Children’s Writing Web Journal

In case you needed another reason to write books for kids, here comes some fascinating news:

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center tracked 81 clinically obese girls, ages 9 to 13, and found that 35 percent of the children managed to reduce their body mass index (BMI) when given a book to read about an overweight girl who helps herself to get healthier.

Read the whole story here: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6719309.html

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!

You’re driven to write a children’s book, but you’re not sure what you want to write about. No problem, let’s figure it out. In this video, we’ll give you some tips for avoiding what *not* to write about, and how to mine your own life experiences for great subjects.

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The big screen is filled with great storytelling techniques that you can employ to improve your own writing. Here’s just some of what you can lift from your favorite films….

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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!

I’ve read several picture book manuscripts recently that don’t have plots. They have terrific ideas, charming scenes, even unique characters. But these particular manuscripts were missing that thread of story that starts on page one and tugs at the reader to continue turning the pages until the end. The events weren’t connected–they may have involved the same characters, but there was no cause-and-effect relationship that made one event logically follow another.

When writing children’s book fiction, it’s sometimes difficult to tell the difference between a plot point and an incident. Incidents stand alone; they may lend themselves to vivid scenes, but they have no connection to what came before in the book, and have no effect on what happens on the next page. A plot point, on the other hand, couldn’t exist without everything that preceded it, and if you remove that plot point from the story, everything that happens afterwards wouldn’t make sense. Each point is a link in a chain. Break one, and the whole thing falls apart.

Incident stories also tend to lack conflict and tension. That’s because these books are more about conveying a mood, a place, or a point in time. They show a day in the life of a particular child, what a bunny sees on his first tour of the backyard, the comforting bedtime routine of a toddler. Many picture books of previous generations were actually incident books, and in fact this type of story is still being published today as books for children up to age three. But for the mainstream, hardcover picture book crowd–those kids ages four to eight–incident books won’t cut it anymore.

You can blame television, publishing conglomerates concerned with making money, or large bookstore chains that only want titles that fly off the shelves, but the bottom line is if you’re a first-time author writing a picture book, it needs to have a plot to sell. And let’s face it, plots are a good thing. They allow children to become emotionally invested in the story, wondering what’s going to happen next. They hold kids’ attention (even before television, young children didn’t have the longest of attention spans). They invite rereading, and retelling, over and over.

If you study newer picture books, you’ll see that some of the plots are very subtle. David Shannon’s Duck on a Bike, for example, seems at first glance like an incident story. Duck finds a bike on the farm and slowly rides past all the animals. As he passes each animal, it comments on the sight of a duck on a bike. This pattern is repeated several times until suddenly a bunch of kids come down the road on their bikes, park them by the farm house, and go inside. The next spread is wordless, showing all the animals staring at the bikes. The following illustration depicts all the farm animals careening around the barnyard on bicycles with silly grins plastered to their faces. As the story ends, the animals return the bikes to the house, And no one knew that on that afternoon, there had been a cow, a sheep, a dog, a cat, a horse, a chicken, a goat, two pigs, a mouse, and a duck on a bike.

The repetition of Duck pedaling past each animal on the bike paved the way for the story’s climax. It couldn’t have happened without all the scenes that came before.

Oh sure, you say, but what about a book like Ian Falconer’s Olivia? That’s a series of incidents in the life of a spunky girl pig. Yes, it is, and this popular book proves that for every rule there’s an exception. And though it doesn’t have a conventional plotline, it does have emotion (What child hasn’t seen him or herself in Olivia, and laughed at her approach to life?) and tension (Will Olivia get in trouble for drawing on her bedroom wall? Will she convince her mother to read her four bedtime stories instead of two?). It also has exquisite illustrations by the author (if you can write and illustrate, and do both well, you’re given a bit more room to stretch the rules). But most of all, it has a strong main character. Olivia is real, multilayered, and charming. The author took the time to develop the character first, so the reader will immediately identify with Olivia and be interested in the incidents that make up her day.

If you’re just starting out as a children’s book writer, or are writing your first picture book, do yourself a favor and create a story with a plot. But before you begin, develop your main character. If you have a real character with emotions, strengths and weaknesses, that character will inevitably want something. How that character goes about getting what he or she wants will lead you to your plot. It’s really that simple.

Now all you have to do is write the book.

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!

I recently opened up my email to find this message: “Can I get published as a children’s book author if I’m not a good writer?” I was taken aback at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I appreciated the question. The sender knows her limitations, but dreams of getting published anyway. She’s not suffering under the delusion that she’s the next Dr. Seuss, and I admire that. She’s going to look at her work with a critical eye, and search for ways to make it better. This is assuming that it’s possible to learn to write well.  I believe that it is.

Very few writers have the innate ability to create vibrant, relevant, compelling stories right out of the gate. Most have to work at it. And those who see writing as a skill that is never quite mastered, requiring a lifelong devotion to the learning process, will be most successful. Where this gets tricky is that unlike other skills - such as baking a cake - there is no foolproof way to learn how to write.  So while I can’t give you a one-size-fits-all method, I can give you some ideas on how you can find the path that works best for you.

Read, read, read. Why are editors always telling aspiring authors to read piles of children’s books? Because they give you a concrete representation of what works. Be sure you read good books (check reviews or ask a librarian or teacher for recommendations). By simply reading, you’ll learn about the ebb and flow of a story, how a character is introduced and developed, the types of conflicts appropriate for each age group, how to build tension in scenes and chapters, the relation of sub-plots to the main storyline, how dialogue moves the plot along, and much more. You’ll experience firsthand how a skilled author uses sensory images to immerse the reader completely in the story. By comparing several authors writing for the same age group, you’ll hear different literary voices.

I suggest reading books like those you wish to write, as well as books one level younger and one level older. So, if your goal is to write a middle grade mystery for ages 8-12, also read mysteries for ages 7-10 and 10-14. In this way, you’ll become educated about precisely what makes up a middle grade novel and how it’s different from fiction for older and younger readers. You might even learn that your story isn’t really for middle grades after all.

Another reason for reading a lot of quality books is that you need a yardstick against which to judge your own work. You’ll learn which “rules” can’t be broken and those that have more wiggle room. For example, you’ll be hard pressed to find a 60-page picture book in the stores, even by a well known author. If your picture book’s that long, you’ll have no choice but to rethink the story and fit it into 32 pages. However, you can experiment with unconventional characters and unexpected viewpoints. And the older the reader, the fewer rules apply. But no matter what you do with your plot, characters or writing style, make sure you know why you’re doing it. Don’t write the story in present tense unless it needs to unfold in real time for the reader. Don’t incorporate flashbacks unless they’re vital for understanding what’s going on in the story now.

Find a system that works for you. The first step toward learning to write is figuring out how you learn the best. Some authors I know are very left-brained; they love charts and graphs and lists. They thrive on tracking their scenes and plotting out their book on every level before they start to write. Those left-brainers will analyze published books and count the words per page, note which scene contains the plot’s catalyst, chart out where the tension rises and falls in each chapter. Others prefer to learn more intuitively. They read books, absorb the different writing styles, and maybe jot down a few notes with overall impressions or key points they want to remember. They have a general idea of where their own story is going, and aren’t afraid to experiment and take detours along the way.

If you don’t know where you fall on the spectrum, try different approaches and see what feels right. Remember that there is no one way of doing this, and every method has its pros and cons. Plotting out your story beforehand can prevent you from wandering off track, but the lists can become an evasive technique to keep you from actually writing the book. Letting the words spill onto the page with no grand plan feels very creative, but usually results in huge first drafts that have to be significantly trimmed and shaped. If you write long enough you’ll discover your weaknesses and devise ways to work around them. Maybe you outline first, then put it away while you write your first draft. Maybe you lay out your scenes on a plotline after each chapter, then revise as needed before moving on to the next chapter. If your dialogue tends to wander in circles before coming to the point, you’ll learn to get it on paper and then tighten it in the second draft.

Recognize your strengths. Some authors are brilliant nonfiction writers but can’t sell a fiction story. Others write wonderful picture books but are overwhelmed by all the layers to a novel. Instead of trying to force a style that isn’t you, start with what you’re naturally good at. You don’t have to publish fiction to be a successful author. You may dream of writing picture books, but if you have a knack for relating to teenagers, maybe young adult novels are your future.

Discovering your strengths involves experimenting with several writing styles and age groups. If you don’t know where to start, think about the kinds of children’s books you most like to read. Then play around with writing dialogue or scenes for the same age group. If you’re naturally drawn to nonfiction, make a list of topics that excite you. Start by writing about one of the subjects in the style of some of your favorite children’s magazines.

Above all, practice. Over the years I’ve worked with writers who have gotten published through sheer force of will. They’ve gone over manuscripts again and again, taking them from mediocre to polished. They’ve put aside ideas that simply didn’t work and turned to something new. And they never submitted the first or second draft to an editor, because those manuscripts could always be improved. They weren’t very good writers when they began, but they learned. And you can too.

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!

The new issue of our free e-zine, Children’s Writing Update, is now online. This issue features some great market tips for YA writers, a treasure trove of writing advice from the late Allen Ginsberg, and article on creating great titles for your children’s books and much more.

Go check it out at http://www.getresponse.com/archive/cwupdate/Childrens-Writing-Update-The-Best-Writing-Tips-Ever-3302265.html

Enjoy!

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!

Looking to send a manuscript to children’s book publishers? Here’s an easy three-step approach to help you find just the right publisher for your story!

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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!

One of my favorite bits of wisdom found in William Least Heat-Moon’s Blue Highways: A Journey into America (including the first line: Beware thoughts that come in the night.) is contained in an exchange Heat-Moon had with a man he met in Tennessee. The man asked him, “Where you headed from here?” Heat-Moon replied, “I don’t know.” Grinning, the man pronounced, “Cain’t get lost then.”

There’s something incredibly liberating about not knowing where you’re going. We rarely have this freedom in our daily lives. We have to plan the next project for work, or whose turn it is to drive the kids to school, or what we need to pick up at the grocery store for dinner. So when we have the opportunity to actually let go and float with the current, we should take it. For writers of children’s fiction, it’s essential to embrace the unplotted course.

I can’t count how many manuscripts I’ve read where it’s very clear that the writers began with the ending. They knew where they wanted to end up; the lesson they wanted to teach, or the message they needed to convey. Then they worked backwards, manipulating their characters and plots to arrive at preconceived destinations. This always — always! — results in stories that are heavy-handed, contrived, and often don’t make sense.

Instead, I suggest to these writers that they start with their protagonist, and brainstorm from there. Ask “What if?” What if this character reacted to the problem differently. What if another character worked against him. What if you flipped some character traits, from confident to shy, from bookish to musically gifted, from being a football player to a skateboarder. Where might you end up?

Some authors can’t let go of their ending. It’s too scary, not knowing where they’re headed. They need assurance that their work will have a purpose before they invest the time and effort to write it. What if they try a new direction and it doesn’t pan out? Then they’ll have to start all over again. Or (and this is really scary for some authors), what if they embrace a new direction, and the whole meaning of their book changes? Instead of teaching kids that everyone should be valued for their special talents, their book might evolve into a story about not taking life too seriously. And that’s not the message they want kids to hear.

Sadly, these writers probably won’t get published. To them, the theme is more important than the plot. The message more important than the story. The destination takes precedence over the journey. What they don’t understand is that when a child opens a book, it’s the journey he’s looking forward to. The ending has to be good, but getting there must be great.

Magical, unforgettable journeys aren’t always planned. Sometimes they happen by accident. If you have the heart and soul of a writer, this shouldn’t scare you. In fact, it’s exciting. If you’re open to working a long time on your protagonist, so you know this character inside and out and he has many facets to his personality, then at some point the protagonist takes over. He’ll show you where the story needs to go. If you’re comfortable with brainstorming and actually putting any idea that pops into your head down on paper without editing, you’ll make subconscious connections between ideas that you didn’t even know you had. And if you’re committed to story, not message, you could end up with a book that’s bigger than anything you ever imagined.

We often talk about the structure of fiction: a character who has a problem to solve, a catalyst that gets the plot moving, an ending that resolves the problem in a believable way. These techniques are still a vital part of writing, but don’t worry about them until you know exactly who your protagonist is and what that character needs. If you try to think of a catalyst before you know what your character wants, you can’t possibly put that character in a situation that drastically effects his life. Wander around and explore your options before you worry about your story’s foundation. Let yourself get lost before you find the perfect place to settle down.

What about nonfiction? Surely you need to know where you’re going when you’re writing factual material, right? In this case, you probably will know where you have to end up; what topic you’re going to explore, or what points you want to make. But how you get there is still up for grabs. Do you want to write about medieval life from a humorous perspective, with short bursts of information interspersed with jokes, trivia and quizzes? How about a day in the life of a 12-year-old peasant? Maybe a collection of recipes for everything from celebratory feasts to common dinners to medicinal concoctions? As you’re researching, keep an open mind. You may stumble across a gem that completely changes the direction of your book for the better. Or, you’ll amass so much material that you’ll have a book and five articles, all with a different focus.

One of the perks of writing for children is that your options are endless. Getting there is half the fun. As long as you’re open to infinite possibilities, you’ll never lose your way.

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!

I have a very clean house. I vacuum almost daily, regularly dust my silverware drawer for crumbs, and organize my closets at least three times a year. What’s my secret? I’m a writer who works from home.

Like many writers, when deadlines loom I circle my laptop, finding excuses not to get started. But because I do consider myself a writer (and my Mexico vacation depends on it), eventually I plant myself in the chair and get to work. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. I hear from a lot of people who long to call themselves writers, but have generated all sorts of reasons never to try. So here’s a list of the top five dreamdashers, and why none of them hold any water:

I have no time to write. Every beginning writer is time-challenged, because until you’re getting paid for your writing, you’re probably spending a chunk of each day doing something else. But consider this: author Claudia Mills, who has two sons and works as a college professor, said at a workshop that she writes every morning while her family is still asleep. Many days, she only gets in 5-15 minutes of writing. But those are actual writing minutes; not minutes spent thinking about writing, or worrying about writer’s block, or staring at a blank piece of paper. When she assembles all those little bits of intensive writing over several weeks, she ends up with a book. Check out her results at http://www.claudiamillsauthor.com

I’m too old. Editors won’t know how old you are if you don’t tell them. Your readers won’t know if you don’t put your picture on the book cover. If you write well, your voice will be ageless. I know of a woman who promised herself on her 65th birthday that she’d pursue a lifelong dream of writing a children’s book. She followed the advice to “write what you know,” and at age 69 received her first contract for a middle grade novel based on events from her childhood.

I don’t have a college degree. Guess what? Neither do your readers. Sure, it’s necessary to know the basic rules of grammar and how to express yourself on paper, but hopefully you mastered that by junior high. The best education you can give yourself as a potential children’s book writer is to read children’s books––many children’s books, especially those similar to the kind of books you want to write. And don’t let your lack of knowledge about a nonfiction topic stop you from writing about it. If you’re a skilled writer who enjoys research, you can teach yourself enough about many subjects to write about them, or find experts to help you fill in gaps in your knowledge.

Everything’s been written about. You’re probably right, but next season the shelves will be stocked with brand new books. Why? Because though it feels like we’re approaching the saturation point on new ideas, the way those ideas are presented can constantly change. You have a unique way of looking at the world that no one else can duplicate. So play around with those worn out ideas until you hit on something fresh.

Publishers are afraid of controversial topics/religion/men writing for kids/books that teach a lesson…. The only thing publishers are afraid of is not selling books. Do cutting edge, issue-driven books get attention? Take a look at prestigious awards lists. Does religion sell? Go to any chain bookstore and see that even trade publishers are bringing out fiction and nonfiction with religious themes. Do male writers need to use female pseudonyms? Again, I refer you to prestigious awards lists. Can a children’s book contain a moral these days? If you do it in an entertaining way without preaching, parents will snap up your work.

If you’re tempted to start a sentence with “Publishers are afraid…,” it probably means one of two things: you haven’t walked into a bookstore recently, or it’s easier to blame a pile of rejection letters on timid editors than to figure out why your manuscript isn’t selling. Though editors are under pressure to show a profit (publishing is a business, after all), they’re always looking for the next manuscript that will turn children’s books in a new direction. If you’re going to be that writer, in the end all you really need to do is plant yourself in the chair and get to work.

Laura Backes publishes Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Writers. For info about writing children’s books, free articles, market tips, insider secrets & more, visit http://Write4kids.com.

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!

I’m not very good with titles. Luckily, I publish an information newsletter, and my subscribers already know that each issue will focus on how to write children’s books. So an article title simply needs to convey at a glance to the reader whether the piece can be put to use right now, or filed away for later. Book titles, on the other hand, must entice a potential customer to pick up the book, open it, read a few lines, and then buy it. When your customers are children with big demands and short attention spans, your title often becomes your main sales tool.

Picture book titles, like the stories themselves, must be active, concrete, and sound appealing when read out loud. A little surprise doesn’t hurt: Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Williams, and When the Chickens Went on Strike: A Rosh Hashanah Tale by Erica Silverman all promise stories of animals acting in very un-animallike ways. Titles can give a clue to the plot and tone of the book but should draw the reader in without giving away the ending (Hannah Mae O’Hannigan’s Wild West Show by Lisa Campbell Ernst; Sumi’s First Day of School Ever by Soyung Pak). And don’t be afraid to go for a grabber like Walter, the Farting Dog by William Kotzwinkle. You may not like the story, but I dare you to walk by the book in a store without wanting to read a few pages.

Chapter books and middle grade novels must appeal to kids more than their parents, so don’t use the character’s name as the title unless it’s very unusual (Bunnicula by James and Deborah Howe; Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli) . Titles that are funny (The Stinky Sneakers Contest by Julie Anne Peters), irreverent (Your Mother was a Neanderthal by Jon Scieszka), or relevant to readers’ lives (Gossip Times Three by Amy Goldman Koss) will give the author immediate credibility. This audience wants to read books about kids just like them, only more so (bigger problems, better clothes, more exciting social lives). Titles that telegraph adolescent angst (Shakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge; Rosy Coles’ Worst Ever, Best Yet Tour of New York City by Sheila Greenwald) forge a connection with readers.

Titles of young adult books are often spare, sophisticated, and dramatic. The title may represent an idea from the book rather than the plot, as in Chris Crutcher’s Whale Talk. Coupled with the cover illustration, the title is intended to intrigue the reader by presenting the overall tone of the story. Francine Prose’s After, illustrated by the word spraypainted on a bleak, gray brick school wall; Walter Dean Myers’ The Beast, with the title printed in large orange and yellow letters running bottom to top that almost swallow the black background; and Caroline B. Cooney’s Burning Up title imposed over an illustration of marshmallows being roasted on a beach bonfire, the flames a little too red, the marshmallows a little too burnt, all tell young adults that these are not their younger siblings’ books.

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!