Writing the Modern Fairy Tale: Use a Twist

By Guest Author

by Suzanna E. Henshon, Ph.D.

 

How do you update an old story?  Fairy tales have been popular for hundreds of years, and recently Red Riding Hood, Beastly, and Juliet Immortal have dominated young adult fiction.  Meanwhile, girls ages 8-12 love books like Ella Enchanted, Just Ella, Princess Academy, Snow in Summer, The Wide-Awake Princess, and Once Upon a Curse.  Why are fairy tales so popular?  Can you write a modern fairy tale with a twist that will enchant young readers?

 

To a certain extent, the plot of the fairy tale is established by the original story, yet you have the capacity to stretch the tale beyond its original sphere. And you have the advantage of starting with a well-known story has brand-name recognition for millions of potential readers.

 

Here are some tips for writing modern versions of fairy tales.

 

1. Reread the old story.  No matter how familiar Cinderella might seem, you still need to reread the Charles Perrault version (not the Disney film).  Or you need to rediscover Hans and Gretel through the Brothers Grimm.  When you reread the old story, you’ll see there are layers of meaning that you missed years ago as a child reader.

 

2. Study how other writers have modified and worked with the fairy tale.  If you want to rewrite Cinderella, read Ella Enchanted, Just Ella, Cinder, Cindy Ella, and Cinderella (as if you didn’t already know the story).  If you want to retell the Trojan legend, read Nobody’s Princess and Troy High.  Not only is it fun to see what other writers have done, you’ll be able to market your work more effectively if you understand what’s already out there.

 

3. Think honestly.  Do you have a new version of this story?  Why would someone want to read another version of Sleeping Beauty?  When you read Alex Flinn’s Beastly, you will discover it is a wonderfully modern blend of Beauty and the Beast, complete with a computer chat room.  When you read The Princess Diaries, you’ll discover Mia Thermopolis suffers the modern angst of adolescence (5’9″, flat-chested, with poor grades in math) while trying to assume her new role as a ruler of Genovia.  Be honest, and ask yourself if you are trying to cash in on an old brand—or if you have a new and wonderful story to tell.

 

4. Sketch out a plot.  Even if you are using an old tale, you’ll need to add new twists and turns to transform it from a fairy tale into a novel.  For a great example of how to transform an old tale, read Red Riding Hood by Catherine Hardwicke.

 

5. Sketch out the characters.  You’ll also need to do character sketches.  Using the old characters as a launching point, you must be innovative and creative as you breathe new life into Rapunzel, Snow White, or Beauty.

 

6. Write with a twist.  Whether this twist is telling the story through the princess’s voice (Ella Enchanted) or crafting your own fairy tale (Once Upon a Toad), you’ll need to draw the reader in through vivid details.  Or you could allow your character to visit fairyland as a tourist (The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making).  Whatever you decide to do, remember you can’t just retell the old tale. Change the setting, the age of the characters, or the time period. In short, give it your own twist!

 

7. Finish writing your story.  Then sit down and read it.  Does it follow enough of the original story to justify a connection?  Or have you written so far off the track that you should give your story a different title?

 

8. Edit to perfection.  When you write a modern fairy tale, the stakes are higher than you think.  You are not only writing in the tradition of an ancient tale, you are competing with modern rewrites that are currently on the marketplace.  Whether you craft a modern princess (Letters to Rapunzel) or a historic princess (Nobody’s Prize), you need to write with vivid details, bringing your favorite characters to life upon the page in a way she’s never been seen before.

 

9. Study the marketplace. How does your story compare? Have you written a story that girls 8-15 will fall in love with, or have you simply tried to cash in on a familiar story? If you have written a unique work, submit your piece. Then, see if your dream of your fairy tale of getting published comes true!

 

Dr. Suzanna E. Henshon teaches full-time at Florida Gulf Coast University and is the author of several young adult and middle grade books, and two collections of writing exercises. Her newest book, Andy Lightfoot and the Time Warp, is available for the Kindle on Amazon.

 

This is a post from writeforkids.org. Read the original post: Writing the Modern Fairy Tale: Use a Twist

Dealing with (and Learning From) Rejection

By Guest Author

by Suzanna E. Henshon, Ph.D.

 

Have you ever received a rejection letter?  At some point, every writer has her work rejected.  Madeleine L’Engle, JK Rowling, and Beatrix Potter suffered countless rejections before hitting the literary jackpot.  Dealing with rejection is never easy, and it can feel very personal.  But it isn’t the end of the world, and what really matters is how you progress toward becoming a better writer.

 

So, you just received a rejection letter in the mail.  Maybe someone wrote a bad review of your latest novel.  Or you were turned down by a literary agency.  There may be nothing worse than slaving away at a novel for years, only to receive a three-star rating by a casual reader who writes, “It was okay” as their review on Amazon.  But it happens all the time to writers.

 

I used to feel badly about receiving rejections until I saw Phyllis Reynolds Naylor present on receiving 10,000 plus rejections at a conference.  It’s unbelievable to think that a woman this talented could be turned down so many times before receiving the Newbery Medal.  What were these editors thinking?  Naylor realized it was part of her learning and growth as a writer.  And she learned so well that she eventually wrote Shiloh, a novel which received the highest award in children’s literature.  Shouldn’t we follow her example?

 

Dealing with rejection is never easy, but it’s important to put it in perspective.  It doesn’t mean your idea was bad or unsellable; it only means that one person didn’t gravitate toward your story. Realistically, it may mean your story isn’t quite ready to go.  You may think it is wonderful, but there are flaws that will only be visible to you with time.

 

So, what is the best way to deal with a rejection?

 

First of all, be professional.  In many industries, people’s work is rejected. It doesn’t mean you won’t work with this person in the future, or that they won’t someday publish your book. It just means that they aren’t interested in working with you now.  It may be painful, but you have to try to let it go and move on. Don’t write back and argue with the editor or agent about their decision—that’s a sure way to close that door to future submissions.

 

Rejection can take a variety of forms these days.  In the past, everything was done by mail. Authors received a written rejection, often as a form letter. Now rejection can be done by email, or not at all. Some agents and publishers are saying if you don’t hear back on your submission within a certain time, you can assume it’s been rejected.

 

Remember that rejection is a subjective process.  A manuscript rejected by one editor could be accepted somewhere else. That’s why persistence is an essential quality for a successful author. Finding the right fit between author, editor and story can take some time.

 

Don’t forget that rejection is also about timing.  If you are trying to get a manuscript published that is similar to what is already available, you are doomed to rejection.  To get accepted, you need to write something innovative and new.  Don’t query an editorial board with an idea that is too close to what they have recently published.

 

Accept the fact that rejection is part of the writing process.  Rejection can happen at any moment in time.  It can happen at the query level, at the synopsis level, or even at the full manuscript level.  And though making it through the query stage only to have your full manuscript rejected is tough, it’s also an opportunity to learn.

 

So, what can you learn from getting rejected?

 

Try to determine why you are getting rejected.  Once you’ve put your work aside for a while, take it out and study it carefully.  Is it possible your picture books aren’t appropriate for young children?  Does your contemporary young adult novel sound dated? It’s impossible for any writer to be completely objective when reading their own work, so search out a critique group you can join, or hire a freelance editor to point out your manuscript’s flaws. Work hard to fix them. Then give the submissions process another shot, or move on to self-publishing.

 

Remember that writing is a long apprenticeship.  Many people expect immediate success, when writing is a long-term process.  Most successful writers consider their first few manuscripts to have been “practice”, teaching them how to write. Eventually they gained the skills to write a publishable book. So it’s important not to expect the first thing you write to become a bestseller.

 

Consider that you may not get published by a traditional publisher.  Only 1% of writers get published by traditional publishers. So the chances that you are going to be in this group are pretty slim, especially if your book appeals to only a small slice of the market. Self-publishing has become a viable option for many writers these days. It’s still important that your book be of high quality, but you can bypass the submissions process altogether.

 

Move on.  The biggest mistake that beginners make is writing just one piece, sending it out, and never starting another story. Being a writer means two things: crafting your manuscript, and getting your work in front of readers. You need to be participating in both parts of the process at all times. If you use rejection as fuel to become a better writer and to find the right editor or agent for your book, then each rejection will bring you one step closer to publication.

 

Dr. Suzanna E. Henshon teaches full-time at Florida Gulf Coast University and is the author of several young adult and middle grade books, and two collections of writing exercises. Her newest book, Andy Lightfoot and the Time Warp, is available for the Kindle on Amazon.

This is a post from writeforkids.org. Read the original post: Dealing with (and Learning From) Rejection

Why Teachers Make Great Children’s Book Writers

By Laura Backes

by Laura Backes

 

You’re a teacher. You spend your day around kids, reading to them, teaching them how to write, helping them find books of their own to love. You catch yourself noticing little events in your students’ lives and jotting them down. Your ears are tuned to scraps of dialogue on the playground. You spend hours choosing just the right books to bring into your classroom, ones that will open up the minds of your students, teach them about the world, and spark their imaginations. And through it all, a little voice inside your head keeps asking, “Could I write a children’s book?”

 

Absolutely!

 

As a teacher, you’ve got a terrific advantage over other aspiring writers for several reasons:

 

You know your audience. You spend hours every work day with your future readers. You know what they like, and what they don’t. You can observe all the dynamics of kids and teens interacting with their peers, and often get a glimpse into their family lives as well. You understand the social pecking order, current trends, and how a student who is a wallflower in gym class can blossom in science or art. Simply paying attention to who your students are gives you a big step up for creating believable, interesting characters for your stories.

 

You have a window into your readers’ minds. Listening to how students talk to their friends, their adversaries, and to you and other teachers gives you a good sense of how they feel about themselves. You’ll also have a handle on writing dialogue that doesn’t sound like it’s coming from an adult. When students are involved in creative activities like art or writing, you get a glimpse at how their minds work and what’s important to them. This helps you write books that are relevant to your readers.

 

You see what excites young thinkers. No matter what subject you teach, you have to engage your students. In doing so, you learn how to present your topic in the most interesting way. Whether it’s a class of preschoolers watching a caterpillar morph into a butterfly, or eighth graders learning about the civil rights movement, you’ll be the first to grasp what makes students want to learn more. You’ll also know instantly when they tune out from boredom. This inside information will give you plenty of ideas for new books.

 

You love kids. The bottom line is, if you want to be a successful children’s book writer, you have to actually like your audience. You have to understand, and respect, how they see the world and get through their day. I’m guessing these are some of the reasons you went into teaching in the first place. So you’re already half-way there! And the next step is easy:

 

Click here to get our free ebook, Teacher to Teacher: Advice for Educators Who Want to Write from Educators Who Already Do! Packed with information and inspiration from teacher/writers, this ebook will start you on your way to turning your teaching experience into a career as a children’s book writer.

 

So teachers, let’s review: You’ve got the mindset of a children’s book writer, you’ve got access to your future readers, and plenty of inspiration for books. What are you waiting for?

 

This is a post from writeforkids.org. Read the original post: Why Teachers Make Great Children’s Book Writers

Know Your Genre Before You Write

By Laura Backes

 

 

If you’re new to writing, sorting out all the different fiction genres, and figuring out where your writing fits, can be a daunting task. In this video, our Writer’s Coach Teresa Funke explains the various writing genres and how to choose which genre is right for you. For more terrific information from Teresa, including downloadable writing tools, click here.

 

 

This is a post from writeforkids.org. Read the original post: Know Your Genre Before You Write

Why I Write Teen Books with Diverse Characters

By Guest Author

by Michael J. Bowler

 

As a high school teacher for twenty-five years, I primarily taught kids of color. And yet, in the books and stories we read, almost all of the characters were Caucasian, and most with reasonably stable home lives. I decided as an author to write about the kids I knew best – kids of color, gay kids, marginalized kids, poor kids, kids with disabilities, gang members, and incarcerated kids – because I want all youth to see themselves represented in a positive light within the pages of teen literature.

 

To that end, I crafted a five-book series called The Children of the Knight Cycle that takes a fantasy concept – King Arthur resurrected in modern-day Los Angeles – and uses it to showcase a laundry list of crimes this society perpetrates against kids who don’t “fit the norm,” or won’t be shoehorned into the “one size fits all” mentality of public education, or don’t want to be a mini-me version of their parents. Virtually all the main characters in my series are teens of color, including Native Americans. Some of them are gay. But all are dynamic, memorable individuals that readers can relate to. Every day in America such kids are kicked to the curb. We don’t want them in our homes or classrooms or in our books. We’d rather they just disappear. In recent decades, we’ve decided we like putting them in prison. A staggering number of states incarcerate children younger than ten and charge them as adults for imitating the anti-social examples of adults, or for copying illicit behaviors popular media models every day.

 

I present these kids as real human beings with the same hopes, fears, needs, and wants as everyone else. My characters benefit from adults who choose to love them no matter what and who show them how to do what’s right, rather than what’s easy. The kids learn that every one of them can make a positive difference in this world, and that’s a message the students in my urban, working-class high school seldom got from the books I was forced to teach them. In those books, only “white” kids succeeded.

 

In my teen horror thriller, Spinner, I highlight the other forgotten kids I taught for many years – those with disabilities. These kids tend to be the most overlooked of all high schoolers because it is “assumed” by adults that they will never amount to much in life. Kids with physical or learning disabilities are no different from those without them – they can learn and achieve, but maybe not in the same cookie-cutter fashion teachers like to employ. I know what I’m talking about because I have a disability of my own – hearing loss. I’ve lived with a severe sensorineural hearing impairment my whole life, and did not even have access to hearing aids until I was in college.

 

I also didn’t know a single kid with hearing loss until after graduate school. I was one of a kind growing up, and that can be a very isolating feeling. However, my isolated childhood gave me true empathy for every youngster who is “different” in some way, and likely directed me to seek out such kids and work with them. After graduate school, I joined the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, wherein adults mentor kids with no father in the home. I was matched to a 14-year-old boy with hearing loss, and the experience was revelatory. Even as an adult, the relief, almost, that I felt to finally know someone who grew up like me was palpable. Imagine what it’s like for kids like me to see themselves in books they read, to understand that they aren’t alone or broken or crippled, to see hope for their lives because they see others like them achieving greatness. We all need to know that being different is not wrong. In fact, being apart from the norm is most often a net positive. My disability never defined me, and I want kids to see that theirs don’t define them, either.

 

We spend way too much time in this country focusing on what we perceive to be the weaknesses or differences in others. The teen characters in my books prove that our strengths always outweigh our weaknesses, and our diversity, i.e. our differentness, is to be celebrated, not hidden away. If more adults would focus on the natural talents and gifts of kids instead of always trying to make everyone “fit in,” then all children would have a real chance to soar. As a writer of teen lit, my goal is to empower every kid, not just the ones most Americans “look like.” Hopefully, other authors will do the same.

 

Visit Michael J. Bowler’s website here, check out his Facebook page, and follow him on Twitter @BradleyWallaceM.

This is a post from writeforkids.org. Read the original post: Why I Write Teen Books with Diverse Characters

Sneaky Marketing for Self-Published Authors

By Laura Backes

If you’re a self-published author, the idea of being writer, editor, publisher, art director and promoter for your book can be intimidating. But when it comes to marketing, don’t try to reinvent the wheel. If you don’t have a marketing staff, take a look at what the big publishers are doing, and put your own spin on the process.

 

Here’s one terrific example:

 

In order to create a buzz for the paperback edition of Dreams of Gods and Monsters, the final installment of Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone young adult fantasy trilogy, Little, Brown devised a way to give readers a window into the author’s writing process. The publisher is asking fans to tweet their favorite quote from the series, with the hashtag #UnlockLainiTaylor. Once 613 hashtags are reached (the same number as the page count of the book), the publisher will unlock a bonus chapter written by Taylor, which has never been released.

 

Using Genius (the company that started “Rap Genius“, which allows users to annotate rap lyrics), the unlocked chapter will have Taylor’s own annotations about her writing. By clicking on highlighted bits of text, fans gain insight as to how this early chapter inspired the series, and see comments on her process as she developed the story and characters.

 

Of course, this works best if you’ve got a fan base to start from. It’s a natural for series, but could work for a first book if you have an online following before the book comes out. For tips on the one best way to build a fan base, check out Jon Bard’s Easy Author Marketing video.

 

Another publicity trick (which works especially well for picture books and easy readers), is to show video of young fans enjoying your book. These videos can be embedded on your blog or website, Tweeted, or even posted on an Amazon review. (Note: Always get signed permission from the child’s parents before you post anything online, and remember that someone else has to post the review on Amazon. It can’t come from you.)

 

Take a look at this adorable two-year-old gleefully “reading” Not a Box by Antionette Portis in this Amazon review. I defy any grandparent to watch this and then resist immediately purchasing the book for their grandchild. It’s physically impossible!

This is a post from writeforkids.org. Read the original post: Sneaky Marketing for Self-Published Authors

Free eReport – Overcome Your Fear of Author Marketing!

By Jon Bard

A few weeks back we talked about author marketing. Many of you have made great strides since then, but I know that marketing is still an intimidating proposition for most writers.

 
 

So, I’ve got a freebie for you…

 
 

It’s my new free report:

 
 

 
 
 

It’s called The 10 Minute Turnaround: Overcome Your Fear of Marketing and Start Connecting with Readers Now!

 
 

It’s 100% free and I think you’ll really like it. Hopefully, it’s what gets you over the final hurdle and helps put you into action.

 
 

To download your free copy right now, go to http://ift.tt/1UJ2dvc

 
 

Enjoy!  (And tell anyone you know who might benefit from it.  This report is free for everyone.)

 
 
 

This is a post from writeforkids.org. Read the original post: Free eReport – Overcome Your Fear of Author Marketing!