Hello from Crystal Bowman. I am happy to tell you that I am spending the summer in Michigan rather than my home in Florida. I have three grandhildren in Michigan, so besides the beautiful weather, those are three great reasons to be here! I have been writing for children for over 25 years and also have an editing service for children’s writers who are trying to get their books published. When I review proposals, I often see a good proposal with the manuscript tacked on at the end. What I often don’t see is a paginated manuscript.
Tag: writing craft
This is our archive pageEvery Word Counts
Hello from Crystal Bowman, writing from sunny Florida where the air is getting warmer every day. I’ve been writing for children for more than twenty years and am still learning. When it comes to writing for children, the more you learn and the more you know, the harder it gets. I write mostly for the preschool market, but also write devotions for beginning readers as well as for kids ages 6-10.
Three Ways to Beat the Writer Blues
Hi Everyone, it’s Judith Couchman. My assignment for this year focuses on blogging about writing: technique; practical pointers, encouragement, and such. I hope this helps you on the writing journey. Some people call it writer’s block. I call it writer blues. You just can’t face that writing project today, or tomorrow, or next week. Or you can’t think of a stunning idea. But a deadline looms, and you need a boost. A host of suggestions can help you get unstuck. But rather than overload your brain and schedule, I’m offering a few that work for me.
Ruining Your Book At The Last Minute
Welcome to the Christian Author Network (CAN)  from Gail Gaymer Martin.  Winter is fading in some areas of the country. I spend the winter in Sedona, Arizona and enjoy the spring days that stay with us through the winter, and bask in God’s glorious creations from our townhouse deck. The red rocks  remind us of the Lord’s might, strength, and power, and we are  blessed.
Verbs
Bob Hostetler here, offering another prayer for writers: I write today, Lord. I will be using words, and some of them will be verbs. Inspire them all, God, but especially the verbs. Hover over them. Speak them into existence. Breathe into them the breath of life. All my verbs come from you. You are my “is.” My “am.” My “see,” my “know.” You are my “laugh” and “cry,” my “wake” and “sleep,” “shiver” and “sweat,” “think” and “speak,” “jump” and “skip” and “dance” and “bounce.” There is not an action in my day, a movement of my bones, a…
Slush Pile Stories
Hello from Crystal Bowman! I’ve been writing for children for more than 20 years and am still learning the process because there is always more to know. I enjoy teaching and mentoring writers and prefer a positive instructional approach. I’d rather tell writers what to do rather than what not to do. But sometimes we can learn from our mistakes and even the mistakes of others. So this post is going to focus more on what not to do in order to keep your children’s story from landing in the slush pile.
Fruit (A Writer’s Prayer)
Bob Hostetler here, offering another prayer for writers: Holy Spirit, cultivate and proliferate your fruit in my writing. Let love permeate my words. Help me experience joy in the writing, and let my readers experience joy in reading. Use my writing to spread shalom. Give me patience in the writing. Let goodness characterize what I write, and gentleness how I write it. Make and keep me faithful to you, to the publisher, and to the reader from beginning to end, and let God-given self control guide my every thought, impulse, and decision as I write, revise, edit, and review, in…
M is for Manger
Hello from children’s author Crystal Bowman! I love the challenge of writing for children, and I love teaching other writers the craft of writing for children. In previous blogs I’ve talked about the many different genres of children’s literature as well as sharing tips on writing for children. Today I want to give you an inside look into how I got my most recent book published.
Ten More Tips on Writing for Children
Hello from Crystal Bowman! In my twenty-plus years of writing for children, I have met many writers who want to write for children because they think it would be fun. Yes–it is fun, but far from easy. It’s a craft that needs to be mastered just like anything else. The more you know about writing for children, the harder it gets. It is very difficult to break into publishing with a children’s book, so the more you know, the more you increase your chances. In January I posted seven tips on writing for children. Today I am offering ten more….
The Name Game
Hello from Crystal Bowman! I have been writing books for children for over 20 years and have learned a few things along the way. Writing for children is much harder than most people realize. The challenge is to write an engaging, creative story using limited vocabulary and word count. Another thing to consider is naming your characters. The characters in a book may be animals or humans, but either way, they need names—and choosing the right name is important!
Recent Posts
Fascinating Friday – Catch the VisionDecember 13, 2024- Fascinating Fridays: Christian Fiction – A Tool for EvangelismNovember 8, 2024
- Fascinating Friday Feature – Long Unsolved Family MysteriesOctober 12, 2024