Good Morning my wonderful friends and blog followers,
I am happy that all of you continue to follow me, even though I am so sporadic with this duty! Shameful, I know.
Today, I want to talk a little bit about your main character and his/her goals.
First of all, let me remind you that every story must have a conflict. Without conflict, there is no story.
So, with your conflict in mind, ask yourself, "What were my main character's goals at the beginning, i.e. before the major conflict of the story? What were her/his short term goals - which may or may not be accomplished in this book? What were his/her long term goals? How will the conflict and it's final resolution change (or not) these goals?
Remember: It is important for your character to change and GROW, because of the events in the story.
How will your character grow? Is it an interesting, compelling growth or is it lame? Beef it up! Make it big! What is that saying? "Go big or go home" I am trying, in mu latest WIP (work in progress) to go big, but I'm having trouble. I need to review my character's goals!!!
Have a Happy RE-writing Day!
Mary Ann Duke
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Friday, January 27, 2017
The Different Categories
Yesterday I talked about the various categories of children's books.
Today, I'll give a more complete definition of each category.
1. I mentioned Board Books. They are for babies and toddlers and as I said, are usually concept books. In other words, they may teach the child, names of animals, colors, numbers/counting, etc.
2. A category I didn't mention is, Early Picture Book. These are for children from about the age of two to five years old. These are usually 500 words or less and are simplistic ideas or stories. Each page is illustrated. By the way---you do NOT choose your own illustrator. The publisher does that.
3.Next, is the regular type of Picture Book. These are written with the four to eight year-olds in mind. As I said yesterday, the average word length for this category seems to be favored at 700 words. If you have a really great story that must use more words, fine, just don't go over 1,000 words. Usually, there are illustrations on every page. Of course, the story must be about something of interest to a child of the above mentioned age group. Remember: The MC (main character) must solve the problem or be the "heroine" (or "hero") at the end of the story.
4. Easy Readers are for children who can read the books by themselves. Therefore, by necessity, this category has several levels. If you choose to write for this group, study the "I Can Read" books published by HarperCollins.
5. Early Chapter Books are written or children six to nine years old. The chapters will be only about three pages in length. There may be some linear drawings every now and then, but no color illustrations as in picture books.
6. Chapter Books are for children seven to 10 years old. The chapters can be a bit longer, with more details, but still not lengthy in sentence structure.
7. MG or Middle Grade novels are written for eight to 12 year olds. The characters in these books should be a little older than the reader. You can choose almost any subject, time period or world view for this category. I gave some details about MG and YA in my blog yesterday.
8. YA or Young Adult books are for children ages 12 and older. There are several characters who will interact with the main character and can be a source of help or hindrance in the plot. You should write about subjects that interest teens of today. Now, let me say this: In my opinion, some YA writers push the envelope too far and write about dark, negative life problems that are not uplifting. I know, in the end, the readers learns that the negative things are not what they should choose, etc. But, I personally want the children of our world, when they read, to find fine, upstanding, dignified, cheerful, wholesome characters that they can emulate. Of course, there must be a "villain" but just don't wallow in the mud with him! IMHO (In my humble opinion.) My mother always said, "If you stir it with a stick, you'll get some of it on you."
Happy Writing.
Today, I'll give a more complete definition of each category.
1. I mentioned Board Books. They are for babies and toddlers and as I said, are usually concept books. In other words, they may teach the child, names of animals, colors, numbers/counting, etc.
2. A category I didn't mention is, Early Picture Book. These are for children from about the age of two to five years old. These are usually 500 words or less and are simplistic ideas or stories. Each page is illustrated. By the way---you do NOT choose your own illustrator. The publisher does that.
3.Next, is the regular type of Picture Book. These are written with the four to eight year-olds in mind. As I said yesterday, the average word length for this category seems to be favored at 700 words. If you have a really great story that must use more words, fine, just don't go over 1,000 words. Usually, there are illustrations on every page. Of course, the story must be about something of interest to a child of the above mentioned age group. Remember: The MC (main character) must solve the problem or be the "heroine" (or "hero") at the end of the story.
4. Easy Readers are for children who can read the books by themselves. Therefore, by necessity, this category has several levels. If you choose to write for this group, study the "I Can Read" books published by HarperCollins.
5. Early Chapter Books are written or children six to nine years old. The chapters will be only about three pages in length. There may be some linear drawings every now and then, but no color illustrations as in picture books.
6. Chapter Books are for children seven to 10 years old. The chapters can be a bit longer, with more details, but still not lengthy in sentence structure.
7. MG or Middle Grade novels are written for eight to 12 year olds. The characters in these books should be a little older than the reader. You can choose almost any subject, time period or world view for this category. I gave some details about MG and YA in my blog yesterday.
8. YA or Young Adult books are for children ages 12 and older. There are several characters who will interact with the main character and can be a source of help or hindrance in the plot. You should write about subjects that interest teens of today. Now, let me say this: In my opinion, some YA writers push the envelope too far and write about dark, negative life problems that are not uplifting. I know, in the end, the readers learns that the negative things are not what they should choose, etc. But, I personally want the children of our world, when they read, to find fine, upstanding, dignified, cheerful, wholesome characters that they can emulate. Of course, there must be a "villain" but just don't wallow in the mud with him! IMHO (In my humble opinion.) My mother always said, "If you stir it with a stick, you'll get some of it on you."
Happy Writing.
Thursday, January 26, 2017
So, you want to write, do you? Or, do you want to be published?
If your mind is swirling with ideas and your fingers are itching to help get them into printed form, you must identify where you should begin.
What kinds of books do you want to write? I write children's books--as you already know if you've been reading my blog.
BUT---there are several categories in the Children's Books realm.
Board Books
Picture Books
Early Chapter Books or Bridge Books
Chapter Books
MG Books
YA Books
Novels
I must leave my blog for now. Come back in a few days and I will give details about the various age groups, page numbers, material discussed, etc. and I hope you will find it helpful.\
HAPPY WRITING!
Mary Ann Duke, Ed.D.
What kinds of books do you want to write? I write children's books--as you already know if you've been reading my blog.
BUT---there are several categories in the Children's Books realm.
Board Books
Picture Books
Early Chapter Books or Bridge Books
Chapter Books
MG Books
YA Books
Novels
I must leave my blog for now. Come back in a few days and I will give details about the various age groups, page numbers, material discussed, etc. and I hope you will find it helpful.\
HAPPY WRITING!
Mary Ann Duke, Ed.D.
Monday, January 23, 2017
As I said on Facebook this morning, writing is very hard work. Even writing a picture book is very difficult. In fact, because there are so few words and you must make every word count, it's even harder to write a PB than a chapter book.
In the middle of the night I got this great idea for a picture book. NOOOOO!!!! Every new idea means tons of work. I want/need to work on the four manuscripts I already have "in the hopper."
Maybe I'll write down the particulars of my "wee hours inspiration" and file it for later--when my other four are published and I need something to work on LOL, LOL!!!! I can dream!
In the middle of the night I got this great idea for a picture book. NOOOOO!!!! Every new idea means tons of work. I want/need to work on the four manuscripts I already have "in the hopper."
Maybe I'll write down the particulars of my "wee hours inspiration" and file it for later--when my other four are published and I need something to work on LOL, LOL!!!! I can dream!
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