in the picture book, there is scarcely enough time to introduce one character well before the end of the story would be near, and the other characters wouldn’t get as fleshed out as they could be.

The omniscient viewpoint can work in a picture book, and it’s used there more often than in longer books. If you have several characters who are crucial to the story, it’s probably the best way to go. Also, since picture books deal with action and dialogue, rather than the internal thoughts of the characters, using the omniscient viewpoint won’t be as confusing in this format as in novels where the reader can see inside a character’s head. But still make sure one character takes center stage as your main character. Your readers have to have one character with which to identify, one character to sympathize with, and one character who has a clearly defined problem that he/she solves during the course of the story.

Laura Backes, Publisher

Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Writers

Dear Laura,

What are the qualities that make a memorable illustrated children’s book?

Many things make a picture book memorable. Well-defined characters with whom young children can identity, and who have a problem or goal that young children can understand and find important. A well-paced plot that inspires the child to turn the page and see what happens next. Lyrical, rhythmic text that sounds appealing when read out loud. Engaging illustrations that contain details not found in the text, and also add another layer to the story. And finally, an original, imaginative story that the child, parent and editor haven’t seen before!

If you think about your favorite books from your own childhood, they are probably stories that made you feel something: wonder, joy, excitement, surprise, or even sadness. Those stories that speak directly to a child’s emotions are always the most memorable.

Laura Backes, Publisher

Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Writers

Dear Laura,

Is it possible or advisable to have a lead character who is an adult, rather than a child, in a novel for kids ages 8-12? It seems to me that many successful books involve a lead character who is approximately the same age as the audience, unless the book involves animals as characters. Is it a generally accepted convention or a rule that the character who experiences the main conflict and changes in a children’s book should be a child? Or is it possible to have an adult as the lead character if the supporting characters are children and if the problems faced by the adult involve issues which are relevant to children? Do you know of any examples of any successful books for ages 8-12 in which the lead character is not a child?

Your questions are very perceptive. You’ve noticed that most books have children as main characters, and that the conflict needs to be something relevant to a child. As a result, it’s hard to have the main character be an adult, though not impossible. Everything that comes to mind as examples feature a prominent adult character, but the story’s still told through the viewpoint of a child. For example, The Pigman by Paul Zindel is about an eccentric loner, but the story’s told by two kids who befriend him. Even in these books the adult is facing problems that are relevant to the middle grade readers. So to give you a firm answer to your question, I believe it would be difficult to successfully make an adult the main, viewpoint character, though he/she can be a very strong secondary character or even the focus of the book as long as a child is the one telling the story.

Laura Backes, Publisher

Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Writers