How to Write and Publish Children's Books
Wondering how to write the beginning of a novel? Starting a novel with setting description is a big no-no. Learn why setting description is played out in today’s video response. What follows here is a transcription of the video. You can watch for the advice, or read it below. I have a question today from …
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A novel opening — and setting reader expectations — is one of the hardest things in the world to do right when you’re learning how to write a great book. In fact, there’s a whole book about why that is (and how to jump this difficult hurdle) called HOOKED by Les Edgerton (Writer’s Digest Books). …
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Some editors are definitely changing their minds about historical setting in children’s books and period settings. They are looking for these kinds of projects more actively, but it’s no secret that they have been a bit of a hard sell in the last few years. The market is cyclical, though, so nothing stays down forever. …
This question about scene setting comes from reader Valeria via email: Most books I have read so far describe a specific setting. Like a certain city or state. I know setting and the way it is developed is very important for a story but can there be such thing as a nameless setting? I am …
This question about international settings in fiction is one I got on the blog a few months ago. It’s about writers who either live outside of the US or books set outside the US, or both: How do editors and agents feel about writers from other countries? I live in Canada and write using Canadian …
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Over the weekend, I got the following email about using pop culture references in a story setting: I’m a grad student trying to write her first children’s book. As I go over my notes, I see a lot of references to events or pop culture from the 1990’s. They are funny anecdotes to me and …
The unique thing about kidlit is that there are many children’s book genres and categories to choose from, and the divisions in children’s books are much more segmented than, say, the adult fiction world. (The reason for this is simple—your target audience is changing drastically in regards to their ability to read independently, they are …
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Let’s reenter our workshop series, here with a submission from writer C.C. I hope you all had some amazing holiday times with loved ones. Now it’s time to buckle in and head into 2020 writing. And if you want to, you can shout to the world that you’re Too Kidlit To Quit in 2020. 😉 …
Continue reading “Young Adult Critique: Workshop Submission #7”
Today’s middle grade workshop critique comes courtesy of writer E.M. volunteering a novel opening. The Workshop Text Avery Lawson had nine hundred ninety-nine cats. Too bad none of them were real. Love, love, love this grabby opening! It raises a lot of questions and the cheeky voice is immediately interesting. Try to start your novel …
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Thank you all for your participation on last week’s middle grade critique! That turned out to be very fun and I’m super stoked to be doing these workshop submissions. This week, I join you for a young adult submission from A. L. Let’s Begin the Workshop Critique! The end of the world didn’t begin with …
Continue reading “Young Adult Critique: Workshop Submission #2”