Writing for Children

...words aren't cheap. They are very precious. They are like water, which gives life and growth and refreshment, but because it has always been abundant, we treat it cheaply. We waste it and pollute it and doctor it. Then, when we take a drink from a city faucet, we wrinkle our nose and say: "This is terrible water." And we blame the water because we have misused it. [Katherine Paterson]

Writing is a solitary occupation.  Yet most of us are social beings in need of affirmation and moral support.  This is why many writers find it helpful to belong to discussion groups, critique groups, bulletin boards, and listservs focusing on writing process, markets, and related interests.  Real and virtual writing communities offer us circles of friends and colleagues with whom to share the elation of contracts, publications, and other good writing news, as well as the disappointments that sometimes rear their ugly heads.  We can ask questions, gain information, and yes, share gripes.  And we can find out what's going on in the children's writing world.

Check out Uma's writing classes and manuscript critiques on Writers.com/Writers on the Net.

Editor Sharyn November's web site includes a very useful page of tips for writers

From Holt Uncensored, Ten Mistakes Writers Don't See (But Can Easily Fix When They Do)

Paula Guran offers writers advice about advice

If you want to write or illustrate children's books and you're not a member of SCBWI, consider joining.

 

 

 

SCBWI/New Mexico HandSprings 2005 conference. Uma's session on picture books, including downloadable handout.

Books to watch for in 2006, from writers and illustrators in my real and virtual writing communities

Frequently Asked Questions about writing for the children's market

Who's in your writing community?  Things to think about, questions to ask

What's the big deal about multicultural publishing, anyway?

For links to multicultural publishers, and common errors in American children's books with South Asian characters and content, follow this link.

The South Asian Journalists' Association (SAJA) offers a stylebook and background information on the region 

Links to help you build a writing community

Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI)
Major international organization of those who write and illustrate books for children.

Picture book writer Lisa Wheeler's website
Books, links, and a page of musings on the writing life, including what a critique is and is not.  Delivered up with a chuckle on the side by the author of Sailor Moo and Wool Gathering. An essential for those contemplating the talking/rhyming animal universe.

Verla Kay's website
Resources, transcripts of free online workshops, chat room, Good News board, and more.  Links to other sites of interest to children's writers.

Children's Book Guild of Washington DC
Authors, illustrators, and children's literature specialists who are members of this group.  In association with the Washington Post, the Guild honors a distinguished nonfiction writer at an annual luncheon marking National Children's Book Week.

Writers On The Net
Online 8-10 week classes taught by teachers who are also writers, across a wide range of genres and forms.  Children, poetry, travel, horror, more.

Debbi Michiko Florence
Writer and bibliophile Debbi Michiko Florence's site includes interviews, blogs, reading lists, and more

BookLinks
Article by Cynthia Leitich Smith about creating contemporary Native American characters.

Betsy James
Author, illustrator, rattlesnake-mover & rock-hound Betsy James has FAQ list with voice!

A to Z Writing. Links and resources for writers of all kinds. Not restricted to writing for children.

A wordcrafter's delight. Subscribe and get a word a day delivered free to your website or e-mail box.  Quotes, quips, origins and more.
 
 

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Books on reading, writers, and writing, or don't mind the clutter on my bookshelf
An argument for reading about writing process: Are you a drafter or a dodger? A planner or a wanderer? Is writing agony or joy for you? One way to find your place among the endless dichotomies of purpose, process, and method that exist in the minds of writers is to read the many clashing viewpoints out there about how, and why, to write. Read them, and form your own opinions. The point is not just to grow a manuscript. You want to grow yourself as a writer.

Every writer has a list of indispensable books about writing. Here's my list. Each serves a purpose. Some support my muse with sympathy. Others give me the swift kick I sometimes need to get myself back to work!
* specific to children's books

Ruskin Bond, Scenes From a Writer's Life: A Memoir. 1997, Penguin (India)

Dorothea Brande, Becoming a Writer.  1981 (orig. 1934), Jeremy P. Tarcher

Connie C. Epstein, The Art of Writing for Children.  1991, Archon/The Shoe String Press* David Michael Kaplan, Revision: A Creative Approach to Writing and Rewriting Fiction.  1997, Story Press

Barbara Kingsolver, High Tide in Tucson: Essays From Now or Never.  1995, HarperCollins

Anne Lamott, Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.  1994, Anchor/Doubleday


Ursula LeGuin, Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew. 1998, The Eighth Mountain Press

Betsy Lerner, The Forest for the Trees: An Editor's Advice to Writers. 2000, Riverhead/Putnam

Leonard Marcus, Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom.  HarperCollins*

Leonard Marcus, Margaret Wise Brown: Awakened by the Moon.  1992, Beacon Press*

Katherine Paterson, A Sense of Wonder: On Reading and Writing Books for Children.  1995, Plume/Penguin*

Salman Rushdie, Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticism, 1981-1991.  1991, Granta/Penguin.

Maurice Sendak, Caldecott & Co.  1988, Farrar Straus & Giroux*

Lou Willett Stanek, So You Want To Write a Novel.  1994, Avon Books.

Jane Yolen, Take Joy.  2003, The Writer, Inc.*

William Zinsser (Editor), Worlds of Childhood: The Art and Craft of Writing for Children.  1998, Mariner/Houghton Mifflin *

 

 

Rejection is part of the deal. That doesn't mean everyone has to serve a long and painful apprenticeship.  Not everything you write, however, will get published. Reflect upon that for a moment. Like me, I think you'll conclude that's probably just as well!

Back in 1996, with one book published and one in progress, I received a spate of rejection letters that I of course thought were completely undeserved.  I dreamed up this response, and the SCWI Bulletin published it in their April 1996 issue.  I've seen several like it floating around the Internet since then, but this one's my very own.

With Regret...
by 
Uma Krishnaswami

Dear Editorial Staff, Children's Books: Thank you for your careful review of my manuscript, and for your considered rejection of it.  Although your accompanying letter seemed to be intended for someone by the name of "Contributor," the envelope was addressed to me, so I have taken the liberty of appropriating the entire contents. Your rejection letter was very thoroughly reviewed, and it is with regret that I find myself unable to accept it.  It is just not right for my collection.  You must understand that I receive dozens of such letters in my weekly correspondence, and it is very difficult to accept every single one.  I therefore return it herewith. I wish you the  best of luck with any future rejection letters you send out.  Not all authors think alike, and perhaps you will have better luck elsewhere. Best wishes, 

Anne E. Author

 

 

©2005 Uma Krishnaswami