Write Fan Fiction — for your own stuff
You are your biggest fan. Without a doubt, no one will ever admire your children’s books quite the way you do. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll get those rabid fans that read every word you write and remember details you don’t even remember coming up with. But...
Enter the Trickle Down Theory of Revision.
This is absolutely one of the worst moments of revising. This is where you discover you need to make a change (usually a major change) to your story. You know that you need to make this change. Making this change will make your story stronger and take it to new...
Is Your Main Character Ready for the Big Time?
So, you’ve written a children’s book and now you’re wondering: Is my main character ready to publish? Well, don’t worry, I’ve got you covered! Here are some questions to ask yourself to determine if your character is ready for publication. First, let’s focus on the...
Brainstorming a Bingeable Series
I was talking with one of my authors today, and we were discussing ways an indie (or self-published) author can be successful. And one of the things I mentioned was to have a Binge Worthy Series. You know the kind. The one where you read book after book. The kind...
The REAL Hero of the Story
Who is the real hero of your children’s book? The one that should triumph because their motivations are so just and pure. The one character that is usually so sure of themselves, nothing and no one can change their minds. I’m of course talking about your villain. Now,...
Communal Writing for the Win!
Back in the BP (Before Pandemic) several of my writing friends and I used to get together once or twice a week to write. We’d meet in a coffee shop or some other public place and set an egg timer for 45 minutes or so. And then we’d write. And write. No talking. Just...
There’s no such thing as a truly low stakes book.
I recently came across the idea of Low Stakes Fiction. These are books where what’s at stake isn’t saving the whole world or even saving the town. These are stories where the stakes are more personal. I feel like Romance novels often fall in this category. Many...
If you want to write, read.
I did not grow up wanting to be a writer. I don’t have any of those cute journals from when I was a kid. My parents didn’t save any sweet little books I made about my stuffed animals—because I never made any. I got a marketing degree in college because in the business...
When Writing Feels So ALONE
I love watching DIY home-improvement shows. Watching someone demo a wall or grout tile or reorganize a closet is Madeline catnip. In my free time I rearrange my furniture, wallpaper the odd wall, and reorganize my own closets for fun. (I have an odd idea of fun.)...
Perfect Scene Pacing
I spend a lot of time talking about Perfect Pacing when it comes to the overall work, but scene pacing is incredibly important too. This is the rate that your scene progresses. Some scenes we want to be fast; others slow, even languid. It just depends on what’s...
7 Secret Keys to What Publishers Really Want
It’s the mystery that keeps authors up at night: What do publishers really want in a middle grade or YA? Well, seven things. AUDIENCEThey want a manuscript that takes into account the DUAL NATURE of the audience. When it comes to children’s novels, you’re writing for...
Restricted Realism
Novels, even fantasies and science fiction, need to be realistic. There have to be things the reader relates to in order to connect with the story. Something has to ground them to the world you’re building, and realism does that. However, you can have too much of a...
Lessons Learned as a Bookseller
For many years, I spent most of my days in a bookstore. First for one year at Barnes & Noble, and later more years than I can remember at BookPeople in Austin. I have always believed that everyone in publishing from the author to the publisher would benefit from...
Double Duty
One of the best ways to know whether or not your scene is meant for your story is to consider whether or not it’s doing Double Duty. Double Duty is the concept that every scene needs to be doing at least 2 of the following 3...
Breaking Down Your Chapters
One of the key parts of any children’s book revision plan is the chapter or scene breakdowns. These are chapter (or scene) summaries that highlight the main points of the existing edit. Chapter summaries can be extensive multi-page entries for each chapter, or they...
Make Your Characters Suffer
Recently my writing partner and I were CLEARLY the main characters in someone’s novel. First my writing partner came down with a kidney stone. That alone is enough misery to fuel fifty novels. My ex was in town staying with me, so he stayed with our kid while I went...
Editors Don’t Revise
Editors are amazing. (Yes, I may be biased, seeing that I am one.) But editors have their limits. A good editor—whether they’re a freelance editor your hire or one that works for your publisher—is there to help you make your book the best that it can be. But they...
What’s at Stake?
Are the stakes of your story enough to get the reader turning the page? My definition of stakes is something your character risks or finds to be in jeopardy because of their own or someone else’s actions. Basically, the stakes are the external or internal problems...
When a Formula Isn’t Formulaic
Lots of authors think they hate formulas when it comes to writing. They say that structures are confining and stifle creativity. But they don’t have to. Story structures like the Hero’s Journey or Three Act or Fairy Tale style plots do not inherently limit how or what...
One of Those Days
Today I need to write. I need to write at least 500 words on my current novel if I want to keep my momentum going. I need to write about writing for this blog and for my newsletters. I need to write the lesson plans for the next course I want to offer. So, I set aside...
Can’t I Do It Myself?
When I was a kid, my favorite phrase was By Myself. I wanted to be independent. I wanted to be self-sufficient. I wanted to be left alone to do my own thing. In some ways, I haven’t really changed. In many ways, I still prefer to do things on my own...
New Year, New Goals!
It’s that time of year again. That time when we evaluate where we want our lives to go in this shiny new year. I won’t lie. Last year all of my goals revolved around my health. I had my final chemo treatment in January of 2022, and I was still facing 3 surgeries and 6...
Stop submitting manuscripts with main characters that are the wrong age.
Nothing says you don’t know the children’s market like querying a YA novel with a six year old protagonist or a fifteen year old middle grade. When I read a query or submission that says something like this, I immediately know that the author is either new to...
Chunking Up Your Book
A pretty standard part of setting big, long-term goals is to chunk it up into a bunch of smaller goals. And what is writing a book if not setting a big, long-term goal? So, let’s chunk a book up into a bunch of smaller easier goals. First, set the major goal:...
Whose genre is it anyway?
I’m into watching TikTok right now. I know. I know. I’m too old. And for a lot of the stuff over there, I really am too old. I’m never going to be doing any fancy pants dances. My days of kicking up my heels passed when I hung up my pompoms. But one of the...