Something Utterly Inspiring
My daughter attended her annual book fair at school this week. Among the books she wanted me to buy for her was Clarice Bean, That’s Me by Lauren Child. I was happy to do so, since Lauren Child is one of my heros. Best known for creating the hilarious Charlie and Lola in addition to the [...]
Words, words, words.
Polonius: What do you read, my lord? Hamlet: Words, words, words. – William Shakespeare, “Hamlet,” Act 2, Scene 2 And so we come to #5 in Jane Yolen’s wonderful list of “10 Words Every Picture Book Author Must Know,” which she shared at the SCBWI Winter Conference a few weeks ago: Words. Here are the [...]
SCBWI Highlights
I had the pleasure of spending this past Saturday at the SCBWI Winter Conference in NYC. Wow! For those of you remotely interested in writing for children, the SCBWI conferences are a must. The information, networking opportunities and resources are invaluable. The venerable Lois Lowry gave a superb keynote on finding ideas (during which I [...]
What’s His Problem? (Your hero, that is)
When writing fiction of any kind, the main question with respect to plot is always this: What is the problem? The problem, also known as the conflict, is the thing, or things, standing in the way of the hero/protagonist getting what he or she wants or needs, and as such, it sets up his or [...]
Capturing, Organizing and Developing Ideas
In December I wrote about being ready to receive – and record – ideas whenever and wherever they come. I also mentioned a few tools I use to capture inspiration when the moment strikes, such as special notebooks, digital recorders (I use an Olympus VN-6200PC), Dragon Dictation (an app on my iPhone that turns my [...]
The Hub Reviews Are Coming In!
“An invaluable resource!” “A writer’s dream!” “By far the best and most informative site I have found for writers!” “Amazingly beneficial!” “A valuable part of my writing life!” Thank you so much, charter Hub members, for helping to make the Hub the truly valuable resource I dreamed it could be… a center for “all the information [...]
The KidLit Blogosphere
The KidLit Blogosphere is a formidable force in the children’s book industry, and an important one to become familiar with. Essentially, it is comprised of ‘bloggers’ – that is, people writing regularly in blog form on their websites – who devote their content exclusively to children’s literature. Their posts might encompass book reviews, industry trends, [...]
The Replay of the Children’s Book Writing Q&A Call is Ready!
If you missed last night’s live Q&A webcast/teleseminar on writing and publishing children’s books, you’ll want to hear the replay, as we addressed over fifty questions about all aspects of writing and publishing for children and young adults. There are also slides with links to resources and information mentioned throughout the call. You can click [...]
Trolling for Ideas (or, “Darn! Why Didn’t I Write That?!”)
The ideas for our children’s books are often inspired by my kids. Dumpy the Dump Truck was directly inspired by my son Sam’s love of trucks, and The Very Fairy Princess was inspired by my very fairy princess daughter, Hope. But we have often pulled ideas from other sources as well. Here are a few [...]
Announcing the Children’s Book Hub!
I’ve been hinting about this for some time… and here it is: I am very excited to announce a brand new center of information, resources and support for children’s book authors – The Children’s Book Hub! The Children’s Book Hub is a membership-based ‘virtual salon,’ featuring lively, ongoing discussion about writing and publishing for children [...]
