How to Get Started Writing Picture Books | Children's Writing Web Journal http://is.gd/3Ll6K

Fightin' Bookworms: New "Tori Stellar: Children's Book Author" comic strip! http://is.gd/3LjPR Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com

Writing Picture Books 101

Many beginners believe writing picture books are a breeze, but it requires a great deal of skill to pack a story into a few words. If your dreams include writing a picture book, here are some tips to consider before you begin:

* Keep it simple. You should be able to sum up your picture book's plot in three sentences. Not every detail, of course, but the broad strokes. Create one sentences to capture the beginning (naming your main character and the problem or conflict he’ll face in the story), one for the middle (describing the gist of the efforts your character makes to solve his problem), and one for the end (how he finally resolves the conflict and reaches his goal). If three sentences doesn’t capture the essence of your plot, then it’s probably too complex for a picture book.

Note: You’re concerned here on plot (the action of the story), rather than theme (the underlying message). Don’t get into describing theme when you’re summarizing your plot. The theme shouldn’t even be an issue at this point. You want to construct the story so the character’s actions, and how he changes because of those actions, presents a lesson to your readers.

* Think in pictures. The term “picture books” says it all: the illustrations are just as important as the words. The average picture book is 32 pages long, with about four pages of front matter (title page, copyright page, etc.) So you have 28 pages of text and illustration. If you shoot for 1000 words to tell your story (the average length of picture book text), that gives you about 36 words per page (some pages will have more words, some less, depending on the pacing of your story). While you don’t want to be a slave to precise word counts when you’re writing early drafts of your manuscript, do keep in mind that every page of your book needs to inspire a different illustration. So count out 36 words from your manuscript and note how big a block of text that is on the page. That’s about how many words you can devote to each illustration. After that, your characters have to do something— move around, change locations— so the illustrator will have a new picture to draw.

One way to think visually is to convey the character’s problem, and her efforts to solve that problem, in concrete, visual terms. If your character is having trouble memorizing facts for school, that all takes place inside her head. But if she’s embarrassed because she can’t swim, then her attempts to learn are easily illustrated.

Note: Some illustrations will span two facing pages, called a two-page spread. In this case, you’ll have about 70 words for that one illustration. But picture books are a mix of single page illustrations and two-page spreads, so keep the action moving at a good pace.

* Maintain a childlike outlook. Picture book characters can be children, adults, animals or fantasy characters. But all main characters must embody the sensibilities of a child between the ages of 4-8. This means the problem your characters faces needs to be relevant and important to your target audience. The way your character tackles that problem must fit with the way a child would tackle it. Don’t create an adult main character just so you can impose some adult wisdom on your readers. Grown-up characters using the emotional, illogical and sometimes messy coping strategies of children can be a very effective, and funny, storytelling technique. Above all, the character must be the one to solve the problem, using methods that are accessible to children. If readers view themselves in your main character, then they’ll understand the underlying message of your story.

Laura Backes is the publisher of Children's Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children's Writers. For more information about how to write children's books, including free articles, market tips, insider secrets and much more, visit Children's Book Insider's home on the web at http://write4kids.com and the CBI Clubhouse at http://cbiclubhouse.com

✔ New blog post: How to Get Started Writing Picture Books http://is.gd/3DMYt

✔ Fightin' Bookworms: Just posted - Podcast Interview w/Barbara Shoup, YA author of Wish You Were Here! http://cbiclubhouse.com

✔ Interview w/#kidlit reviewer Terry Doherty of The Reading Tub http://is.gd/3ByBz Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com

✔ Mastering the "slow reveal" in #kidlit writing http://is.gd/3BybB Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Come Join the Fightin' Bookworms!

Key points from Writer's Digest conference http://ow.ly/qITA Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Home of the Fightin' Bookworms! #kidlit

Public Domain& Copyright Issues for Writers http://ow.ly/qISG Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Home of the Fightin' Bookworms! #kidlit

#1 Mistake Self-Publishers Make http://ow.ly/qIS8 Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Come Join the Fightin' Bookworms! #kidlit

Beginner's Guide to Tricking Out Your WordPress Blog http://ow.ly/qIQq Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Where Children's Writers Meet

27 Most Used Apps in a Writing Business http://is.gd/3BysZ Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Come Join the Fightin' Bookworms!

article on YA author Dale E. Basye http://ow.ly/qIHk #kidlit Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Where Children's Writers Meet

Nifty overview of 1950's Illustration http://ow.ly/qIJm Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Come Join the Fightin' Bookworms!

✔ How to Write Children’s Book Mysteries http://is.gd/3Bx4j Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Home of the Fightin' Bookworms! #kidlit

info on Pittsburgh #kidlit fest http://ow.ly/qIG8 Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Home of the Fightin' Bookworms!

Children's Literacy Round-Up #kidlit http://ow.ly/qxpx Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, The Essential Children's Writing Resource

all about upcoming "Teen Read Week" http://is.gd/3zn0S Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, The Essential Children's Writing Resource

#kidlit books that should get Hollywood Treatment: http://ow.ly/qxne Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Come Join the Fightin' Bookworms!

PW's latest #kidslit reviews: http://ow.ly/qxmm Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Home of the Fightin' Bookworms!

What YA Lit is and isn’t http://is.gd/3zmR1 Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Come Join the Fightin' Bookworms!

Author Laurie Halse Anderson on her books being banned/challenged: http://ow.ly/qxje Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com

Elsie the Cow gets her own children's book http://ow.ly/pwoW #kidlit Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Home of the Fightin' Bookworms!

Interview with author/illustrator Matt Phelan http://ow.ly/pwod #kidlit Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Where Children's Writers Meet

The Next Big #kidlit Thing Has Feathers http://ow.ly/pwnl Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Home of the Fightin' Bookworms!

S & S Launches Site for Librarians http://ow.ly/pwme #kidlit Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Come Join the Fightin' Bookworms!

Recapt of Princeton Children’s Book Festival http://ow.ly/pwlk #kidlit Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Where Children's Writers Meet

The Benefits of Copyright Registration http://ow.ly/pwib Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Home of the Fightin' Bookworms!

27 Great Writing Blogs http://ow.ly/pwhi Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, The Essential Children's Writing Resource

New blog post: How to Write Self-Help Articles for Children's Magazines http://bit.ly/Nac1R

Writing Tips: Get Published With Self-Help Pieces for Children's Magazines

Unlike their parents, when children look for advice they don't usually turn to Oprah. Most kids get everyday, self- improvement type information from children's magazines. If you're brimming with ideas for articles on how to teach kids to help themselves or develop new skills, here are some tips:

* Select a topic based on your audience and age group Each magazine has a clear focus--some are health-related, others might concentrate on the activities of a specific organization. Make sure your advice fits with the magazine's editorial slant. Also, pay attention to the age of the targeted audience. A piece on why spreading gossip is a bad thing is relevant to teen and preteen readers. A piece about being a responsible pet owner could appeal to any age group, depending on how it's written. So check out potential markets before you sit down to write.

* No Preaching. You're giving advice, so it's tempting to lecture or preach to the reader. Don't. You'll lose your audience faster than you can say Dr. Phil. rather, acknowledge what your readers face in their lives and let them know you're on their side. "The hard truth is, sharing DNA with your siblings is no guarantee that you're always going to like each other," is a better approach to an article about resolving sibling rivalry than, "Brothers and sisters are supposed to love each other. Fighting just drives your parents crazy. Let it go!"

* Don't try to sound "hip." Use a normal conversational tone when writing advice for kids, as if you're speaking to agroup of them in person. Don't throw in slang or pop references unless they routinely roll off your tongue. On the other hand, opening your article with an anecdote, unusual statement, or humorous question can be an attention- grabber. Just make sure those anecdotes are about other kids, and don't begin with, "When I was your age...."

* Talk directly to the reader. This is one of those rare situations where the second person point of view works. Address the readers directly (The first time you walk into a new school, you may feel nervous. You might even think everyone's looking at you. Don't worry--all new students feel this way.) Put the readers right into the article so they can see how your advice can be useful in their lives.

* When possible, combine the advice with a "how-to" approach. After explaining to the readers how to make an improvement in their lives, show them. Either as part of the article or as a standalone sidebar, give how-to, step-by-step instructions that can be seen at a glance. For example, if you're writing a piece for teens on being financially aware, you can include a how-to sidebar on finding a summer job, complete with tips for filling out applications and doing interviews.

Use other self-help and advice articles in your targeted magazine markets as templates for how you should write your article. Pay attention to style, length, and whether the information is presented in small bites or large chunks. Then unleash your best advice, and one day you too may be on Oprah!

Laura Backes is the publisher of Children's Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children's Writers. For more information about how to write children's books, including free articles, market tips, insider secrets and much more, visit Children's Book Insider's home on the web at http://write4kids.com and the CBI Clubhouse at http://cbiclubhouse.com

links from around the #kidslit blogosphere http://is.gd/3h2A8 Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Home of the Fightin' Bookworms!

New Children's Literacy Roundup http://ow.ly/pkEr #kidslit Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Home of the Fightin' Bookworms!

New PW Children's Book Reviews http://ow.ly/pkET #kidslit Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Come Join the Fightin' Bookworms!

Report on the Brooklyn Book Festival 2009 http://ow.ly/pkDg #kidslit Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Where Children's Writers Meet

KidLitCon is coming! It's a great time. http://is.gd/3gMQo #kidlit Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Home of the Fightin' Bookworms!

Carle Honors Recipients named: http://ow.ly/pkij #kidslit Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, The Essential Children's Writing Resource

Children's Books: An Angelic Autumn http://ow.ly/pkFt #kidslit Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, The Essential Children's Writing Resource

nice blog on collecting kids books: http://is.gd/3gIu9 #kidslit Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Come Join the Fightin' Bookworms!

Get Known Before The Book Deal - smart stuff! http://is.gd/3gLZ1 #kidslit

Great blog from children's librarian: http://is.gd/3gIPF #kidslit Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Come Join the Fightin' Bookworms!

Author Feature: Roald Dahl http://ow.ly/pkg0 Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Home of the Fightin' Bookworms!

Ten Tips for Reading With Kids http://ow.ly/p2Zk Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Home of the Fightin' Bookworms!

99 Cent Weddings! What a country.... http://ow.ly/oTh7 Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Come Join the Fightin' Bookworms!

Tips for Writing a Children’s Book Mystery http://ow.ly/oU4g

Working w/ the online Kidlit Community http://ow.ly/oU3d Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Come Join the Fightin' Bookworms!

Beloved children's books hit the silver screen http://ow.ly/oTgp Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Come Join the Fightin' Bookworms!

It's Library Card Sign-up Month http://ow.ly/oTg2 Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, The Essential Children's Writing Resource

tips for creating an author website http://ow.ly/oTfe Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Where Children's Writers Meet

Smart Money Answers for Writers http://ow.ly/oTep Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Come Join the Fightin' Bookworms!

Getting Published in Genre Fiction http://ow.ly/oTdN Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Home of the Fightin' Bookworms!

Kansas names its notable authors: http://is.gd/35IPJ Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Where Children's Writers Meet

Content ratings for kids books? Yes or no? Vote: http://ow.ly/oKlo Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Home of the Fightin' Bookworms!

Tips for Writing a Children’s Book Mystery http://is.gd/35HKf Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Come Join the Fightin' Bookworms!

The Craft of Writing Mysteries for Middle Graders

The Craft of Writing Mysteries for Middle Graders

Mysteries are quite popular with middle grade readers. They are typically fast-paced stories that build self-confidence by permitting the reader to solve the crime. Simple mysteries for this age group follow a clear formula where the author lays out clues for the reader in a predictable fashion, using escapes, setbacks and coincidence. The Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books are both in this category.

As readers become skilled at solving mysteries, they reach for books that require careful scrutiny to detect clues. Goody Hall by Natalie Babbitt and Mystery of Drear House by Virginia Hamilton and are excellent examples. The following are tips to keep in mind if you choose to write mysteries for children.

* Unlike other types of children's books, the child protagonist in a mystery does not experience major character development during the story. His or her character must be strong at the start of the book, and have qualities the reader will identify with or admire. However, one of the protagonist's character traits (such as having a photographic memory) can be used to solve the mystery, as long as the readers know about it.

* Another difference between mysteries and other types of fiction is that in mysteries there typically is not an underlying theme to the story (such as loneliness, peer pressure, etc.). The plot drives the story, and the conflict and tension is derived from what occurs to the main characters from without, rather than what's going on inside themselves.

* The child in the story must be as smart, or smarter, than the adults. Adults can help in certain situations in order to make the story believable, but the child must uncover the major clues and solve the case.

* The clues to the crime, as well as the crime itself, must be accessible to children in real life in order for the story to be realistic. This also helps the reader unravel the mystery. A child would not know, for example, how someone could alter the brakes on a car, but he or she is most likely aware of how this was done to a bicycle.

* The reader needs access to all the clues available to the protagonist. It's not fair for the author to withhold information.

* It helps if the author rehashes the entire crime and rounds up all the clues at the end of the story. A common method is using the progatonist to summarize the crime to another character just before solving the case. This will remind readers of the clues, and give them a better chance of figuuring out the solution on their own.

Laura Backes is the publisher of Children's Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children's Writers. For more information about how to write children's books, including free articles, market tips, insider secrets and much more, visit Children's Book Insider's home on the web at http://write4kids.com and the CBI Clubhouse at http://cbiclubhouse.com

The 2009 Cybils coming soon http://is.gd/35GFH Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Where Children's Writers Meet

UK Children’s publisher seeks submissions http://is.gd/35FjD Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Come Join the Fightin' Bookworms!

Interview w/hot young author Kaleb Nation http://is.gd/35EEo Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Come Join the Fightin' Bookworms!

New blog post: How to Get A Children’s Book Published If You’re Not a Celebrity http://is.gd/30CzX

How to Write and Get Your Children's Book Published If You're a Non-Celebrity

Sure, it's frustrating. You work tirelessly on your manuscript, revise, re-write and revise again. You submit to publishers and get a slew of rejections. Meantime, some pop star or athlete gets a big money deal to write a children's book without lifting a finger.

Well, that's the way the world works. No need to get depressed. Just get to work. Non-famous folks get book deals every day. Here's how you can do the same.

Step 1: Master the Rules.

If you’re not famous, your manuscript or query letter takes the same route as the rest of the non-celebrities. It gets plopped, as part of a huge pile, on the desk of an overorked, underpaid, editorial assistant (or a freelance reader). Her job is to dig through the pile of dross and find a few nuggets of gold, and then pass them on to an equally overworked and underpaid editor. The editor then reads through the smaller pile, pulls out the submissions that catch her eye, and brings them to an editorial meeting. If the overall consensus is "yes, this is a book we want to publish", you’re on your way to partying it up with Madonna in the special "Children’s Writers’ V.I.P. Lounge" at the Viper Room.

Buried in that timeline is a bit of bad news and a bit of good news. First the bad news: The editorial assistant sifts out up to 95% of the submissions that arrive. In other words, the great majority of submissions to a publishing house never even make it in front of a person in a position to publish it. Why not? They may, of course, simply be awful submissions, loaded with poor grammar, misspellings and hackneyed writing. They may be the obvious work of amateurs, handwritten on lined paper with childish drawings. Or, and this is where there’s some hope, they may simply get rejected because they’re the less obvious work of amateurs.

More subtle things, such as using single spacing rather that double spacing, or a manuscript whose word count is out of whack with the "norm" is sometimes all it takes for an EA to say "Beginner". Rejection."

So here’s the good news: simply by learning the specific, but not wildly arcane, rules of children’s publishing, you can leapfrog over the madding crowd. When an EA or reader reads a manuscript that comes from someone who clearly knows how it’s done, they’re far more likely to give it a fair reading, and far less squeamish about turning it over to the boss.

So how do you learn the rules? Visit http://cbiclubhouse.com and have a look at the resources available there.

.
Step 2: Write to the Publisher’s Needs.

The problem with most aspiring children’s book writers is that they have a specific idea from which they won’t budge. To be frank, it’s usually a pretty dumb idea and, even if it’s halfway decent, chances are it’s been done many times already. Look, I know your dream is to write that book about the talking scrubber brush and his sinkside pals, but put the dream on hold for a bit. The single best way to get published is to figure out what publishers want - and give it to them.

Here’s an example: Schools are in desperate need of fiction and nonfiction books that integrate into curricula. Publishers, thus, are desperate to provide said books, as schools are big and dependable customers who are likely to buy directly from the publisher, offering even a better profit margin.

And you’re response to this is..? Hopefully, it’s "Hey, I’m gonna write some books that tie in with school curricula!"

This is just one example - publishers have all sorts of often unglamorous niches they need filled. How to find out? Send for their guidelines and catalog. Often, they’re quite explicit about their needs, other times you need to read between the lines of the catalog to figure it out. But the answer is usually there.

And, seriously, let’s see Denzel Washington try to write an exciting thriller about the passage of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.

Step 3: Learn to Write a Great Query Letter.

Your query letter (used if you’re sending a few sample chapters of a longer manuscript) or cover letter (used to accompany and introduce a complete manuscript) is your chance to really make the sale. Almost always, it’s a wasted opportunity filled with irrelevance (I’m the mother of three and I’ve always dreamed of writing a children’s book!), pleading (It would mean so much to me to have this book published!) and ludicrous assertions (Everyone tells me I’m the next Dr. Seuss!).

A good query letter is basically this: a powerful sales letter meant to convince a publisher that it is in its best interests to publish your book. Essentially, you need to tell them that your manuscript fits their needs and will sell to their current market and will expand into new markets. Tell them, specifically, how you will be able to deliver readers (e.g. I have a weekly blog read by more than 20,000 parents and my website attracts 60,000 visitors a month) and how there is a defined need for your book and how you will reach the target customers (e.g. There are over a half million foster children in America. These children, their foster parents and foster siblings need books like mine to help make sense of their situations. I will promote my book directly to them through organizations, conferences, newsletters and websites.)

To succeed in publishing, you have to strip away the romantic nonsense you’ve been brought up with and see things as they are. Kids books aren’t published by magical elves. They’re published by business people (albeit, business people who, thankfully, often genuinely love the books they publish). Show an editor that your book will be an artistic and financial success and you’re taking a big step in the right direction. For much more on writing a great query letter, go to http://www.write4kids.com/query.html To learn about a collection of actual query letters from children’s authors that you can use for models, go to http://www.write4kids.com/a2e.html.

Step 4: Write to an Underserved Existing Market.

Sometimes the concept of writing to a publisher’s needs can be turned on its head. Perhaps there’s a sizeable, wonderful market that no one is serving and you can convince a publisher that its just the one to serve it. It could be anything - children of interracial marriage, girls who like jazz, boys who play bass guitar, American kids who dig the game of rugby - if there are enough of them out there and are too few books for them to read, you may very well be introducing a publisher to a potentially lucrative market.

Do your research. Talk to trade associations, government experts, owners of websites that serve specific markets or anyone else who can give you some supporting backup on the size of your target group. Search Books in Print for already existing titles that target the group. Speak with librarians and booksellers to get their viewpoint on needs. And include it all in a great query letter.

Step 5: Listen to the Pros.

There’s no need to go it alone. Take the time (and spend a few bucks) to listen to others who have made the journey. Writing conferences, workshops (visit http://wemakewriters.com for an excellent one), books and newsletters (such as Children’s Book Insider -- write4kids.com/aboutcbi.html) can dramatically increase your chances of getting published by helping you avoid typical mistakes and pitfalls. An eBook such as I Wish Someone Had Told Me That: 64 Successful Children's Authors Give You the Advice They Wish Someone Had Given Them (http://write4kids.com/wishbook.html) is a great example of this sort of instruction. Pay heed to the voices of experience!

Laura Backes is the publisher of Children's Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children's Writers. For more information about how to write children's books, including free articles, market tips, insider secrets and much more, visit Children's Book Insider's home on the web at http://write4kids.com and the CBI Clubhouse at http://cbiclubhouse.com

Advice for Writing Children's Books: How to Incorporate "The Slow Reveal"

Eighteen months ago, I took up karate. It's a great workout, but the biggest reason I train is I want to be a formidable senior citizen. If someone tries to grab my purse or deny my senior discount at Denny's, I'll be able to answer with a quick roundhouse kick to the solar plexus. By laying the foundation now, I'll be a badass when I'm 70.

But the coolest thing about taking up karate when you're a woman in her mid-40's is that people don't automatically expect it. If you're just a casual friend, you won't know I'm working toward my black belt. And by the time I'm collecting Social Security, the possibility won't even cross your mind. Unless you try to steal my purse.

In life most people become more complex as we get to know them. This should also be true for characters in children's books. At a conference recently, Lyron Bennett, editor for Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, called it "the slow reveal". It means investing your characters with enough varied qualities that some can be withheld until called for in the plot.

The slow reveal is particularly important when writing a series. If J.K. Rowling had allowed Harry Potter to fulfill his full power as a wizard in Book 1, would fans have waited nine years and six more books to learn if he finally defeated you-know-who? But equally important is sowing the seeds early on for who you want your character to become. From the beginning, readers saw Harry's potential, and Rowling allowed greatness to surface in Harry when it was least expected. Those qualities grew along with Harry as the series unfolded.

You don't want to give away everything at once in stand-alone books either. Picture books and easy readers, with their lower word counts and straightforward plots, do best with characters who have one or two surprises up their sleeve. In Peggy Parish's classic easy reader Amelia Bedelia, the child sees that Amelia is doing a poor job on her first day as a housekeeper because she doesn't understand the list her employer left her. But even before Amelia starts on the list, she whips up a lemon merengue pie. What the reader doesn't know is that Amelia makes the best pies anywhere, which eventually saves her job at the end of the book.

Parceling out your protagonist's strengths and weaknesses keeps the tension taut in a novel. In Gary Paulsen's timeless Hatchet (ages 11-14), Brian, a city kid, is stranded in the Canadian wilderness after the his bush plane crashes, killing the pilot. Neither Brian nor the reader know if he's got what it takes to survive on his own. Can he manage to start a fire? Yes, quite by accident. Can he fish? Eventually. Kill and cook a bird? How about survive a moose attack or weather a tornado? Brian evolves from reacting to his predicament and stumbling upon solutions to carefully taking control of his situation. But nothing Brian does is out of character. Though he has to teach himself to live in the wild, he draws upon bits of information he learned from watching TV or at school, and reserves of strength that were in him all along.

Even if you're writing a single title, make your children's book characters complex enough to live for several books, just in case. Fans loved Brian so much that Paulsen was persuaded to use the character in several other wilderness adventures. Picture book series (such as Mo Willem's Pigeon books) or easy reader series like Amelia Bedelia typically grow because the protagonist's quirks are open-ended and funny enough that readers don't mind exploring them over and over in different circumstances.

The slow reveal works particularly well in mysteries. In this genre, the readers slowly get to know the victim (perhaps an honor student who is discovered to be running an side business selling test answers), and the villain (who may seem like a good guy at the beginning of the book). Or, how about a first person narrator in any genre who appears normal and likable early on, but becomes more unreliable as the story unfolds? Read Robert Cormier's timeless young adult I Am the Cheese for a masterful example of a shifting first person reality. If you prefer a broader perspective, try Avi's Nothing But the Truth: A Documentary Novel for ages 11-14, which looks at one incident from several viewpoints, gradually separating fact from fiction. So when you first breath life into your characters, don't stop too soon. Add layers that can be exposed later on. These surprises will keep readers flipping exciteldly through the pages, whether you're writing about a boy wizard, a demanding pigeon, or a ninja grandma.

Laura Backes is the publisher of Children's Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children's Writers. For more information about how to write children's books, including free articles, market tips, insider secrets and much more, visit Children's Book Insider's home on the web at http://write4kids.com and the CBI Clubhouse at http://cbiclubhouse.com

Fightin' Bookworms: September's Children's Book Insider and Module 5 of the writing course are now online! http://cbiclubhouse.com

Fightin' Bookworms: September's Children's Book Insider and Module 5 of the writing course are now online! http://cbiclubhouse.com

New PW #kidslit reviews http://ow.ly/nChh Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, The Essential Children's Writing Resource

fix a scratched cd...with a banana! http://is.gd/2LByx Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Where Children's Writers Meet

SLJ reviews new graphic novels for kids http://ow.ly/nCft Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Where Children's Writers Meet