Wow, it's like someone has put a secret camera in my office and is recording my methods of working. Weird that they're calling me "Lev," though.
9 traits of sympathetic characters
Darcy Pattison has a series up about sympathetic characters (and good villains). Here's the first part of the one on what makes characters sympathetic--something you need to do to keep readers engaged:Help Your Readers Identify with Your Characters. We tend to identify with characters who are like us in some way. They play certain roles... Continue Reading →
Thinking about beginnings
When the topic of first pages (due March 20 for the conference) came up last night, I thought about this blog post by Kristin Nelson, which includes an action-packed beginning by Linnea Sinclair. Immediate scenes make for great openings. They can be hard to write if you don't know what your story is. Once you... Continue Reading →
What you need before you query
The literary agent Janet Reid has compiled a handy chart. Here's the start of it:....................................................Fiction..........Memoir........Non-fictionquery letter ....................................yes,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,yes.............. yeswebsite* ........................................yes,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,yes..............yesdedicated query/author email,,,,,,,yes............ ,,,yes.......... ....yesword count.....................................yes,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,yes.............. noCheck out the rest.
Counting down the top 100 children’s novels
Betsy Bird has some sort of mad, mad experiment going.She is listing the Top 100 children's novels as submitted by her readers AND providing lengthy information about each author as well as multiple versions of covers and film trailers where they exist.And who says there is no porn in children's libraries?That porn joke was sort... Continue Reading →
Contest: the future of children’s books
WIRED magazine is having a Photoshop contest in which we are to imagine the future of children's books. Get your details here.Is my imagination lame in that I envision children's books that 1) repel stains; 2) resist tears; 3) take themselves back to the library?Thanks to Kirsten Carlson for the link.
Good news for Lois V. Harris
She writes:My box of Charlie Russell: Tale-Telling Cowboy Artist books just arrived--the book, my second inspiring picture book, looks great--wahoo! I’m inviting everyone to its launching on Tuesday, March 2 at 10 a.m. at the University Village Barnes & Noble. Look for me in my Stetson hat (Santa brought it.)
Tips on honing your YA voice
Alan Rinzler's blog has some tips from agents for aspiring YA writers:Wanna write a scorcher for the booming YA market? OK, here’s the secret: The first thing you need to do is create an authentic, quirky, true-to-life voice. The story and characterizations in Young Adult fiction are crucial too, of course, but the most important... Continue Reading →
Apply for an SCBWI grant
SCBWI members can apply for a variety of grants during the year. Here's a list of deadlines, near and far:Work-in-Progress GrantsCompleted application and accompanying materials must be postmarked no earlier than February 15th and must be RECEIVED BY March 15th. Barbara Karlin GrantCompleted application and accompanying materials must be postmarked no earlier than February 15th... Continue Reading →
Struggling to do a synopsis?
Here's one way of doing the one-page synopsis of your story from the blog of Jennifer Hubbard, author of THE SECRET YEAR:Once upon a time, I did some posts about synopses. I said there were three basic types I'd encountered: the one-line, the one-paragraph, and the one-page. I proceeded to blog about the first two,... Continue Reading →