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THE 411 ON FURTHERING YOUR EDUCATION
PART IV: HELPFUL BOOKS, PERIODICALS, AND WEB SITES
By Kimberly M. Hutmacher
You
want to improve your craft, stay abreast of the latest market trends,
and be inspired, but you don’t have the time and/or the money to spend
on classes, conferences, or MFA Programs. You still have the
opportunity to learn about writing for children. For my final
installment in this series, I went back to my friends at several
writers’ message boards. I’ll share their top recommendations for the
best books, periodicals and sites geared toward writing for children.
You’re just a click, subscription or library card swipe away from
furthering your writer’s education!
Books
If it’s help
with craft that you’re looking for, Anastasia Suen’s, Picture Writing,
came highly recommended. Anastasia breaks down the formula for writing
fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Step-by-step, she takes you through the
process of creating engaging plots, believable characters, and
delicious settings that set the stage for both.
Honorable mentions:
You Can Write Children’s Books by Tracey E. Dils
Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
Writers Guide to Crafting Stories by Nancy Lamb
The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King
If
it’s help with the business side of publishing that you’re looking for,
you’ll find it in The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Children’s
Books by Harold D. Underdown. This is truly the most comprehensive
guide to the publishing industry that I’ve ever read. From writing, to
submitting, to publishing, to selling, it’s all there.
Honorable
Mention: It’s also important to mention the 2008 Children’s Writer’s
and Illustrator’s Market, edited by Alice Pope and published by
Writer’s Digest Books. Besides a comprehensive market listing, you’ll
find contests, conferences, educational articles and so much more. This
one is at the top of my Christmas list every year!
If it’s
inspiration you’re after, read Take Joy: A Book for Writers by Jane
Yolen. If you’re feeling discouraged by rejection or writer’s block,
this book can help you discover or re-discover the joy in your journey.
You get the feeling that Ms. Yolen has been there. She relates to all
of the bumps in the road and offers practical, encouraging advice to
get us over each of them.
Honorable Mention:
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
On Writing By Stephen King
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron
Web sites
Our
time is precious. If we spend the entire day surfing the web for great
writing sites, we won’t have any time left to actually write. To help
narrow it down to a handful, I asked my writer friends what they
considered to be the most important elements to an educational site for
children’s writers. They responded that a site should have helpful
articles and interviews that cover both the craft and business sides of
children‘s publishing, as well as a generous community of writers
willing to share their knowledge, commiserate with us when we receive
yet another rejection letter, and inspire us with their success
stories.
Besides www.thewritemarbles.com , two other sites do all of this very well, www.write4kids.com and www.verlakay.com.
Nicknamed the yellow boards and blue boards, respectively, both sites
have message boards welcoming all those with a love of children’s
literature and writing for children. Write4Kids has an entire library
of articles covering almost every aspect of children’s writing. They
also offer a free monthly newsletter with even more information. Verla
Kay’s site contains numerous transcripts of online chats with expert
authors, illustrators, editors and agents in the field of children’s
literature. Generously, they have shared their infinite knowledge of
the children’s publishing world, and it’s all there for the taking!
Honorable Mention:
www.scbwi.com
www.institutechildrenslit.com
www.smartwritersjournal.com
www.cynthealiu.com
www.kidmagwriters.com
www.underdown.org
http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/
Magazines and Newsletters
Children’s Book Insider, http://www.write4kids.com/aboutcbi.html
Honorable Mention:
Children’s Writer, www.childrenswriter.com
Once Upon A Time, http://www.onceuponatimemag.com/
Writer’s Digest, www.writersdigest.com
The Writer, http://www.writermag.com/wrt/
You’ll find even more educational websites and blogs here http://www.thewritemarbles.com/Links.php
One Final Note
In
closing, all of these resources can be a wonderful education for us,
but I think the absolute best education we can get is received by
reading books in the genre in which we write. Read! Read! Read! When we
read the best books by the best writers, our own writing will
undoubtedly improve. One last great resource for educating ourselves on
the newest children‘s books, would be the children‘s editions of
Publisher‘s Weekly, http://www.publishersweekly.com/. They are published twice a year, in the spring and fall, and a discount is offered to SCBWI members.
An education in writing is now at your fingertips. Happy reading and web-surfing!
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