One piece of advice you hear frequently as a children’s book writer is to avoid writing books with a heavy moral or message. Editors do not want “preachy” books. If your story does have a message, it should be in service to the story instead of the other way around. They should be written in [...]
Archive for the ‘Works in Progress’ Category
The Moral of the Story
Posted in Children's Books, Publishing, Works in Progress, Writing, tagged Writing, Children's Books, Publishing, Works in Progress on July 28, 2010 | 4 Comments »
My Manuscript’s Verse is Nothing Like the Bard’s
Posted in Children's Books, Poetry, Publishing, Rhyming, SCBWI, Works in Progress, Writing, tagged Big Sur in the Rockies, Editing, NaPiBoWriWee, Publishing, Revising, SCBWI, Shakespeare, Sonnet 130, Works in Progress, Writing on May 12, 2010 | 3 Comments »
If last week’s theme was NaPiBoWriWee, and the week before that was Unclutter Your Life in One Week, then this week is preparation for the Big Sur in the Rockies conference this weekend. I couldn’t resist attending because it takes place here in Boulder, and it will give me the chance to workshop two manuscripts [...]
When Life Throws You Hard-Boiled Eyeballs…
Posted in Children's Books, NaPiBoWriWee, Parenting, Works in Progress, Writing, tagged Children's Books, First Drafts, NaPiBoWriWee, Parenting, Rocky, Works in Progress, Writing on May 10, 2010 | 16 Comments »
In my experience, the minute you put a stake in the ground and say to the universe, “THIS is what I’m going to do,” the universe replies, “Oh yeah? Well let’s just see about that…” Last week was NaPiBoWriWee, or for the uninitiated, National Picture Book Writing Week, started by the fabulous Paula Yoo. where [...]
Picture Book Dummies
Posted in Children's Books, SCBWI, Works in Progress, Writing, tagged Writing, Children's Books, SCBWI, Writing Tips, Picture Books, Picture Book Dummies, Allyn Johnston, Beach Lane Books, Simon & Schuster on April 1, 2010 | 1 Comment »
No, I’m not referring to dummies who read picture books. I’m talking about making a mock-up of what your picture book might look like on actual pages. While it always made sense to me that authors who are also illustrators would create dummies, I only recently came around to the idea that it’s a great [...]
Gratitude Sunday 2
Posted in Dogs, Family, Gratitude Sunday, Works in Progress, Write-a-thon, Writing, tagged American Heart Association, Dogs, Dr. Seuss, Family, Friends, Gratitude, Rocky, Spirituality, Sunny Weather, tea, Winter Olympics, WIP, Write-a-thon, Writing on March 7, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Welcome to the second post in my new Gratitude Sunday series. I found that I really enjoyed mulling over what I wanted to include in this list as the week progressed. Before the list, though, a story. I went to the library one morning this week and stopped at the little coffee shop to get [...]
DONE!
Posted in I Need Wine Pronto!, Volunteer/Community, Works in Progress, Write-a-thon, Writing, tagged WIP, Write-a-thon, Writing on March 5, 2010 | 8 Comments »
Check it out – I completed my thirty hours for the write-a-thon! Never mind that ten hours of writing nonstop in one day is not the best way to go. Never mind that I’ve probably increased my chances by at least 25% of getting whatever cancer is caused by sitting in front of a computer [...]
LAST DAY of the Write-a-thon
Posted in Volunteer/Community, Works in Progress, Write-a-thon, Writing, tagged American Heart Association, Deadlines, Personal Fundraising, Write-a-thon, Writing on March 5, 2010 | Comments Off
Today is the day. By midnight tonight (Colorado time), I will have completed my write-a-thon. Typical me, I’m pushing it right down to the wire with a full ten hours left to write. Yes, one-third of the total of goal of thirty hours remains. Those of you who have been reading the blog for a [...]
My Olympic Moment…
Posted in Rhyming, Travel, Works in Progress, Write-a-thon, Writing, tagged Chicago O'Hare, Rhyming, Team U.S.A., Travel, Winter Olympics, WIP, Write, Write-a-thon, Writing on March 2, 2010 | 1 Comment »
… came in two forms yesterday. First, I sailed past the halfway mark on my write-a-thon and met a deadline in the process. After writing for three hours en route home, I am now up to 17 hours written and $152 raised for the American Heart Association. I also polished one of my manuscripts enough [...]
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