Chapter and Picture Books?

I swear, I was going through old books I used to read as a kid like those Animal Ark books and I ran across a picture book that had me as a main character lol. It was bound and everything but I'm pretty sure it was done by some friends of my parents years ago. I must have been one or two years old back then. Lol, somehow I saved the world from aliens?

I sat there, pulling book after book out of this box. All these Animal Ark stories and I remembered just about all of them. Is it a bad thing I'm planning on taking at least three back to college with me for "research purposes". :)

Seeing all these books that I absolutely LOVED to read made me realize how much I would like to try to write for the younger readers in terms of chapter books and maybe a picture book or two. I already have a character in mind from a MG, I was just wondering if anyone knew of any good sources for learning about chapter books. If you do, feel free to leave a comment or link :)

Wisdom Teeth, A New Story, & Write On Con

I've missed posting!!

Just had my wisdom teeth removed...for some reason only one side is doing most of the swelling. Does that make me half chipmunk?

Alright, lots to cover.

1. I'm going to TRY to post at least once a week, but I'd love to know what you guys would love to read about oh, and things you NEVER want me to mention again.

2. Write On Con was a blast!! It was an amazing FREE online conference. Next year--I recommended you all give it a shot--check out the info here.

3. Also, do you guys prefer I post about new agents I stumble across? Interesting publishing articles? Helpful links? You name it and I'll try my best :)

4. I read manuscripts for a literary agent who focuses on children's lit--YA, MG, PB. Would you guys like to hear about common mistakes etc and stuff that I see?

Alright guys, comment away and help me out here! :)

Write On Con!

This is a free writer's conference for kidlit writers but it's open to anyone. Some events are coming through on blog posts or video blogs, while others require participation in the forums. You can even post your work for critique. Joanna Stampfel-Volpe is even holding a query critique contest!

There are so many kidlit professionals willing to lend out their advice--I'm sure it'll be helpful!

At the moment the site is down but you can find everything on here. Enjoy!

The Dreaded Synopsis--To My Fellow Writers

Ah, the synopsis.

Sure, after sitting down to write that cursed query, which makes us compress our story into one or two teaser paragraphs, forces us to forget subplots, and drives us absolutely insane with draft after draft, we finally get the chance to write the full story for the synopsis, instead of those two limiting paragraphs.

And then we realize----The Cursed Query has NOTHING on The Dreaded Synopsis.

Even now the damn thing is haunting me and I'm on the 4th draft or so...I've pretty much lost count. All I can say is I know how you feel.

It starts off fine, you think, "Hey, I've got this." And then you realize you passed the one page mark three pages ago.

Be concise--bare bones--yet keep it interesting with a hook.

Over time this website has helped me. It isn't perfect and a lot of the real synopsis examples are of romances, but they have helped.

Do with this site what you wish--hopefully it helps.