Children’s books fall into one of three primary categories: picture books, middle grade, and young adult. And, children’s writers need to take the necessary steps to achieve success whether aiming at traditional publishing or self-publishing. In regard to traditional publishing, there are four steps in a writing career: writing, submissions to agents and publishers, book…
Tag: writing tips
5 Must-Use Tips on Writing a Powerful Thriller (and most other fiction stories)
In Brian Klems’ Writer’s Digest Column on Writing, I read a great article titled, “The 5 C’s of Writing a Great Thriller Novel.” While I’m not a thriller writer, the information in this article is applicable to just about all fiction writing. There are fundamental elements needed in all fiction to make it reader engaging…
Characters or Story – Which Comes First?
A number of articles about writing for children, and other genres suggest knowing your characters inside and out before beginning the story. In fact, information suggests that the author build the story around the characters once they are fully developed. While this is good advice, and many experienced authors recommend this technique, there are some…
Are You Showing or Telling?
I’ve written about showing and telling before, but it’s such an important topic that I think more information is always helpful. Writing is an ongoing adventure…always something to learn and tweak and hone. A long while ago I wrote a children’s story and found I still had a bit of showing in it, noted by…
Character Sheets – Adding Dimension to Your Protagonist
Connecting with a reader entails a couple of things, one of which is to have a fully developed protagonist. A crucial aspect of creating a real character is his/her interactions with the other characters in the story, and his/her reactions to external influences. These reactions to external surroundings or occurrences add layers to your protagonist….
Imagery and Your Story
Probably one of the most difficult aspects of writing is providing content that your reader can turn into pictures or imagery. You may know exactly what you’re trying to convey, the image you want your reader to see, but does your content translate into effective imagery for your reader? Stephen King discusses this topic in…
Theme and Your Story
Your story is like a puzzle. It takes a number of elements working together to make a memorable story. One of those elements is the ‘theme.’ Theme can be a frightening topic. Do you have a theme in mind before striking the first key? Or, do you write your first draft and then decide what…
10 Rules for Writing Children’s Stories
I write for young children and I’ve also written marketing and health articles. Writing in multiple genres, I can tell you that writing for children can be much more challenging. When writing for children, there are guidelines to keep in mind to help your story avoid the editor’s trash pile. Here is a list of…
Learning to Write for Children – It’s More Than Just A,B,C
I have been writing since childhood: poems, short stories, even songs. I never thought of publishing my work or making it a career until around 2006. Not knowing any better, I thought it would be easy. I felt comfortable writing and always seemed to be able to think of something to write about. Then I…