A Lesson in Showing Versus Telling
Last week I started teaching the spring course in Childrens Literature for grad students in the MFA in Creative Writing and Literature at Stony Brook Southampton. We spent the first class discussing the many formats of children’s lit, and began our picture book study (we’ll move on to chapter books, middle grade and YA fiction [...]
Ideas on the Go
I’ve been honing my Story Radar, and have found the holiday season to be more abundant than ever with respect to prompting ideas. The problem is, most of them come to me when I’m on the fly… and if I don’t document them immediately, by the time I get home they’ve gone. So I’ve been [...]
Who Can Help Me Tell This Story?
This week I had the joy of interviewing my friend and picture book hero, Peter H. Reynolds, for the Children’s Book Hub. As usual, Peter said a million inspiring things and shared a number of jewels about writing. Among them was a reference to his own writing process that set off lightbulbs in my head. [...]
Voice Exercises
As every singer knows, exercises that strengthen and warm up the vocal cords are essential in order to sing well. Painters do studies, and dancers stretch. But what about writers? This Fall, I’ve been taking a workshop entitled “Imagining What You Know” with the incomparable Roger Rosenblatt. Each week, Roger has given us a new [...]
Chekhov, the Picture Book Author
Michael Chekhov – nephew of playwright Anton Chekhov - was an esteemed Russian-American actor, director and acting teacher. Among those who studied with him were Gary Cooper, Marilyn Monroe, Gregory Peck, Clint Eastwood, Anthony Quinn, Ingrid Bergman, Jack Palance, Lloyd Bridges, and Yul Brynner. Constantin Stanislavski, with whom Chekhov collaborated at the Moscow Art Theatre, referred [...]
Illusions of Progress
One more gift from Peter H. Reynold’s workshop last summer: I.O.P, or “Illusions of Progress.” Now, for some this may have a negative connotation. An illusion of progress, as opposed to the real thing… could sound like busywork. But it’s Peter’s view (and I agree) that I.O.P. can be a great motivator. Look! I already [...]
Story Radar
Here’s another jewel I picked up from Peter H. Reynolds’ workshop last summer: “Story Radar.” This is a term Peter uses for the technique of always being on the alert for ideas and inspiration. An expression, a character, an event, a question, an image – anything can ‘wave’ to you on any given day as [...]
If Your Life to Date Were a Children’s Book…
… what would the title be? This was a question Peter H. Reynold posed to his workshop participants during last summer’s Southampton Children’s Literature Conference. Then he did something extraordinary. Each of us came up with our title, and Peter then designed a Peter H. Reynolds book jacket around that title, and listing our name [...]
Mapping Your Plot
In my “Just Write for Kids” course, we spend quite a bit of time exploring different ways to develop plot. We look at basic three-act storytelling structure: Act 1 – Set-up/Intro to character(s) and problem Act 2 – Problem escalates to crisis or turning point Act 3 – Resolution/Character solves problem and/or learns something, grows [...]
Editing Yourself – Find and Replace
We’ve been talking about editing this month on the Children’s Book Hub. Even though I myself am a freelance children’s book editor as well as an author, I rely heavily on my collaborations with editors – at our publishing house, as well as on a freelance basis. My mother and I are fortunate to work [...]
