Finding Something Friday : Searching for Warmth

Okay, I know it's freezing all over the country, but when the temperature drops to 30 in my Georgia backyard... baby, it's cold outside! So, I thought I'd find something to warm the cockles of my heart. Feel free to warm your cockles, too (whatever a cockle is).

I'm still looking for all those favorite websites I had stored, and subsequently lost, in the computer fiasco of '09. Today I remembered "Anthologies Online." Check it out here for articles and anthology call-outs. I found a call-out for A Cup Of Comfort for Fathers.

A few days ago, I found the Cup of Comfort blog, which dang near made my day. Not the blog, so much, but a post about the latest C of C to be released: Cup of Comfort for New Moms. My story was listed in the index. Big deal, you might think. After all, I'd filled out a contract and sent my edited version back. But a contract and edited version does not automatically mean your story's going to end up in the book. Trust me.

Anyway, check out the Cup of Comfort website (The blog's there, too). You'll find all the info for the Father's book. Deadline is April 1, 2009. That's plenty of time to write a heart-warming little essay about dad, right?

And if you want to warm up your children's writing, you might want to check out the hot new happenings from Children's Book Insider. If you have a CBI subscription, you can get into their new CBI Clubhouse. But you can get their hot e-zine delivered to your inbox FREE! if you go to the Write4kids website. I'm still catching up on end-of-the-year and first-of-the-year newsletters and e-zines (like CBI). I got way behind, you know, on account of the computer fiasco of '09.

Do you get the feeling that you're going to be hearing about the computer fiasco of '09 for quite some time to come? Well, there you go...just one more thing you found out today on Finding Something Friday. Now, off you go. Start warming those cockles (whatever they are).

Finding Something Friday...Oh, Look! It's Cheryl Klein on Writing Children's Books

You know what I really love about the Decatur Book Festival? I LOVE that a literary editor like Cheryl Klein comes all the way to Georgia to present a workshop. And that I get to hear her wonderful words of wisdom at a heavily discounted rate. Okay, it was free. How awesome is that?





Cheryl (yeah, we're on a first name basis now) is an editor with Arthur A. Levine (an imprint of Scholastic Books). You might recognize her name in connection with the Harry Potter books. But, she's edited quite a few other notable books. And she shared some stories about editing these top-sellers, as well as what she looks for in a great manuscript.

So, if you want to impress Cheryl, you need to have a story with great characters. Creating real characters can make or break that manuscript. She wants a plot and a theme, and she wants that plot to support the theme. And if you want more details (because honestly, I'm just giving the bare bones here. I mean, Cheryl talked for two hours...) you can visit her website here and read her talks where she expounds on all the above.

Tons of great information from a funny, smart editor, courtesy of the Decatur Book Festival. Seriously, how awesome is that?

Tooting My Horn Tuesday about Children's Picture Books (Again!)

As promised, I received THREE books in the mail, courtesy of ICL and Eve Heidi Bine-Stock! Also as promised, here's what they look like:

And I'm sure they're wonderful, though I haven't had a chance to read them yet. So how do I know they're wonderful? I know because Eve's analyzed structure from such great children's books as Where the Wild Things Are and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. And Eve's using such classics as Frog and Toad are Friends and Harold and The Purple Crayon to investigate the building blocks of word, sentence, scene and story. And though it's not pictured, Eve's taking a look at figures of speech in such favorites as Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile and Caps for Sale.

Now, honestly, how can you possibly not learn wonderful things about How to Write a Children's Picture Book from those perfectly wonderful books? (And the wonderful Eve Heidi Bine-Stock, too!)

Children's Lit Bits: Sites You Don't Want to Miss

You know how I like to win stuff. And I can win a few children's books just by telling you about this great transcript: http://www.institutechildrenslit.com/rx/tr01/binestock.shtml. But I would have told you about it eventually 'cause it's jam-packed with lots of great info about children's picture books.

Now that I think about it, when it comes to jam-packed great children's info, you can't beat the weekly newsletter from the Institute of Children's Literature. Check out their website to see how you can sign up for the free e-news.

Then you'll get transcripts like this all the time. You'll also get tips about kid lit websites. Like this great blog I just spent the morning reading: Editorial Anonymous. It's penned by a children's book editor who reminds me a little of Miss Snark. Maybe she's just carrying on the tradition of telling it like it is from the editor's perspective. So don't expect rainbows and teddy bears. But do expect to laugh.

And expect to learn a little something about children's writing. Just that one little bit might make all the difference!

Children's Lit Bits: You've Got to Have a Flaw or Two

I was catching up on some of my assignment's reading when wham! Just like that, I stopped mid-page. And not because Sally the crazy dog was up to her old tricks. But I did learn an old trick or two.

The writer was going on about external conflicts (Terribly important to a story, but we already know that, don't we?) and internal conflicts (Terribly important, too, if you want to make things interesting). Then I read a few lines on the importance of characters having a flaw or two so that they're not these perfect little people that, deep down, (or maybe not so deep down) we'll end up hating. Hold on now, I'm just about to get to the point.

And here it is: if your character doesn't have a flaw or two, how can he learn or change? Which is terribly, terribly important to a good story.

Let's consider good, old Harry P. (just as a for instance) and his constant (external) conflict with bad old Voldewhatever. Now consider all the flaws Harry had, like his insecurity about being a Muggle and being so different and just in general being a real pain in the whiny neck (those would be the internal conflicts). But it was all those flaws that made Harry so appealing to kids. He was an unlikely hero, with several obnoxious behaviors common to the typical 12 year old. But didn't he learn quite alot along the way? (Frankly, he had to learn the same thing more than once, but that's another story.) And didn't he change, besides getting facial hair and body odor?

Give your protagonist a good flaw or two and then sit back and watch the conflicts bring your story to life. Your protagonist must learn something and then use that knowledge to effect an internal change. That's the trick for the day. And maybe just that one little bit will make all the difference!

Children's Lit Bits: A Treasure Chest in Photos

Ideas for children's stories pop up in the most unusual ways. One day, after spray-painting a bed frame with black paint, I blew my nose and ugh! Black flecks on the tissue. But I had a great idea for a kid's story about a girl turning into a monster because there were black flecks in her tissue.

But there are days when the ideas just...dry...completely...up. Why not dig out the old photo albums and take a look through your childhood pictures? Before long, memories will come rushing back. Childhood pictures can jumpstart a story or put you in a child's frame of mind. And isn't that exactly what you need if you want to write for children? An idea that will relate and have kid-sized appeal?

Try your photo album the next time you're stuck. Just that one little bit could make all the difference.

Children's Lit Bits: The Age is the Thing

For those of you who regularly follow the Road to Publication, you know I'm working in children's lit these days through a course at the Institute for Children's Literature. For those of you just dropping in, now you know, too. Isn't catching up grand?

I love this course. And not just because I happen to have an instructor who loves me. I love it because I'm learning so much. To be honest, I thought I knew the ins and outs of children's writing. I took the course for the one-on-one feedback. And I get plenty of terrific feedback. But I've also learned a ton of children's lit tidbits. And I thought, gee, why don't I share? Maybe some little bit will make the difference in that children's story you're working on.

Like the age thing. I'd written a dozen stories and never given much thought to the age of my main character. But here's the thing: the age of your main character determines your reading level. That's important to know. You don't want to write a story at a fifth grade level if your main character is six and a half years old. I had some revising to do in more than one story. In every single instance, the story improved.

Just that one little bit made all the difference.