Archive for the 'Writing for Children' Category
The Lure of a New Project
If you visit a lot of writers’ websites, you’ll soon find a large majority of them openly admit to starting more stories than they finish. There are several reasons for this, but I’m going to talk about only one of those reasons today - the lure of a new project.
Yesterday, after a strong fight […]
Posted by: Scribe on Wednesday, 10 Oct 2007
The “RL Technique” J.K. Rowling Uses To Hook Her Readers
by Jared Myers
The “RL Technique” J K Rowling uses to grab readers by the eyeballs and forces them to re-read her books again and again.
I’ll show you how it practically gives away all her best kept secrets and how you can use it to keep your own readers hanging on your every word.
You’ve probably heard […]
Posted by: Scribe on Tuesday, 18 Sep 2007
How to Murder Your Muse
A muse is similar to a witch’s familiar, which is usually associated with a black cat. The cat is a companion to the witch, but it doesn’t do the work of the old hag (although it can be a pair of extra eyes, which I suppose she could find helpful). A muse on […]
Posted by: Scribe on Friday, 24 Aug 2007
How to Plot Your Novel
I’ve been plotting novels and short stories for some years now, but that doesn’t mean I think I know everything that needs to be known on the subject. Because of this, I continually borrow books from the library, or purchase them if they are being sold at the right price, to ensure I’m not […]
Posted by: Scribe on Tuesday, 12 Jun 2007
Grab Your Reader With Conflict
by Lea Schizas
No, not conflict of interest…not conflict within your being…but conflict found in a story.
What exactly is conflict in a story? Simple…a problem/obstacle your main character needs to overcome by the end of the story. Think of it as your engine that drives your car forward. Without one your car remains idle, collecting dust […]
Posted by: Scribe on Monday, 16 Apr 2007
Children’s Book Publishers
Here are a couple of links for children’s markets. The first is for Children’s Book Publishers and the second is for Children’s Magazine Publishers.
Both the links lead to the same website, but I feel it’s important to link to both pages (or one might get overlooked).
Be sure to read the comments left […]
Posted by: Scribe on Friday, 9 Mar 2007
Publishing with Lulu
Lulu is a self-publishing company. Anyone can use this service and this is where I have a problem with self-publishing. If anyone can use it, then there are bound to be badly written books out there. Let’s be honest, it’s a fact that there are.
But…if a book is badly written, or if […]
Posted by: Scribe on Sunday, 1 Oct 2006
Being Invisible
Excerpt from The Business of Writing for Children: An Award-Winning Author’s Tips on Writing Children’s Books and Publishing Them, or How to Write, Publish, and Promote a Book for Kids by Aaron Shepard.
All at once, in the middle of the story, I “woke up” with a shock. For just a few seconds, I had […]
Posted by: Scribe on Wednesday, 20 Sep 2006
Where to Start
As a reader, no matter what I’m reading - a children’s book or a book for adults - I always enjoy the books that start right in the middle of the action. It’s exciting! It makes me keep reading to find out who the characters are and what is happening to them. […]
Posted by: Scribe on Tuesday, 19 Sep 2006
Love and Skill
When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece. ~John Ruskin
Love of the story and of the craft itself, together with the learned skill of writing can be a powerful commodity. One without the other can lead to poor results, which can then lead to misery, depression and, worse of all, hatred for […]
Posted by: Scribe on Thursday, 30 Mar 2006