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One of the key parts of any children’s book revision plan is the chapter or scene breakdowns. These are chapter (or scene) summaries that highlight the main points of the existing edit. Chapter summaries can be extensive multi-page entries for each chapter, or they...
Recently my writing partner and I were CLEARLY the main characters in someone’s novel. First my writing partner came down with a kidney stone. That alone is enough misery to fuel fifty novels. My ex was in town staying with me, so he stayed with our kid while I went...
Editors are amazing. (Yes, I may be biased, seeing that I am one.) But editors have their limits. A good editor—whether they’re a freelance editor your hire or one that works for your publisher—is there to help you make your book the best that it can be. But they...
Are the stakes of your story enough to get the reader turning the page? My definition of stakes is something your character risks or finds to be in jeopardy because of their own or someone else’s actions. Basically, the stakes are the external or internal problems...
Today I need to write. I need to write at least 500 words on my current novel if I want to keep my momentum going. I need to write about writing for this blog and for my newsletters. I need to write the lesson plans for the next course I want to offer. So, I set aside...
When I was a kid, my favorite phrase was By Myself. I wanted to be independent. I wanted to be self-sufficient. I wanted to be left alone to do my own thing. In some ways, I haven’t really changed. In many ways, I still prefer to do things on my own...
It’s that time of year again. That time when we evaluate where we want our lives to go in this shiny new year. I won’t lie. Last year all of my goals revolved around my health. I had my final chemo treatment in January of 2022, and I was still facing 3 surgeries and 6...
Nothing says you don’t know the children’s market like querying a YA novel with a six year old protagonist or a fifteen year old middle grade. When I read a query or submission that says something like this, I immediately know that the author is either new to...
A pretty standard part of setting big, long-term goals is to chunk it up into a bunch of smaller goals. And what is writing a book if not setting a big, long-term goal? So, let’s chunk a book up into a bunch of smaller easier goals. First, set the major goal:...