#KTWriteOn with Agent and Author Eric Smith: Take It One Page at a Time

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Author Tips, authors, Eric Smith, 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, renew creative energy, and get your work moving out into the world.

This exercise was created by Eric Smith, a Young Adult author and literary agent with P.S. Literary living in Philadelphia. His latest novel, Don’t Read the Comments, was published by Inkyard Press in January 2020, and was a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults nominee. His upcoming books include You Can Go Your Own Way (Inkyard Press, November 2021), and the anthology Battle of the Bands co-edited with Lauren Gibaldi (Candlewick, September 2021). Today he’s sharing some wisdom with us on how to be present for our own work regardless of what’s going on around us.

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:

Interview with Best-Selling Author, Ann Whitford Paul

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Ann Whitford Paul, If Animals Gave Thanks, pandemic, picture book, picture books, writing tips

Ann Whitford Paul is the New York Times best-selling author of the picture book series If Animals Kissed Good Night and of the definitive children’s picture book writers’ reference book, Writing Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide From Story Creation to Publication. She was kind enough to chat with us and share how her series got started, what’s next for her, her advice for other writers, and more

CHRISTINE VAN ZANDT: Welcome to Kite Tales! With over twenty children’s books published, there’s so much to talk about, but your If Animals Kissed Good Night series is a favorite of mine. The fifth book in the series, If Animals Gave Thanks (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux), is out in time for the holidays. How did this series get started?

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!

#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.)

#KTChat With Author Margo Sorenson: How to ‘Write What You Know’ Without Oversharing

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Author Tips, Calvin Gets The Last Word, Danger Canyon, Margo Sorenson, Secrets in Translation, writing exercise, writing prompt, writing tips

by Margo Sorenson

Editor’s Note: Award-winning author Margo Sorenson, who has published more than 30 books for young readers and has been an SCBWI member for over 30 years, will be available to chat with you on Twitter this Friday (March 20) from 12 pm to 1 pm (Pacific Time). Keep on reading for her tips on how to write what you know without oversharing, and get your questions ready for this Friday’s live Twitter chat!

We’ve all heard the maxim, “write what you know,” but how can we leverage our true-life personal experiences in our writing without making our manuscripts shameless (blush!) tell-alls? In our upcoming live Twitter chat this Friday, March 20, we’ll explore some ways to use our past histories without incurring the possible wrath of family and friends or the excruciating embarrassment of having all our “deepest secrets” aired to (gasp!) young readers—but still keep our artistic integrity and creativity intact.

Acclaimed author Virginia Hamilton once wrote, “Writing is what you know, what you remember, and what you imagine.” Feelings and emotions are integral in writing, and when we stop and reflect, we really do know our emotions. Creating a main character that will resonate with young readers is often jump-started by tapping into these feelings. Those emotions we remember as kids—joy, fear, shame, love, and betrayal, among many others—will make our characters seem real and true to readers. However, it is key to separate “our real selves” from those strong, self-revelatory feelings that make us so vulnerable. That way, we can avoid turning our manuscripts into cringe-worthy “oversharing.”

How do we do that?

Interview with HarperCollins Senior Editor, Maria Barbo

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editor, HarperCollins, Maria Barbo, publishing tips, Writers Day, writing tips

EDITOR’S NOTE: Unfortunately, as you may have heard, SCBWI L.A.’s 2020 Writers Day has been postponed due to the Coronavirus. Please check your emails for the announcement which provides more details. Despite this news, the below interview (unedited from the original) provides fantastic information – so, please, read on! 

MARIA BARBO (Senior Editor at HarperCollins) acquires high-concept series and standalones for young readers of all ages—focusing mostly on middle grade and select picture books, chapter books, and graphic novels. She is particularly interested in projects with authentic voices, strong hooks, and fresh perspectives that use humor, magic, or illustrations to help young readers learn to navigate their world. She works with award-winning and bestselling authors such as Natalie Lloyd, Jim Benton, and Lisa Greenwald. Prior to joining Harper, Maria worked at Scholastic Inc, earned an MFA in painting, and lived in Spain via the Fulbright Program. When she’s not working, you can find her playing soccer or practicing her handstands.

CHRISTINE VAN ZANDT: Welcome to Kite Tales! We’re excited to have you as a Keynote Speaker at SCBWI L.A.’s 2020 Writers Day event. Your topic, “It’s TOTALLY Personal: Character Motivation is Everything” sounds amazing, as does the breakout session, “Master the Middle of Your Novel.” Does character motivation differ in picture book, middle grade, or YA?

MARIA BARBO: Thank you, Christine. I’m excited to meet everyone in L.A. I’d say the basic guiding principle across all age levels is that your main character’s motivations, their deepest desire, is what drives the plot forward. What do they want? Why do they want it? And which of their personality traits is going to get in their way?

#KTWriteOn with Editor/Author Eve Porinchak: PITCH PERFECT, Mastering the One-Page Synopsis, Query, and Logline

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Author Tips, Eve Porinchak, logline, pitching, query letter, synopsis, writing exercise, writing tips

Happy New Year! Welcome to the Kite Tales Writing Prompt: #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 prompt was created by former literary agent and current editor/YA true-crime author Eve Porinchak. She’s sharing her method for writing the all-important one-page synopsis and subsequent submissions package materials it practically writes for you. BONUS: she’s offering to help you with your logline in the comments, so don’t miss out! Now, take it away, Eve:

The only sad part about working as a literary agent and kid-lit author is witnessing fabulous manuscripts go unread by the gatekeepers’ eyeballs. To prevent this from happening, authors must learn how to pitch their stories. And, I’m here to help! This means creating a submissions package, which equals:

Meet April Halprin Wayland, Author, Poet, and Beach Retreat Instructor

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April Halprin Wayland, authors, Beach Retreat, Cencal 2020 Retreat, More Than Enough: A Passover Story, New Year at the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story, picture books, poetry, SCBWI events, To Rabbittown, writing, writing tips

By Ann Rousseau Smith, SCBWI CenCal News Liaison

(Photo: Morgan Eagle)

April Halprin Wayland will be joining us for our picture book retreat, January 10–12, 2020, in San Simeon, California. She writes poetry and picture books, including More Than Enough: A Passover Story and the Sydney Taylor Gold Book Award winning New Year at the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story. She was named UCLA Extension Writers’ Program Outstanding Instructor of the Year, and blogs with five other children’s authors at TeachingAuthors.com. April will be presenting four sessions during the retreat weekend, which is open to the public, and will include time to write, join small critique groups, stroll on the beach, and enjoy a beachside campfire in the evening.

ANN ROUSSEAU SMITH: Welcome to the Kite Tales blog! Most people love origin stories. Can you tell us a little bit about your first published picture book?