Author Ian Fanselow breaks down his methodical approach to writing with an example scene from his new novel “Worlds Apart” I am a very methodical person and planning is my strength. So when I learned about the idea of “Scene and Sequel” it immediately clicked for me, and I developed a system I used for…
Manuscript Evaluation Checklist
Writing “Penelope’s Big Dream”
Author Mónica Vidalón takes us through the process of writing and publishing her Children’s Book Even though my background is in business and advertising, I have always been passionate about writing and illustrating books for children. When my girls were little, I made a point to read to them very often not only to raise…
What defines the “mystery” genre?
Mysteries come in many different flavors, from cozies to hard-boiled detectives. So what unites all these disparate plots under one umbrella? All mysteries share 3 things in common A secret, unknown to both protagonist and reader, that poses a story question A protagonist in search of an answer to that story question Clues to allow…
How to Write a Book Synopsis that Makes Agents or Publishers say, “Show Me More!”
To convince an agent or publisher your manuscript is one they should pay attention to, you need to have a great synopsis. Specific guidelines may vary, but as a rule of thumb, a synopsis is a one-page, double-spaced description of your entire story. It should be about 450 words. The goal is to give your…
Good Writers Aren’t Born, They’re Made
90% of an author’s quality stems from skills they’ve learned, practiced, and perfected. (Only 10% is natural talent.) So if you feel like the quality of your writing over time looks like this: …It’s probably because you’re trying to learn from the wrong resources at the wrong times. Here are the two mistakes I see…
Interview with Jeremy Ross, Author/Illustrator of the Mustard Series
I chatted with Amazon Best-Selling author, illustrator, and Writing Academy graduate, Jeremy Ross, about the release of his third picture book in the Mustard Series: Mustard Thinks Twice! (available from Amazon). This time… Ketchup is up to his sneaky tricks again, and Mustard is faced with a difficult decision. Will Mustard join Ketchup and Ranch…
Types of Editing
What are the different types of editing and how are they different from one another? I get this question a lot, so I thought I’d answer it here on our blog. There are 3 main types of editing and they’re usually tackled in this order: 1. Developmental Editing Developmental Editing is a holistic look at…
Hook Kids’ Attention With Your Writing
by Marcia T. Jones and Debbie Dadey Between the Internet, Nintendo and the TV remote how can “boring” books compete? Marcia T. Jones and Debbie Dadey explain what it takes to grab a kid’s attention and hold onto it from the beginning to “the end.” One chance. That’s all kids will give you before they toss…
Hook Your Readers With Tension
by Laura Backes Tension. Without it, life would be–let’s face it–boring. So would fiction. Tension works with conflict to raise the emotional level of the text to a boiling point. It forces the reader to become invested in the story. But many children’s book writersare afraid to apply too much tension to their plots. They…