Featured Blog Posts (33)

If you’re a children’s author, you may struggle when you try to decide on the theme for your story. Maybe you’re not sure exactly what a theme is. It’s the lesson you want your readers to remember and ponder throughout the story. The theme will be repeated several times throughout the book. Your choice of the theme is important because it can help children develop character. Here are a few suggestions.

• Sportsmanship, even if you don’t win-When I was a little girl…

Many authors wonder if children’s authors need an agent. Are the agents actually helpful? What exactly would they do? It’s not surprising that we wonder when we need an agent, or whether we need one at all. That’s what we’re going to discuss today.

When you don’t need an agent:

• Imagine you’ve got a fantastic idea for your children’s story, but you haven’t written it yet.

• If you’re working on your book, but it’s not complete. You’re not ready for an agent.

• If you…

Written by Deanie Humphrys-Dunne

Tuesday, 25 December 2012 16:05

by Deanie Humphrys-Dunne

Imagine that you've written a story that makes you proud. It has conflict, good, humorous, dialogue and an exciting plot. What if someone steals your idea?

The only way that you can be positive that no one has stolen your idea is not to publish your work. There are probably hundreds of stories with some similarities to yours. But remember that once you publish your story, there are…

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by Deanie Humphrys-Dunne

Let's suppose you've worked diligently on your children's story that you've recently submitted to the editor. Finally, your reply comes in the mailbox. But when you read it, the editor writes "lacks conflict" on it. What does that mean?

Editors have differing opinions on the exact meaning, but it's not good news. Without enough tension, or struggle for your characters, your story just isn't remarkable.

Occasionally, the editor…

Imagine you’ve spent months, or even years trying to create a children’s story that you think has just the right ingredients to be THE one. You can hardly wait to dash your perfect story off to the publisher. You might be in a hurry to submit it, but before you make a hasty decision, you need to cover your bases. What are some of the things you need to check out? Well, some of the things might be easy to overlook.

Double Space Your Manuscript

What happens if…

Imagine you’ve worked for months to hone your perfect children’s story. You’ve paid attention to important details. You’ve made sure that your main character has learned important lessons during her journey. The opening of your story has action to hold the interest of your readers. But what can you do about the ending? You don’t want to tell your readers everything, but you want them to have a hopeful feeling when they finish your book. You might prefer to end your story “organically.” What…

We’ve talked about some important ingredients for your children’s story. Today we’re going to discuss dialogue and how important it is to your successful story.

First, it’s important to remember that you don’t want to write lots of chatter that doesn’t advance the story. It needs to have a purpose that advances your story plot. Why does this matter? Well, for one thing, many young readers check out the dialogue before they choose to purchase the book. They want to know if it looks…

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~~ADVENTURES OF SADIE LADYBUG…

One of the most common problems writers have is coming up with a good idea for a children’s story. Where do these ideas come from? Don’t you wish there was a little idea elf who stopped by whenever you need him? Let’s discuss some ways to find good ideas.

I think a good place to start is your own experiences. Did something happen to change the course of your life? That was the case for my book, Tails of Sweetbrier.  The decision my dad made to teach me…

“An Opulent Tableau of Essence”   Created by Sharon Hays

Sharon Hays, author of two mystery novels, a children’s book and many poems, created

this book, which exhibits a diverse collection of twenty-four artists, a sculptor and poets from Italy, Russia, United States, India, Australia, Germany,Uzbekistan, UK, and Turkey. United in in this lovely compilation, it represents unique talents and creativity in the arts.

The title,…

Hi everyone!

Its now that time of year already and it seems as though I just took down my Christmas tree from last year! Wow, its amazing how precious time just flies by! Looking back as we all realize when we were kids we couldn't wait until we grew up! Now we wish time would slow down a bit. lol  Sure does have a way of getting away from us and we realize how thankful we should all be for what has been bestowed upon us, ( some not so good, but all in all, life is good)

May…

Last time we talked about the importance of conflict, or the problem, involved in your children’s story. We learned that you can’t have a good story without including a problem for the main character to solve.  It’s the conflict, or problem, that propels the story forward.  Today we’re going to discuss another important element you need for a successful children’s story:  theme.

            What exactly is a theme? It’s the underlying message the author wants you to ponder. It’s an…

          Today we’re going to discuss characterization. What is that? It’s the art of creating a person for your story. You’ll need to describe your character’s personality traits and physical attributes so that your reader will relate well with him. The more completely you develop your characters, the more interesting your story will become.  You’ll want to be as creative as you can so that your characters aren’t too ordinary, or…