September 25, 2017 - almost the end of September??? Am I in a warp zone?

Last week I touched on what I enjoy reading for pleasure; today, I’ll mention a couple of things I found helpful when writing children’s books. People have asked me if writing for children is easier than writing for adults. Since I attempt both, I feel equipped to answer: NO. For picture books, telling the story in five-hundred words or less can be daunting, to say the least. Add to that, the path to finding the right tone is harder than it might seem. Words that are lyrical and appealing, that peak interest and tickle the funny bone at the same time, and sometimes encourage and uplift without coming across as “preachy,” oftentimes elude me. The best way to improve writing for children is to read, read, read. I can’t say it enough. For my elementary-grade book coming out soon (The Secret of One Belmont Lane), I wanted to write a story for my grandson who was (at that time) entering sixth grade. I read everything I could get my hands on for that age group. I googled best-sellers, top tens and read blogs. I took copious notes. I chose a subject I knew nothing about: shapeshifters. In that story, as in all of my stories, I spent a lot of time analyzing my characters. I’ve said this before, but it remains true today--my characters become so real to me I feel bad when I forget their birthdays. For one of my MCs in SECRET, my character outline might look something like this:

Elwood: 10 years old. Dark frame glasses-never in place. Hair sticks up in crown and falls across his eyes. Allergies. Talks with his mouth full. Big on secret codes, spies, conspiracy theories. Pain in the butt. Good student. No sports. Not many friends.

I often develop every character before the first outline. I even rank them from one-ten on importance to the story. Elwood has the number two (#2) after his name--he was the second biggest character in my story. Some of those characteristics never made it into my story, but each one was important in helping me to develop Elwood, to speak in his voice, and to paint pictures about him using words. Of course, having a successful children’s author as a critique partner doesn’t hurt, either. I was lucky enough to assist Nancy Kelly Allen in a small way in one of her books recently on Alzheimer’s. The skill that goes into each of her books is astounding--and so very encouraging that she shares it with a new author. You can find her book on Alzheimer’s (The Riddlers) here: http://www.nancykellyallen.com/the-riddlers.html.