Dinner and Perseverance

The Richmond Children's Writers and friends had dinner with a visiting author: Lynda Mullaly Hunt, author of One for the Murphys. She was in Richmond doing some author visits, and we had the good fortune of spending an evening with her.

First of all, have you read One for the Murphys? If not, put it on your to-be-read pile right away. And make sure you have tissues handy. One for the Murphys is an honest look at a girl who finds herself living with a foster family for the first time while her mother is hospitalized. Good stuff!

Lynda told us an interesting story. She had been working on her manuscript (the original title was "Clip") for many months and was beginning to feel discouraged. She had escaped to a Dunkin Donuts shop to write, and it wasn't a good writing day. She had to struggle to get the words out, and what did come out wasn't that great. She was seriously considering scrapping the whole project.

As she walked out to the parking lot on her way out, she passed a car with the a customized license plate. It read, simply, "CLIP." She took it as a sign that she needed to persevere, which is exactly what she did. Her book was published by Penguin in 2012, and it has done very well.

Every writer I know has felt like giving up. I was about two-thirds of the way through Freakling when seriously questioned the worth of going on. I had convinced myself that the story was too strange, that no one would ever "get" this story, and that it wasn't marketable. I was ready to forget about the whole thing. Then I read Patrick Ness's The Knife of Never Letting Go--the strangest book I'd ever read, but I loved it. If that book is marketable, then maybe my story has a chance, I thought. It was a slim chance, but enough to keep me going. I finished writing the book and by the following year, an agent found the book not strange but original, and signed me as a client. Soon, I had a book contract for Freakling, and--interestingly enough--it was with the same publisher and the same editor as The Knife of Never Letting Go. Crazy!

Our message to you is to keep writing! Keep trying new things. If one thing doesn't work, try it a different way.  If one project stalls, put it on the back burner and start something else. Must. Keep. Writing!

To show how serious we are about this, we're hosting a giveaway. The prize is two books, both signed by the authors. The winner will receive One for the Murphys and Freakling (newly available in paperback!).  Login below to Rafflecopter and enter by following us on Twitter/Facebook and/or sharing the giveaway with your friends! (NOTE: Login information is used to verify valid entries and to contact winners. Your personal email WILL NOT be shared or stored).

Good luck and don't give up! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Archon is here!

Our very own Lana Krumwiede hosted a book launch party for her newest title, Archon, last night at The Library of Virginia! Lana read an exciting passage from the book (the second title in the Freakling series) that included a wild jaguar, attacking soldiers and a mysterious telekinetic woman. The book promises to be every bit as exciting as Freakling. After signing a few copies and reading from the title, Lana answered questions from the audience. She talked about the inspiration for the Freakling trilogy coming to her as a reversal of the superhero type story. Instead of one hero having super power in a normal world, she wondered what would happen if one person were normal in a world of people with super powers. She also explained why there were no animals in her first book, what she learned as a writer from book one to book two, and why not to label your chapter titles until the book is finished. Among the crowd who turned out to see Lana were fellow Richmond authors, Meg Medina, Stephanie Sammartino McPherson, Anne Westrick, and Brian Rock as well as our own RCW members Deb Dudley and Chris Sorenson. The book launch was great fun for all who attended, now I can't wait to launch into the book myself!

A Fly on the Wall

Highlights from the Richmond Children's Writers September Meeting

Our September meeting was fantastic! Everyone is back from vacation and ready to rock and roll. Here are a few of the more interesting things we discussed:

We all like wacky picture books, but how wacky is too wacky? Can a picture book be too far out? Take this book for example: Dinosaurs Love Underpants. Dinosaurs are a perennial kid favorite, true. And underpants, as discussed in our August meeting, can work for a kids' book. Having said that, Dinosaurs Love Underpants, for me, was just too wacky. But . . . it is a published book, which is nothing to sneeze at. Just goes to show that one person's too-wacky-for-me is another person's book deal. We had some wacky submissions this month, and predictably, those stories drew a variety of reactions from the group.

After reading a chapter from a young adult novel, we discussed this concept:

"The wind howled" is stronger rather than "She heard the wind howling." This is due to fact that in the second sentence, the main character is inserted between the reader and the action. The first sentence makes the reader feel he is the one who is hearing the wind howl. That translates into a more engaging text, which is another way of saying the writing is stronger. Fiction writers would do well to take a good look at sentences phrased with "She saw" or "He felt" or "I heard" or any verb that tells what the main character is perceiving, and rewrite it in a way that allows the reader to experience the sensation as directly as possible.

A submission from a different young adult novel led us into a discussion about novel writing technique. Writing fiction is a complex task, and requires finding the right balance of a lot of moving pieces. Each scene has to move the story forward. It has to do at least one or two other things too, like develop character, set the scene, infuse a mood, build tension, and such. But the primary job of a scene is to move the plot forward. All those other things can be worked in. Each chapter, each scene, has to accomplish several different things at once.

If there were a goddess of multitasking, I imagine she would look something like this.

We will conclude with the September writing prompt:

Write a wacky action scence that weaves in two other elements (choose from character develoment, setting description, mood, or tension). Bonus points for including either dinosaurs or underpants.

Now, write away!

Not-to-Do List

For anyone who is new to children's publishing, here are a few common mistakes that are easily avoided. 

1. Don’t get an illustrator for your picture book manuscript. It’s the publisher’s job to assign an illustrator to the project. So if you are planning to go the traditional publishing route, you don’t need to include illustrations. In fact, unless you are a professional illustrator, sending illustrations in with your manuscript is a sign of an amateur writer. A few sparse illustration notes are acceptable if absolutely necessary, but for the most part, editors and agents will be able to “get” your story without any visuals. They do this every day.
2. Don’t mention anything about how much your child or grandchild loves your book. This is the equivalent of writing “my mother thinks I’m really smart” on your college application. Of course your child loves your story, but it tells the editor or agent absolutely nothing about the quality of your manuscript. It means your child loves you. Which is wonderful, but don’t put it in a query letter.
3.  Don’t rush. It’s not a race. Too many writers are in such a hurry that they send out a manuscript that still needs work. Or they send out a manuscript to any publisher at all without taking the time to find the best fit. That is a formula for automatic rejection. Be deliberate. Be purposeful. Be professional.
4.  Don’t worry about copyrights. There are all kinds of ideas about mailing your manuscript to yourself, or paying fees to register the copyright paperwork. Forget all that. The moment you write anything, your writing belongs to you legally, lawfully, copyrightedly, and every other way. The only way that changes is if you sign a contract that assigns rights to someone else.
5.  Don’t be paranoid about someone stealing your idea. Only you can write your story. Even if someone else were to have the same idea, no two people would write it in the same way. You wouldn’t want to plaster your manuscript all over the internet, but sharing your manuscript discreetly with a writing group or a critique partner is a good idea.
6.  Don’t give up! It’s very rare that a writer’s first written work gets published. Keep moving forward. What will you write next? Develop new projects, try a different kind of writing, practice patience and perseverance. You’ll need it in this business. 

Thinking Like a Writer, Part 1

Where do you get your ideas?

This is by far the most common question that authors get. Kids ask me this question at school visits. Adults ask this question when I visit book groups. Writers ask this question to other writers at conferences. While the universal answer is something along the lines of “ideas come from everywhere,” I believe there is a lot to learn from thinking about how ideas come to us and what we do with them when they show up. Here’s my first tip for thinking like a writer:

Writers observe.

Observing means paying attention to what is going on around you. Engage with the world. Notice new things. What can you see today that is unexpected? What breaks a stereotype? What is unexplained? What draws your interest and why? Question. Think. Muse.

Pay attention to random thoughts that your subconscious mind interjects into your awareness. Why did your brain make that connection at that moment?

Be a people watcher. Why do people do the things they do? What is body language conveying? What do actions during a tense moment reveal about a person’s character?

Become an ardent eavesdropper. Conversation is happening all around you. Listen. What does each person want from the conversation? What is the context? What is the subtext? Fill in the gaps with your imagination.

Ways to practice observing:

-          Challenge yourself to notice one new thing with each of your five senses in a 24-hour period.

-          Practice observing as you read. Try to notice an interesting turn of phrase, a fresh word choice, pleasing word flow or a catchy cadence. Aspiring fiction writers can take notice what the writer is doing with plot and characters. What is it about the writing that holds your interest? How did the writer do that?

-          Be aware of when you are feeling creative. Is there a certain time of day where your brain is open to creativity? In the shower? Just before you fall asleep? Taking a walk outside? As a writer, that is something you’ll want to know about yourself.

Visit Lana's website for Thinking Like a Writer, Part 2.

Great Summer Reads for Kids and Young Adults

Roller Coaster, by Marla Frazee

This picture book captures the roller coaster experience perfectly! I have used it in writing workshops for elementary school students as a model for using emotion and sensory detail to write about an experience.

Kid Vs. Squid, by Greg Van Eekhout

This wild, wacky book is the perfect beach read for seven- to ten-year-olds who love adventure and humor.

The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater

Okay, technically this book takes place in November, but it does involve beaches and ocean. This book has a unique story concept, cool folktale elements, and absolutely gorgeous writing. The fabulous Maggie Stiefvater lives in Virginia, in case you didn't know.

Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi

A gritty, raw, post-apocalyptic adventure set in a futuristic version of the American Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts. Very compelling!

Seven Things I Learned from Writing for Magazines

I began writing by starting with magazine pieces: short stories, poems, games, and articles. After about seven years and over 50 published articles, I tackled the herculean task of writing a novel. In so many ways, magazine writing helped prepare me for that.

1. I learned to write concisely. Most magazines have strict parameters for word count. I learned to find the core of the story and stick to it, to find the salient bits of information and focus on those. Turns out that's important for longer pieces as well.

2. I wrote across many genres and ages of readers. Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, historical fiction, folktales, crafts and activities, humor, puzzles and games--you name it and I tried it. I found that some genres interest me more than others and that versatility is a valuable trait for a writer.

3. I became intimately acquainted with rejection. This is a big deal. Many writers never quite become comfortable with it. Even after I felt like I knew what I was doing, I still got tons of rejections; probably 9 out of 10 submissions were rejected. After a while, rejection just became part of the process for me. I learned to glean information from it, move on, and submit more. Sadly, the rejection experience continues throughout a writer's career (there are a few individual exceptions to this, I suppose). The earlier you get used to it, the better.

4. I learned to welcome criticism. That's right, welcome it. Crave it. Seek it out. Because I saw how it made my writing stronger. Whether it was from people in my writing group, professionals at conferences, or (thrill!) editors to whom I had submitted, criticism was an opportunity to improve.

5. I built my resume. When I started querying agents, my writing credits were an important asset. It showed that other professionals had found my writing up to par.

6. I met a lot of wonderful people in the world of children's publishing. These people not only inspired me, but also encouraged and supported me. I'm so grateful for each of them!

7. I began to think of myself as a writer. It seems like a small thing, but it factors into how you envision your future, what you are capable of, how you deal with obstacles. All of these perceptions significantly affect the outcome of your efforts.

What about you? How did you learn what you needed to learn about writing?

If you are interested in learning about other writers' paths to publishing success, you can attend our FREE event, presented by SCBWI in Richmond on April 28. More details here.

Be wise. Revise!

"Revise, revise, revise. Revise until the dang thing stands up and sings!"

This was the advice that award-winning author Graham Salisbury had for young writers. Mr. Salisbury was the visiting author for the Junior League of Richmond's Junior Book and Author event this year. He captivated his audience, young and old alike, with tales of growing up in Hawaii, narrowly escaping vicious eels, maintaining a cool reputation amid shark attacks, and being swept out to sea during a boy scout campout at the beach. But when it came to writing, he was all about revision. "That's when the fun starts," he said. "If you want to be a writer, you want revision. You need revision. You love revision."

His words made me think about how I have come to enjoy the revision process. When I began to see the benefits that diligent it yields, I became a big fan of revision. Here are some of the things revision gives you:

- A better sense of what story you are trying to tell.
- A clearer understanding of your characters.
- Stronger dramatic moments and funnier humorous moments.
- A richer setting.
- Themes that are more fully developed and resonant.
- Consistency in all aspects of the story.

Well, the list is much longer, but that's a start. What else does revision buy you?

Show a little book love

Valentine's Day is coming up--the day we make an extra effort to show love to the people that mean the most to us. This year, think about the authors of the books you love. Of course, the best way to support authors is to buy their books. But you can do an author a HUGE favor by taking a few simple steps beyond that. You'd be surprised to know how much it means to an author when readers take time to show their public support.

1. Write a positive book review and post in on Amazon.

2. Write a positive book review (you can even copy and paste the one you used in step 1) and post it on Goodreads, Shelfari, or barnes&noble.com.

3. Click the "like" button on Amazon.

4. Tweet about how much you enjoyed the book. Include the author's Twitter name if possible.

5. Make a short positive comment about the book or the author on Facebook.

6. Ask your local library to carry the book if they don't already do so. Many libraries have suggestions cards specifically for this purpose.

7. Buy the book as a gift for a friend or family member. For a thrifty alternative, see suggestion #8.

8. Give/lend your copy of the book to someone you think will enjoy it. And ask them to pass it on when they're done.

9. Use the power of word of mouth. Tell someone, somehow, some way, how much you liked the book.

The Word-Loss Diet

January is the official weight-loss season. The gyms are crowded this time of year and all kinds of diet and weight-loss products go on sale. Trimming the fat is an important concept in writing as well. Contemporary writing, especially in children’s literature, is lean. It lures readers in by promising a fast pace and a get-to-the-point approach. So let’s talk about the diet plan.

            Have you started the story too early? When does the conflict first cause problems for the main character? This is where your text should begin. Readers want to know right away what is going to happen in your story. Action and plot should begin in the very first paragraph. The beginning is where the real action begins, not with all that happened before.

            Does every scene move the plot forward?  Each scene has to multitask; that is, a scene must serve more than one purpose. If you have separate scenes for character development, plot progression, and setting description, think about how you can write one scene that does all three.

What is the story at its core? Superfluous scenes are often a result of not understanding the heart of the story. Try reducing your plot down to a sentence or two. Any scene that doesn’t connect with the core of your story needs to be reconsidered.

            Have you overindulged in description? Even lovely, sensory-rich description, if overdone, can get in the way of the story. You cannot describe the whole world and keep a young reader’s attention. You must choose carefully the parts you cannot do without and cut everything else—mercilessly.

            Find every opportunity to cut and compress. Play a game with yourself. How many words can you take out and still get the meaning across? Wring everything out of the story that isn’t essential. Watch out for trouble spots as in these examples:

•            Adverbs can often be cut by replacing the verb with something stronger. Example: The squirrel quickly climbed over the fence. The squirrel scampered over the fence. 
•              Active voice avoids extra words like “was” and “is.” Example: I was welcomed home by my dog. My dog welcomed me home.
•            Hedging words (such as nearly, almost slightly rather, just) are usually unnecessary. Example: The noisy crow nearly drove Edgar crazy. The noisy crow drove Edgar crazy.
•      Eliminate overused words such as there, that, it. Example: It is a good idea to plan ahead. Planning ahead is a good idea. 
•           Prepositions and prepositional phrases are an easy place for extra words to creep in. Take a close look at prepositions and get rid of unnecessary words. Example: Please close the door to the classroom. Please close the classroom door. Another example: The turtle plunged down into the lake. The turtle plunged into the lake. (The word plunged already implies a downward direction.) 

Like any kind of diet, the word-loss diet is not easy. Cutting words that you have so carefully crafted is painful! But the reward will be a story that propels the reader forward at every page.

Author Skill Set: Story Sense

"The universe is made of stories, not atoms."

                    -Muriel Rukeyser

Storytelling is probably the oldest form of entertainment on the planet. Stories play significant roles in the human experience: It's how we learn, share, persuade, plan, dream, communicate, and make sense of the world. Indeed, the human experience IS story.

As technology has evolved over the years, new forms of storytelling have emerged. Books, radio, recordings, movies, video games, and electronic media each offer a new way to experience story. Whatever medium a storyteller chooses, a strong story sense is essential. Story sense, in my head, means this: the ability to create a satisfying story arc with a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Many people have an innate sense of story, but I believe it is something that can be learned as well. There are many books about the theory of story structure, which are quite interesting. However, it comes down to that critical word, satisfying.

As I wrote my first novel, I rearranged the sequence and the pacing and the order of the scenes many times. I kept asking myself, "Is this the right way to tell this story?" Even after reading said books regarding storytelling theory and structure, I wasn't sure. When I changed the question to "Is this a satisfying way to tell this story?" I was able to feel confident about the choices I had made about my story structure.

What are your thoughts about story sense? How is it strengthened? How is it weakened? We'd love to hear from you.

Fun with Literary Turducken

You know about turducken, right? A chicken stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey? I tried to find a picture to post, but I have to be honest and tell you that none of them looked appetizing. Instead I have something much appealing (and calorie free!).

Literary Turducken!

Courtesy of twitter and book nerds everywhere, these triple mash-up titles gave me a chuckle. And now, without further ado about nothing but the truth, I give you my top ten picks.


The Memory Keeper's Daughter of Smoke and Lovely Bones

Play Misty of Chincoteague for Me and My Gal

The Lion, the Witch and the War of the World According to Garp

The Man Who Mistook His Reliable Wife for the Cat in the Hat

Stuart the Little Prince Caspian

Charlie and the Chocolate War and Peace

The Joy of Cooking the Very Hungry Caterpillars of the Earth

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Philosopher's Chamber of Secrets

A Time to Kill a Mockingjay

Ender's Hunger Game of Thrones


(If you have an appetite for more, search #literaryturducken on twitter.)

Author Skill Set: Persistence

Persistence: The ability to keep working when initial efforts don't pay off right away. If you're a writer, you need it. This is particularly true if you are seeking publication. The only way to learn writing is to write, which means that you are writing through the learning curve. And it can be a pretty long curve.

Most writers try to get their work published before it's ready, but that, too, is part of the learning process. You'll need to learn how and where to submit your writing and become accustomed to the ups and downs of the submission experience. There will be plenty of rejections, and you can learn important things from them. I have a different word for rejection letters: certificates of courage. Because getting past the fear of rejection and criticism is crucial in order to improve your writing.

A writer who continues to improve while simultaneously getting his work out for people to read--that is a writer who will (eventually) get published. If you stop improving, or stop submitting or stop writing all together, that's when publication doesn't happen. When you are moving up the learning curve, you will reach the point where everything comes together--the writing, the writer, the market, the timing. And good things will happen.

What motivates you to keep trying?

Author Skill Set: Creativity

I aspire to the be a writer who is constantly improving, pushing myself to take risks, see things a different way, and learn from the incredible people and world around me. In my attempts to do this, I've made a list of ten skills that I want to work on. The first (though the order is not important) is creativity skill. I define it this way: the ability to recognize, combine, and develop good story ideas.

Every author event that I've attended, someone asks the question, "Where do you get your ideas?" and the answer is always some variation of the concept that ideas come from everywhere. 

It's true. Story ideas, like interesting pebbles, are all around us, just waiting to be collected. Creativity skill comes into play as we learn to recognize them, pick them up, and know what to do with them. The idea for my novel came from a friend of mine who told me that she never visualizes anything when she reads. She might hear the dialogue and the sounds in her mind, but she never forms any mental images. I was astounded. I thought every reader visualized like I do. I still think most readers do, but since then I've met others who don't visualize. 

I began to think about this over and over.What other tasks might a non-visualizer have trouble with? Taken to the extreme, could the inability to visualize be considered a handicap? What kind of society would pose problems for a person who can't visualize things? That led me to conceive of a world in which telekinesis (the ability to move things mentally) was commonplace, which in turn led to the characters and plot of my novel which will be released Fall of 2012. 

One of the things I do to exercise creativity skill is to keep an idea box. Anytime I see something that triggers a story idea, I write it down or draw it or cut it out and put it in the box. The box is not organized at all, just a jumble of snatches of things. When I need an infusion of new ideas, I go through the mess in the box and invariably find something that sparks a new direction.

What do you do to sharpen creativity?

Pebbles of Writing Wisdom

I love going to writers conferences. It's not so much about what I learn, although that alone is valuable. It's more about hanging out with writers, catching their energy and passion, and thinking about my own writing in a new way. Let me illustrate by sharing a few pebbles of wisdom from the recent James River Writers Conference. Unfortunately, my notes did not include the names of the persons who dropped these gems in my lap, which means I can't give proper credit to the speakers.

- Write to the hole in your heart.

- Writers have to deal with ambiguity. It's your own truth that you bring to the muddle that clarifies it.

- Plot is the tracing out of a character's desire, the laying out of what the character wants versus what the character gets.

- Write the way Otis Redding sings, with rhythm, emotion and voice. His music emulates desire.

-When someone is reading my book, that person is in my care. The whole point of literature is to make you feel more human, and it's the writers responsibility to make that happen.

Everything about the conference feeds my writer self. What awakens the writer in you?

Getting Kids into Books

My daughter is perhaps the most picky reader I know. She likes fantasy, but only a certain type of fantasy. She likes mystery, but only a certain kind of mystery. You get the idea. Sometimes I'll give her a book I think she's going to love and she's only lukewarm about it. In spite of that, we keep trying because when she connects with a book, she is IN LOVE with it.

Her latest book crush is a little-known middle grade book called Abby Carnelia's One and Only Magical Power by David Pogue. She is dumbfounded as to why no one else she knows has read this incredibly awesome book. I suggested she write what she likes about Abby Carnelia's story and I could post it as a review on Amazon.

We also found the author's email address on his website and decided to send him a message. I told her we might not hear anything back because this author is a busy man who writes a column for the NY Times. A few days later, we got an email back. He told her that she is exactly the kind of person he hoped would read his book and like it. She felt like a rock star reader!

Reading for a Record

Our own Lana Krumwiede and Brian Rock are teaming up with PBS Sprout and Learning Care Group to help break the record for most people reading the same book on the same day. Sadly, the book is not one by either Lana or Brian (maybe next year!) They will instead be reading the enjoyable, Llama, Llama, Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney. The purpose of the record breaking attempt is to help make reading a priority for at risk preschoolers. According to the Learning Care website, "Millions of children in low-income neighborhoods are at risk of school failure before they even start Kindergarten. Led by Jumpstart, “Read for the Record” is a program that mobilizes adults and children to close the early education achievement gap. In cooperation with Jumpstart and Sprout, we are proud to stand up and read together as one voice to demand that all children receive the quality early education they deserve."
If you'd like to join Lana and Brian in setting the record, you can play along at home by joining us on Facebook at either 7:30 p.m. ET, 7:30 p.m. CT or 7:30 p.m. PT, when our own Dr. Heather Wittenberg will read the book live.

Story Elements Series: Setting

by Lana Krumwiede

"When you choose setting, you had better 
choose it wisely and well, 

because the very choice defines--
and circumscribes--

your story's possibilities."

- Jack Bickham

A sign of a great story is one that couldn't happen in any other place.
Could Harry Potter have grown up in Waco, Texas? Um . . . no.

I feel like setting never gets enough credit. I hear writers talk about agonizing over characters and wrestling with plot, but what about setting? Imagine, for example, a story about a missing child. Now imagine that story taking place in the dust bowl of Oklahoma during the 1930's. This time imagine a missing child story that takes place in an urban, contemporary setting, say New York City. Now make that New York City in September of 2001. What about a child who goes missing in a lunar colony in the year 2109? Or in the jungles of Vietnam in the 1970's? 

Each of these missing child stories would be very different. Setting has a huge effect on characters, their roles in society, the choices they have, the resources they have access to, their attitudes and sensibilities. It also circumscribes, to use Mr. Bickham's verb, the playing field for the plot. Setting will dictate things like transportation, communication, weather and climate, geography, flora and fauna.

Use setting for all it's worth. If you get stuck, take close look at your setting. It can bail you out. It can present new courses of action. It can provide interesting details to will draw readers in. It can inject energy into the story. Here are some specific examples of what setting can do:

1. Advance the plot. Changing the setting (or some aspect of it) can give the story a sense of movement and progression. Even if it's the same room, you can change the lighting, the time of day, the weather, or some such thing. 

2. Challenge and shape a character. Think about the places that played a significant role in your childhood. How did these places influence the person you have become? The same is true for the characters in your story.

3. Increase tension. Settings can create obstacles, things that frustrate your characters and complicate their attempts to solve a problem or accomplish a goal. Setting can also introduce something that demands immediate attention. 

4. Reflect a character's state of mind. A rainstorm can be a source of healing and calm or it can be ominous, depending on how your character reacts to it. A writer can use the setting to reveal the character's thoughts and feelings. 

What are some interesting ways you've seen writers use setting? 

Getting Kids into Books: Literary Freedom

One of the best ways to get kids interested in reading is to let them choose their own books. Nothing kills enthusiasm for reading like criticism of reading choices. I once overheard an interesting exchange in the book section of a department store. It went something like this . . .

Kid (about 6 yrs old): Dad, can I buy a book?
Dad: Okay, let's see if they have anything good.
Kid: I like this one about sharks. Sharks are way cool.
Dad: Oh, I see a good one--The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food. There's a book you need.
Kid: Never mind.

My heart went out to that kid. I wish I could have figured out a way to buy him the shark book. Take care not to criticize the books that speak to your child. It's okay to read the same book more than once. It's okay to read comic books and magazines. It's okay to stop reading a book if you don't like it.

We have a ten-percent policy at our house. If you read ten percent of a book and you don't connect with it, you can choose to set it aside and try something else. Trying to slog through a book that doesn't speak to you is another way to take the fun out of reading. Just move on to something else and keep reading.

What about you? Any ideas for maximizing reading fun? We'd love to hear from you.

Light Bulb Lab: Mining your Memories

Meg Medina's new book, Tia Isa Wants a Car, sprang from the memory from her childhood. Your memories are a great source of ideas for your writing. Think about all the experiences, emotions, and thoughts that make up you. That's a lot of writing material! 

When you write stories with a child as the main character, you'll need to dig through the layers of adulthood and remember what it's like to be a kid. Here are some great writing prompts to help you:

     Write about the first family car that you can 

    remember.

     Did you ever live with a relative or have a relative live 

     with you? Was it fun or annoying or both?

     Who were your favorite cousins? What events stand 

     out about them?

     Write about the most unusual family vacation you can 

     remember.

     Write about a time you felt misunderstood as a child.

     Write about the most eccentric neighbor from your 

     childhood. What seemed strange to you about him or 

     her?

     What style of clothing did you wear when you 

     were a child or a teenager? Did your mother ever 

     make you wear something you hated? Did you ever 

     insist on wearing something that your mother hated?

     How was your hair cut or styled when you were a 

     child? Did you ever have a really bad haircut?

Have you ever used your memories as a spring board for your writing? Tell us about it!