Saturday, March 31, 2018

Making Characters Come Alive

Your characters will be dull and lifeless if you do this to them. 

https://wordservewatercooler.com/2018/02/01/how-to-kill-off-your-characters-without-even-trying/

Friday, March 30, 2018

Kidlit Blogs

Keep up with the world of children's books by following these blogs and websites. 

https://blog.feedspot.com/childrens_book_blogs/

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Picture Book Templates

Debbie Ridpath Ohi offers free picture book thumbnail templates for download. 

http://inkygirl.com/inkygirl-main/2015/11/4/free-picture-book-thumbnail-templates-for-writers-and-illust.html

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Referrals

When you're thinking about asking for a referral, think about what that means from both the agent and the referring author points of view.

https://subitclub.com/2017/11/07/wrestling-with-referrals/

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Plot Mistakes

Watch out for these eight common plot mistakes and learn how to fix them. 

http://annerallen.com/2018/02/plot-holes-and-pot-holes-8-common-mistakes/


Monday, March 26, 2018

Prologues

If you are submitting a partial manuscript, don't use of any of those precious pages by including a prologue. 

http://bookendsliterary.com/2018/02/22/dear-author-dump-the-prologue/

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Picture Book Publishers

These publishers accept unagented picture book manuscripts. 

https://picturebookplanet.com/publishers/

Friday, March 23, 2018

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Child Characters

If you write kidlit, it's pretty important that you be able to write believable child characters. 

https://kidlit.com/2018/02/19/writing-child-characters/

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Second Drafts

Congratulations on finishing your first draft, but now it's time for revising, starting with your second draft. 

http://stavroshalvatzis.com/story-design/writing-second-draft

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Blog Posts

If you're stuck on ideas of what to post on your author blog, here are some suggestions. 

https://insights.bookbub.com/creative-blog-post-ideas-authors/

Monday, March 19, 2018

#ownvoices

What does it mean to write with #ownvoices? 

http://www.corinneduyvis.net/ownvoices/

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Chosing a Writing Conference

With so many conferences aimed at writing, how do you choose ones that will help further your writing and your career?

https://brevity.wordpress.com/2018/02/06/some-thoughts-on-choosing/

Saturday, March 17, 2018

Great Voice

If you want to write books with a great voice, you need to read books with a great voice. 

https://kidlit.com/2018/02/05/reading-way-great-writing-voice/

Friday, March 16, 2018

Scaffolding in Nonfiction

In order to present new concepts in your nonfiction, you have to provide the informational support so they can understand it. 

http://celebratescience.blogspot.com/2018/02/getting-to-i-get-it-scaffolding-in_2.html

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Book Events

Here are some tips to help you engage children's interest at book events. 

http://www.kidliterati.com/2018/01/reaching-readers-engaging-kids-at-book.html

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Plotting a Novel

How to plot both the big picture and individual scenes in a novel. 

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2018/01/plotting-novel-big-picture-vs-single.html

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Plotting a Novel

You need to plot your novel both at the book and at the scene level. 

Monday, March 12, 2018

Networking with Agents

When you meet an agent at a conference, here are five questions to get a conversation going. 

http://bookendsliterary.com/2018/01/25/five-questions-to-ask-an-agent-editor-when-networking/

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Saturday, March 10, 2018

Children's Book Industry

It's important to understand the business of children's books if you want to be published. 

https://uhalumni.org/manoa/story/8-things-to-know-about-the-childrens-book-industry

Friday, March 9, 2018

Types of Editors

Your manuscript can benefit from the help of a different type of editor, depending upon where you are in the writing process.

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Common Rejections

Here are some rejections you might receive and what they actually mean. 

https://taralazar.com/2016/02/02/common-rejections-and-what-they-mean/

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Realistic Characters

Five things your characters need to make them real. 

https://www.writingforward.com/storytelling/five-things-your-characters-need

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Word Counts

Your book should be as long as it takes to tell your story and no longer. 

http://www.literaryrambles.com/2010/09/word-counts-for-children-books.html

Monday, March 5, 2018

Elevator Pitches

When you're asked to say what your book is about, you need to be ready. 

http://writershelpingwriters.net/2017/12/whats-book-perfecting-art-elevator-pitch/

Sunday, March 4, 2018

What to Write Next

Your manuscript is off to your agent or to editors, and it's time to figure out your next project. 

https://jamigold.com/2018/01/what-to-write-next-playing-favorites/

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Retyping Your Revision

Retyping makes you consider all the words and sentences in your revision and not just your changes. 

https://hollyschindler.wordpress.com/2018/01/07/why-you-should-retype-your-revision-yes-the-whole-thing/

Friday, March 2, 2018

Advice from Publishers

Here is some basic info children's book publishers wish writers knew. 

https://writeforkids.org/blog/2014/09/7-things-editors-at-childrens-book-publishers-wish-writers-knew/

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Book Titles

How to choose the best title for your book (even though your publisher might change it.)

http://annerallen.com/2016/10/book-titles-10-tips-choose-right-title/