Writer's Bookshelf Books for Writing Process Telling a
TIPS
FOR AUTHORS, YOUNG AND OLD
by
Danny Schnitzlein
1.
WRITE THE KIND OF STORY YOU LIKE TO READ.
2.
READ, READ, READ. Ask your teachers what the “great” books are.
They’ll know what you’re talking about.
If you’re an adult, read all the books you can in the genre that you
are writing for. If you’re a
writer, then reading is part of your job description.
(How cool is that?)
3.
KEEP A JOURNAL. Write about everyday stuff that happens to you.
Sometimes stuff from your journal can be a great starting place for a
story. Every time you have an idea
for a story, write it in your journal. Then,
on a day when you can’t think of something to write about, open your journal,
and you’ll have access to a pond stocked with ideas!
4.
SURROUND YOURSELF WITH POSITIVE PEOPLE.
You know the ones I’m talking about.
These are the people who celebrate the good stuff in the world and
don’t go around complaining or focusing on negative stuff.
They’re the ones who congratulate you on your successes and have lots
of interests. Negative people will
drag you down and point out all the reasons why you can’t make it as a writer.
Do everything you can to stay away from these people.
5.
TURN OFF YOUR TELEVISION. At
the end of every day, ask yourself how much time you spent consuming and how
much time you spent producing. Reward
yourself if you wrote a story, drew a picture, or wrote a song.
6.
GET HONEST CRITICISM. If
you’re young, ask your teachers to critique your stories and give you advice.
Family members and friends do not give honest feedback, (except for my
wife, who gives feedback that is way too honest.)
If you’re an adult, join a critique group to get feedback from other
writers. If you don’t know how to
find writers in your area, join SCBWI (scbwi.org).
Learn everything you can from their website, especially correct
manuscript format. Go to SCBWI
conferences and workshops. Make
contacts in your area and join a critique group with other children’s writers,
to get honest feedback on your work.
If you are an adult and you haven’t joined the Society of Children’s
Book Writers and Illustrators, you’re missing out on the best source of
information, tips, contacts, workshops, and secrets to becoming a published
author.
7.
TAKE A TYPING CLASS.
8.
SURROUND YOURSELF WITH CREATIVE
PEOPLE. Make friends with other
writers/artists/etc. But make sure
they’re positive people.
9.
HAVE FUN WITH IT! If you aren’t having fun with what you’re writing, then
the reader won’t either.
10.
WORK THROUGH YOUR PROBLEMS. If
a story isn’t working, then ask yourself why.
It seemed like a good idea when you started, so where did all the energy
go? Working through your story’s
problems will help you grow as a writer.
11.
WRITE FIRST, EDIT LATER. When
an idea hits you, write the story first, then come back later and clean it up.
It’s more important to get the story down first.
Then release the editor in your brain to analyze it.
If you analyze too much in the beginning, you’ll never get the story
written.
12. DON’T GIVE UP! Dr. Seuss sent his first manuscript to over 30 publishers and ALL of them rejected it. I had to send my manuscript to over 30 publishers too.
13.
WRITE A LITTLE EACH DAY. Writing
in the morning helps me get my day off on the write foot.
If you only have 15 minutes a day to write, you’d be surprised how much
you can get done in 15 focused minutes.
14.
KNOW THE RULES. Before you submit a manuscript to a publisher, check out the Chidren’s
Writers and Illustrators’ Market, to find out whether your manuscript fits
the guidelines for the publisher you’re submitting to.
You can find this book in the reference section of your library.
It’s published annually.
Here are two websites that publish stories written by kids:
If
you’re a young aspiring author, click here for a list of books that may
help you.
If
you’re an adult aspiring author, click here for a list of books that
helped me on my writer’s journey.