Q: Who’s Your Hero? (A: Your Reader!)

Welcome to the first entry in a new blog series on writing books for children! This series is part of a new e-course and group coaching program I am developing, as well as being fodder for a new book, so your comments here are most welcome and will help me shape the direction of all [...]

A Question of Style

A major question to consider when developing an idea for a children’s book is what the style of the book will be. Will it be lean and simple, or rich in imagery and ideas? Will it be matter-of-fact, lyrical, or tongue in cheek? What about narration – what voice will the story be told in? [...]

Icing Vs. Cake (or, Verse Vs. Prose)

I’m going to be very frank, since this is a subject that comes up over and over again in my editing practice. Language is a fundamental part of children’s literature. Word play, rhythm, alliteration, parallelism, refrain  - being playful, imaginative, creative with language is at the core of style when it comes to children’s books.  [...]

What’s It All About, Maurice?

At the core of every successful children’s book is the “central dramatic question.” This is the question raised by, and in, the story. Will Max’s mother forgive him and give him dinner after all? Will Peter learn to whistle? Will the prince ever find a real princess? Will the pigs conquer the wolf? The central [...]

“Theme”, or Simple Gifts

The ‘What’s It All About’ discussion of the last post leads right to the next topic: theme. What do you want to say to your audience, and why?  It’s not enough to simply entertain – we want to offer our readers something to think about, a feeling, perhaps, or a question for further dialogue after [...]

They’re Called PICTURE Books…

Like many children’s book authors who are also parents, I get a lot of ideas from my own kids.  Several years ago, something sort of magical happened to my son that seemed worthy of a picture book.  We were dining on our back deck, and he – at the age of three – essentially willed [...]

The Building Blocks of Plot, or “Dramatic Arc”

Basic plot structure for a picture book is the same as for any other kind of dramatic structure, be it a novel, a play or a film: 3 acts – or, beginning, middle, and end. Each one takes up roughly one third of the book, and each is divided by a transition or plot twist… [...]

Show, Don’t Tell – or, a Tribute to Mo Willems

Some picture books are narrative all the way through with no dialogue, and some are only dialogue with no other narrative, as in Mo Willems’ wonderful “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus” series.  Most often, they are a blend of both. Generally speaking, dialogue should make up at least one-third of a picture book, [...]

The 6 Common Mistakes Made by Aspiring Children’s Book Authors

In my freelance editing practice, I read as many as 100 children’s book manuscripts a year – sometimes more.  Over and over again, I see aspiring authors making the same basic mistakes. This was one of the main reasons I decided to create my new home-study course, Just Write for Kids! There just aren’t enough [...]

The Why’s and How’s of Choosing an Editor

Writing for young people is deceptively difficult. But getting published these days can be a harder task than the writing process.  The marketplace has changed dramatically over the past ten years, and the pressure on publishing houses to cater to their bottom lines means fewer acquisitions and higher hoops for authors to jump through in [...]

Next Page »