“Because the creation of a novel is akin to a mad scramble up a mountainside layered with loose pebbles, any handhold or solid ground you can find will be a blessing.” ~ Walter Mosley The article where I got this quote from (link below) deals with Mosley’s writing style which doesn’t include character sheets or…
Author: Karen Cioffi
Karen Cioffi is an award-winning author and children's ghostwriter. She loves to help those who want to be the author of a children's book fulfill their dream. Contact Karen today to get your story started!
A Children’s Ghostwriting Dilemma
I get ghostwriting clients from all demographics. I work with psychologists, therapists, medical professionals, grandparents, parents, teachers, and others who, for whatever the reason, want to have a children’s book ghostwritten. Now and then, I get a client who trusts my writing skills enough to hire me to ghostwrite or rewrite his story but then…
Write Your Life
“Every day is a permanent page of your life’s story that cannot be edited, live it well.” ~ Rebecca Murtagh I just happened upon this quote and it struck home. As a children’s ghostwriter and author, I create stories. I dictate how the characters behave – their thoughts, their actions. I dictate how the story…
Where Does Your Story Really Start?
You may think you’ve started your story where it should be started, but are you sure? Go over it again or ask a peer to go over it and see it you should start it further along.
Deep Point of View
Contributed by Linda Wilson Do you write romance novels? Historical fiction? Mysteries? Whatever your genre, you strive to create a close personal relationship between your main character and your reader. To shed light on this topic, at a recent New Mexico Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, SCBWI Regional event, Kimberley Griffiths Little presented…
7 Steps to Writing Success Through Positive Thinking
Can you think your way to success? Is it really possible? Whether you call it positive thinking, a positive attitude, or a winning mindset, in regard to writing, it’s the strategy of having a dream, creating a plan, projecting the positive results of that plan, and taking the necessary actions to accomplish your goal. Part…
Writing Elements – Is One More Important than Another?
There’s a lot of information on the elements of writing. You have characters, setting, point-of-view, style, theme, plot, and even literary devices. But you also have things like readability, consequences, and uniqueness. Could you choose which of these elements is the most important? It’s tough, isn’t it? Well, after doing some research and reading a…
Submitting Your Ghostwritten Manuscript to a Children’s Publisher
Authors have lots of publishing options, one of them is traditional publishing. As a children’s ghostwriter, some of my clients take this path, but don’t know how to actually travel on it. Here are a few of the tips I give them.
Writing Tips From the Book, Story Genius
Contributed by Children’s Author Linda Wilson As SCBWI meetings, critique group sessions, and so much more offered by our local New Mexico chapter go, the subjects at two recent meetings couldn’t have been more helpful. This month’s post offers highlights from a meeting that presented and discussed Lisa Cron’s book, Story Genius: How to Use…
Writing and the Winds of Change
“When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and other build windmills.” This Tray Hurn quote says a lot about the character of different writers. A common denominator for all writers is that they will at one time or another be rejected and/or struggle with a story or an assignment or some type…