Bea Donaldson
Pabulum
November 15, 2024
Tom Gauthier
3-time IFW graduate Tom Gauthier shares how taking one-on-on writing courses led to his publishing success.
Shirley Tucker
The Rooster Who Lost His Cock-A-Doodle-Doo
February 9, 2024
Angelie Martzke
Skipping Stones and Autism Parenting Magazine
December 15, 2023
Lauri Schoenfeld
Little Owl
December 1, 2023
Dawn Hoffer
Be The One, 40 Poems for Every Mood
November 17, 2023
Ann Tuzi
Tica’s Tea Party
September 15, 2023
Tiffany Dickinson
Kaleidoscope
August 18, 2023
Sarah Richard
How I Taught My Kids to Read
June 30, 2023
Deb Kaiser
Late for St. Patty’s Day March 3, 2023
Lisa Betz
Death and a Crocodile February 24, 2023
Linda Sue Svoboda
A Gift for Alia February 3, 2023
MaryLou Driedger
Lost on the Prairie July 15, 2022
Jennifer Coleman
Come ‘N Git It! July 1, 2022
Marie Mercado
La Ch’ uupalo: The Conqueror June 17, 2022
Bonnie Lindauer
Hannah G. Solomon Dared to Make a DifferenceMay 13, 2022
Carolinna Stevenson
“Growing a Beautiful GardenApril 29, 2022
Reonne Haslett
JAKE/GEEKApril 22, 2022
Planning a Book Series: The Premise
All series books have a basic premise, something that links the books through time. Today we talk about how a good premise is interesting but also has repeatability.
Planning a Book Series: Characters Who Can Go the Distance
When planning a book series, it’s important to create characters that can sustain a story and still be likable throughout many books. Let’s talk about characters that can go the distance.
Who Has the Time? 4 Time Management Tips for Writers | IFW
Life is settling into the new normal, which is different from the old normal and not without extra dollops of stress. With this new normal, we need to take a new look at time management for writers if we want to get back to writing.
Writing Great Middle Grade Dialogue
Because dialogue is an essential element of any book, it’s worthwhile to take a specific look at writing great middle grade dialogue.
Middle Grade Characters: Beyond Likability | IFW
Let’s look at the complex middle grade characters who aren’t really likable, and how they can play a part in grabbing the reader and holding on.
Writing for Middle Grade: An Essential Primer | IFW
Middle grade books are seeing an awakening in the publishing world. What you need to know when writing for middle grade.
Debra Chartoff
1st place: NOUH’S RAMADAN RACE
Tania Guarino
2nd Place: MEET THE QUACKERS!
Sue Stormoen
1st Place: THE ONLY HOUSE
Joy Hancock
4th Place: THE GROUNDHOG AND THE SHADOW
Angela Ripley
2nd Place: EVE UNKNOWN
Sue Ann Culp
1st Place: THE SHRINKING STONE
Brinton Culp
5th Place: SKINNY BONES AND CATRINA
Sharri Sandnes
3rd Place: THE VALENTINE’S BULLY
Colleen McAllister
2nd Place: NAUGHTY
Kitty Griffin
1st Place: LITTLE MOUSE
Rebecca Knopsider
3rd Place: HELP WANTED
Melissa Killian
1st Place: A WINTER RESCUE
Dawn Beebe
4th Place: THE IMPOSSIBLE TEST
Constance Sedler
2nd Place: THE MACHETE
Susan Dean
1st Place: IF MY TEACHER WERE AN OCTOPUS
Emily Will Wade
1st Place: STORY OF A TAINO YOUTH: THE ENEMY APPROACHES
Shelley Jones Clark
2nd Place: AMERICA, SCARPELLO STYLE
Sherry Miller
3rd Plac: WITHOUT WHIMSEY
Faith Beuligmann
2nd place: WIND WEAVER
Bethany Nuckolls
3rd Place: LITTLE WITCHES MUST GO TO BED
Jan Fenimore
Dash to the RescueMay 14, 2021
From a Nonfiction Idea to a Magazine Sale
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > WHY TRY WRITING FOR CHILDREN’S MAGAZINES? Magazine writers can easily slip into a Rodney Dangerfield level of moaning about a lack of respect for the genre. For many, writing for magazines is…
Let’s Talk About Now
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > April 2021 is almost over and many writers are feeling a little discombobulated. The past year has been challenging, but change is coming, and we have questions. Should we start sending out…
Narrative Nonfiction: Finding the Lesser Known Story | IFW
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Many new writers whose greatest goal is writing fiction shy away from writing nonfiction. They recall texts read as children without pleasure and don’t want to create material like that. But nonfiction…
Annette Miller
Praline DreamsApril 2, 2021
Creating Science Fiction Characters: Don’t Let the Genre Upstage Them
Our goal in creating science fiction characters is to write characters that are deeper and more engaging than the fantastical world around them.
The Agent of V.O.I.C.E: Work Undercover for the Best Writing
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > When we think about voice, the goal really is to create effective and memorable writing. Voice is not some false face a writer puts on simply to get attention. When writers do…
Word Choice and Voice
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Anyone who has read my past essays much will know that I’m often anti-rules and pro-purpose. In other words, I believe that nearly any writing choice can be made as long as it is done with thought and…
More Than One Sound: Creating Voice in Characters
Character voice grows from the character’s feelings, ventures, and qualities. Get better at character voice through practice. Get started today!
Deidrea DeWitt
THE REBELLIONFebruary 5, 2021
Cover and Query Letters
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > The vast majority of submissions you will make during your publishing career will include a letter. If the letter travels on its own, it is a query letter and must carry a…
The Odd Bits of Submission
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Not all publishers ask for the same things during the submissions process, and sometimes the listed requirements for a submission or a proposal can be confusing. After all, surely all they really…
Shoba Srinivasan
How Many Lines in a Limerick? Poetic Forms and Literary Terms for Kids of All AgesJanuary 15, 2021
Electronic Submissions
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Wouldn’t it be nice if you only had to learn one set of rules about how to make a submission to a publisher, and that way would always be exactly right? There…
Roseanne McDonald
Diamond Rattle Loves to TattleJanuary 8, 2021
Five Strategies For Successful Submissions | IFW
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > There are few things more frightening than submitting your work for publication. First, there is always the chance of rejection, which is painful. And then, there is the worry that you’re simply…
Ashley Bartley
Diamond Rattle Loves to TattleJanuary 2, 2021
Becoming a Fearless Writer
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > All of us struggle with fear. It’s natural. Rejection is painful, so we want to avoid it. As a writer, avoiding that fear usually means reducing the number of submissions we make, or submitting only to “safe” markets.…
Making Goals In Uncertain Times
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > With publishing still adjusting to the results of a pandemic, there has never been a more important time to recognize that goal setting is all about planning for things you have the…
Maybe What You Need Isn’t a Market
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Maybe It’s An Agent For writers with high concept books (works that can be summed up in a few, movie-poster type words) or who are writing primarily young adult novels, you may…
Finding Markets in Difficult Times
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > As with virtually every industry, publishing has faced new challenges during the pandemic, even though book sales have stayed strong (especially in children’s books). The issues aren’t with lack of sales, but…
You Only Need One
The whole publishing process is a journey up a mountain after the path has been washed out. Remember, it only takes one editor to connect with your work.
Mystery Sidekicks
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > The sidekick, a character who supports the main character, is almost as much a part of a good mystery as the detective. The sidekick gives the detective someone to discuss the case…
Patricia E. Poillucci
Skylites Adventures
October 16, 2020
Mystery Detectives
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Any fan of mysteries would be happy to tell you that mystery detectives come in all shapes and forms. Some are detectives because they want to be like Sherlock Holmes, Encyclopedia Brown,…
Follow That Clue!
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > The Clue-Theory-Test Method of Plotting Mysteries For many writers trying mystery writing for the first time, one of the things that feel the hardest is leaving clues for the reader. So let’s…
Love Scenes: Spicy or Sweet?
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > One of the issues with writing romance in young adult novels lies in the question of how far to push the love scenes. Do you stop at the kiss and fade to…
Conflict Is So Romantic
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Like any strong story, romance needs conflict. Without conflict, romantic stories can be dully predictable. After all, the vast majority of romances end with the characters together. Readers are confident that will happen. So, it’s the journey to…
Characters Make the Romance
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > With romance such an important element of YA novels, it can be easy to focus all the attention on creating the main character, only to give the second romantic lead less attention (and much of it focused on…
Corinne Mordaunt
Keep the Light Burning
August 28, 2020
Walking Through a Developing Story Structure | IFW
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > It all begins in your head Those of us who tend to plan our stories extensively before we write don’t pull that plan from our heads in a complete, coherent form. Just…
Structure in Narrative Nonfiction Articles
Blending fiction structure with nonfiction facts makes narrative nonfiction a favorite of kids and educators. Discover how to successfully write this genre.
Traditional Plot Structure for Very Short Stories
Short stories for young children are often under 500 words. That’s why writing picture books and stories for kids looks easy but is actually quite a challenge.
Does Popularity Matter?
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > One of the most common pieces of writing advice is “write the story that is in you” with the companion advice of “trends don’t matter.” So is that actually correct? If you…
Feeling Spoofy?
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > One of the most antic ways to write humor is the spoof. A spoof is a story that pokes fun of a specific form or genre. It’s written as a caricature of…
Angela LaCarrubba
Nobody’s Purr-fect (Especially Not Georgie)
July 17, 2020
Five Steps To Finding Your Funny
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Humor is a personal thing. There are things about humor that tend to be universal, but for each person, the specific things that will trigger amusement are different. And the level of…
Humor For Older Readers
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Humor For Older Readers Although teens may crack fewer knock-knock jokes or giggle less often over puns, humor is a popular ingredient in young adult books and stories. Humor can be both…
You Write Funny
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > As a left-handed person, I’ve been told I write funny a number of times in my life. That comment is an interesting take on the word “funny.” We think of humor as…
Alicia Klepeis
Little Gestalten
June 19, 2020
Do I Have To Have a Plot?
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Some writers hesitate to talk about plot because they believe it equates to preplanning their stories. For the organic or seat-of-the-pants writer, pre-planning simply doesn’t work for the way story unfolds in…
From Zero To Sixty
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > One of the hardest parts of creating a strong plot that grabs the reader is knowing where to start. If you start too soon, you risk boring the reader with a lot…
The Dance of Plot and Theme
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Many writers struggle early in their writing journal when they try to sort out the difference between plot and theme. In fact, the two work in tandem to create a story but…
Writing in Difficult Times
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > During this month of exploring the topic of world building, it seems appropriate to talk about the world building we’ve all been doing in real life during this pandemic. Just as when…
Words As Art
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Writing is both a craft, which is learned and honed over time, and an art, which is unique and adds to our collective culture. And within the realm of writing, we generally…
Poetry Publication Options
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > For the last couple weeks, we’ve looked at the value of writing poetry simply to write it with no concern toward publication. But as writers, most of us do want to be…
5 Poetry Practice Playtime Activities
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Poetry, like any art form, is improved with practice. The more you do it, the better you’ll become at it. But there is something very special about poetry: the more you practice…
Children’s Poetry for Magazines
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > 6 Hot Tips Finding a market for poetry can be tough. It’s not that children don’t enjoy poetry. In fact, many young children love verse. The even meter and the rhyme make…
Picture Book Biographies
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > One of the most common forms of narrative nonfiction is the biography. Biographies can be found in long form novels, long-form highly illustrated books, chapter books, early readers and picture books. Picture…
Narrative Nonfiction and Magazines
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > If you’re interested in trying your hand at narrative nonfiction, there are options beyond massively researched full-length books. Some children’s magazines buy narrative nonfiction in the form of biographical sketches, profiles of contemporary figures, and anecdotal stories of…
Narrative Nonfiction
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Melissa Stewart, writer and nonfiction evangelist, fills her Twitter feed with books and bits to help writers and buyers better understand nonfiction. She’s made nonfiction her life. And she explains that nonfiction is basically broken into two broad…
The Perils of Picture Books
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Writing a publishable picture book is hard. It simply is. The competition is incredible. And your book must do so many things well. It needs to sing. It needs to speak to every reader, whether child or adult.…
How Do I Tell Where I Fail?
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > According to Dr. David Dunning, a psychology professor at Cornell, we are not good judges of our own competency. In other words, we aren’t very skilled at telling if we’re good at…
Picking the Right Word
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Polishing a manuscript involves both big picture corrections, such as plot issues or motivation issues for your characters, and incredibly small, picky bits where you’re really bringing out the shine in each…
Perfectionism Alert
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > How Polished Does It Need to Be? In the many views about the importance of polishing a manuscript, there are two opposite ends of the spectrum. First are the writers whose work…
Dialogue and Plot
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Dialogue serves a number of purposes in a book or story. It brings immediacy since dialogue takes place at a specific moment in time, thus bringing the reader into the story. It…
4 Tips for Snappy Dialogue
Dialogue is a great way to get readers to care about your characters and eager to find out what happens next. Here are 4 tips for snappy dialogue.
Dialogue Bits and Bobs
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Let’s talk about the mechanics of dialogue, the nuts and bolts of putting it on the page. In order to write good dialogue that communicates clearly with the reader, it’s helpful if…
Dialogue and Humor
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Much of the humor in the books I write, both the children’s books and the adult mysteries, involve the dialogue. Because dialogue reveals character, it’s a perfect opportunity for the characters to…
Writing Contemporary Realistic Fiction
What is contemporary realistic fiction? Is it the right genre for your story? Check out this post for tips and tricks in writing this genre for kids.
Checking for Ruts
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > One of the things that keeps writing fresh for me is trying new things. I can always tell when I’m in a rut, because my excitement for the writing wanes. Whenever I…
The End
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > As I type this, I’m minutes away from having finished my last pass of revisions on a novel. I sent it off to the editor. I know, of course, that I’m not…
The End
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > As I type this, I’m minutes away from having finished my last pass of revisions on a novel. I sent it off to the editor. I know, of course, that I’m not…
Looking Back on Your Year
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Are We There Yet? One of the best things to consider when looking over a year of writing is what we’ve learned. As writers, we’re always learning new things. It’s one of…
Your Year in Review
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > December is often a terrible time to try to get any writing done. We’re pulled in different directions socially since so many events pop up. Also, for anyone who gave NaNoWriMo (National…
Okay, I Sent My Submission. Now What?
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > For many of us, the hardest part of the submission process comes after you’ve finally gotten brave enough to send off the submission. Whether you’re submitting to an agent or an editor,…
Have You Considered Essays?
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > If you’ve been a long-time reader of the eNews, you know that I often list markets that aren’t technically for children’s writers. I’ve done so in this issue, for example. There are…
Chris McCloskey
The Adventures of Tooten and Ter: A Nose for Crime , The Adventures of Tooten and Ter: A Nose for Trouble
November 15, 2019
Crossing Over Into Writing for Adults
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Throughout my career, I’ve written for children and for adults. My magazine work covers both. And I have books for kids and books for adults. For me, writing is about freedom. I…
Madeleine McLaughlin
Backyard Bug BandOctober 25, 2019
Guilty Secret: Revision is Not My Favorite Thing | IFW
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Some people adore revision. They so talk excitedly about belching out their story in a rush of words and then relishing the time put into turning that rush into something a reader can love. I can admire that…
Misunderstood Verbs
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Verbs are the powerhouse of the sentence. Because of that, understanding how verbs work will help you tremendously in the revision process. It’s only by knowing what verbs are all about that…
Three Steps to Writing Better Dialogue
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Fiction, the kind accepted by children’s magazines and book publishers, relies on a careful balance of great action, strong setting and believable dialogue. Readers love dialogue. It lightens the page, making the…
Top Ten Questions to Ask Before Submitting | IFW
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > The moment when you submit can be an interesting mix of exciting and terrifying. It’s easy to forget small details. So a good checklist can help. Before you send, make sure you…
Write Your Fiction Tight But Right
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > One absolute need a fiction writer must have to create material for magazines is the ability to write to extremely short word counts. As this is also true of picture book writers,…
J.J. Lawrence
Uncharted WatersAugust 2, 2019
Overcoming Fear
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Talk about “platform” is pretty scary for a lot of writers. Many of us are not really all that social, so we’re not excited by the words “social media.” But really, isn’t…
Listening to More Voices
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Last week we looked as some good advice writers would give their past selves, their pre-publication self. And this week, we’ll see even more of these tidbits of advice. What kinds of…
Listening To the Voices
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > I recently asked a group of published writers for examples of advice they would give their unpublished selves, looking for insight into the things that might speed up our writing journey. As…
Author Platform: It’s About Name Recognition | IFW
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > One of the most alarming things to tell a new writer is that he or she needs platform. Most of us don’t know what that is when we’re early in our career…
Mark Geatches
amar & PJ: One Giant AdventureJune 28, 2019
Self-Care Matters
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Writing never happens in a vacuum. It’s always something we’re throwing into the stewpot of life, hoping that the writing isn’t overwhelmed by the other ingredients. But in order for that to…
Nancy Julien Kopp
The Lonely DragonJuly 19, 2019
Judyann Ackerman-Grant
Chicken Said ‘Cluck’! June 14, 2019
Specific Requirements of a Publishable Real-Life Account
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Sometimes the real world inspires us to write. When that happens, we often take real life and twist it, turn it, plump it up, pare it down, and patch it with fiction…
How to Use What You Remember
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > In real life you can find constant fuel for your writer’s imagination. I’ve written articles, essays, and books triggered by things I’ve seen on television or read in magazines. I’ve used my…
Choosing a Point of View
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > All stories are told by someone. Sometimes it’s a chorus of voices as the writer dips into the consciousness of more than one character, revealing their thoughts. More often it’s told by…
Lynne Marie
The Star in the Christmas PlayMay 3, 2019
Lauren Abbey Greenberg
THE BATTLE OF JUNK MOUNTAIN May 31, 2019
Top 3 Source of Writer’s Block (& How to Jump Over Them Now)
Here are the top 3 sources of writer’s block and how to bust right past them from guest blogger Kristin J. Dawson. Read on for tools to help you right now!
Check Your Clutter
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Like most writers, I’m prone to clutter. Clutter in my office with one deep drawer in my desk where I toss an alarming variety of things. And shelf clutter with all the…
Yeah, It’s Work
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Writing is work. Now, I’m not one of those who think writing is suffering or agony. Honestly, if it were agony, I’d do something else with my time to make money for my family. But it is work.…
Harnessing the Power of No
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > This week is mostly going to be story time, so let me share some with you. When I was younger and single, folks had a tendency to assume I had a lot…
Falling in Love
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Some writers create playlists for their books. Some do elaborate interviews with their characters. Some just can’t get started until they come up with names: name of the book, name of the…
Dialogue Attribution: Small Thing, Big Effect | IFW
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Dialogue is the favorite part of story writing for many authors. In dialogue writing, the author is able to give voice to the people the author created. Also dialogue is a favorite…
All Done, or Not?
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > One of the most satisfying things about writing is finishing a book or story. That last line typed, that last period placed almost always brings a rush of accomplishment. If you’re like…
The Value of Road Maps
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > I do love having a GPS to guide us whenever we’re making a road trip. Still, to be honest, I miss the days when I navigated using a combination of internet map…
When I Really Want To Get Better, I Teach
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > When I was in high school, I discovered something interesting: teaching something made me learn it more. I spent a lot of time helping other people through a variety of subjects and…
Adding Humor for Increased Sales
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > If you flip through your market guide or read writer’s guidelines online, there’s one word you’ll see over and over: humor. Kids love humor, so publishers do too. But for many writers,…
Beware Bears: Problems to Avoid
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Having been writing professionally for a lot of years, I have sometimes been asked how do you build a career that has legs, one that will last. This is a valid question…
Cleaning Up Misconceptions
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > January is a great time for a good cleaning. There’s something heartening about starting a new year with a clean slate. So let’s sweep away writing myths that might still be clinging…
Success Ahead in Creating Characters
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Success Ahead in Creating Characters As we look at a successful year ahead, we must overcome the problems that have held our writing back. One of the frequent problems new authors encounter…
Triple Up for an Electrifying Year Ahead
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Now that 2019 has arrived, we want to get going on the best writing year ever. With many things outside our control (like publisher or agent reaction to our work), it’s good…
Preparing for Next Year’s Success
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > As the last days of 2018 tick off, it is a good time to prepare for a successful new year. I always find a special hope in a new year. No matter…
Taking Stock of Your Attitude
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Attitude can make a big difference in your writing, and we often overlook its importance. Are you apologetic about the time you spend writing? Do you let minor things crowd it out…
The Courage to Go Your Own Way
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > People often ask successful writers “how do you do it?” as if there is a special roadmap that will always take you from wanting to be a successfully published author to actually…
Taking Stock
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > As the end of the year creeps ever closer, it can be a good time to take stock of how your writing life is going, as long as you do that examination…
Picture Books: Sound Off
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > One of the defining characteristics of picture books is that they are designed to be read aloud. They are a way for parents to share art with children through story and illustration.…
Picture Books: First Lines
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Every picture book must begin somewhere and those opening lines are surprisingly important. For one thing, buyers on Amazon who use the “Look Inside” feature to browse the book often only see…
Picture Book Autopsy
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Many children’s writers have tried writing picture books. Some have gone on to tremendous success. Some have simply moved on to writing that suits their skill sets better. But the reality is…
The Unique Challenge of Picture Books
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > As with many art forms and literary genre, the picture book has changed over time. Picture books are a fairly young art form. The beginning of true picture books can probably be…
The Process of Novel Writing: Planning
Before plotting, comes planning the premise. The premise is the idea that will make this particular novel different and is the kernel from which the plot grows.
Novel Writing FAQ
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > For many children’s writers, the concept of attempting a novel is daunting at best and filled with questions. So for the sake of those looking toward this exciting writing option, let’s answer…
Break Free from Pretending
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > “Fake it ’til you make it. How many of us have heard that advice? Sometimes it’s a good thought. It doesn’t hurt to step out boldly sometimes, even when you’re not 100%…
A Writer’s Book of Lists
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > This week I bought one of those journals where the pages have dots instead of lines, a bullet journal. I did it because my desk has a tendency to become a bunny…
Off the Beaten Path
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > You might notice that the markets this week are off the beaten path, outside of what we normally think of when we’re considering markets for our work. Today, publishing is a massive…
Reconnecting with a Work in Progress
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > One of the problems with writing is that it’s fairly difficult to complete a project in one sitting. It can sometimes be a bit easier with a picture book where the rough…
Don’t Crash on the Rock of Talent
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > I have heard some people argue that good writing cannot be taught. It is innate or it simply doesn’t exist. Sure, they will argue, most people can learn to communicate competently through…
Show Up To Learn
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > In-Person Learning For most writers, conferences and in-person workshops are gifts we give ourselves. Often these options aren’t cheap, but they let us get out of our homes and mix with other…
Reading: Osmosis Education
Love of story isn’t the only reason successful writers are readers. Reading is one of the best writing teachers because it teaches us without us even noticing.
Behind the Curtain
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Whenever you get a chance to watch a really good magician, it’s easy to get caught up in the wonder of what they’re doing. But if you’re an adult, and driven by…
Leaving the Nest
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Writing is an interesting sort of thing. You can spend years and years doing it, even getting published and paid, and there will still be a multitude of writing and publishing areas…
Revision: Revising By the Bones
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Some writers love outlines. They outline everything they write and feel it gives the story order and direction. Some hate outlines and feel that an outline makes a story rigid and lifeless.…
Writer Reason Vs. Story Reason
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Generally the things we put into our work have strong writer reasons for being there. The main character has a sidekick to give him someone to talk to so the scenes have…
Revising Your Picture Book for Clear Structure | IFW
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > One of the major problems editors encounter when reading picture book submissions is the lack of plot, or even purposeful organization. Many picture books basically start with the character waking up, then…
Distance: The Key to Revision
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > As most writers know, it’s much easier to find the flaws in someone else’s work than to find the flaws in your own. Part of the reason for this is distance. When…
Nonfiction: Let’s Talk More About Sources
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > One of the most valuable tools in any writer’s toolbox is the ability to evaluate sources. What is a trustworthy source? How do I know? Should I always avoid Internet sources? Is…
4 Ways a Fiction Writer Can Learn to Love Nonfiction | IFW
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Many fiction writers shy away from nonfiction. They are afraid it takes skills they don’t have, or that they’ll be bored in writing it. But good fiction writers already have the skills…
Active Nonfiction
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Nonfiction does many things for readers. Sometimes it tells them a story. Sometimes it informs. But sometimes the whole point of the nonfiction piece is to help and encourage the reader to…
The Importance of Nonfiction
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Many writers view nonfiction as less: less creative than fiction, less fun than fiction, less interesting to kids than fiction, and definitely something they want to do less often. Some will accept…
Developing Characters: What Are Their Extremes? | IFW
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Writing a compelling character is often about extremes. The best characters are believable but pressured. The whole point of a plot, in fact, is to apply pressure to a character to make…
Character Development: A Rose By Any Other Name | IFW
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Some of us struggle with finding names for characters. As I write (on average) 6 to 10 books a year, I have to come up with a lot of names. And if…
Tough Characters to Sell
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > As important as solid writing and well-crafted plot is to a successful book (and they’re really important), there is something that could arguably be considered even more important: characters. Your characters are the life…
Character Development: Every Character is a Casserole | IFW
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Character creation can be approached in many different ways, but overall, most great characters come about as a mixture. Like a particularly tasty casserole, a writer grabs a pinch of this and…
Contests: Little Things Mean a Lot
How do you make a story stand out among other writing contest entries beyond simply writing a strong engaging piece? Here are three judge-grabbing suggestions.
Why A Contest? Here are 7 Lucky Reasons
A writing contest doesn’t seem to be part of that straight line of publication. So why would you enter one? Well, here are seven lucky reasons.
Tighten Up the Weakest Link for a Contest Win | IFW
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Judging a contest is an interesting activity because it happens in layers. The first layer is simply removing from consideration all the entries that are not appropriate at all (prose memoirs sent to a poetry contest for young…
Launching a Story From a Title
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > It’s hard to develop a story when you can’t get started. Though there are many ways into story creation, one that isn’t considered as often is the title. Titles are often tacked…
Story Development and Revision
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > For many writers, especially newer writers, revision is mainly a step for fixing typing errors, spelling errors and grammar mistakes. Some may have a checklist of things to look for such as…
Story Development: What’s At Stake?
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > One of the most important questions to consider when developing a story is “what is going to be at stake for my main character?” By this, we mean, “What is the cost…
Playing Fair with Plot
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Good stories have lots of moving parts, and it can be challenging to get all the parts to come together in a way that works. Many writers understand that a good plot…
Piece by Piece
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Many times, the compelling urge to write, to create, to make something that reflects our skills and creativity, brings us to the blank page (or blank computer screen) with the intention of…
What’s the Rush?
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > When it comes to writing and submissions, there is such a thing as too soon. In fact, the number one mistake writers make in the area of submitting their work is moving…
What’s Your “Elevator Pitch”?
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Query letters, cover letters, pitches, and proposals all have one very important thing in common. They all require an author be able to describe the story in few words. This is sometimes…
Projecting Confidence Without Being Obnoxious | IFW
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Your first contact with a publisher or agent does a lot of things. It presents the project you’ve created (or wish to create) in a clear, concise, lively manner. That’s hard enough,…
Submissions: Because Publishers Rarely Come to You
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > If you ask almost any writer what parts of the process they like least, submissions will pop up somewhere in the list. We worry about whether we’re doing it right. We struggle to find all the information we…
Get Out of Your Comfort Zone: Try Nonfiction | IFW
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Get Out of Your Comfort Zone: Try Nonfiction For most people considering children’s writing for a career (or even for a hobby), the type of writing that comes to mind is fiction. For many of us, the picture…
A Raven and A Writing Desk
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > “How is a raven like a writing desk?” When Lewis Carroll first wrote the riddle about the raven and the writing desk, he didn’t have an answer. It was simply a riddle…
Using an Object for Inspiration
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Over the holidays, as I was putting out the holiday decorations, my daughter and I took time to talk about some the ornaments and other well-loved decorations. Some decorations brought back memories…
Must I Be Unique?
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > One of the most crippling things a writer can do in the early stage of any book is worry about whether your story (or something like it) has been done before. First,…
How to Achieve Success in 2018
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > The new year will be upon us soon, and it’s a good time to make plans to increase our chances of publication success in 2018. Now, it helps to know what you…
How to Title Your Book
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalg > Coming up with a title for your work in progress can be easy or really hard. Sometimes the title comes to you early, and you just always know what you want to…
Copyright and You
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Copyright, because it is an area of law, can be scary for writers, and many new writers worry about their work being stolen; they want to know what to do to protect…
When the Ideas Won’t Come
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > One of the questions writers tend to be asked a lot is “where do you get your ideas?” Of course, two other questions are “can you read something for me?” and “can…
Keeping Separate Writing Separate
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Some writers write only one sort of book: picture books, mysteries, science fiction, humor, racy romance, etc. But many writers jump around in their careers and tackle whatever project bubbles up in…
Creating Quality Dialogue
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > A while ago on the Institute’s Facebook page, someone was asking about dialogue, which made me think again about this important writing tool. Readers love dialogue because it makes a scene and a…
How to Choose Your Educational Writing Sample | IFW
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > The Secrets to Samples Many of us who write for educational publishers are very familiar with samples. These are the bits of writing publishers use to judge whether you’re a writer who…
How Does It All End?
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Talking about how to end a book or story is a bit harder than talking about how to begin one. The first paragraph of a book doesn’t really count as a spoiler…
When It All Starts to Sag
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Momentum is a delicate thing in writing. Sometimes you start out revving along in a novel, falling in love with your main character, fascinated by the situation you’re creating and cranking out…
Writers Make the Best Friends
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Writing can be a lonely art form. Unlike performance artists, you don’t have audience reaction to rev you up. And sometimes family and friends aren’t incredibly supportive, especially during the early years…
Once Upon a Time
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Every story has a beginning. The best beginnings grab our attention and make us eager to read on. The best beginnings give a sense of sort of story we’re going to get…
Your Brain on Writing
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > For me, being a writer is more than something I do. It’s something I am. A writer is always a writer, whether sitting before a computer or picking up a pen and…
Weaving Pop Culture Into Your Writing
Facebook Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Weaving Pop Culture Into Your Writing Pop culture – Why it’s so important in fiction today and how to weave it into your writing (without dating your work) As a journalist I’m sent a lot of novels and…
Villainy
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Almost any strong plot is basically a story of someone’s struggle against something. That something is the villain of your story. Now sometimes you have a real human villain. If your story…
What To Do on the Hard Days
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > People often tell me how lucky I am to make a profession from something I enjoy deeply. And I am thrilled that this has been possible for me. I love being a…
Holly Niner
No More Noisy NightsJuly 29, 2017
Should I Contact This Publisher?
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > As writers we can easily get caught up in the mode of looking for anyone who will accept us. This is especially true early on in our writing careers, but all publishers…
Behold the Spider
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > I was recently at the Highlights Foundation and had the opportunity to read the guest book journal in my cabin. A couple of the guests talked about a large spider they cohabitated…
Tom Dirsa
BJ & the Green MonstahJuly 15, 2017
Succeeding with Digital Submissions
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > When I began submitting to editors, no one used email. Okay, I’m sort of old and no one actually had email. Submissions were sent through the postal mail, so they were typed.…
Debra Lynn Collins
Welcome to the Winner’s Circle where we praise the success of our ICL students. Today we are celebrating published author Debra Lynn Collins! Get inspired today
Trade Secrets: Which Ones Should We Keep?
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Recently I was watching a video where an artist was talking about “trade secrets” in art. He was recounting the times when he was just beginning in art and people would refuse…
Revise Your View of Revision
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Some writers love revision. In fact, for many, the rough draft is something to be rushed through to get to the real “fun,” the revision. I’m not one of those writers. I…
Joy Lo-Bamijoko
Mirror of Our LivesJune 17, 2017
Tips and Tricks for Planning a Series
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > As of today, I have created three original series and written for several others where I had a fairly free hand in shaping the series beyond the original concept. I’ve worked on…
5 Tips for Writing a Strong Synopsis | Institute for Writers
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > For most writers, there are few things more reviled than writing a synopsis of a book manuscript or short story. What do you put in? What do you leave out? Why is…
Debbie Brown
Amethyst Eyes , RebirthJune 3, 2017
Time to Write
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > I know folks who lament about not having time to write. They’d do it if they just had time. If they could quit work. If they didn’t have so much care-giving they…
Can I Say This ? Copyright, Trademark, & Writers | IFW
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Writers often look at trademarked products or song lyrics or bits of poetry and ask, “Can I put this in my book?” The answer to that question can be complicated and rests…
Exit Stage Left
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > As playwrights know, a script is made up of both dialogue and directions for movements on the stage. Good playwrights tend to trust the actors and directors to determine most of the…
Tonya Coffey
Harvest MoonMay 6, 2017
Within Reason
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Within Reason People write stories for all kinds of reasons. Some do it to pass on experiences in their own life and family. Some do it to impart life lessons to help a…
Gladys Swedak
The Wild OnesApril 22, 2017
Finding Your Way to “The End”
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > In a way, every story is a story of transformation. Circumstances change. Characters experience revelations. Challenges are met and overcome. The longer the work you’re writing, the more transformations are likely to…
How to Make Your Good Muse Show Up
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter We teach our students how to write and get published! View our Course Catalog > Along with writing, I also draw a bit and work with polymer clay. On some days, it seems I can draw or sculpt anything. My little clay creatures end up with charming…
Dorothy B. Murray
The Home You Left BehindApril 8, 2017
Michael Shay
A Flash in TimeMarch 25, 2017
Lyndon Murray
Get inspired & improve your writing skills with Lyndon Murray, a renowned author. Explore his writing techniques, tips, and resources at Institute for Writers.
Melissa Abramovitz
Brain Science February 4, 2017
David M. Jack
The Treehouse AdventureJanuary 21, 2017
Tracy Simpson
Luminaries: A Children’s Book AnthologyJanuary 7, 2017
Rick Starkey
Luminaries: A Children’s Book AnthologyJanuary 7, 2017
Lucy Simkins
Rosie Rides the RainbowsDecember 3, 2016
Cynthia Collins
The Unicorn TreeNovember 26, 2016
Debra Manzella
Dragon’s BreathNovember 19, 2016
Kimberlee Esselstrom
Highlights for ChildrenNovember 11, 2016
022: Poetry for the Very Young
022: Poetry for the Very Young
October 21, 2016
Write the Most Popular Genre in Kidlit | IFW
021: Write the Most Popular Genre in Kidlit
October 14, 2016
