From Written to Spoken Word – Part One: Bringing Stories to Life

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Amy Rubinate, Audiobooks, Ideal Audiobooks, Mosaic Audio, spoken word

by Amy Rubinate

There is an adage in the audiobook industry that the right narrator can make a bad book good, and a good book great. I like to expand on that by saying that the pairing of a great narrator and a great book is a kind of alchemy that creates a new art form all its own. Audiobooks bring a written story to life—not on page or stage or screen, but through the physical act of storytelling.

Give Your Writing Process a Boost with These 8 Tips from SCBWI-L.A. Regional Team

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productivity, writing process, writing tips

Now that 2020 is, thankfully, behind us and we’re all making plans for the coming year as best we can, we hope you are looking ahead at 2021 with renewed energy. With that in mind, our mighty Regional Team has provided their favorite writing process and productivity tips to help shake off the holiday season and give us a boost for whatever project we’re tackling.

Here are our Regional Team’s writing process tips:

#KTIllustrates Deadline Extended: Let’s Stir Up The Imagination!

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contest, illustration prompt, illustrator tips, kidlit

So much has been happening in the world in the last few months that it might feel like we haven’t yet caught a break. A day of rest might seem like a luxury of the past or we might be struggling to generate ideas with the constant stream of worries swirling around in our heads.

With this in mind, we’re going to give ourselves some time to rest and extend the deadline for our #KTIllustrates contest to February 5, 2021. 

How Does a Contest Submission Get to Be ‘Most Promising?’

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writing contest tips, writing contests, writing tips

by Anonymous SCBWI Contest Judge

Years ago, I’d sit among other eager writers, waiting to hear if my submission had won “Special Mention” or even better, “Most Promising.” Watching the elated winner claim their award, I’d wonder why my story didn’t capture the prize.

Now as a contest judge who’s “been there,” I hope that sharing my insights on how to take a story from good to impressive will help another aspiring writer.

Judges respond to stories that engage us. I may love some genres more than others, but when judging, I set aside personal preferences and look at the caliber of the work.

I read contest submissions multiple times to answer two key questions:

#KTWriteOn with Children’s Librarian Amber Morrell: Author Visits in the Time of Remote Learning

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Amber Morrell, Author Tips, authors, remote learning, remote school visits, tips, writing exercise, writing tips

Welcome to the Kite Tales Writing Challenge: #KTWriteOn. Each writing challenge is crafted by a kid-lit publishing professional to help spark ideas, creative energy, and get your work moving out into the world.

This exercise was created by Amber Morrell, an author of middle-grade fantasy from Orange County, CA, where she’s a member of SCBWI SoCal. She’s also a children’s librarian and professional storyteller: “With poems, puppets, and songs, I create narrative experiences for children of all ages.”

Today, Amber’s bringing us an exercise that challenges authors to rethink their school visit presentations in a time when almost everyone is learning from home, online. If you’ve never done a visit before, or aren’t there yet in your career, you’re still going to learn a lot about keeping kids engaged, and we can all use that! Write on!

Smart Research—Or How to Approach Research for Your Manuscript

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Author Tips, Colleen McAllister, manuscript research, researching tips, Smart Research

by Colleen McAllister

Stuck in an endless hole of research? Overwhelmed by what you still must learn in order to write your manuscript? Is it stopping you from moving forward?

Here’s how to refocus and make a directed approach that will break you out of your standstill. 

When I worked as a Hollywood film executive, part of my job was researching topics our CEO was interested in. I had to cover the topic quickly, gain a thorough working knowledge of it, then regurgitate what I learned in an interesting, easy-to-digest way. Topics ranged from the concept of Biohacking, to researching a video game company, to “futurists” and what they’re thinking about!

I usually had a few hours to turn my research around and zero knowledge of these topics beforehand. Under time pressure and a desire to impress my boss, I learned how to do comprehensive research in no time flat. Here are some tips to help you do the same!

How Hollywood Finds Your Manuscript

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book option, Colleen McAllister, Hollywood, Maddie Breeland, manuscript option, Nathan Schram, option, tips

by Colleen McAllister

Hollywood executives are on the prowl for the book or series that could become their next franchise long before a manuscript is published. But what are they looking for and how do they find it?

We’ll hear from Nathan Schram, Senior Manager of Animation Development at Nickelodeon, and Maddie Breeland, Development Executive in charge of developing material for Fox, Disney and most recently Anvil Pictures, about how they find your book.

COLLEEN MCALLISTER: What does the process look like as far as how you look for book manuscripts to option?

#KTWriteOn with Newbery Winner Christian McKay Heidicker: THE DESPERATE AUTHOR (Getting Good with Low Time and Resources)

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Author Tips, Christian McKay Heidicker, tips, tools, writing, writing tips

Welcome to the Kite Tales Writing Challenge: #KTWriteOn. Each writing challenge is crafted by a kid-lit publishing professional to help spark ideas, creative energy, and get your work moving out into the world.

This exercise was created by Christian McKay Heidicker, the author of the Newbery Honor-winning Scary Stories for Young Foxes, Thieves of Weirdwood, Cure for the Common Universe, and Attack of the 50 Foot Wallflower. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he reads and writes and drinks tea. Between his demon-hunting cat and his fiddling, red-headed fiancée, he feels completely protected from evil spirits. He wasn’t always an award-winning author. Read on for Christian’s excellent advice and exercises:

THE DESPERATE AUTHOR (Getting Good with Low Time and Resources)

By Christian McKay Heidicker

It took me twelve years to get my first book published. So in the interest of your sanity and my conscience, I’m going to tell you how to get better at this writing thing no matter what your obstacles are. Don’t have time? Don’t have money? Blessed with the attention span of a fruit fly? I experienced that in spades, my friend. And I’ve got some workarounds. All you need is a little window of time every day, a handful of unique shortcuts, and maybe some heartbreak. (That last one certainly helped me.)

Why Write a Novel in Verse?

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Author Tips, Free verse, Purple Daze, Sherry Shahan, verse, verse novel, writing prompt

by Sherry Shahan

While cleaning out my office I unearthed a shoebox filled with letters from a friend who served in Vietnam during the tumultuous 1960s. I spent hours poring through his astonishingly truthful accounts of this war. I knew I had to do something with his letters; after all, I’d kept them nearly 50 years.

Since letters inspired me to write Purple Daze: A Far Out Trip, 1965 (Authors Guild Back-in-Print Edition, 2020), it made sense to incorporate journal entries, notes, and letters into the narrative. I then began writing sketches about other high school friends and some of our more histrionic experiences. Once I began scribbling, memories assaulted me twenty-four-seven.

Working From Home Tips: An Illustrated Guide

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Emma Trithard, illustrator, pandemic, tips, Work From Home, working from home

Working from home is the new reality for many. It’s also a privilege that I am certainly grateful for. After all, even though events have been canceled or postponed and book launches are being impacted, for a lot of us in the writing and illustrating industry, we’re likely the best equipped to work from home.

For the last three years, Emma Trithart, an L.A.-based illustrator, hand letterer, and graphic designer, has been with a digital agency that is primarily “work from home”. Just before the stay-at-home orders were announced in California, she posted her illustrated guide So You’re Working From Home (Very Specific Tips From One Person’s Individual Experience] on Instagram.

“Being used to office life, it was a bit of an adjustment… but now I love it,” Emma said. “I figured I could impart this little chunk of experience from my own life on others who might be struggling to get used to working from home.”

Whether you’ve gotten used to working from home or are still adjusting to the New Normal, here is Emma’s guide: