Links of Interest to Writers

Read and watch a little about the craft of writing. Here are some links to start with:

• The Seekers:  Five Things I Learned About Writing from Jack Reacher by Tina Radcliffe @TMRadcliffe

• Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast:  Peanut Butter and Jellyfish:  Jarrett J. Krosoczka Discusses His Picture-Book Process [Video]  @StudioJJK

• The Write Practice:  How to Improve Your Metaphors And Similes by Monica M. Clark @monicamclark @write_practice

• Fiction University:  Oh, That's Subtle:  The Little Things Holding a Story Back by Janice Hardy @Janice_Hardy

• Bane of your Resistance:  Action Map Your Way Out of Writers Resistance by Rosanne Bane @RosanneBane
• Action Map Your Way Out of Writers Resistance, Part 2
• Personalize the Action Map to Free Your Writing

Links of Interest to Writers

Fascinating reading about writing from writers' blogs:

• Reading and Writing are Fattening:  6 Ways to Entice Readers (How much of an e-book is read before it is tossed aside?) by Marla M. Madison

• Jane Friedman:  10 Apps to Help You Stay Focused on Your Writing by Frances Caballo @CaballoFrances @JaneFriedman

• Woven With Pixie Dust:  Picture Book University:  Character Driven Picture Books by Pam Calvert @PammCalvert

• Path of Possibility:  Are You Making Enough Mistakes? by Sage Cohen @SageCohen 

• Writers Digest/Guide to Literary Agents:  Word Count for Novels and Children's Books:  The Definitive Post by Chuck Sambuchino @ChuckSambuchino @Writersdigest

• Publisher's Weekly:  Children's Books:  A Shifting Market by Jim Milliot @PublishersWkly

Links of Interest to Writers

Take some time to writing something special today. Here are some articles that might help you!

• All Write - Fiction Advice:  Redundancy in Fiction Writing by A.J. Humpage @AJHumpage

• Writers Helping Writers:  Using Emotional Discharge to Power Up Your Story by MJ Bush

• The Creative Penn:  Writing Tips:  Using Real Life Fear and Pain to Springboard Your Story by Eric Praschan  @EricPraschan @thecreativepenn

• Write To Done:  How to Write Children's Picture Books by Tara Lazar @taralazar @WritetoDone

• Artzicarol Ramblings:  Writing Sequences of Events by Carol Riggs @Artzicarol

• Babbles from Scott Eagan:  Edit Everything! @greyhausagency

Links of Interest to Writers

Writing, writing, writing, reading, reading, reading! Here's some interesting reading about writing.

• Blogging Funk:  Tips for Writing Picture Books:  The Illustrator Is Your Partner by Josh Funk, @papajfunk

• Eight Ladies Writing:  Justine:  Map Freak by Justine Covington, @AuthorJustineC

• As The Plot Thickens:  Juggling Act by Jennifer B. White, @JenniferBWhite (One author's look at juggling projects.)

• Fiction Notes:  OutTakes:  Publicity for Your Book by Darcy Pattison, @FictionNotes

• Writers Helping Writers - K. M. Weiland:  Why Gut Feelings Are a Writer's Secret Weapon by Harrison Demchick, @HDemchick, @KMWeiland

• From The Write Angle:  Decisions, Decisions:  Choosing the Conference That's Right For You by MarcyKate Connolly, @MarcyKate

Links of Interest to Writers

It's a new year! Vow to read more about writing. Here's a start.

• Mind Openerz:  21 Habits of Happy People (A happy writer is a productive writer. Why not start off the year being happy?)

• Mythic Scribes:  6 Tips for Writing a Knockout Fight Scene by Codey Amprim

• BuzzFeed:  How to Write a Picture Book by Max Barnett & Taylor Norman

• We Grow Media:  The Small Moments by Dan Blank (When setting your big goals, it's important to also think about the small moments that can mean a lot to your progress.)

• StoryFix:  The Key to Writing an Inherently Episodic Story ... Effectively by Larry Brooks

• Institute of Children's Literature:  Wishing Up Good Goals by Jan Fields

Links of Interest to Writers

Need something to read? How about some articles on writing?

• The Purple Crayon:  Children's Book Agents & Artist's Representatives:  a Guide by Harold Underdown (If you haven't discovered The Purple Crayon yet, you need to head there RIGHT NOW! It has pretty much anything you'd ever need to know to write for children.

• Writer's Digest:  The 12 Dos and Don'ts of Writing a Blog by Brian A. Klems

• Laini Taylor's Blog:  Book Finishing Day + Retreat Advice

• Author Magazine:  How to Set Up a Virtual Book Tour by Midge Raymond

• Creative Writing Video Tutorials for The Multimedia Age:  Critical Thinking for Creative Writers and Artists by Cy Porter

• Wordy Birdie:  What's Wrong With My Picture Book Text?

Links of Interest to Writers

Read, read, read, write, write, write, revise, revise, revise - the cycle of life!

• File this under creative ways with books! Mental Floss:  13 Sculptures Made Out of Books

• PiBoldMo Day 12:  Elizabeth Rose Stanton Procrastidoodles

• Lauren Sapala:  Taking Emotions Risks in Your Writing

• Publisher's Weekly:  Best Children's Books of 2013

• PUB(Lishing) Crawl:  A Peek at an Editor's To-Do List by Jordan Hamessley London

• The League of Extraordinary Writers:  Building a Story From Atmosphere by Bethany Hagen

Links of Interest to Writers

Here are some tips that may help motivate your writing.

• Writing for Kids While Raising Them: PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) Day 4:  Katie Davis Illustrates 30 Days of Inspiration

• Writability: Helpful NaNoWriMo Links

• Write it Sideways:  Use a Nonlinear Format to Grab Your Reader by the Eyeballs by Clayton Lindemuth

• Writers in the Storm Blog:  Why Writerly Words Are Not Your Friend by Shannon Donnelly

• Storyfix:  Elevate Your Storytelling Game by Larry Brooks

• Avi:  The Kindest Cut of All

• The Character Therapist:  How to Communicate Needs to Non-Writing Partners by Jeannie Campbell

Links of Interest to Writers

Here's some writerly wisdom!

• Donna L Martin's On the Write Track:  Creating Anthropomorphic Characters by Judy Cox

• Quick & Dirty Tips:  Common Mistakes to Avoid When Writing a Children's Book by Mary Hertz Scarbrough

• The Daring Novelist:  Alpha Dog Week - Characters Exerting Control

• Books & Such Literary Agency:  Book Length by Wendy Lawton

• Viva Scriva:  World Building Meets the Real World by Ruth Tenzer Feldman

• Rebecca Schiller:  Discovering Your Character's Motivation

• Reading & Writing Are Fattening:  The Pitfalls of Writing Books in a Series by Marla A. Madison

Links of Interest to Writers

Here they are - some tips to help your writing!

• Imran Writes:  From Plotting to Writing to Editing to Submitting

• Worddreams:  5 Ways to Write Like Your Hair's on Fire by Jacqui Murray

• Kristen Lamb's Blog:  "Write What You Know" - Paying Attention to the Character's Journey 

• Molly Greene:  Business Plan Basics for Authors & Bloggers

• Marcy Kennedy:  Are You Writing in the POV You Think You're Writing In?

• School Library Journal:  Horror in YA Lit is a Staple, Not a Trend

• The Picture Book Academy Blogateers:  Setting Up for Success by Lori Mortensen

Links of Interest to Writers

Learn from great articles on writing!

• The Other Side of the Story:  Real Life Diagnostics Week:  Developing Conflict & Character in an Opening Scene by Janice Hardy

• Daily Writing Tips:  What's the Difference Between Writing and Editing? by Mark Nichol

• From the Write Angle:  Change is Good by by Jemi Fraser

• Get Me Writing:  Crafting an Epic - Perils & Pitfalls
• Free Planning Template for Your Story

• The Picture Book Academy Presents Mondays with Mandy (or Mira):  Teaching Plot Structure with Picture Books

• Shelli Johnson:  My Favorite Writing Advice - Learn Dialogue By Studying Plays

• Kristen Lamb's Blog:  How Sick is Your Novel? Can It Be Saved?

• Project Mayhem:  The Elusive Hunt for Character Awesomeness!

Links of Interest to Writers

Enjoy these articles/blog posts for writers!

• Blood-Red Pencil:  Internal Conflict Scenes by Diana Hurwitz

• Write to Done:  Passion:  How to Tap Into Yours Every Time You Write by C. S. Lakin

• Mythic Scribes:  Assessing Your Writing - How Do You Know When It's Good? by Benjamin Clayborne

• Timeless Tales Magazine: Sample Issue - New!

• Writing Forward:  What are Plot Points? by Melissa Donovan

• The Write Practice:  How to Turn On Your Muse by Birgitte Rasine

•  Writing for Kids (While Raising Them):  Children's Picture Book Authors & Illustrators on Twitter by Tara Lazar

• Writers In The Storm:  Hiring a Professional Editor - Shrewd or Shameful? by Lori Nelson Spielman

The Day the Saucers Came

The Day the Saucers Came

Neil Gaiman’s The Day the Saucers Came is a picture e-book offered through Microsoft Live Labs. Illustrated by Jouni Koponen, this is an experimental picture book that flows from one page directly into the next. Impossible to explain, you have to experience this book. Check it out!

Children's Picture Book Database

Children's Picture Book Database

The Children’s Picture Book Database at Miami University offers:

• abstracts of over 5000 children's picture books;
• search capabilities for over 950 keywords, including topics, concepts, and skills which describe each book;
• weblinks for keywords so you can integrate your up-to-date content knowledge with our picture book resources.