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Writing for Children

Do you want to learn how to write a children's book? Make money writing for children's magazines? Since 1969, The Institute of Children's Literature has taught over 470,205 aspiring writers. Listen to the director of both The Institute for Writers and The Institute of Children's Literature and bestselling children's author Katie Davis host the show as she focuses on the craft of writing for children. She talks about how to write a children’s book, how to write for children’s magazines, how to get paid for your writing, and how to get published in the world of kidlit. There are hard-to-find resources, tips, and links included in every week's show notes. And, don't forget to check out the Institute of Children's Literature where you can be paired with a one-on-one mentor and learned to create polished and engaging projects that publishers are looking for in today's children's market.
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Now displaying: March, 2019
Mar 29, 2019

WRITING WHO YOU KNOW

If you interview published authors across all genres, you will be hard pressed to find one who claims his or her characters sprang forth from thin air. More often than not, the fictional players that populate stage, page, cinema and television reflect aspects of the writers’ own personalities, composites of friends and relatives, or are modeled after specific actors, politicians, rock stars, or criminals.

The longstanding advice of “write what you know” translates aptly to “write who you know” and what their actions reveal about their character, strengths and flaws, and motivations. Here's how you can write "who you know" (without them knowing).

 

Join the Institute of Children's Literature Community! Get our free weekly newsletter with articles on the craft of writing, hot markets looking for your work, and cool resources for your writer toolbox: www.instituteforwriters.com/icl-news

 

 

 

Mar 22, 2019

INGREDIENTS FOR THE PERFECT CHARACTER

Character creation can be approached in many different ways, but overall, most great characters come about as a mixture. Like a particularly tasty casserole, a writer grabs a pinch of this and a dash of that during the creation process. So let's look at some of the most common ingredients in our character casserole.

 

Let a one-on-one mentor help you get those characters out of your head and onto the page. Get started here!

Mar 15, 2019

LETTER FROM EDITOR EILEEN ROBINSON

The importance of character development can not be understated. This episode recounts a letter from Move Books editor Eileen Robinson on how to improve our characters, and thereby improve our connection with our readers.

 

Join the Institute of Children's Literature Community! Get our free weekly newsletter with articles on the craft of writing, hot markets looking for your work, and cool resources for your writer toolbox: www.instituteforwriters.com/icl-news

Mar 8, 2019

GREAT CHARACTERS ARE ALL AROUND

One way to find great characters is to look in the world around you. This seems relatively simple but may actually be harder than it sounds.

Why?

Because the key to creating vivid characters is writing them objectively and letting the reader draw their own conclusions.

What does it mean to be objective when writing about your characters? It doesn’t mean you can’t have reactions to, or opinions about, your subject. It does mean showing the reader what you observed in terms of concrete detail, rather than telling what you thought or felt. Yes, we’re back to our good friend, the “show, don’t tell” rule.

Let's get inspired.

 

Let a one-on-one mentor help you hone your character-creation skills and polish your work so it shines in your submissions to agents and publishers! Get started here!

Mar 1, 2019

INTERVIEWING THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR

Leslie Connor is the author of several award-winning books for children, including THE TRUTH AS TOLD BY MASON BUTTLE, the 2019 winner of the ALA Schneider Family Book Award, WAITING FOR NORMAL, also a winner of the ALA Schneider Family Book Award, CRUNCH, MISS BRIDIE CHOSE A SHOVEL, and the young adult novels DEAD ON TOWN LINE and THE THINGS YOU KISS GOODBYE. She lives with her family in Connecticut.

We talk about:

  • Why character development is so important, how to do it, and when.
  • How Leslie’s characters are so fully realized the reader feels like they know that person.
  • Does Leslie think of the story first, or the character or characters?
  • Does she outline first, either mentally or physically?
  • How to keep it straight when you write out of order.
  • Using verbal tics, like Mason’s “Tell you what…”
  • Revealing a character's learning disability through his language is a great “show don’t tell” method.
  • How does she keep from overdoing it?

 

Let a one-on-one mentor help you hone your characters and polish your work so it shines in your submissions to agents and publishers! Get started here!

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