Backstory Basics
Backstory can be essential to understanding a character and his/her journey. It can deepen conflict, reveal motivation and elicit sympathy for a hero or secondary character. But...
Read More
writing Tag
Manuscript Mentoring: The Children’s Lit Fellows Program
“What I need is someone who will make me do what I can.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson. Would you like to finish a...
Read More
Is it YA or Middle Grade?
Many aspiring children's book authors are confused about the difference between young adult (YA) and middle grade novels. Aren't all teens and...
Read More
Secondary Characters
Whether your manuscript is a picture book or novel, it can be tempting to create a wide variety of supporting characters to...
Read More
Editing with a Jewelers Loupe
I had the privilege and pleasure of interviewing middle grade and YA author Maryrose Wood last night for our Wednesday night Writers...
Read More
Pay No Attention to That Writer Behind the Curtain!
One of my favorite speakers at the 2013 SCBWI winter conference was Mo Willems. No surprise, he’s also one of my favorite...
Read More
The Series Series, Part 5: Tracking Settings
In the last post, we looked at building, developing and maintaining the continuity of characters within a series. Now let’s look at...
Read More
The Series Series, Part 4: Continuity
Despite scrupulous editing, some of the most successful series of all time feature notable inconsistencies. For example, in Eragon, book one of...
Read More
The Series Series, Part 2: Starting a Series
It took us thirteen drafts to figure out the best way to start the Very Fairy Princess series: with a “day in...
Read More
Beginnings
What does it take to draw in today's young reader and persuade them to keep reading? Last week, in the children's lit class I'm...
Read More