Good Morning Blog Readers of Musings With Mary Ann, Today, in honor of Thanksgiving, I'm going to write some interesting facts about the early Pilgrims. Some of this information may give you an idea for your next book. Have you ever heard of a Lug Pole? In early Pilgrim homes a lug pole was a thick wooden pole, stretched across the fireplace, just above the fire. Pots and kettles hung from it. Of course, their food was being cooked in those pots and kettles. The lug pole was made of green wood so it wouldn't burn up. Nevertheless, occasionally,even the green poles caught fire and all the pots and kettles that hung from it crashed into the fireplace, ruining the dinner. What are Spoon Meats? In the pots hung from the Lug Pole were soups and stews. Another pot held water, while another had pudding. These puddings were called Spoon Meats by the Pilgrims. Pilgrims used the word "meat" to mean any kind of food, and Spoon Meat was any kind of food eaten with a spoon. Do you know about the Pilgrims' White Pots? Chicken eggs that were roasted, boiled, fried or baked in custards were called White Pots. What are Blackjacks? Special drinking cups brought over from England were called Blackjacks. They were made out of boiled leather and waterproofed with tar. Most families had only one or two blackjacks. During the meal they passed the blackjack around and each person took a drink, then passed it to the next family member. They didn't realize they were sharing germs. So, this Thanksgiving 2016, you may not cook using a Lug Pole, and you probably won't drink from a blackjack, but I hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful day bonding together, feasting and giving thanks. Mary Ann Duke DrMad92@verizon.net

How To Plot a Picture Book

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2016 How to Plot a PB Good Morning Friends, It is NOT easy to write cute, clever, rhyming books for children. Falling off a slick log is easy (just a little southern saying my Florida family says a lot,) but, writing - any kind of writing - is not easy. Rhyming books are the most difficult to properly construct, so STUDY before you start working with that animal! I'm not tackling rhyming today. I need to study more, myself. Today, I want to talk about plot. As a teenager I enjoyed plotting to capture the attention of a handsome classmate, or plotting what to wear to capture friends' approval, etc. Silly girl. Today, I'm writing about plotting picture books. There are several ways to approach and plot. 1. Turn on good music. I love Il Divo, Elvis, Carrie Underwood and one song by Foreigner. However, some days I prefer silence when writing! 2. Look at the notes on your bedside table that you jotted in the middle of the night. Hmmm. 3. Put your bottom (backside, buttocks, tush, whatever you call it) in the chair and stay there! 4. Now we are ready---so I will begin again with Number One. 1.You need a main character that you & the reader like. Something must happen to this character. 2. Give your MC (main character) something to strive for, or accomplish. 3. He /she plots how to accomplish his/her desire. 4. Of course, he runs into roadblocks or complications. 5. The situation gets bad. 6. The situation gets worse! 7. The MC finds solutions and solves the problem. No one else solves the problem, not his Mommy or his Daddy or the wind. Just him. And, he can't wake up and say, "It was all just a dream." NO! It must be a satisfying conclusion. TIGHTEN UP YOUR WRITING. I will talk about ways to do that in another blog. In the meantime, Have a Great Day Writing. Remember: Writing is REWRITING! Love Ya, Mary Ann Duke, Ed.D.

I'm happy and I'm healthy!

It's been almost a year since my mastectomy. No chemo or radiation needed. I healed more quickly than the doctor expected. In fact, I went shopping and out to dinner less than 24 hours after the surgery. I am just so happy that I'm healthy.

WILL MY MANUSCRIPT MATTER?

Happy Monday Morning!
In a few minutes I'm going to Manor Care Nursing Home to be the Story Lady, complete with costume.
But first--SOME INFORMATION ABOUT WRITING:
A few questions to ask yourself about your manuscript:
1. Will this book matter to kids, their parents, an editor, a publisher, to the universe?
2. Can I evoke a (wonderful, scary, exciting, sad-then-glad) reaction in a child or adult with my story?
3. Does the first sentence grab the reader?
4. Will my reader keep reading after the first page?
5. Does the reader soon know the setting and time frame of the story?

These are just five things to think about as you begin writing your Novel, MG, YA, Early Chapter Book or Picture Book.

Have a Happpy RE-writing Day!

For Which Age Group Should I Write?

Good morning!
I promised I'd specify the levels/age groups for picture books - also other books for youth.
Remember, this could vary--according to which book(s) you read.
Here's the leveling I like:
Early Picture Book - 500 words
Picture Book - 1,000 words (or fewer) 4 - 8 year olds
Non-fiction Picture Book - 2,000 words maximum
Early Reader - 3,500 words maximum
Chapter Books - 10,000 words maximum
Middle Grade Novels - 8 - 11 year-olds, 20,000-40,000 words
Young Adult Novels 70,000 words - age ranges vary
This is a guide to help you decide for whom you want to write and to begin your journey.
Happy Writing and Rewriting!

It's my own fault, I know.

It's my own fault, I know.
On my first blog I had 24 people who read and/or responded. Then, I didn't keep it up.
This month I began blogging again. I posted 6 or so blogs. To my knowledge, no one has read any of those posts. Same with my various tweets this month.

Anyway, when I tweeted today I said that I'd mention writing for children in my blog. So, here goes.

What do we know about the different age groups in children's writing? It's according to which article you read. But here's what I've found:

Middle Grade Novels are for 9 to 12 year-olds
Chapter Books or Early Readers are for 6 to 8 year-olds
Teen Novels 12 years and up
YA or Young Adult novels deal with controversial subject matter (NOT my genre!)

Another reference I perused stated that:
Middle Grade Novels are for 8 to 12 years old. They should have 12 to 15 chapters with 6 to 8 pages per chapter and approximately 1200 words per chapter.

Upper Middle Grade are for 10 - 14 year-olds.

So, as you can see, not every publisher agrees. But these are "ballpark" figures so you can be more on target and knowledgable when you begin to write. BUT--as the market changes, so will these category designations, I believe.

Happy Writing and Rewriting!
Mary Ann Duke