Top 10 Picture Book Topics to Avoid

Stiff Competition for These Picture Book Topics
For several years, information on writing a picture book has been available free on this site. It’s now available altogether as a 110 page pdf file, How to Write a Children’s Picture Book.
Dial editor, Liz Waniewski (ONE–es-key) spoke at the Arkansas SCBWI 2007 conference. For a couple months [...]

How to Write an ABC Book

This entry is part 23 of 32 in the series 30 DAYS TO A STRONGER PICTURE BOOK For several years, this series on writing a picture book has been available free on this site. It’s now available altogether as a 110 page pdf file, HOW TO WRITE A CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK. The ebook has an [...]

Scene Cuts

This entry is part 11 of 13 in the series How to Write a NovelScene Cuts Help Quicken Your Novel’s Pace
Readers today like fast-paced novels. Yet, too fast a pace confuses the reader. When you revise your novel, you can solve this by paying attention to transitions.

Where are we? The most important thing to [...]

Stronger Settings

This entry is part 4 of 13 in the series How to Write a NovelMatch Emotional Structure to the Novel’s Settings
Always try to matching the setting to the emotional layers of your story.
For example, the setting of Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy is a New England coastal village, appropriate for several reasons. It’s built [...]

Character names

This entry is part 3 of 13 in the series How to Write a NovelCharacter Names Help Characterize
A rose by any other name might smell as sweet, but do you really WANT to smell a swamp lily? Doesn’t the name itself just put you off? Or consider that in early drafts Margaret Mitchell is supposed [...]

Welcome Your Readers with Intriguing Titles

How to Write a Novel
You’re writing a novel, a fictional story, that runs a rather long length. Over the long haul, what will make the difference between a manuscript that sells and one that doesn’t?
Tip #1: Original Titles
Here are some original titles. See if you can match them to the well-known title below. [...]

Voice Friday: Word Connotations

Voice Friday: Word Choices
Voice Friday: Word Connotations
Voice Friday: Word Sounds
A professional writer must be a lover of words. It is the basis of their craft. We know about the definition of words, what words mean. Today, I want to talk about connotations of words.
Connotations Speaking to Connotations
John Ciardi and Miller Williams in How Does a [...]