Writing for Children

GETTING DOWN AND DIRTY WITH PLOT

Today we’re continuing our conversation around plot. Our IFW blogger Jamie K. Schmidt contributed to a great article on plotting. Every good story, whether picture bo…

INTERVIEW WITH WANDA BRUNSTETTER

Wanda Brunstetter is an award-winning romance novelist who has led millions of readers to lose their heart in the Amish life. She is the author of over 100 books with…

INTERVIEW WITH EMMA DRYDEN

Over the course of her twenty-five year career (including as Vice President and Publisher of imprints at Simon & Schuster), Emma D. Dryden has edited nearly 500 books for c…

SETTING AS A CHARACTER

Today’s episode comes from Jamie K. Schmidt, a regular blogger for us on the IFW Blog focusing on writing for adults. We’re talking about stories where the setting is a charact…

200th EPISODE

When you’re about to begin revising a piece of writing, it can seem so daunting you may be tempted to bury the darn thing at the bottom of your sweater drawer, then go hide somewhere (s…

INTERVIEW WITH CHARLIE N. HOLMBERG

Charlie N. Holmberg is the author of the Numina series and the Wall Street Journal bestselling Paper Magician series, which has been optioned by the Walt Disney Com…

ELEMENTS OF SETTING

If you’re going to build a whole new world in your story, you have got to get the setting right. Today’s episode explores the elements of setting with contributions from Jan Field…

POETRY FOR THE VERY YOUNG

Poetry for very young children has a lot in common with poetry for older readers. It’s built word by word, as poetry has no room for extraneous words. It sounds good to the …

POETRY-BASED REVISIONS

Today we bring you a special episode from our favorite lyrical wordsmith Renee LaTulippe. If you write for kids, you and Renee probably have a lot in common, including the same…

HOW NOT TO GET REJECTED

Perhaps the most common question from new picture book authors is, “Why do agents and editors say they hate rhyme when so many rhyming picture books get published each year?” …

INTERVIEW WITH POET PATRICE VECCHIONE

Poet, nonfiction writer, and teacher PATRICE VECCHIONE has edited several highly acclaimed anthologies for young adults including, most recently, Ink Knows No Bo…

INTERVIEW WITH SUSAN CAMPBELL BARTOLETTI

Newbery Award Winner Susan Campbell Bartoletti is a nonfiction superstar author. Her books include Terrible Typhoid Mary and Hitler Youth. She took one episod…

GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE: TRY NONFICTION

For most people considering children's writing for a career (or even for a hobby), the type of writing that comes to mind is fiction. For many of us, the …

TRUTH, OPINION, AND 4 WAYS TO LEARN TO LOVE NONFICTION

Many writers view nonfiction as less: less creative than fiction, less fun than fiction, less interesting to kids than fiction, and definitely s…

INTERVIEW WITH ELENA FAVILLI

Elena Favilli is the co-founder and CEO of Rebel Girls, the cultural media engine working to empower girls and women all over the world. She has worked for Colors Magazin…

INTERVIEW WITH TALIA BENAMY

Talia Benamy is an associate editor at Philomel Books (an imprint of Penguin Young Readers), where she focuses on everything from picture books to middle grade and young a…

MISUNDERSTOOD VERBS

When you’re polishing and perfecting your work, one big thing to pay attention to is your verbs. Inspired by an article from Jan Fields, we’re going to come to a greater understan…

10 THINGS THAT MAKE EDITORS CRINGE

Nobody wants to make an editor (or anyone) cringe when they read your manuscript. Inspired by a post from Jamie K. Schmidt, we’re covering 10 things that make edito…

INTERVIEW WITH ANDREA LONEY

At the end of January, the American Library Association announced their annual awards. DOUBLE BASS BLUES illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez and written by Andrea J. Loney was n…

NEWBERY MEDALIST JERRY CRAFT

This week, the American Library Association honored Jerry Craft with the Newbery Medal for his graphic novel NEW KID! To celebrate the first graphic novel to ever receive…