WHAT TO EXPECT AT A WRITING CONFERENCE
Many people sign up for writing conferences hoping they’ll send a manuscript home with an editor, or even better, be offered a contract right there at the conference. Has that ever happened at a conference? Probably. But you’re much more likely to come home with a cold than a contract. Does this mean writing conferences aren’t worth your time and money? Not at all. It does mean that you need to know what you can expect to gain from a conference so you can prepare for all it has to offer.
BEGIN BY BEING CHOOSY
When choosing a conference to attend, it’s easy to think “big” is “best.” Some writers start right out with one of the two big national conferences from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators as their first. But these huge conferences can be overwhelming. It’s difficult to connect with other writers in the bustling conference atmosphere (unless you’ve preplanned to meet up with online friends) and virtually impossible to chat with any of the conference presenters (with the huge number of people in attendance, the conference often has to limit contact for the presenter’s welfare). You will receive a wealth of valuable information, but if it’s your first conference, your overall impression may be that you didn’t “do it right” because you didn’t talk to people much.
Smaller conferences can be better because you’ll get more chance to meet other conference attendees, and there is more chance to interact with presenters also. However, not all small conferences are created equal. It’s important to choose wisely. One way to do that is to “check out” certain things.
For more helpful advice on making the most of your conference experience, listen to the full episode.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/044
You've got questions. We've got answers.
Let us answer your writing questions on the podcast. Go to this link and leave your question: http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak.
Polish up your manuscript before you submit. Get a critique from an ICL instructor.
Go to https://www.instituteforwriters.com/critique-service/
What's an ISBN?
It’s an International Standard Book Number. It’s a unique number code given to books so that anyone who wants to buy or stock a specific book can find that specific book. Bookstores, libraries, readers, publishers, or your fans can search and find your book based on its ISBN.
Every ISBN consists of thirteen digits, though it used to be ten until around 2007-8, and whenever it is printed it actually says ISBN right in front of the number.
You can buy an ISBN through CreateSpace, which means they’ll be listed as the publisher, however, if you ever want your book to be carried by an independent bookseller, spend the money and purchase what you need through Bowker. Why? Bookstores do not usually like to carry books published by Amazon, and Amazon owns CreateSpace. Self-published books, though gaining ground (especially if you produce them correctly by using aprofessional editor and designer), still do not have the caché that traditionally published books have, so you want every advantage you can get.
To hear more about ISBNs including when you do and don't need one, listen to the full episode.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/043
You've got questions. We've got answers.
Let us answer your writing questions on the podcast. Go to this link and leave your question: http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak.
Polish up your manuscript before you submit. Get a critique from an ICL instructor.
Go to https://www.instituteforwriters.com/critique-service/
IT’S NOT JUST YOU
All writers, whether brand new or seasoned veterans, get stuck sometimes. Even those of us who outline extensively before we begin sometimes realize the plot is simply not working and a new approach is needed. But getting stuck can be paralyzing, especially for those of us who struggle with our inner critic's assurance that we're about to crash and burn at any moment. So having some solid strategies for how to handle those sticky spots will certainly come in handy. With that in mind, here are five tips for pulling yourself out of the rut when you're stuck.
OUT OF THE BOX
Sometimes getting unstuck means thinking outside the box. For instance, when you totally don't know what should happen next, Pixar studio artist Emma Coates suggests making a list of all the things that couldn't possibly happen next. When creating such a list, don't be afraid to be completely silly and outrageous as you add more and more and more things that couldn't possibly happen next. With each item you add, think about why that thing won't work…or maybe it will get your book to go in a fun new direction like the Caldecott honor book Leave Me Alone! by Vera Brogsol. This kind of thought makes you look in directions you've never considered and really forces you to examine any expectations that are keeping you stuck. Sometimes we're stuck just because we're mentally considering something impossible when it's really exactly the right way to go.
To hear all five tips to help get you unstuck, listen to the full episode.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/042
You've got questions. We've got answers.
Let us answer your writing questions on the podcast. Go to this link and leave your question: http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak.
Polish up your manuscript before you submit. Get a critique from an ICL instructor.
Go to https://www.instituteforwriters.com/critique-service/
EXPLAINING THE ADVANCE
As with any profession, writing comes with a lot of profession-specific jargon that turns words we’ve always known into strangers. One such term is the advance.
This is money an author receives at some point after signing a book contract but before collecting royalties. The advance can be a confusing thing for many writers.
What exactly is an advance?
Is it bad for publishing?
Do you even want one?
Do you have to pay them back if your book doesn't do as well as expected?
All of these questions have led to some weird myths about advances.
For help debunking these myths, listen to the full episode.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/041
You've got questions. We've got answers.
Let us answer your writing questions on the podcast. Go to this link and leave your question: http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak.
Does your manuscript need a fresh pair of eyes? Get a critique from an ICL instructor.
Go to https://www.instituteforwriters.com/critique-service/
GROWNUPS SHOULD BE SEEN AND NOT HEARD
A surprising number of writers really struggle to separate themselves from the adult characters in children’s stories. This is especially true for newer writers with stories for very young children. Few of us have very clear memories of our preschool years, but we have excellent memories of the preschool years of our children. And in all of those memories, we are the parent. Obviously. We are not the child. So when we write from those memories, it can be easy to slip into the adult viewpoint.
Unruly adults are the result. Unruly adults talk too much. Unruly adults step in and solve the story problem–either directly or through wise direction. Unruly adults push the main character into a passive role in the story.
Listen to three possible unruly adult stories and why they don't work in this episode.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/040
You've got questions. We've got answers.
Let us answer your writing questions on the podcast. Go to this link and leave your question: http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak.
Does your manuscript need a fresh pair of eyes? Get a critique from an ICL instructor.
Go to https://www.instituteforwriters.com/critique-service/
A CALL TO ADVENTURE
Increasingly editors are interested in two things in fiction (1) adventure and (2) something a boy might read. But many writers are stuck when it comes to thinking about adventure. What makes up an adventure and can you do it well in 2,000 words or less (sometimes a lot less). Sure you can. After all, Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are is a perfect adventure story in 336 words.
The adventure story is the basis for so many classic myths and legends–so much so that “The Hero’s Journey” has become almost a guidebook for adventure. So how could the circular structure of the basic “Hero’s Journey” help us craft a magazine adventure story? Let’s begin by looking at a simplified version of the Hero’s Journey structure, keeping in mind that for magazine fiction, the story must focus on the main character:
Ordinary World–Stories begin just before the thing that ultimately changes the main character.
Call to Adventure–A need arises, the main character has a challenge.
Refusal/Commitment–the main character resists the challenge, doesn’t want to undertake the task but ultimately accepts that the challenge cannot be avoided.
Approaching the First Ordeal–The main character begins to understand the size of the challenge and the stakes are raised.
Ordeal–main character faces a serious challenge and overcomes.
Reward–a time of rest for the main character, sometimes a false sense of completion.
The Road/Resurrection–more complications, when things look much worse than expected and the biggest challenge met.
Mastery–The adventure resolves, often a sense of coming full circle. The main character has changed.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/039
You've got questions. We've got answers.
Let us answer your writing questions on the podcast. Go to this link and leave your question: http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak.
Does your manuscript need a fresh pair of eyes? Get a critique from an ICL instructor.
Go to https://www.instituteforwriters.com/critique-service/
TWO-LAYERED WRITING
Sometimes we can borrow something from another art form and smuggle it over to children’s writing to be used in a slightly different way. One example of this is the “log line.” A log line in Hollywood scriptwriting terms is a kind of one-sentence summation of your script, preferably making it sound almost unbearably exciting. A log line sums up both the script's objective and subjective story. The objective story was basically what happened on the screen: A meets B and experiences the kind of instant loathing that is sure to result in true romance. The subjective story is basically what the story is about–in human terms: perhaps something like “strong emotion is the root of romance.” A good log line merges the two halves into one sentence to describe a script or film.
Cool, huh? What does it say about children’s writing? It is the nature of art–whether children’s writing, adult writing, painting, film, sculpture–that most forms have a dual nature. They have some kind of representation of reality married to what it means. In children’s writing we tend to think of that as “story” married to “lesson”–because we think of children in terms of instruction and training. Purists balk at the idea of “lesson” and insist they should just entertain. However, much of what is entertaining in adult art contains that element of “lesson”–if you take lesson and translate it to theme.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/038
You've got questions. We've got answers.
Let us answer your writing questions on the podcast. Go to this link and leave your question: http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak.
Does your manuscript need a fresh pair of eyes? Get a critique from an ICL instructor.
Go to https://www.instituteforwriters.com/critique-service/
A PRIMER ON POINT OF VIEW
The designations for Point of View are dependent upon how the main character is presented. In first person, the book is told directly by the main character, such as Barbara Park does in the Junie B. Jones books: “My name is Junie B. Jones. The B stands for Beatrice, except I don’t like Beatrice. I just like B and that’s all.” First person point of view offers an up-close connection with your main character but can result in too much “telling” instead of “showing.” Also, first person point of view can create difficulties in introducing physical description of the main character. Try to avoid the “look into a mirror” method of description since most editors consider that method clichéd.
Many character driven stories: the Amber Brown series and the Junie B. Jones series, for example, rely upon first person to clearly present the nuances of the main character. Many first person novels also include humor based on the main character’s unusual perceptions of people and events.
For best uses of second and third person point of views, listen to the full episode.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/037
You've got questions. We've got answers.
Let us answer your writing questions on the podcast. Go to this link and leave your question: http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak.
Does your manuscript need a fresh pair of eyes? Get a critique from an ICL instructor.
Go to https://www.instituteforwriters.com/critique-service/
8 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF ABOUT YOUR SUBMISSION
1. Does the title grab an editor’s attention? Does it offer a peek at the tone, subject, theme or unique vision of your story?
2. Is the story appropriate for your target market? Don’t send magazine articles to book publishers. Don’t send fiction to a market that buys only nonfiction. The key to knowing what’s appropriate is research. One way to research is listen to Episode 012-Is-This-a-
Picture-Book?
3. Does the first sentence make you want to read the story? Does something happen in the first paragraph? If you can say “it gets better” about anything to do with your first page, then you need to revise. You only get one chance to grab the reader, so do it right away.
For 5 more questions to ask yourself about your submission, listen to the full episode.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/036
You've got questions. We've got answers.
Let us answer your writing questions on the podcast. Go to this link and leave your question: http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak.
Does your manuscript need a fresh pair of eyes? Get a critique from an ICL instructor.
Go to https://www.instituteforwriters.com/critique-service/
STORY AND SETTING
One of the most common marks of a beginning writer is the “talking heads” story. What does that mean? Well, you have dialogue (usually between two characters) but no sense of place. The reader can’t picture the characters fully because he doesn’t know where they’re having this conversation––at the kitchen table? Walking together down a dusty road in the South? Squirming to find a comfortable position in airline seats? Without setting, dialogue doesn’t seem totally real.
Setting should be carefully chosen for your fiction. A story told on the beach in California will not be interchangeable with the same basic plot set on the streets of London. Setting is more than background noise. For some stories, setting is almost a character by itself since it can affect every area of the story. Your protagonist’s surroundings will influence his attitudes and responses to conflict. Setting includes geography [in what part of the world is the story located?] season [a summer story is very different from the winter story in children’s magazines] and housing [apartment? Mansion? Boarding school?].
BUILDING GOOD SETTING
Some writers draw elaborate floor plans and maps to help them write consistently about their setting. The more vividly you visualize your setting, the better you can weave it throughout your story and the more it can support your plot. If you have only a sketchy understanding of the particulars of the environment your book is set in, you’ll find yourself scotch-taping on your setting details rather than building a believable world.
For more ideas on how to build good setting, listen to the full episode.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/035
You've got questions. We've got answers.
Let us answer your writing questions on the podcast. Go to this link and leave your question: http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak.
Does your manuscript need a fresh pair of eyes? Get a critique from an ICL instructor.
Go to https://www.instituteforwriters.com/critique-service/
THE LEAP OF FICTION
Writers are often inspired by events from real life. But to use that inspiration we must view real life as a launch point and then join it to plot. We look at the life event and then we leap far from it, carrying along only those scraps we need for the actual story. Stories aren't recitations of what actually happened––that’s what articles are for––stories are for revealing truth.
Showing us reality beyond reality. Stories have a heart filled with personal growth and discovery. Life can be lively, but to make it a story you need to take a leap.
When Katherine Paterson wrote Bridge to Terabithia, for which she won the Newbery medal, she was inspired by a real life event. She said, ”I wrote Bridge because our son David's best friend, an eight-year-old named Lisa Hill, was struck and killed by lightning. I wrote the book to try to make sense out of a tragedy that seemed senseless."
Paterson didn't write the story of David and Lisa, tragic though the real life story was––she wrote a completely different story about Jesse and Leslie, a story born from the feelings she had about the real life event. The actual event sparked the story but the story didn't happen until the author made the leap from real life to a totally new thing––story.
For more ideas on how real life can inspire your stories, listen to the full episode.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/034
You've got questions. We've got answers.
Let us answer your writing questions on the podcast. Go to this link and leave your question: http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak.
Does your manuscript need a fresh pair of eyes? Get a critique from an ICL instructor.
Go to https://www.instituteforwriters.com/critique-service/
SCAM PROOFING
If you think of yourself as tech savvy, you probably have virus protection, spam filters of some sort, and pop up blockers. You can chant, “Don’t open unfamiliar attachments” in your sleep. But there are worse things online than viruses and spam.
The Internet is like one of those ancient treasure troves you read about in stories. You can find wonderful things there. Or you can hit the booby traps and you’re trapped in the cave of doom forever. Not good.
A frightening numbers of writers have been scammed. By whom? By the unsavory people who’ve realized that writers can be a great source of funds. Some people have been scammed for thousands of dollars. Some cost you your pride and hope, which is sometimes worse than mere dollars. Writers have been seriously demoralized and made to feel like a fool. Some zealously guard the cheats because they can’t even face that fact that they were made fools of, believing they got exactly what they expected. At whatever level they’ve been cheated, it’s heart-breaking to see it happen to any writer, but especially to children’s writers. So let’s look at some things you really need to know to stay safe as a writer today.
For ways to scam proof your writing efforts listen to the full episode.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/033
You've got questions. We've got answers.
Let us answer your writing questions on the podcast. Go to this link and leave your question: http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak.
Does your manuscript need a fresh pair of eyes? Get a critique from an ICL instructor.
Go to https://www.instituteforwriters.com/critique-service/
Today we’re going to talk about submissions. This is a topic that comes up frequently with each new contest. People ask about everything from naming and saving their Word documents to asking if we could rank all the entries. That way people would know where they stood. So, let’s spend a little time talking about the process of submissions.
Our contests were designed by the founders of ICL as a way for people to practice submitting their work to agents and editors. Let’s break down each piece of the contest process and how it applies to submitting to agents and editors.
FORMATTING GUIDELINES
Entries submitted to our contest must follow the guidelines listed in the contest rules page. Manuscripts should be double-spaced with one-inch margins and in Times New Roman or Courier 12-point font.
Why is this important in the publishing industry? It’s important because agents and editors may read hundreds of manuscripts a day, some from their current clients and some from hopeful writers trying to break through. By having a standard, it allows the editor to focus solely on the story and not be distracted by a strange font or hard-to-read size. It also allows them––at a glance––to get a feel for the length of your story. It also ensures that as
your manuscript goes up the publishing chain, formatting isn’t changed because someone’s computer doesn’t recognize the font you chose. Using the proper formatting and font shows you are professional. What did your teachers use to say? Neatness counts! (And it still does!)
For a better understanding of how submissions work (for our contest and out in the publishing world) listen to the full episode.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/032
You've got questions. We've got answers.
Let us answer your writing questions on the podcast. Go to this link and leave your question: http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak.
Is your manuscript ready for submission? Get a critique from an ICL instructor.
Go to https://www.instituteforwriters.com/critique-service/
WHAT DO KIDS CARE ABOUT?
You may have heard me mention that the great nonfiction writer––and editor––Andrea Davis Pinkney said, when shekeynoted at the online conference, Picture Book Summit, that nonfiction sounds like nonfun. But you should know, kids love nonfiction. Sometimes we forget that some readers find nonfiction more exciting––it’s their favorite reading.
Also, there are very few magazines that don't buy nonfiction––but there are quite a few that buy only nonfiction. With this reality, most of us can see the value of dabbling in nonfiction, but some find their nonfiction pieces meeting rejection time after time.
How do we find the perfect topic and slant to make the sale? Often it comes down to connecting with our kid-side.
Let's sing that old Sesame Street lyric “One of these things is not like the others…” our example is that three of these articles ideas belong together, but one just doesn't belong here. Which one and why?
A Teaspoon of Kerosene for that Cough? Disgusting Doses from the Past
I Vant to Suck Your Fluids––Vampire Caterpillars.
Kids In the White House
Overcoming Homework Hassles––Helping Kids Set Priorities
Right, what kid is going to read an article on how to get kids to do their homework? If you wanted to write an article on homework, you would need to do it from the viewpoint of the kid, not of the parent hoping to get kids to work.
Many new writers produce nonfiction that would be of interest to adults––especially parents––but would not be of interest to kids. Now, writing for parents is a potentially lucrative market, but it’s a different market.
When you choose a nonfiction topic, realize that no one is going to make the child read it.
For tips on writing nonfiction kids want to read, listen to the episode.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/031
What questions do you want to ask our instructors?
The faculty of the Institute of Children’s Literature wants to hear from you. Let us answer your writing questions on the podcast. Go to this link and leave your question: http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak. If it’s featured on the show, you’ll receive an awesome embroidered ICL all cotton baseball cap.
Wondering if your manuscript is ready for submission? Get a critique from an ICL instructor.
Go to https://www.instituteforwriters.com/critique-service/
Do you ever wonder if you have a real plot in your short story––something that an editor will find satisfying and complete? It can be tough, but one way to find out is to imagine your main character in front of you and just ask him or her some questions. What questions? Ah, there’s the key.
Kurt Vonnegut said, ”Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water."
The first question to ask your character is what he or she wants. A character who wants for nothing is probably not someone an editor is going to find interesting. Let’s ask that question of the main characters in two short stories––one for young readers (Penny) and two from two different stories for intermediate readers (Hannah and Carter).
Author: Hi, so, tell me––what do you want most in the world right now?
Penny: I want to go back to my old preschool where all my old friends are.
Hannah: I want Olivia to move back to Texas before she ruins my life.
Carter: I want to make enough money to buy another new cell phone, but I don’t want to be bored to death doing it.
All of these wants are very serious for the main characters. Now, Penny and Hannah aren’t going to get what they think they want––Carter will, but he may learn something about being careful what you wish for. Penny’s family has moved, and they aren’t likely to move back. And Hannah’s nemesis isn’t likely to move away just because that’s what Hannah wants. We can
sense the problems inherent in their desire right from the moment they tell us what they want.
For more questions to ask your characters, listen to this episode.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/030
What questions do you want to ask our instructors?
The faculty of the Institute of Children’s Literature wants to hear from you. Let us answer your writing questions on the podcast. Go to this link and leave your question: http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak. If it’s featured on the show, you’ll receive an awesome embroidered ICL all cotton baseball cap.
Need a fresh set of eyes? ICL instructors offer critiques!
Go to https://www.instituteforwriters.com/critique-service/
One of the most common reasons for editors to reject a poem is bad meter. Meter is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem. When the pattern works, the sound of the poem aids the content of the poem instead of distracting from it. Many writers think it’s enough to for a poem to rhyme but don’t understand the nature and construction of meter.
So, if you know how to handle meter, you’re more than halfway to selling your poetry. But there is another problem that is probably just as widespread and can affect even writers with a totally perfect ear for meter.
I’m talking about forcing the rhyme. Sometimes a poem will be about a specific subject, or be telling us a lively story, but the writer will suddenly find herself stuck. She needs a line to rhyme with a different line. After all, rhyme scheme is important.
So, she’ll make a slight detour in subject so that she can make the rhyme––then she’ll return to the first subject:
While birdies all stand ‘round and preen
Spring wears a bright weskit of green
With buttons of white
A dazzling sight
The choicest of seasons I’ve seen.
Okay…why are there birds in a poem that’s basically a simile about how the bright spring grass and white spring flowers are compared to stylish clothes? Sure, there are birds in spring. And preening is kind of related to sartorial splendor, but let’s be honest––the birds snuck in to make a line that rhymes with green. And the poem’s writer knows it did. The editor knows it too. The poem is not likely to sell, even overlooking the lame last line.
Once you’ve chosen what your poem will be about, you must be true to that. Rhyme and meter is essential but content is just as essential. It’s not a hierarchy. All must work together.
To find out how to make it work, listen to this episode.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/029
We want YOUR questions!
The faculty of the Institute of Children’s Literature wants to hear from you. Let us answer your writing questions on the podcast. Go to this link and leave your question: http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak. If it’s featured on the show, you’ll receive an awesome embroidered ICL all cotton baseball cap.
Need a fresh set of eyes? ICL instructors offer critiques!
Go to https://www.instituteforwriters.com/critique-service/
8 INGREDIENTS OF A GOOD STORY
1. A cup of plot. A plot that proceeds logically from beginning to end, giving the reader a sense that this is exactly how the story must be told.
2. Four tablespoons of conflict. Okay, I’m dropping the recipe joke… let’s just get on with this! Conflict is an essential part of a good story plot. So, who or what is your main character in conflict with?
3. Dialogue. Exciting dialogue that brings the reader into the story. Dialogue where children
don’t talk like adults, and where all the children and adults don’t talk like each other. Make each
character a separate person and they will automatically speak differently and have more
interesting things to say.
To find out the other 5 ingredients, listen to this episode.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/028
We want YOUR questions!
The faculty of the Institute of Children’s Literature wants to hear from you. Let us answer your writing questions on the podcast. Go to this link and leave your question: http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak. If it’s featured on the show, you’ll receive an awesome embroidered ICL all cotton baseball cap.
What’s Working in Your Manuscript, What’s Not, and How to Fix It:
Go to https://www.instituteforwriters.com/critique-service/
SERVING UP TEMPTING TITLES
When it comes to titles, most writers fall into two camps: those who seem to effortless come up with extremely cool titles like “Pistol Packing Paleontologist” (an article by Kelly Milner Halls) and those who struggle and strive to come up with something that doesn’t make an editor nod off in mid read. If you’re in the first group, excellent. If you’re in the second group, there is hope. It’ll take a little more effort but you can learn to whip up some tempting titles with the right recipe.
TITLES ARE NOT LABELS
When you’re labeling things, you choose the most information in the shortest form. The Ziploc bags in your freezer probably
say “hamburger” and “chicken,” not “tempting treat” or “future yum.” The problem with labeling an article or story is that a good label leaves little to the imagination. A good label for the story would tell the most important part and basically spoil the surprise. For example, Very Hungry Caterpillar might be labeled “A Caterpillar Turns into a Butterfly,” and Harry Potter might be labeled “Wizard Boy Saves the Day.” A label gives away the surprise.
You never want to give away the surprise.
To find out how give your title some oomph, listen to this episode.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/027
We want YOUR questions!
The faculty of the Institute of Children’s Literature wants to hear from you. Let us answer your writing questions on the podcast. Go to this link and leave your question: http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak. If it’s featured on the show, you’ll receive an awesome embroidered ICL all cotton baseball cap.
What’s Working in Your Manuscript, What’s Not, and How to Fix It:
Go to https://www.instituteforwriters.com/critique-service/
Robyn asks:
Can you explain the importance of stressed and unstressed syllables in prose picture books to help guide the rhythm. Can you explain it? (Better than I just did!)
Geraldene asks:
Would today’s fourth grade children be interested in what life was like for kids back in the 1920s and 1930s?
Wendy asks:
How do I handle back matter in a picture book? Is it included it in the word count, should the font be different, and how would I include it––as a separate document or within the story?
Angelique asks:
What are the key differences between writing a story for a magazine and a book? How can we tell if our story is better suited for one or the other?
Kimberley asks:
How do you know when you’ve hit the right audience age range? Do you need to have kids in that age group or just read a lot of books targeted to that age?
Now leave us YOUR questions!
The faculty of the Institute of Children’s Literature are ready to answer your writing questions. Leave your question at http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak. If it’s featured on the show, you’ll receive an awesome embroidered ICL all cotton baseball cap!
For more information on questions featured in this episode listen to this episode.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/026
What’s Working in Your Manuscript, What’s Not, and How to Fix It:
Go to https://www.instituteforwriters.com/critique-service/
CONFLICT FOR ANY AGE
Many times writers have trouble understanding the place of conflict in stories for young children. Either the stories will be devoid of conflict. Or they will be wondrous stories of fighting and near-death experiences. In magazine fiction, the place of conflict tends to land somewhere between these two extremes.
In story terms, conflict occurs when something must be overcome in order to move from our perceived goal to achieving that goal. Our main character’s goal could be want-based (getting a new bike) or need based (finding a way out of a trap.) The difficulty standing in his way tends to increase as the age of the main character increases. In a very young character, the child may only need to do some problem-solving to achieve the goal. For example, in “Zindy Lou and the Dark Place” by Judy Cox (published in Spider) the main character is frightened of the dark bathroom at school. She tries a variety of methods to solve her problem and finally hits on one that works. There is no bad guy, no adult to the rescue, no friends or siblings making fun of her fear––finding a way of coping with the fear is the sole conflict. However, for older readers conflict usually increases. In “Prayers and Other Nonsense” by Kathleen Ahrens (published in Skipping Stones), the main character must talk her mother into leaving their home before a storm destroys it. The need is greater and the conflict is more interpersonal.
For more information on developing conflict in your story, including a story structure template you can use for any fiction manuscript, listen to this episode.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/025
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The faculty of the Institute of Children’s Literature answers the podcast questions. You can leave your question at http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak. If it’s featured on the show, you’ll receive an awesome embroidered ICL all cotton baseball cap
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HOW TO GET YOUR NONFICTION REJECTED
If you’re like most writers, you’ve heard by now that magazines need nonfiction. Actually, magazines are desperate for nonfiction. Magazines never get enough nonfiction. So, many writers smile and settle down to write an article. How tough can it be, after all, these are just kids? Well, tough enough that many of those writers collect rejection letters. How did that happen? Are editors hot for nonfiction or aren’t they? Well, it depends.
WHERE’S YOUR BIBLIOGRAPHY?
Children’s magazine editors are just as picky about sources as any other editors. They want to know that your information is current, unique, and accurate. Most writers can only be as good as their sources. An article on penguins cobbled together from watching a Discovery program and touring a few websites is not going to impress an editor. Television documentaries are notoriously inaccurate (after all, they need drama – lots of drama) and websites often pass misinformation from one site to another.
Nonfiction requires good research and good research requires work.
Listen to the full episode for four steps to avoiding getting a rejection!
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/024
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The faculty of the Institute of Children’s Literature answers the podcast questions. You can leave your question at http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak. If it’s featured on the show, you’ll receive an awesome embroidered ICL all cotton baseball cap
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QUERY LETTERS
Many of the more prestigious children’s magazines (and most of the YA magazines) prefer writers query instead of sending finished manuscripts. Most book publishers and agents require queries as well. Queries help (slightly) in keeping slush piles thin, and makes the editor’s job easier in some ways and more taxing in others. Queries mean editors are responding to your idea, your professionalism, your qualifications, and your scholarship instead of your finished product.
For many writers, queries are terrifying. We know we can write, but can we pitch? And a query is a kind of pitch. You are persuading an editor that your product will be superior, but you must do so with something other than your product.
Your query must convince the editor:
* you are qualified to write the story/article/book,
* you have the skills to write the story/article/book,
* the story/article/book will fit well in that specific magazine, specific publisher, or specific agent because you understand the desired style, tone, and the specific * * needs of that magazine, publisher, agent,
* the finished story/article/book is/will be special.
* the finished nonfiction will be accurate.
The queries that tend to grab interest quickly often have a few things in common.
To find out how to increase your chances of getting your pitch picked up, listen to the full episode.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/023
Don’t forget to leave your questions!
The faculty of the Institute of Children’s Literature answers the podcast questions. You can leave your question at http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak. If it’s featured on the show, you’ll receive an awesome embroidered ICL all cotton baseball cap
What’s Working in Your Manuscript, What’s Not, and How to Fix It:
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POETRY FOR THE VERY YOUNG
Poetry for very young children has a lot in common with poetry for older readers. It’s built word by word, as poetry has no room for extraneous words. It sounds good to the ear. It gives the reader a different way to look at the world by drawing attention very closely to something. Still, when writing for the very young, some things must be kept in mind.
Generally speaking, the younger your audience, the more concrete your poetry must be. Young children have such a limited range of experience that they cannot make connections between the sun and a golden disk because they have no point of reference for "a golden disk." When dealing with young toddlers, they have difficulty grasping comparisons at all. To a toddler, dogs are so much like cats, that if you compare them, the child may have difficulty understanding that they are really different things at all.
BABYBUG is probably the magazine geared toward the youngest of all children. Poetry in BABYBUG may contain play on sounds, but they won't use much (if any) simile. The poems for this magazine are often 10 words or so. They will focus on very common experience: seeing a dog while on an outing with mom, watching water run in a tub, discovering that both balls and trucks roll. The poetry reinforces common experience, helping children discover their world. When the poem goes outside common experience, such as a poem about a bear cub snuggling with his mother, the poem stretches his boundaries slightly, but not too far since the poem will still deal with baby friendly ideas like snuggling with mom, snow is cold, night is for sleeping.
For more tips on writing poetry for children and suggestions on what magazines to submit your poems to listen to the full episode.
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/022
Don’t forget to leave your questions!
The faculty of the Institute of Children’s Literature answers the podcast questions. You can leave your question at http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak. If it’s featured on the show, you’ll receive an awesome embroidered ICL all cotton baseball cap
What’s Working in Your Manuscript, What’s Not, and How to Fix It:
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FEELING MYSTERIOUS?
Mysteries are one of the most popular genre in literature. In books, there are even thriving sub-genre, like cozies, hard-boiled detectives, and police procedurals, that have countless fans. Magazines like Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine have been feeding the adult reader’s need for short mystery fiction for generations. But what about kids? Do children’s magazines still want mysteries or is this the land of books only?
Many children’s magazines will accept mysteries. Many editors say they would love to get more good mysteries. So what makes a story good?
* A fresh idea with a clever puzzle.
* Strong characters.
* Lively, real dialogue.
In other words, the same stuff editors want in any story. So why aren’t they getting these things in mysteries? Well, mysteries can be kind of tricky. First, you really need to plan a mystery before you start writing it. This flies in the face of the writing style of many (especially many newer writers). So they come up with a possible problem (who took the teacher’s special fountain pen?) and they know who the main character will be so they jump in and start writing. But, when the writer doesn’t know who took the pen, often the result is (1) a solution that doesn’t flow logically from the clues, (2) a solution that flows too logically, making it not a puzzle at all since everyone knew who the villain was well before your ‘detective,’ or (3) a solution that falls back on old clichés (more on these in a minute.)
How do you plan your mystery? Listen to the full episode to find out!
Read more in our show notes: http://writingforchildren.com/021
Don’t forget to leave your questions!
The faculty of the Institute of Children’s Literature answers the podcast questions. You can leave your question at http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak. If it’s featured on the show, you’ll receive an awesome embroidered ICL all cotton baseball cap
What’s Working in Your Manuscript, What’s Not, and How to Fix It:
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FIVE TIPS TO A GREAT MAIN CHARACTER
What makes a memorable main character? Well, for a character to carry a series of books, you’ll need to make the person memorable. Although the “every kid” type will offer instant ability for readers to connect, it won’t be enough––the character needs specific, unique traits or abilities to linger in the mind of the reader. The unique trait might be learning disability (Joey Pigza in the Joey Pigza series by Jack Gantos has ADD) or unusual ability (Cam Janson has a photographic memory) or speech patterns (Junie B. Jones speaks like a real kindergartener, which makes some people nuts, but she does sound like a five-year-old) ––but the character needs something to stand out from the pack.
1. Make the main character matter emotionally.
That doesn’t mean the MC must be a paragon of virtue (in fact, no one like’s perfect people since they don’t read “real” and they’re kind of obnoxious), but you must give the character something we can connect with so that their fate matters to us. It’s the weakness in a character (and the character’s voice) that makes him/her linger in our minds.
For four more tips creating a great main character, listen to this episode of Writing for Children.
Find out how to be a good partner for your illustrator by listening to this episode!
Read more in our show notes plus get a handy guide on word count in today's children's publishing market at http://writingforchildren.com/020
Don’t forget to leave your questions!
The faculty of the Institute of Children’s Literature answers the podcast questions. You can leave your question at http://www.writingforchildren.com/speak. If it’s featured on the show, you’ll receive an awesome embroidered ICL all cotton baseball cap
What’s Working in Your Manuscript, What’s Not, and How to Fix It:
Go to https://www.instituteforwriters.com/critique-service/