The Kidlit Compass Blog
Compression: Getting Down to the Essence
The second word in Jane Yolen’s list of ‘ten words every picture book author must know’ is Compression. It’s a good word, and can be defined as “the reduction of…
10 Words Every Picture Book Author Must Know
Last week at the SCBWI Winter Conference, the award-winning author Jane Yolen talked about ten words that every picture book author should know: Lyricism, compression, child centeredness, focus, hook, words,…
“So… What Did You Think?” or, Writers’ Critique Groups 101
I am often asked by students and editing clients what I think about critique partners or writers’ groups. I vastly prefer the latter. And not just because I’m not wild…
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…
Virtual Book Tours
Not too long ago, with the release of a new book, an author went out on a “book tour.” Depending on the perceived sales potential and the size of the…
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,…
Did That Really Happen? Writing Historical Fiction
Historical fiction is a challenging medium in the children’s book world, but one that can really pay off – especially if it deals with an aspect of history that is…
