Here are some more tips from Simon Rose to help you with your writing. You can also find great advice in The Children’s Writer’s Guide, The Children’s Writer’s Guide 2, and The Time Traveler’s Guide. How Old Should Your Characters Be? In novels for young readers, children generally prefer not to follow the adventures of…
Here are 7 fresh, child-friendly creative writing prompts for the coming week—each one designed to spark an imaginative story for kids. Monday’s Prompt – The Library’s Secret Door While returning books, your character finds a hidden door between two tall shelves. It leads to a part of the library no one else seems to know…
Writing a children’s counting book requires a mix of simple storytelling, engaging visuals, and a strong educational foundation. Here are the key guidelines to follow: #1. Choose a Clear Counting Structure. – Decide on the number range (e.g., 1–10, 1–20, or skip counting like 2s, 5s, 10s). – Consider whether you want to count up…
by Simon Rose, Contributing Editor (this post is an excerpt from Simon’s book The Children’s Writer’s Guide) Writer’s block is usually defined as the temporary loss of ability to begin or continue writing, usually due to lack of creativity and inspiration. Let’s assume that the hypothetical writer in question is in good physical condition, since…
by Melissa Abramovitz Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house… Twinkle twinkle, little star… Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep… Most of us can recite at least the first stanza of each of these well-known poems/rhymes, even if we have not heard or spoken the words for many years. There’s something…
by Suzanne Lieurance 2024 is half over in a few days, and here are some of the best children’s picture books published so far this year. If you’re writing children’s picture books yourself, reading these will help you keep up with the current market, so you know what editors have been looking for in the…
by Nancy I. Sanders A picture book is all about your Main Character (MC) and the problem he or she is trying to solve. As in all manuscripts, the first page of your picture book plays an important role. Note that this is not the first page of your manuscript. This is the text that…
by Melissa Abramovitz There are lots and lots of rules out there in books, blogs, articles, workshops, and other sources of information for all types of writers. You have undoubtedly seen or heard rules like “show don’t tell,” “write what you know,” and “avoid using adjectives.” You have probably also realized that these types of…
by Nancy I. Sanders, Contributing Editor If you’ve got a brand new book coming out this year, now is the perfect time to start submitting it for awards, even if it’s not yet published. Several years ago, I was getting ready to prepare to submit my newest book for awards, Frederick Douglass for Kids. Two…
by Nancy I. Sanders, Contributing Editor Want to hear a success story? Arriving in my e-mail inbox one day was a very, very nice acceptance letter from an editor for a manuscript I submitted to them. Want to hear more of the story? This was a manuscript I wrote a number of years ago. I…
by Melissa Abramovitz Writing nonfiction articles is one of the fastest ways to get published in children’s magazines. But although many of these magazines are hungry for well-written nonfiction, editors still reject a good portion of the submissions they receive. One reason for these rejections is that many articles lack a narrow focus. In other…
by Nancy I. Sanders, Contributing Editor How to Plot Your Story When I make blueberry pancakes from scratch, I grab my cookbook and gather all the right ingredients: eggs, milk, butter, honey, flour, and blueberries. Then I measure and mix and cook and serve up a perfect batch of yummy goodness. When I start working…
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