Writing for Children 10-11-13

I really enjoyed the exercise we did in class about finding stories in newspapers. I tend to struggle sometimes when coming up with original story ideas and just seeing as how many the class and I came up with in such a short amount of time was great to see and very encouraging. Also, being a journalism major, it was fun to mix to major and minor using newspapers as a source. I see myself definitely using this technique in the future.

I found Cynsations post on Glee incredibly interesting. Cynthia touched on the recent loss of actor Cry Montieth and the tribute show Glee aired this week. Along the same lines as the paragraph above, Cynthia claims she watches young adult media for story ideas. This is another great example of how to come up with stories. Obviously one wouldn't plagiarize, but seeing what young adults are interested and using that to your advantage can create a plethora of ideas. It's all about keeping up with the times.

I also found the post about writing sequels intriguing. I've personally never followed up on one of my stories as I tend to have a concrete ending with each work. Cynthia notes that her editor found a single plot hole, which created the opportunity to continue the series. We are taught to tie all loose ends so there's no confusion but sometimes this can be taken advantage of to keep the story into a series.  

Writing for Children 10-3

Upon reading Cynsations, I came across a post about humor in writing. The blog notes good humor pokes fun at the powerful, not the weak. Using a gift of wit to pummel someone less gifted physically, socially, emotionally, or intellectually may win a few initial laughs. Soon, though, audiences sense the power flexing of a bully behind the humor, and they’ll stop listening. It makes clear that the storyteller is the most powerful and thus is the best target. The post sums up that we should "poke fun" at what we know about, not weak or ones you can't defend themselves. That would come off as bullying, as the blogger notes, and would make the piece overall ineffective.


In Blue Rose Girls, I found the post about being stuck on a story very interesting. The blogger says she had a great idea for a story, a strong beginning and ending, but getting and reading through it was just dreadful. She notes that you do not need to know every aspect of the story in your first draft for it to be successful. She says to know your characters beforehand and know where you want to go with the story but discover the rest as you go, and you will be more satisfied as a writer.

Analyzing my children's book, I cam across some that made the book a strong story for children. There is a clear problem (Best friends are separated as one is picked for the baseball team, and the other is not although he can throw well). Clear conflict (Because of this, the friends aren't the same without each other; the one who didn't get picked is saddened, while the one who is picked can't play well without resolution). And finally, ONE resolution that solves both problems (The friend who wasn't picked is signed as a popcorn vendor in the stadium, thus seeing his friend everyday; the other friend plays better because his friend is able to watch him everyday). There are strong themes such as the power of friendship, while the characters are made into animals and the problem is easy to understand for children while giving a powerful message.

Writing for Children Blog 9-27

On Cynsations, I read the interview with Amy Christine Parker. She talked about struggling with finding the voice for protagonist because she was a unique character. What really stood out to me was her answer on how she found it, “What helped me most in finding Lyla’s voice was figuring out her back story and how she came to be in this cult. Once I knew how that happened I had a better sense of what she was feeling and how she would react to those around her.” We usually tend to make things up for a character as we go instead of giving them a complete background and personality going into a story, which makes the entire process way easier.

I had trouble finding something relevant on Editorial Anonymous, but there was an article about publishing a book that I think I can relate to the class. It talks about being confident about your work as a final product. The three keys are time, critique and self knowledge, in that order. Time is stepping away from your work after you complete a draft and letting it rest. This rests your mind and gives you the opportunity to change something before you submit the story. Critique is self-explanatory but I don’t think we take advantage of our peers enough by using this technique. Self knowledge is knowing simple spelling and grammar, that way your story comes off as professional. Just something simple to keep in mind when writing a story.

This week in class, I learned how truly hard it is to write a children’s dummy book. The hardest part was definitely structure. Once you have a story you have settled on, you must divide it up so that it fits the dummy, while also making sure you have well-structured page turns. Also, having to write a story for an entirely different demographic was challenging.