Deanie Humphrys-Dunne's Blog (20)

Deanie Humphrys-Dunne has been nominated for The Very Inspiring Blogger Award by talented author, S. Katherine Anthony! Deanie is extremely grateful to S. Katherine for the nomination. Thank you again, S. Katherine!…

Imagine that you've finally finished your manuscript or magazine article. You've edited until you were bleary-eyed, looking for typing errors, sloppy sentence structure, and redundant words, just for starters. But now you need to find a market for your masterpiece. It's time to create a query letter that will captivate the editor. How do you do that?

• Research who the editor actually is: In order to start out on…

Deanie Humphrys-Dunne's endearing children's tale, Charlie the Horse, is now on Kindle! You can find it here:…

http://www.amazon.com/Charlene-Star-Hatties-Heroes-ebook/dp/B00C81V2DI/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1

Above is the link for the Kindle version of Charlene the Star and Hattie's Heroes. You can find out more about the book by visiting my blog: www.dhdunne.blogspot.com.

You may know I grew up at a riding school so my dad taught us lots of interesting facts about horses. For example, how do you know if a horse has a good disposition? Do you know the answer? You study their eyes. It was always the first thing our dad did when he was considering buying a horse. If the horse had large, expressive eyes, it was off to a good start. If he had small eyes, it signaled a nasty disposition. Small eyes are called, "pig eyes." Any horse with them wouldn't be getting a…

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…

Everyone is looking for a magic ingredient; something that will lead to accomplishing your goal, whether it’s achieving your dream of becoming a published author or something else. We don’t always find easy answers, but rest assured there are essential ingredients you need that will lead you on your path to victory. Let’s explore what they are.

• Find your passion-No matter what your dreams are, you need to do some thinking to discover…

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…

Let’s imagine that you’ve been working diligently on your new children’s story, but something is lacking. Could it be that your characters are too perfect? If so, your readers will not be engaged in reading it and will quickly lose interest. Your readers won’t really care about what happens in your story unless they can connect with the characters you’re creating. We’ll talk about some ways to make sure your characters are memorable.

Make your readers feel the emotions of your…

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…

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…

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…

            One of the keys to a successful children’s story is conflict. What exactly is that? Do your characters have to be engaged in a knock down drag out fight? No, but one of the building blocks of a good story is a struggle of some sort. Usually, the main character has to be involved in the conflict you develop. Another word for a conflict is a problem that involves the main character. Why does it need to be the main character? Generally, the main character learns something important…

Were you nervous about writing your first story and submitting it for publication?

I remember fretting about whether or not I should even write my first story, Tails of Sweetbrier.  Initially, I thought no one would want to publish it. Maybe it would be too boring. Yikes, that would be unfortunate. But then I remembered my dad always said that if you’re afraid to try something,…

Since I'm new here, I'd like to introduce my books:Tails of Sweetbrier, Charlie the Horse & Charlene the Star.Tails of Sweetbrier is an autobiography of a little girl with a disability, who dreams of becoming a champion equestrian. When I was writing this book, I wanted children to know how important it is for children to persevere, in order to realize their dreams. My parents were wise enough to teach me and my sisters that giving up was not an option.I wrote…