April Fool’s Day is the perfect occasion to meet some Tricksters. You know these characters. Tricksters take the plot in unexpected directions,
Category: Writing – Tools, Tips & Resources
Pinterest for authors and illustrators? You bet!
By Carol Ekster As authors, we want to spend much of our time writing. But writing work is no longer just creating clever plots and
Skype in the Classroom
By Paul Czajak I had a wonderful experience last week during World Read Aloud Day, when I was able to set up several classroom visits
Page-Turner Devices
By Liz LeSavoy A good opening line is like a bite of chocolate. It immediately hits the pleasure centers of your brain and makes you
You Know You’re Done When You’re Half Undone
This is going to sound contradictory, but when it comes to writing a picture book, your book isn’t finished until it’s incomplete. Be honest, I
3 Ways to Hook your Reader with Your Very First Line
By Kirsti Call My favorite mug features first lines of classic books. I am an invisible man. Marley was dead to begin with. It
A Writer’s Best Friend
By Liz LeSavoy This was me a couple years ago, embarking on my new career as a children’s fiction writer. You can tell I’m just
26 Letters, Infinite Possibilities
By Joyce Audy Zarins Writing is an amazing abstract art. By arranging a small set of symbols in unique ways, writers convey ideas to the
Advice for writers from Madeleine L’Engle
By Kirsti Call A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle is one of my all-time favorites. I remember reading the book when I was eight
Creating Active Characters
Good character development is essential for a story to work. The more complex a character is, the more we want to spend time with the
How to Help an Author (Beyond Buying the Book): Part One
By Jen Malone In this season of making resolutions, what could be a better one than using your talents to help those around you achieve
How to Write Successful Dialogue
One of the best presents I ever received from Santa Claus was a brown paper bag filled to the brim with paperbacks. It had a
How one small press got started: Character Publishing
UPDATE: CHARACTER PUBLISHING IS NO LONGER IN BUSINESS. Some titles have been acquired by other publishers. I first contacted Jerusha Bosarge through the SCBWI Discussion
3 Ways to Pace Your Picture Book
Now that you know Why thirty-two pages? is the standard number for your picture book, you can pace your story within that format. By editing,
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