There are days when all I want to do is lay around and watch Netflix. (And honestly, it’s more days than not ๐) But there’s something this lazy activity taught me: it can actually improve your writing!
Say what?
Yes, it’s as if you can eat cake and not gain weight. It’s that good of a secret. Except for
Have you ever wanted an easy button for writing your novel? After reading a couple of craft books, I discovered a couple of the best writing exercises that are almost as good. Almost.
Now, I use them whenever I have a new idea for a book. It helps me–and will help you–to form the outline for my story before I put words in a Word Doc.
…If you poll most aspiring authors, they will almost ALWAYS say learning how to plot your novel is the hardest thing to do. I’m even working with one of my friends–who has been published before–on her plot.
It’s that hard to do sometimes.
…Ask an adult what they’re favorite book growing up was, and more times than not, they will list a picture book. Why? Because picture books are the first books we are exposed to, and for some, it’s the only books we’ve ever read. This means as a writer, there is a lot of pressure when you plot your picture book.
But how do you build a plot in only 32 pages?…
The first question an author must answer is “Who is your book for?” And the common, but WORST, answer is “For everyone!” Writing for everyone will not allow you to target the perfect reader. It will only affect your ability to sell your book later.
Before you get all angry and pull your hair out, there’s good news. There’s an EASY way to make sure you set your children’s book up for success before you even write one word….
I was scrolling through a freelancing site for children’s book writing gigs, when I found this post: “Wanting to write a middle-grade novel about a 22-year old guy who struggles with sexuality and being an adult”. WHAT!! This person clearly doesn’t understand the age levels for children’s books.
If you didn’t catch the red flag, a 22-year old would NEVER be in a middle-grade novel because middle-grade is intended for 8-12-year-old readers. Not even YA would be old enough for a 22-year old character.
…I was listening to an episode on the Picturebooking Podcast about tips to break into the industry. The host interviewed TONS of published authors and illustrators and asked their top advice for other writers. Almost ALL of them said writers should be reading comp books.
If you hear something on repeat, it has to be important. Right? So I thought I would do a little digging and find out WHY this is so crucial.
…Do you ever read a book and wonder how the writer made you fall in love with their characters so well? Being able to build strong characters takes a lot of pre-planning and TONS of practice, but it is a skill you can learn.
I have a story that I’ve been working on for around four years. The characters are really well developed, however, there was something missing. So I did a wicked
Are you thinking about going to a writer’s conference soon? They’re an AMAZING resource for writers of all skill levels, but you might not know what to expect at a writer’s conference the first time you go.
I have a writing conference coming up this weekend and I’m PUMPED! This is around my sixth conference, so I’m ‘seasoned’, but I still remember the first ever conference I went to.
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