Category: The Nitty Gritty of Children’s Writing

Posted in The Nitty Gritty of Children's Writing, Tools

Do You Have Style?

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Image by Prawny on Pixabay
watercolour-1768921_1280.jpgNot long ago I read several blog posts about the value of a style sheet, although I’d call it a master character chart. It’s a place to put details about every single character in your novel so you’ll be consistent. It’s probably easy to remember that your main character’s name is spelled Maisie, not Maisy, but what about other characters? The more minor they are the harder it gets. Was that Zak or Zack or Zach? This chart is a helpful place to consolidate that info even if you make individual worksheets for your characters.

What should you include in a style sheet? It depends on your novel and on you. But suggestions include character name (and any nicknames), physical characteristics that you don’t want to accidentally change mid-novel, perhaps where they live and what kind of place it is, parents’ names and a few details, who the characters’ friends are, etc. For a kid in Middle School or High School, their class schedule might be useful. I could see having a style sheet for places in the novel as well. There are probably a myriad of other uses–especially for fantasy or historical writers.

Some style sheets include WHEN those details appeared in the novel. That would be too complicated for me. However, I do use a story ladder which may include those details. (See post here.)
How should your character chart or style sheet be arranged?

It’s a very personal decision. For me, I want to be able to see the details at a glance. I like using a Word table. An Excel spreadsheet would work as well. Evernote has a template you could use. Or you may be more a pen and paper person. This character map is aimed at students reading a book, but it could be helpful for writers too.

More visual?

Perhaps a muse board would be helpful. Cut out images out of magazines and physically glue and paste, or copy images off of a free photo site, such as pixabay. I may try this with my next novel.

If you’ve used style sheets, and have tips, I’d love to hear them.

Posted in Business Side of Writing, The Nitty Gritty of Children's Writing

Uncluttering

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

cluttered-1295494_1280.pngMy friend Debra has been working hard on uncluttering her house. Some items she’s sold; others she’s given away. She recycled and tossed. She spent all day Saturday on papers. Now Debra’s finding herself enjoying a room that had previously been a catch all. This inspired me to take a look at my office. I haven’t been writing in there for several reasons, but the one most appropriate for this post is the clutter. It makes me feel guilty when I look at it. Which doesn’t promote creativity. And even though I hate not finding things I want, I’ve procrastinated from attacking the mess because it was overwhelming.
So, I started with one thing. I organized a small drawer. Items were recycled, trashed, donated, and kept. I can find things in that drawer. What a concept!
Next, I cleared junk off of a ledge and was able to dust it. Achoo!
Then, I worked on a stack of papers on one side on my desk. Just one stack. I filed, I recycled, I tossed. I found my buried coaster. It is such a good feeling to actually have a place to set a cup of tea.
That task led to another. Some of those to file items got put on top of the story box where they belonged, because there was no room in the box. Sigh. We were also doing our taxes and realized we’d been holding on to papers that we didn’t need to, or ones that should have been discarded several years ago. Cue the shredder. Both made me aware that my story file boxes could be purged.
Here’s what I got rid of starting with anything older than ten years:
– Manila folders of stories that have never sold.
– Physical rejection forms/letters.
– Printed cover/query letters.
– Printed copies of stories/articles – electronic versions are all on my computer.
I kept:
– My submission records for those rejected stories so I could find to whom I’d submitted.
– Manila folders and contents for stories/articles I’d sold.
– A few encouraging notes.
What I gained:
– Plenty of room in my story file boxes for my filing.
– Reminder of pieces I might want to resubmit.
– Encouragement from personal rejections.
– And nothing is stacked on those boxes!
Because I was spending time in my office, I was once again using my desktop computer–I’ve been using my laptop 99.9% of the time. That meant I discovered the desktop computer was acting oddly. Virus scanning didn’t do much. My husband unhooked it from power and cables, opened it up and found it also was choked with dust. A good vacuuming and we both are breathing better.
There’s more uncluttering to go. That stack on the left side of my desk. Other drawers. Conference folders shoved into a cubby. Cards I have trouble throwing away. But each time I see what I’ve accomplished, it’s easier to think about tackling other areas.
Someday I might even thin out my bookshelves. 😉

Posted in Craft, The Nitty Gritty of Children's Writing

Unique Character Names

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

“Hi, my name is…”
rural-boy-2756313_1280.pngI just went through a student assignment where most character names ended in the E sound. Some were spelled with a Y; others with IE. Not only does it get confusing with the same endings, but Gracie, Vicky, Lorie, Murphy, Bobby are also the same number of syllables. At least they started with different letters.

Varying your character names will help your reader keep track of who’s who.
But don’t just think about beginnings and endings, or number of syllables.

Think about different cultures and ethnicities.
Look at this fact: “The proportion of non-Hispanic white children in the U.S. has declined from 61 percent of all children in 2000 to 51 percent in 2016.” More from the same source here.

What about where you live? Or where you are setting your story? Who are the people there? When my daughter’s family moved to southern Georgia, my white grandchildren were the minority among a sea of black children. Where we raised our girls there was a significant Asian population. We spent a year in a town in New Jersey that had a large Jewish population. Where we live now there are many people from the former Soviet Union and eastern Europe.

I’m not suggesting you appropriate anyone’s culture, but surely in your main character’s classroom or among his/her friends, not everyone will look/be just like your character.

Don’t forget religious influences.
Names may be inspired by parents’ faith or customs. Biblical names are often popular in our country. Although the US has often been called a Christian nation, that has changed too. Read some of the statistics here from 2016. And again it varies state by state. As the above link states: “No state is less religiously diverse than Mississippi.”

Popular culture can contribute to unusual names.
This site has 100 unusual or surprising baby names of 2018. Some come from TV; while others are from history; and others are names of fruit. Those children may be off to school in four or five years.
Here’s a fun resource: popular baby names by birth year.

Place names are popular.
I’ve met both boy and girl Londons. There’s Paris and Brooklyn. Austin and Hudson. Here’s a list of over 100 place names.

Consider the meaning of names.
This can be helpful in creating character traits or the ironic opposite. My name means graceful lily. I’ve never felt particularly graceful or flowerlike. Your child/teen main character may know the meaning of his/her name, too.

Scifi and fantasy often have made-up names.
And some authors seem to go overboard into making them hard to pronounce. Sometimes names just have unique spellings. Here’s an article about fantasy name generators. Science fiction writers don’t have to feel left out–here’s one for scifi character names.

Names that almost weren’t.
Some names become household words. For fun and inspiration look at these twelve who almost were something less.

Posted in Craft, The Nitty Gritty of Children's Writing

The Rudolph Effect

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

christmas-928328_1280.pngI know the holiday season is over, but I’m sure you remember this story. Santa’s reindeer won’t let poor Rudolph play any reindeer games. “Then one foggy Christmas eve…” those hypocrite reindeer suddenly liked Rudolph because he was useful. (Summary my own.)
I often see this theme in bully short stories in my student lessons. The picked upon main character saves the bullies, saves the day, or does something so great that now the bullies like him. Have you had that happen in real life? Me? Not so much. Neither have children. What’s that phrase? Haters will hate.
Bullies usually pick on isolated kids–the new kid, the different kid, the loner. Why is that? Because those isolated kids don’t have others to stand up for them. No support group in this situation. It’s like a pack of wolves against a lone rabbit. Scary! And because those bullies have issues of their own. Though sometimes mob mentality is in play too.
Good bully stories focus on how the main character deals with being bullied. (Without immediately going to parents or teachers. Even though we tell kids to go for help, we also know that bullies often plan retribution.)
-Some are tough and don’t react no matter what.
-Others fight back.
-Some run.
And what else?
New bully stories need to have something fresh about them.
There are lots of bully stories out there. Look at this one library’s Pinterest board of titles for young readers. Here’s a list aimed at tween and teen girls from a mighty girl. I’m sure we could find tons more.
Resources for writing about bullies:
“Advice & Tips On Creating & Writing Bullies”
“How do I write a believable, violent, and manipulative school bully?”
“Avoiding the avoid the cliched bully”
“Character Type: Bully”
Do you have other thoughts on this issue? Share them in the comments section.

Posted in Craft, It's Not Just Books, The Nitty Gritty of Children's Writing

Article Writing for Kids’ Magazines

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

questions-2245264_1280.jpg
Writing nonfiction for magazines is a good way to break into print. Editors get less article submissions than they do fiction.
Often editors tell you what they are looking for. For example, Highlights for Children posts their current needs on submittable. Their info was updated in November. Jack and Jill submission guidelines state: “We are especially interested in features or Q&As with regular kids (or groups of kids) in the Jack and Jill age group who are engaged in unusual, challenging, or interesting activities.” Root and Star is looking for nonfiction about water for their July/August 2019 issue (deadline end of March).
You may be familiar with big name magazines, but how do you find the smaller or lesser known ones? Via online sources such as Evelyn B. Christensen’s site. Or this resource, Magazine Markets for Children’s Writers that comes out annually. Check out libraries and bookstores to see physical copies of print magazines as well. Then you can search online for these magazines’ submission guidelines.
You’ve chosen a market, and even a topic, now what? Research. Here are some things to keep in mind:

  • Don’t solely use internet sources. Editors will appreciate that you’ve used books, magazines, interviews, etc.
  • Wikipedia is only useful in giving you an overview that may or may not be accurate, and when you use it to follow up with the sources listed at the bottom of an article.
  • As you take notes, record where you got the information. You’ll send the bibliography of your sources with your article. There are now apps and software that can keep track of this information for you. This site lists some options.
  • Using quotes in an article can really bring it to life. Copy these verbatim as you research.
  • Be prepared that your research might take you in a different direction from your plan.
  • Go deep with research and you may find some fascinating facts that will make your article pop.

Here’s a great resource on finding credible sources.
Before you write your article, ask yourself, “What is the main point I want to get across to my reader?” With that in mind you will create a more focused piece.
Next, get organized. Create a simple outline. It can be as basic as:
• Introduction
• Section one (be specific to your topic!)
• Section two
• Section three
• Conclusion
Now write your first draft.
When finished, make sure each paragraph (or two) fits the topic of the outlined section. (It’s okay to adjust your outline, but paragraphs should have a mini-theme. Some magazines even use headers for sections and your simple outline can become those headers.)
Check the beginning. Is your title intriguing in some way? Does the opening draw a reader in? It could ask a question, be a short anecdote, make a provocative statement, etc.
Is the middle meaty? Full of good details? Interesting? More than what is general public knowledge.
Check the end. Does your article have a satisfying conclusion or just dribble to a stop? Sometimes, articles conclude with a statement that makes the piece feel it has come full circle–or in other words, the end ties back to the beginning.
Prepare your bibliography. There are many online resources on how to write one, but this website has links to how to include almost anything.
After setting your article aside for a week or two, come back and revise. If you have a critique group or beta readers, share and revise again.
Prepare to send…
Double check that:
• your article fits the required word count of the magazine.
• the accuracy of your quotes.
• the magazine’s deadline hasn’t passed.
• how to submit (electronically, through a form, via postal mail).
• write a query or cover letter, if necessary, and proofread carefully.
• read your article through one more time, checking for grammar and spelling errors.
• proof your bibliography.
Send. And make up a list of possible other places to send the article to if you get a rejection. (This may require further revisions or slanting.)
If you get an acceptance, celebrate! You’re a soon-to-be published (or republished) author.