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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: September, 2020
For the Love of Genre | Writing for Children 219 0
Sep 26, 2020

FOR THE LOVE OF GENRE

Anyone who has been writing for children for any length of time knows that folks have a tendency to see writers for children as dabblers and writers for adults as real writers. In fact, many children's writers have flatly been asked when they're going to do a real book. And within children's writing, book authors are definitely given more respect than magazine writers. And if you write books, well, writing the more action oriented, plot driven genre are definitely seen as less valuable than the character-driven, deeply emotional novels. But like any class system, this one is unfair, and just because other people have bought into it, doesn't mean we have to. Let's look more closely at our love of genre in this week's episode.

 

Join the Institute of Children's Literature Community! Get our 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

Real Speech for Real People | Writing for Children 218 0
Sep 18, 2020

REAL SPEECH FOR REAL PEOPLE

Today’s episode is adapted from one of our lessons in the Shape, Write, Sell Your Novel course. This course will work with middle grade and YA novels as well as adult novels. You can check out more details at:

https://www.instituteforwriters.com/novel-writing-course-online/

Dialogue is an essential component of creating distinct character voice, but of all aspects of writing, dialogue gives novice writers the biggest challenges. Once you understand what good dialogue is and train yourself to listen for it, you’ll find it’s one of the most enjoyable things to write.

 

Jamie K. Schmidt | Writing for Children 217 0
Sep 11, 2020

INTERVIEW WITH JAMIE K. SCHMIDT

Today’s guest expert is USA Today Bestselling romance novelist Jamie K. Schmidt, who also blogs for us on occasion. Jamie writes contemporary love stories and paranormal romances including the bestselling romantic comedy Life's a Beach and her 2018 RITA award finalist Stud.​ 

We talk about:
• Writer burnout
• Hybrid authors explained
• Difference between YA romance novels and adult.
• Recommendations for someone who is interested in writing romance

 

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

8 Steps to Perfect Dialogue Format | Writing for Children 216 0
Sep 4, 2020

8 STEPS TO PERFECT DIALOGUE FORMAT

Formatting dialogue in any manuscript can be perplexing. This rebroadcast of a popular episode has 8 guidelines to make your dialogue the best it can be.

 

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

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