No matter what form of publishing writers strive for (traditional, self-publishing or hybrid) or what genre or age group you write for, you need to learn the craft of writing. This can be achieved through college and graduate level courses on writing and studying children's literature.
But that is not practical advice for many writers. Many writers, I dare say most writers, take online writing workshops, local writing courses at their community college, attend writers' conferences, read writer blogs or read books on craft.
I also suggest joining twitter. There is an active writing community and it's a good source for locating writing workshops. Use the hashtags #WritingCommunity, #WritingConferences #WritingWorkshops #WritingClasses
Spend time at the library reading, especially, if you are interested
in writing board books, picture books, easy readers or early chapter books. I
still recommend reading some craft books on picture books so you know what to pay
attention to while studying the younger formats.
For middle grade, young adult or adult, pay attention
to the following: viewpoint, dialogue, pacing, rhythm, setting, sentence structure,
descriptions, characters, chapter structure, escalating tension, climax,
resolution and denouement.
By reading books on craft, in addition to explaining
the different elements of writing, you’ll learn how to study picture books and
novels with a critical eye.
My favorite craft books for novel writing are listed
below:
WRITING IRRESISTIBLE KIDLIT by Mary Kole
STORY GENIUS by Lisa Cron
DIALOGUE by Gloria Kempton
PLOT & STRUCTURE by James
Scott Bell
CHARACTERS, EMOTION & VIEWPOINT by Nancy Kress
DESCRIPTION & SETTING by Ron
Rozelle
SECOND SIGHT by Cheryl B. Klein
WRITING PICTURE BOOKS by Ann Whitford Paul
SECOND SIGHT by Cheryl B. Klein. (Cheryl
uses a clever device to explain and demonstrate how to write a picture book.)
My last reference book is THE FIRST FIVE PAGES by Noah
Lukeman. This book lists the pitfalls and common mistakes on your first five
pages. It’s important to note that whatever mistakes you made on your first five
pages, you probably made throughout your manuscript.
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