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Meg Medina's One-Minute Writing Tips

6/26/2022

Image courtesy Meg Medina

Salutations, fellow kidlit authors! If you're like me, you probably enjoy gobbling up good advice about the craft of writing for younger readers. Advice that's easy to use and served up in bite-sized morsels (because we're all so busy) is the perfect kind right?

Guess what? Meg Medina, kidlit author extraordinaire, offers such advice for FREE!

For about a year now, Meg has hosted a mini-video series on her Instagram channel (IGTV) called Meg’s One-Minute Writing Tips. Yep, that's right! Each video is just one-minute long! Doesn't that sound like munching on a chocolate bon-bon? YUM!

The reason Meg's advice is so delicious? For one thing, she knows a thing or two about writing yarns for young readers. After all, she is a Newbery-winning children's book author as well as a Hamline University and Highlights Foundation faculty member. For another, she covers a wide range of topics--from building likeable characters to plotting, from not rushing an ending to avoiding professional envy, from dialogue to self-care.

Mainly, the reason you'll enjoy Meg's series is because of the way she presents her advice. You'll feel as though you're sitting across from your friend who happens to be a kidlit pro, coffee in hand. And she's casually sharing with you what she's learned along the way of her writing journey.

Bottom line: Meg's One-Minute Writing Tips is like having a super friendly, seasoned author encouraging you as a children's book writer, saying "You can do this! I know you can!"

You'll find links to Meg's One-Minute Writing Tips on her Instagram channel (HERE) and posted throughout her Twitter feed (HERE). Start by watching her first segment "On Characters" HERE.

Happy learning! (And oh, please share your favorite writing tip in the comments of this post.)

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Snot Copter: Wasted Writing It's Not!

2/8/2021

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A friend of the pen once told me, "No writing is ever wasted writing." And the above article, which appeared in the February 2021 issue of Spider magazine, is proof of just that.

I had learned about Holly, a marine biologist who collects whale snot using a drone, while doing research for my work-for-hire book about orcas, published by Scholastic Press in 2019. While the Scholastic editor thought the information was fascinating, it just didn't fit into the scope of the book. So I had to kill my darlings by deleting my 160 words and all the research that went with it. To be honest, I was totally bummed.

But I couldn't forget Holly's story. I knew kids would find her work fascinating.

And so, not long after I completed my orcas book, I pulled my research about Holly's work out from my orcas folder, opened a new folder, and labeled it "Hexacopter at Work." Eventually, I turned my attention to the idea, caught up with Holly, and fleshed it out with more research, which included learning about humpback whales.

In the end, I upcycled my dissection from my orcas manuscript by spinning it into an article that eventually sold to Cricket Media. How delightful it was to see it in all six pages of snotty glory!

Purchase your copy of this gorgeous magazine HERE.

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Word-Count Budgeting

10/14/2018

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Imagine you’re on a tight budget and you’re shopping for words. Every word you place in your manuscript-shopping-cart costs one dollar. To be fiscally responsible, you'd be judicious about what words you'd purchase. And if you inadvertently purchased an expired or defective word--you'd return it or exchange it , right?

Viewing words as a valuable commodity will help us eliminate word-clutter, word-fill. It will create tight, lean writing.

What words are always worth the buck? Precise verbs and nouns. To quote Mervin Block: “Nouns are the bones that give a sentence body. But verbs are the muscles that make it go.”

On the other hand, fluff and filler words--phrases that add little to the meaning--are unwise purchases. William Strunk, Jr.’s The Elements of Style, warns: “Rather, very, little--these are the leeches that infest the pond of prose, sucking the blood of words.” Or as one of my writing instructors explained it: Popcorn-kernel writing discards the white fluffy stuff.

Why not go through your work and delete that, which, when, the, like, but, well, totally, of, absolutely, just, a, thing, and, so, on wherever the meaning would not be compromised? Don't write stood up when stood will do. Don't have your character speak very softly. Let her whisper. Don't explain the color of her dress is pink when her pink dress makes the point. And please, don’t spin yourself around in circles, just spin that manuscript into a mean, lean thing!

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Making It (not too) Personal--Query Etiquette

10/14/2016

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Some say we should begin our queries with a straightforward this-is-what-my-story-is-about. Others advise that we open by telling the agent (or editor) why we have addressed the query to them in particular. If we decide to personalize our query, what's the best way to do so, without crossing the line of professionalism?
Four literary agents weigh in on the subject.

Suzie Townsend
New Leaf Literary Agency

Personalize it or get to the story's point?
I don't mind a line or two of personalization, but I definitely want to get right into the story quickly. I know what I'm looking for. I want to hear about the character and their conflict--that's what's going to make me decide whether to keep reading or not.

How to personalize?
I definitely love getting a line or two about the author in their bio--even if it's just something personal and not related to writing accomplishments. And I'm a big fan of comp titles. I love to read, and when a writer and I have favorite books in common that makes me think we could be a good match.

Perfectly personal
I love the books and authors I represent and I never get tired of hearing someone else say so too, especially if they mention loving a book that's similar to theirs. If an author is querying a YA Historical for instance and they mention that they loved A Death-Struck Year, that is a good sign I might like this project too.

Too personal, people!
Someone told me once that they lived only a few streets away from my apartment which was creepy. It's never a good sign when someone tells me that they really like my picture on our website or that my smile "looks chipper." A certain amount of professionalism should start the agent-author relationship in a query.

Suzie Townsend has been part of the team at New Leaf Literary & Media since its inception in 2012. Suzie represents all brands of children’s and adult fiction. On the children’s side, she particularly loves YA and MG, those with strong characters and voice-driven stories that break out of the typical tropes of their genres. She’s always looking for unique voices in stories. Suzie can be found online HERE and Tweeting @sztownsend81.

Uwe Stender
Triada US Literary Agency

Personalize it or get to the story's point?
I prefer the straightforward approach, unless the writer actually knows me. For instance, if they met me at a conference, interacted with me on Twitter, etc., I want to know that.

How to personalize?
This may be a good example for personalization to lead into a query:

Hi Uwe,

I was inspired at the conference to pick up your client's book, SONG OF SUMMER. I’m on vacation right now, and just wanted to let you know I just finished it. It was wonderful. I couldn’t put it down, and have the sunburn to prove it. It really swept me away!

So yeah, if a writer says they read something one of my client's wrote and honestly loved it, that is something I'd enjoy hearing.

Too personal, people!
If someone does not know me and tells me things about myself that they would only know if they extensively googled me beyond a professional level, then I might feel that the writer kind of stalked me, which may creep me out. It all depends though. It is one of those "I get that weird feeling when I read it" kind of thing.

Dr. Uwe Stender is a full member of AAR and is the founder of Triada US Literary Agency. Uwe is interested in all kinds of commercial fiction, especially young-adult, middle-grade, mysteries, and women's fiction. He is also interested in all kinds of non-fiction projects. Surprise him! His tastes are eclectic, and he may just love what you wrote! His favorite five novels are: Eleanor And Park, How It Went Down, Code Name Verity, High Fidelity, and The Big Sleep. He can be found online HERE and on Twitter @UweStenderPhD.

Kate Testerman
kt literary

Personalize it or get to the story's point?
I definitely like for writers to personalize their queries to me. It shows me that they're not just randomly picking names of agents out of a hat to query, but that they've chosen me for some specific reason. And I love knowing what that reason is!

How to personalize?
I'd love to know why a writer is querying me. Is it because of something I said on my blog/Twitter/Tumblr, or in person at a conference? A client's book they read and loved? Tell me why you want ME to read your book, not just any agent.

Perfectly-personal example, please.
Keep it simple, like:

I loved ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins, and I hope you enjoy my boarding school story, X. Or I follow Maureen Johnson on Twitter, and I hope my novel about people in jars will likewise entertain you.

With a precautionary pause
Be wary of just randomly naming clients from my list and blindly praising them. If you're a client's critique partner, great, please say so. But be warned, if you say, "I love your client's [unpublished] book, and I hope you like this just as much!" I immediately doubt that you've actually done any research on me or my list.

Too personal, people!
Comments about pictures I post publicly of my kids maybe fine, but you saying you followed me into Target the other day--that is a little scary.

Photo Credit: Nyen Designs

Kate Testerman moved to Colorado and formed her own agency, kt literary, in early 2008, where she concentrates on middle-grade and young-adult fiction. Kate enjoys all aspects of working with her authors, offering hands-on experience, personal service, and a surfeit of optimism. Kate's literary interests include contemporary drama, urban fantasy and magical realism, adventure stories, and romantic comedies. Kate is an active member of the SCBWI and AAR. She can be found online HERE and Tweeting @DaphneUn

Seth Fishman
The Gernert Company

Personalize it or get to the story's point?
Personally, I think the query letter should be concise, easy-to-read, and yes, personalized. I actually focus way more on the first and third paragraphs (Note, there should only be three paragraphs), the introduction (which should be personalized to connect to me) and the bio (which tells me about you). Most writers have a hard time doing synopses of their books so I give them the benefit of the doubt.

How to personalize?
At the very least mention this interview. (Smile.) Make sure you spell names correctly. Otherwise, it is good advice to find agents by looking in the acknowledgements in books you like or that compare to the one you are writing and contact that agent, referencing the book (which is personalizing it).

Personal & true.
If a writer drops mention of a book I've represented, I'd like to know they've legitimately read it. That said, be sure if you reference a client's book as "great" it's already been published. Otherwise, I can see through the comparison. If I'm honest, even then I'll give the querier a break, as it still means they did some research. But if a writer says my client Kate Beaton recommended them, I'll find out very quickly if it's untrue, and I'll toss the pages without reading.

Personal pictures?
There is NO need for you to send pictures of yourself.

Seth Fishman joined The Gernert Company in 2010, Born in Midland, Texas, he graduated from Princeton University and earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. His literary interests are wide-ranging, but in particular he's looking for the new voice, the original idea, the entirely breathtaking creative angle in both fiction and nonfiction. Seth lives in Los Angeles with his wife and son, and is the author of two YA novels and three forthcoming picture books. He can be found at sethasfishman.com and Tweeting @sethasfishman.

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Six Books Every Kidlit Writer Should Have

7/19/2016

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Gardeners have pruning shears. Sculptors have chisels. Chefs have spices, and writers have these six books to help them prune, shape & spice up their work!

STRUNK & WHITE'S:
THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE
By William Strunk Jr. & E.B. White

It's older than a vintage wedding dress with poofy sleeves and dangling beads, but the advice is as sleek as high-heel patent leather shoes on today's modern woman!

Each section, and there are five, contain clear, simple rules that make for better sentence structure, thus better paragraphs, better stories! Beneath each rule, there are examples of sentences that break the rule and explanations on how to improve them.

TURNED-DOWN PAGE CORNERS:
Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating, noncommittal language.

Omit needless words.

Write with nouns and verbs.

QUOTABLE:
"If one is to write, one must believe--in the truth and worth of the scrawl, in the ability of the reader to receive and decode the message. No one can write decently who is distrustful of the reader's intelligence, or whose attitude is patronizing."

A WRITER'S NOTEBOOK: UNLOCKING THE WRITER WITHIN YOU
By Ralph Fletcher

This is written for kids, ages 8 and up. But the suggestions within are invaluable to a writer of any age who desires to infuse realistic dialogue, beautiful imagery, and specific detail into their work.

It's for those who need "seed ideas" for their writing, for those who carry around a writer's notebook (or laptop), wondering, "What to include?" Fletcher explains how his notebook entries came to birth and reprints the entries of numerous young people.

TURNED-DOWN PAGE CORNERS:

When something stirs within, take out the notebook and write.

When images or memories haunt, take out the notebook and write.

When the "small things" intrigue the senses, take out the notebook and write.

QUOTABLE:
"A writer's notebook is like that ditch--an empty space you dig in your busy life, a space that will fill up with all sorts of fascinating little creatures. If you dig it, they will come. You'll be amazed by what you catch there."

DESCRIPTION
By Monica Wood

Wood includes nine chapters that discuss description: description and forward motion, description and dialogue, description and point of view, description and style, description and setting. The advice "show don't tell" is explained with great clarity.

The chapter Tips and Tricks is chock-full of advice including the likes of circling adverbs and adjectives with a purpose to jazzing up blasé prose. The how-to aspect of this book includes entries that turn okay-written passages into wowsie-kapowsie ones. Wood makes beautiful writing seem a keystroke away.

TURNED-DOWN PAGE CORNERS:

Avoid details that call to mind anybody or anyplace and use ones that call to mind somebody and someplace.

Descriptions of weather should be fresh and necessary rather than banal and irrelevant.

Creating a first-person narrator is a special joy as long as you remember that every sprig of description, every observation, belongs to that narrator alone.

Gestural pauses within dialogue--full-sentence interruptions--are descriptions that enhance the scene and can often be used to replace dialogue tags.

QUOTABLE:
"Description is not so much an element of fiction as its very essence; it is the creation of mental images that allow readers to fully experience a story."

EATS, SHOOTS & LEAVES
By Lynne Truss

Truss, with a Briton's wit, sarcastic humor, and historical anecdotes, shares with writers a "zero tolerance approach to punctuation." The advice--written in plain English (the King's, that is)--will leave commas, apostrophes, semi-colons, hyphens, punctuation marks, dashes, ellipses quaking into sentence submission.

Apply these easy-to-understand rules and manuscripts everywhere will shout, "Bring on the punctuation-coppers!"

TURNED-DOWN PAGE CORNERS:

Punctuation can change the meaning, sometimes with a consequential difference:
A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.

Protect the apostrophe from misuse.

The comma marks the places where the reader can--as it were--place an elegant two-pronged fork and cleanly lift out a section of the sentence, leaving no obvious damage to the whole.

QUOTABLE:
"We have a language that is full of ambiguities; we have a way of expressing ourselves that is often complex and allusive, poetic and modulated; all our thoughts can be rendered with absolute clarity if we bother to put the right dots and squiggles between the words in the right places."

WOE IS I
By Patricia O'Conner

Grammar is made easy with O'Conner's humorous poems, easy-to-remember rules, and commonsense tips. Technical jargon is put aside--"No heavy lifting, no assembly required." Her pages hold laugh-out-loud advice that helps a writer see why a sentence may not be grammatically correct.

Writing will flourish grammatically after reading chapters with titles and subtitles like Plurals Before Swine; The Possessives and the Possessed; Therapy for Pronoun Anxiety; Do Clichés Deserve to Die?; The Compleat [this is not a misspelling] Dangler-A Fish Out of Water, and more.

TURNED-DOWN PAGE CORNERS:

Commas, which cut the fat,
Go with which, never with that.

Danglers are like mushrooms in the woods--they're hard to see at first, but once you get the hang of it they're easy to find.

Put descriptions close to the words they describe.

The verb is the business end of the sentence, the sentence's reason for being.

QUOTABLE:
"The simplest and clearest writing has the greatest power to delight, surprise, inform, and move the reader."

WRITING IRRESISTIBLE KIDLIT
By Mary Kole

Kole has crafted the ultimate guide to crafting fiction for young adult and middle grade readers. Her title contains nine hefty chapters that include both general information regarding the kidlit market and kidlit career as well as specific information regarding plot, character, POV, backstory, and theme.

To arm writers with ways to improve their craft, chapters contain a generous dose of well-written passages from published books, comments from authors and editors on what works well for them, and recommended readings. Go-try-this exercises are included to help writers ply their craft.

TURNED-DOWN PAGE CORNERS:

Aim to tell authentic stories with authority.

Like a detective looking over a crime scene, you must connect dots, look under every piece of story to find hot spots, and see your plot more of a web than a straight line.

Use your spotlight powers to draw attention where you want it and minimize the reader's investment in things that don't really matter. Sometimes a sandwich is just a sandwich.

One of the most important things you can do when you introduce a character is to show your readers what she wants.

QUOTABLE:
"Never forget: Novels are written one word at a time, and every word is a choice."

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Less is More in THE CROSSOVER

2/22/2015

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  I’m sure you've heard the writing adage “Less is more.” It seems oxymoronic, doesn't it? But it’s true in the aesthetic of things. I mean, what front yard looks amazing with five hundred lawn ornaments? When it comes to writing, an abundance of words loads down a sentence, slows down the pace, weighs down dialogue. Verbosity ruins story.
While reading the beautifully-written middle-grade novel in verse, THE CROSSOVER by Kwame Alexander (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014), I was struck with how well the writing demonstrates that “less is more.”
For example, notice how the main character, Josh, describes what’s happening to his father:

He sits up on the bed, holds
his chest like he’s pledging
allegiance. Only there’s no flag

Alexander does not over explain. Clearly and concisely, he conveys the fear of the moment. Readers understand that Josh’s dad is in trouble and Alexander used only 17 words to do so.
Less is more is especially evident when Alexander uses metaphoric language. For example:

Our seats are in the clouds,
and every time Dad thinks
the ref makes a bad call, he rains.

Alexander's skillful use of exact nouns and verbs prove less to be more. For example, in this passage, notice what imagery Alexander creates with just a few words:

The Red Rockets,
Defending county champions,
Are in the house tonight.
They brought their whole school.
This place is oozing crimson.

I found it difficult not to keep turning pages while reading Alexander’s slam-dunk of a novel and 2015 Newbery Medal recipient, for each word contained in THE CROSSOVER is full of more.

THE CROSSOVER blurb from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: “In this middle grade novel in verse that's Love That Dog meets The Watsons Go to Birmingham meets Slam, twelve-year-old twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their father ignores his declining health.” www.hmhco.com

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Virginia Festival of the Book 2014

3/30/2014

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What the panelists liked:

Upbeat and positive tone

Active verbs

Touches all senses

Creates mood

Establishes setting

Opens with action

Voice that drew the reader in

Great humor

Charming

Opens with an emotional center

Sentences have cadence

Rich images

Beautifully written

Engaging

Succinct

Unique phrases

Supercharged

Suspenseful

Connected to character

Want to find out more about the character

Clever opening

Ominous opening

Great first lines

What the panelists disliked:

Nothing unique

Typos

Redundant language

Too dense with description

Does not open with a
character doing something

Opens with a prologue

No orientation--don't know where we are, where we're going, or what is happening, confusing

Too much telling

The main character is not named, though his horse is

Begins with back-story without "earning" the "right" for it

Uses three words in a sentence when only one is needed

Reads like an essay

Stock opening, with the character waking up

Unneeded information about setting, not enough about the character

Too many unneeded words--it, the, at, an…

Too cryptic

Too many names

Passive construction

Passive voice

Paragraphs too long

Sentences need punch

Over the top emotion--"My heart began bravely beating."

Clichés--phrases with no energy, nothing new

Every year, since it began in beautiful Charlottesville, Virginia, I have attended the Virginia Festival of the Book--a five-day literary event that gathers authors, agents, publishers, and other professionals from across all genres. Most of the events are free and open to the public. Each one has proven to be a great learning experience, a reason to laugh my socks off, and motivation to keep on writing!
This year, I enjoyed three events: The Agents Roundtable, A First Pages Panel, and a literary conversation with Lois Lowry. (WOW!)
Thought I'd share my notes from the first pages' panel.

EVENT NAME: Off to a Good Start: How to Hook an Editor on the First Page

WHEN: Saturday, March 22nd, 2014

WHO PARTICIPATED: Writers Jennifer Elvgren, Deborah Prum, Fran Slayton, and Andy Straka.

WHAT: After Fran Slayton read aloud the first 100-words from manuscripts submitted by the public, either via email before the event or by hand during the event, panelists discussed what did and did not work for them.

FROM MY NOTES:

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Writing Quotes

9/23/2013

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Photo by Lauren Mann

As my writing journey has progressed through time, I have collected quotes from books about the craft, from editor and author interviews, from newsletters for writers, and the like. Some have caused me to pause and re-think the writing process. Others have encouraged me to persevere when the rejections come. While yet others are just plain fun. So, I've decided to share them here with you.

What say you about these quotes? What writing quotes have you enjoyed?

What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.
Samuel Johnson

Only paper flowers are afraid of the rain. We are not afraid of the noble rain of criticism because with it will flourish the magnificent garden of music.
Konstantin Dankevich

Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.
William Wordsworth

Tight writing makes its point... It is the difference between hitting with a pillow and hitting with a baseball bat.
William Brohaugh

A book should be an ice-axe to break the frozen sea within us.
Franz Kafka

All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath.
F. Scott Fitzgerald

“And what is the use of a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures or conversation?”
Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Poetry is the journal of a sea animal living on land, wanting to fly in the sky.
Carl Sandburg

I believe character and plot and setting and language—on a slant—is what readers thirst for. They are intrigued with what is odd, aberrant, offbeat, strange…
Patricia Lee Gauch

The adjective is the banana peel of the parts of speech
Clifton Fadiman

All words are pegs to hang ideas on.
Henry Ward Beecher

Every novel should have a beginning, a muddle, and an end.
Peter DeVries

Rejections are stones that pave the road to sales.
Mel Boring

Nouns are the bones that give a sentence body. But verbs are the muscles that make it go.
Mervin Block

Writing for children is like a perfect dive off the high platform—lean, neat, an arrow piercing the water.
Heather Sellers

It's hard to be in this business long without getting some serious ouch moments—but…when the pain comes, don't let it whisper to you that you're a loser. Yell at the rejection letters. Kick the couch. Don't give up.
Jan Fields

A plot is the web we weave to snare the reader and lead him exactly where we want him to go—to the heart of the story and out again.
Marileta Robinson

Great books come alive. They breathe. They lament. They stand up and cheer…The heart of a really good book beats.
Patricia Lee Gauch

Your work is only as good as your concentra… Hey look! A cloud shaped like Snoopy!
Martell Stroup

Good prose is like a windowpane.
George Orwell

Tell us the details…Pay tribute to all the everyday & extraordinary things…
Natalie Goldberg

3 Comments

Meg Medina's One-Minute Writing Tips

Snot Copter: Wasted Writing It's Not!

Word-Count Budgeting

Making It (not too) Personal--Query Etiquette

Suzie Townsend
New Leaf Literary Agency

Uwe Stender
Triada US Literary Agency

Kate Testerman
kt literary

Seth Fishman
The Gernert Company

Six Books Every Kidlit Writer Should Have

Gardeners have pruning shears. Sculptors have chisels. Chefs have spices, and writers have these six books to help them prune, shape & spice up their work!

Less is More in THE CROSSOVER

Virginia Festival of the Book 2014

Writing Quotes

About Me

Archives

Categories

Suzie Townsend New Leaf Literary Agency

Uwe StenderTriada US Literary Agency

Kate Testerman​kt literary​

Seth FishmanThe Gernert Company

Gardeners have pruning shears. Sculptors have chisels. Chefs have spices, and writers have these six books to help them prune, shape & spice up their work!

About Me

Archives

Categories

Suzie Townsend
New Leaf Literary Agency

Uwe Stender
Triada US Literary Agency

Kate Testerman
kt literary

Seth Fishman
The Gernert Company