Chapter Book Revision, cont’d

Set the tone of the book. Is it serious or humorous? Sad or happy? The tone is the author’s attitude, or the narrator’s. The mood of the story is the emotion the reader feels. Both are important and need to be set early in the first chapter. Setting the tone early provides glimpses into what the reader can expect in the rest of the story. In my chapter book, THE RIDDLERS, mystery and a touch of humor set the tone.

Does the writing zing? Word choice is crucial to voice, and voice is crucial to writing that sparks imagination. Voice is the music of language that spurs on the story and captures the reader’s interest. Zing can be small tingles or mighty zaps. A variety of unexpected descriptions and snappy dialog create surprises for the reader. When reading a sentence, if the reader can predict the finish (hungry as a bear/white as snow) the writing is clichéd with no zap, not even a tingle.

Have I chosen the best word, not merely a good word? Which of the following offers more description: sat/plopped down. Both work, but “plopped down” provides more detail and gives the reader more insight. Choosing the best word doesn’t mean staying in constant contact with a thesaurus; instead, it means using the best word to evoke emotion. Readers want to step into the world writers create and experience the feelings/needs/desires of the characters. One technique to induce that sentiment/reaction is to use strong verbs and show the action. Betty was scared tells how the character felt. Betty’s hand trembled showed her emotion in action. The second example also provides a mental visual. The first does not. Visual images help a reader connect to the action and experience the character’s feelings.

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

FUN FOR KIDZ. We are looking for lively writing that involves an activity that is both wholesome and unusual. The Ideal length of a FUN FOR KIDZ nonfiction piece is up to 300-325 words for a one-page magazine article or up to 600-650 words for a two-page magazine article. Articles that are accompanied by strong high-resolution photos are far more likely to be accepted than those requiring illustration.

Submission guidelines at http://funforkidzmagazines.com/ffk_guidelines

Nancy Kelly Allen has written 40+ children’s books and a cookbook, SPIRIT OF KENTUCKY: BOURBON COOKBOOK.

Leave a message or check out my blog at www.nancykellyallen.com

How to Create Memorable Characters in Picture Books, Part 3

           To develop a memorable character, get to know him/her/it before writing. In picture books, the

writer needs to know the character’s motivation and how the character reacts to situations.

A compelling character needs a problem to make his/her life interesting enough to carry the reader’s interest throughout the story. The problem should be large enough to create consequences that can ripple from beginning to end. As the character attempts to control the situation, allow the reader to “see” his/her feelings. Emotions give life to a character and affect actions and reactions. Maybe anger compels him to act in a way he normally would not. Strong emotions can force characters to react to circumstances even when they don’t want to.

When I wrote GONE CUCKOO, I wanted to portray the birth parents (cuckoos) as warm, caring birds, and do the same for the warblers (adoptive parents). The main character is a young cuckoo bird that doesn’t fit into the lifestyle of the warblers, and when he attends Warbler Academy, he fails miserably. Naturally, his frustration and embarrassment levels are high and he feels as if he is a failure.

            Even though the characters are birds, their emotions and behaviors mirror that of children who are placed in a similar, unfamiliar situations in which they are ill-suited. As a result, the characters become relatable.

Call for Submissions for Young Writers

Sarah Mook Poetry Prize for Students. Restrictions: Students in grades K-12. Genre: Poetry. Prize: $100. 

Deadline: March 31, 2017.

Submission guidelines at http://www.sarahmookpoetrycontest.com/

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers

Positively Happy! Chicken Soup for the Soul. 101 Stories about Positive Thinking and Living a Happy Life
Deadline: May 31, 2017

Submission guidelines at https://www.freedomwithwriting.com/freedom/uncategorized/chicken-soup-for-the-soul-several-deadlines-approaching-11-books/ 

Nancy Kelly Allen has written 40+ children’s books and a cookbook, SPIRIT OF KENTUCKY: BOURBON COOKBOOK.

Picture Book Savvy

Spending time with authors to discuss writing, publishing, and their successes and failures is like attending an intensive writing workshop. Sharing experiences, ideas, and knowledge are invaluable nuggets of manuscript gold. The following are gilded tidbits:

Picture book authors’ perspective should be the same world view as that of the child. This means no abstract problems or goals. The story must be illustratable and action oriented. Five-year-olds take ideas literally. The characters should react in the same way a child would. If writers can connect with the life of a child in some way, the story will have more appeal to the reader.

Example: I want to win every game. Children will understand this idea and connect mentally and emotionally.

Will the child care about your subject? If not, they won’t want to read the book. Writers have to think like a child and have the characters act and react the way a child of that age would. Always keep the audience in mind with each word. In my latest picture book, FORTY WINKS, the subject is a monster in a closet. Many children are afraid of the dark. I certainly was, and I'm still not crazy about it. The story also deals with resolving conflict, an experience all children deal with regularly.

What is important to the child? Consider his/her feelings. The subject of your story must have relevance to everyday life.

Next week, I’ll provide more golden nuggets of our conversations.

Call for submissions for Young Writers:
Magic Dragon, a quarterly publication, presents writing and art created by children in the elementary school grades in a magazine of quality four-color printing and graphic display.

Submission guidelines at http://www.magicdragonmagazine.com/?page_id=6

Call for submissions for Adult Writers:
Story is interested in narrative of any shape and kind we can get onto the printed page. Surprise us with traditional and experimental forms of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. We love short fiction, but we love hermit-crab essays, hybrid forms, research, lists, and charts too. Submit work that fits the theme, but don't be afraid to think outside the box. Submissions for online issues should be a maximum of 2,500 words.Submission guidelines at http://www.storymagazine.org/submit/

Nancy Kelly Allen has written 40+ children’s books and a cookbook, SPIRIT OF KENTUCKY: BOURBON COOKBOOK.

Ways to Improve Writing

Today, I’m continuing the series “Ways to Improve Writing.”

Play into a character’s emotions as you write. By showing the reader how the character feels, the character seem more real, and that is the goal.

Fear flooded my entire body as I watched the bear walk closer. The reader is not going to feel the character’s fear because the character isn’t feeling it. The emotion has not been revealed. Stating that a character feels fear is telling.

Show how the character feels and reacts. The bear walked closer. My hands trembled and my heart pounded so hard, it hammered my ears works much better because you have placed the reader in the middle of the action. Emotions trigger a body’s physical reactions.

Thoughts and dialog also suggest emotions.

Thought: Why can’t he just shut up? And dialog: “You think I did what?”

Use such mental and verbal responses to showcase a character’s feelings. The more real the character, the more engaged the reader.

Website for Young Writers:

The only way to become a storyteller is to tell stories. The way to become a better storyteller is to learn new storytelling skills. And the way to become the best storyteller is to develop your own storytelling techniques. The best way to do all this is to explore many different kinds of storytelling. To find a storytelling project, with a story, craft, and activity, that you can do right now, stop in at the ClubRoom Page to learn about telling a Story Sprite Story with Storytellling Cards.

Details at http://www.storycraft.com/index.html

Call for Submissions for Adult  Writers: CHICKEN SOUP: HOLIDAY EDITION

Everyone loves holiday stories and that’s why our holiday books are so popular. In fact, we create a new edition for Christmas/Hanukah every other year. We are now collecting stories for our Holiday 2015 book and we are defining Christmas as the entire December holiday season, including Hanukah, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, and the New Year’s festivities too. We want to hear about your holiday memories and traditions. If your story is chosen, you will be a published author and your bio will be printed in the book if you so choose. You will also receive a check for $200 and 10 free copies of your book, worth more than $100. You will retain the copyright for your story and you will retain the right to resell it.

Deadline January 31, 2015.

Submission guidelines at http://www.chickensoup.com

Writing a Middle Grade Novel/Calls for Submissions

This week, I’m continuing my focus on scenes. 

The character must continue to make decisions, to choose among several options. Reacting and failing allow the character to learn and to become proactive in solving his/her problems. Eventually the character will make some good decisions as s/he overcomes the odds and wins. The decision must be logical and stay true to the character, a decision the reader will respect. The risk can be great, and should be, to keep the reader’s interest high. Setbacks and failures create tension and suspense. 

Convey specific details of the surroundings to set the tone. If the scene needs to produce fear and it is at night, use night sounds and visuals, plus other senses to feed the fright factor. Do shadows creep under lighting? Did something snap? Does the character smell smoke? Could the building be burning?  

Use the setting to reflect the character’s feelings. If the character is sad, do the buildings look rundown and gloomy, does the moan of an animal sound the way the character feels?  

Every scene does not need monumental action and an extremely agitated state of mind for the character, but each scene should show the character and his/her emotional state. 

Linking strong scenes together makes a believable, dramatic story that keeps the audience turning the pages.  

Call for Submissions for Young Writers:

Storybird. Write. Your words. Our art. Amazing stories. Simple tools help you build books in minutes. Let the art inspire and surprise you as you write. Readers will encourage you along the way.

Submission guidelines at http://storybird.com/

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

Harness Anthologies 2015

Publication Date: January 2015. Payment: Two Copies.
Solstice: A Winter Antholog. Winter vacation, snow cream, snow days from school, building snowmen, snowball fights, snow storms, the first time you or your child saw snow. Give us your best white memory! All things winter and snow related. Fiction or nonfiction accepted. Also accepting original winter poems and winter recipes.
Stories should be 750 to 2500 words.
Poems and recipes should be limited to one page.

Open to Submissions: September 2014
Please do not use headers or footers/page numbers in your ms. Please use TNR or similar basic font, size 12.

Submission guidelines: Send as a Word doc in an attachment to harnessantho@rockinghorsepublishing.com