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Writing tips and inspiration for children's book writers
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Don't love your main character too much.
That happened to me with the first 13 (!) drafts of Hattie Big Sky. I loved Hattie so much that I didn't want anything bad to happen to her. So I created a character named Ned who was her buffer against bad guys and tough times.
My gentle editor asked me what I saw Ned doing for the story. Ned! Why, he was wonderful. Charming. Amazing.
But, as soon as she asked me that question, I knew Ned had to go.
When I taught writing, I would tell my students to be kind and loving and caring people. Except on the page. Then, they must be anything but kind; they must make their characters suffer! I'd forgotten that bit of advice when I was writing the early drafts of HBS.
So Ned was removed, leaving Hattie to face the cold, cruel world on her own.
Which just may be why so many readers love her.
With true friends. . .even water drunk together is sweet enough.
Chinese proverb
When you use analogies, examples, similes and/or metaphors, couch them in terms your main character would understand. This works even if your story's written in third person! So, if your MC is a seaglass collector (like moi), make a list of related words from which to draw for creating figurative language. Seaglass can appear tumbled, "cooked", or etched; in can come in shapes ranging from teardrops to triangles. Colors like pink and red are rare so a good day for your MC might be a pink glass day.
When I was trying to evoke a sense of Japanese culture in The Friendship Doll, I wrote this line about the man who created Miss Kanagawa, the Friendship Doll character referred to in the book's title: "Though he [the doll-maker] wasn't like Kurita -- a man whose endless boasts clanged like the chappa cymbal-- he was proud of his efforts." I compared Kurita's bragging to a Japanese cymbal, both to show how loud and clanging it could be, and to give the flavor of the place.
Because Hattie (in Hattie Big Sky) was a baseball player, when her crops are destroyed by a late summer hailstorm, this is how she experienced it: "Like a pitcher on fire, throwing fastball after fastball, heaven struck me out and good."
And in The Fences Between Us, which is set in WWII after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the main character, 13-year-old Piper, talks about holding a little baby so his mom can whip cream for the pie after Thanksgiving dinner: "We played peekaboo and his laugh was better than a bubble bath, washing away all that dreary war talk."
Let me know how this tip works for you!
Laughter is the fireworks of the soul.
Josh Billings
Three's such a nice number. (Note today's date!) Would we still be reading a story about the two Billy Goats Gruff? The two little pigs? Imagine being granted only two wishes! Three is a number that just rocks.
I have found that when I introduce a minor motif or plot point, it serves the story best if I tap on it (at least) three times. For example, in the forthcoming sequel to Hattie Big Sky, feathers play a minor role. So, as I revised the manuscript, I made sure Hattie found a feather or feathers on three different occasions in the story. For me, those three taps give the readers a sense of a motif's significance.
And if I've done a really good job, I've left room for those same wonderful readers to ascertain the meaning of that motif for themselves.
My mind is all full of words, like stars in the sky, and I just mix them all up and make poems.
Quinn Lois Larson, age 5
I happen to be owned by the most adorable dog in the universe. Winston the Wonder Dog is so smart, he can tell time. At exactly 3 pm each day, he begins his pre-walk activities. First he gets up from his bed to stand right next to my office chair. If that doesn't catch my attention, he jumps on my lap. And if that doesn't work, he places his paws on my shoulders and stares me down.
Sometimes I am not ready to walk at 3 pm. But I do. Because Winston is persistent, certainly. But because I have learned that every time I take a walk, I untie some knot in my writing. It does not fail.
For example, the other day I could not figure out how to introduce the breed of dog my MC owns into the story. It's a point that matters but everything I tried seemed clunky. Three o'clock rolled around and there I was, accompanying Winston on his afternoon constitutional.
And halfway through the walk, I figured out how to do it! I'd had the MC ride his bike to the little corner grocery (the story's set during WWII and this particular store is in the front room of a lady's house, just like Lee's grocery by my grandparents' house in Seattle). What if I wrote this:
Hobie hopped off his bike. "Sorry, boy. You have to wait here." With a huge sigh, Duke circled three times, then flopped on the bottom step. Mrs. Lee liked German Shepherds, all right. But she didn’t think they belonged in grocery stores.
It worked for me! At least for this draft.
Go take a walk. It does wonders for your writing. . .and your health, too!
The past is not a package that can lay on the shelf.
Emily Dickinson
You've heard this a million times. . .but do you actually do it? Read your manuscript aloud. Don't feel smug if you write novels -- it's just as important for you as it is for picture book writers.
Someone else out there can explain the brain research behind it, but your ear catches things your eye forgives.
Your eye is like your favorite grandma, saying "That's just fine, honey. Good job."
Your ears are TSA agents prepared to stop anything questionable from getting past. Those unintentional echoes, awkward phrasings and snippets of stiff dialogue that your eye scans and okays don't stand a chance against your ears' fine-tuned aural scanners.
No more excuses. Read that manuscript aloud!
There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.
Beverly Sills
Twelve years ago, I embarked on a journey that changed my writing life. Triggered by something my grandmother Lois Thomas Wright Brown said, I ended up writing a historical novel called Hattie Big Sky. That book reaped some lovely, amazing readers and awards. I was (and am) very proud of it. For my first published novel, I don't think I did too badly.
Imagine my surprise (and, honestly, irritation) when, after that book came out, readers began emailing and writing and asking "What's next for Hattie?" In my mind, I'd finished her story. Done. Completed. However, several thousand of you disagreed.
So, a few summers back, I re-read Hattie Big Sky. Remembered how much I loved that stubborn, mistake-prone orphan. And decided I wouldn't mind spending more time with her. It's been another long journey, but the sequel is now complete.
Vikki Sheatsley is the amazing art director at Delacorte who helped design the HBS cover; she's hit another home run with this one, as well. She went back to Jonathan Barkat, Philadelphia photographer/artist who did his research on the post-WWI time period and sent us some possible costumes for his model to wear.
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| Loved this hat but thought it a bit too shi-shi for Hattie |
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| Great details -- the skirt pleats and jacket ruffles. I worked these into the text. |
Often the search proves more profitable than the goal.
E.L. Konigsburg
I will not argue it. "Said" is a perfectly good word. And generally preferable to exclaimed, commanded, exhorted, asserted, demanded, etc., because it allows the reader to be a more active participant in the story. You're not telling them how to read a bit of dialogue. You show them by what's said and the actions and emotions surrounding it.
May I suggest that "said" may not be needed as often as you think? I love nothing better than a good action tag. My ear and eye thinks this. . .
"And no trading away your sandwich," said Mom. She handed Lulu a lunch sack.
. . .could be jazzier written this way:
"And no trading away your sandwich." Mom handed Lulu a lunch sack.
It's a small thing but when you're trying to write tight and keep the action charging forward, substituting a speech tag with an action tag just could be the ticket.
Okay, this isn't exactly addressed to ME, but I got a complete kick out of it. The marvelous Michele Meyer, reading specialist at Botkins Elementary in Botkins, Ohio, does a "Hats off to Hattie" unit each year. This year, kids were asked to write a postcard in the voice of a literary character -- this young lady chose to write as Hattie, to Aunt Ivy.  | | I hope she got an A+ on this assignment |
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In case you can't read the postcard, here's what it says:
Dear Aunt Ivy,
I'd like to start off by telling you my domestic skills have improved greatly. I can make quilts and cook. My crops are growing and I am making out greatly and I still have time to follow through with my Christian duty.
Sincerely,
Your successful Niece Hattie
Please note the address: 508 Rude Relative Road! Gotta love it.
In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.
Coco Chanel
My body has never been to Swayzee, Indiana, but my heart has spent a lot of time at the elementary school there, especially in Room 8. It all happened because two years ago, a superhero disguised as a 5th grade teacher, Katy VanAken, sent me an email about how much she loved The Fences Between Us. She told me she couldn't wait to share it with her students.  | | Last year's Room 8-ers in Mrs. Van Aken's father's WWII Navy uniforms! |
When school started up this past fall, two of Mrs. VanAken's "champions" (that's what she calls her students), emailed me about reading Piper's story. That was the beginning of a wonderful pen pal relationship with Brooklyn and Kiley. I sent the girls copies of Hattie Big Sky and that led to one more wonderful thing: with the help of their friend Colin, who played Uncle Holt, the girls chose to act out a scene from HBS for their end-of-the-year play! Brooklyn played Hattie and Kiley played Aunt Ivy.
Here are some of the things Mrs. VanAken told me about the preparation that went into the play:The girls googled pictures of Wolf Point Main Street to see the real deal and put Huxol Drugs and the rooming house into the scenery as well as ads for Packer's hair stuff and more. A dad enlarged the actual train depot picture and a picture of a train for us.  | | Downtown Wolf Point, Montana! |
 | | This set's amazing-- look at that train! |
The kids used the picture of the claim shack that you sent us.
This one I'm stealing from a commencement speech Neil Gaiman delivered (you can find it floating around on YouTube):
Make mistakes. Make big mistakes.
I don't know about you, but sometimes I get handcuffed by trying to be careful, by trying not to mess up. And when I get careful, I think small. And thinking small deprives my work of its genuine self. Which is what makes it my work, and not somebody else's.
My passion is historical fiction. "They" say it doesn't sell. But I happen to love it and find only life and juiciness when I read about what people did in the past. It's so lively and juicy, I can't help wanting to share bits of it with contemporary readers, even though "they" have issued the genre's death knell. So I'm already following Neil Gaiman's advice -- how about you?!
Pretty hard to top email like this:
Dear Ms. Larson, Ms. Nethery, and Major Dennis,
Greetings from Mr. Ritzen’s First Grade Class at Discovery Primary in Milton, Washington!
On Tuesday, May, 15th a special process took place to honor four outstanding books, The 2012 Discovery Primary Book Caucus. The evening consisted of students performing commercial presentations, campaign booths featuring each book, and opinion papers about which book is best using the TREE (Topic Sentence, Reasons, Examine Reasons, and Ending Sentence) writing strategy. The evening culminated with a vote by friends and family for the favorite book based on the presentations and campaigning done by the students. 
It is my pleasure to inform you that Nubs is the winner of the 2012 Discovery Primary Book Caucus. This is the second year in a row that a Larson/Nethery book has earned the top honor (Two Bobbies was our winner last year). And to Major Dennis, welcome to the club and thanks for documenting such a great story. Below are the official results of the voting and the campaign photo of the winning team as well as an attached certificated of appreciation to honor your book. Thank you for writing a book with such a motivational message.
Take care and we look forward to your future work. | | The Nubs' Campaign Team |
No entertainment is so cheap as reading nor any pleasure so lasting.
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
Get. This. Book.
Written by the supremely smart and wickedly witty, Martha Brockenbrough, founder of SPOGG (Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar).
Here's the hook:
There is a great legend of the guardian angel who traveled across time and space for the human girl he loved, slaying those who would threaten her with a gleaming sword made of heavenly light.
This is not that story.
Resistance is futile!
On sale June 1.
As summer looms, so does a book deadline. Rather than taking a complete hiatus from this blog, I've decided to post only on Tuesdays and Thursdays (and other days if there's news!). Thursday will remain the place where I share favorite quotes. But since I started this blog --lo these many years past-- with the idea that I would share writing tips/insights/questions, it seems like a good time to revisit those roots.
So here's summer's first tip:
I was recently trying to help a friend write a synopsis and in my poking around I came across this site. One thing the writer, Randy Ingermanson, said jumped right out at me: "I like to structure a story as 'three disasters plus and ending.'" I loved this because it taps into that Rule of Three often seen in children's literature. It's also easy to remember. I appreciate things that are easy to remember.
Mr. Ingermanson offers this caveat: "It is OK to have the first disaster be caused by external circumstances, but I think that the second and third disasters should be caused by the protagonist's attempts to 'fix things'." (my emphasis)
Isn't that a great way to look at a story? I thought so. I sat right down with my current WIP and realized that the "disasters" I'd envisioned were caused by others, not by my main character. With a good day's thinking, I was able to come up with two actions my MC could take that would make a huge mess of things! Isn't that fabulous? Nothing like making things awful for your MC, right?
Now you try it.
I am so blessed. Not only did I get to write this book about two good friends WITH my good friend, Mary Nethery, it has made friends with readers of all ages, all over this country.
We've just learned that it's been nominated for a 2012-2013 Florida Reading Association Children's Book Award (K-2).
That's the Two Bobs' 19th reader's choice nomination. Wow.
Thanks to Best Friends Animal Society for rescuing the Bobs (and thousands of other animals), to Melinda Golis for adopting these two best buds, and to Jean Cassels for capturing their story so poignantly in her illustrations.
Biggest thanks to Bobbie dog and Bob Cat who showed the world what can be accomplished when you're willing to lend someone a paw. . .or a hand.
I have an August 1 book deadline but that doesn't keep me from reading one of my favorite blogs, The Nerdy Book Club. I especially enjoyed a recent post by Matthew Holm. I loved learning that he borrowed books from his big sister, Jenni!
Consider becoming a Nerdy Book Club member yourself!
There are many trails up the mountain but in time they all reach the top.
Anya Seton
About a year ago, I participated in a fundraiser for the Yuen Lui Guild of Seattle Children's Hospital by visiting kids and reading to them from my books. Each child I met got to choose one of my books to keep, thanks to the generosity of the guild sponsors.
One of the children I met that day was Heather. She listened politely as I read her the Two Bobbies and then she asked me if I wanted to hear the book she'd written. I sure did! The Dog's Point of View completely cracked me up. Here are the opening lines:
Hi. My name is Rex. I'm a dog. I'm going to tell you my point of view of human rules. RULE #1 -- no drinking out of the toilet. You have got to be kidding me! Drinking out of my bowl; that is so disgusting. I am not a pig, gosh!
I loved the story and suggested that Heather's mom and dad get it published. They did, and I am proud to say I own a wonderful hardcover copy, complete with CD of Heather reading the story.
Last July, shortly after the book got published, Heather passed away. She was an adorable spark plug of a kid and deserved a long and crazy and funny life.
This afternoon, I'll join with some other folks at Tumwater Hill Elementary to remember Heather. An artist has built and painted a chair in her honor. And all the kids at her school will be able to sit in that chair when they visit the library.  | | One of my favorite pages -- Winston's, too! |
I hope they all get a chance to read The Dog's Point of View while they sit in that very special chair.
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