For Writers

Five Writing Tips From Five MG Authors

By on October 15, 2021   /   For Writers, Writing  

I’m always on the look out for new writing tools and techniques to try, so for this From The Mixed Up Files post, I asked some of my middle-grade author friends how they approach 5 different parts of the process to write a story: world-building, starting a story, pacing, plot and, especially for Halloween, writing spooky scenes. Here’s what they told me:

How do you begin the work of creating a story, from your initial idea to writing your first line?

Lorien Lawrence answered this question. Lorien is the author of THE STITCHERS and its sequel THE COLLECTORS.

“For me, all of my books start with a song. I have to make a soundtrack before I begin. That way, I get immersed in the mood of the story, and I can start to choreograph scenes in my head even when I’m not physically writing. I’ve been creating these kinds of playlists since I was a kid, and they really help me to stay inspired.”

Oooh, great idea!

How do you create the world your story will be set in, and while you’re writing, how do you make that world seem spooky?

Victoria Piontek answered this question. Victoria is the author of THE SPIRIT OF CATTAIL COUNTY and her most recent novel, BETTER WITH BUTTER.

“Creating the world where my story will be set is one of my favorite parts of writing. It’s so fun to invent a world that feels authentic enough to be real yet unique enough to be fictional. To get that just-right mix, I use inspiration from real life. If I see a building or a natural feature in my day-to-day life or travels, I try to remember the essence of the place by jotting down sensory details in my writer’s notebook. Later, when I’m drafting, I look back at those details to help me recall what it’s like to stand in front of a crumbling house or a vast ocean vista. To make my worlds scary, I pick the creepiest of those sensory details and turn up the volume, really leaning into the way an eerie place can feel on the darkest nights.”

Jotting down details is fantastic.

What are you best tools for writing scenes that are super spooky and get your readers turning their lights on at night?

Janet Fox answered this question. Janet is the author of THE ARTIFACT HUNTERS and her most book, CARRY ME HOME.

“I think of all the things that scare or scared me. When I was a kid, I was terrified of the dark. I was sure a monster lived in my closet. I would pile all my stuffed animals around me like armor (literally surrounding myself with my stuffies) – it was the only way I could close my eyes. So anything in the dark, anything that makes an unexpected noise, anything that could sneak up and ‘eat’ me, anything that emerges from the shadows…Really, I try to scare myself as I write. If I do that, usually the reader is scared, too.”

Eeep! Yes, using our own fears in spooky stories is useful.

What tools do you use to figure out the arc for the complete story?

Ash Van Otterloo answered this question. Ash is the author of CATTYWAMPUS and the recent A TOUCH OF RUCKUS. And check out their great plotting table, with drink!

Plotting cards with author Ash Van Otterloo

Ash Van Otterloo’s plotting organization.

“I’ve tried so many different tools for organizing my plot, but what I keep coming back to is very simple and tactile: a basic outline template or beat sheet that best matches my story, a giant dry erase board, an empty table, and 25-50 sticky notes!

A simple story structure template, such as The Hero’s Journey or Save the Cat Beat Sheets, helps me create a to-do list at the start of each new chapter. These lists remind me what needs to happen over the next few scenes, both for the internal emotional arc of the main character and for the external events that nudge that character along their way. (For instance, how does my character need to change in the next few pages? How is their attitude shifting? How will external events help create that shift?)
Sometimes, I know bits of story I’d like to include, like puzzle pieces, but I’m not yet sure what order they should happen or where. I like to keep these on individual sticky notes, so I can rearrange them until they make logical and emotional sense, creating the best tension. Being able to physically move the possible beats around helps me connect with the story’s rhythm best. But don’t be afraid to try many different systems to find what works for your unique creative style!
Most importantly: don’t forget the snacks. The snacks are crucial. I strongly recommend sour gummy worms or raspberries. “

Snacks! Yes, you need snacks to get through puzzling together a good plot. Where is my chocolate?

Pacing is so important in stories. How do you know when to make the action fast and when to give the readers a pause? And what tools do you use to speed up or slow down the story?

Ally Malinenko answered this question. Ally is the author of GHOST GIRL and the upcoming THIS APPEARING HOUSE.

“Pacing, especially in spooky stories is absolutely important. Readers need action of course but too much feels overwhelming. You have to build in a time for everyone to catch their breath. Most of what I learned about pacing comes from reading. I am keenly aware when I’m reading a book when too much is happening and I mark the place where I know I could have used a moment to catch my breath. So when I’m writing, I tend to do a bunch of high action moments back to back and then, when re-reading, determine if I need a pause or a second to catch my breath. For me, it’s something I have learned over time, through trial and error. I think of it like a movie: I want the action to build and build and take it to the top, but then I pull back, regroup my characters and give them a moment to process what just happened. Like in the scary story, when they find a safe room and have a few moments before the hatchet comes through the door. Honestly my best tool for managing pacing is my trust in my beta readers. They always tell me when I’ve fed them too many scares in a row! But it does take some trial and error, as is always the case with writing. So my best advice is read, read, read!”

Beta readers, or critique partners, are so useful for this!

Such great advice from these wonderful authors. It makes me want to get back to my own stories.

Got any tips of your own about these? Share in the comments.

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Writing For Children: 11 Ways to Rediscover Your Childlike Wonder

By on September 20, 2021   /   For Writers, Writing  

When I was a kid I used to sneak into people’s coat closets when visiting with my parents, hoping to find a Narnia world on the other side. I would huddle in the dark, beneath winter coats, imagining an older world long gone as I hid among musty wool. If I sat long enough I just knew I’d be transported there!

Now, as a children’s book author and writer of fantasy, I get to step through doors into other worlds. The easy part is stepping into that new world. The hard part is creating a world, characters, and story from a child’s point of view. How to get into that view? By finding my childlike wonder again.

Do you remember what filled you with wonder as a kid?

I do. Or at least I try. I walked along rock walls under the stars when the world was asleep. I climbed trees and sang songs to the woods. I swam all day becoming as brown and leathery as an armadillo. I reveled in first snows and made snow angels. I hid away in rose bush caves to write – all the while believing that magic existed, and every day held little miracles.

But what evokes childlike wonder now as a grownup? And as adults writing for children, how can we recapture that? 

Regaining a childlike sense of wonder isn’t about returning to a childlike state, it’s about letting yourself be awed by the little things in your grownup life. Our mundane responsibilities can often dull our wonder, but just because every day is filled with little things it doesn’t mean they aren’t miraculous.

However, keeping our childlike wonder can be difficult when grownup duties mount. In order to do my job well as a children’s author, I often need to rekindle and sustain my kid wonder. But how?

Here are 11 ways to evoke childlike wonder:

  1. Re-visit pictures of ourselves as kids. Search through specific memories. Journal in our voice from that moment. What were we excited about? What did we most desire? What made us sad?
  2. Did you write diaries as a child or teen? Re-read them to inspire that voice of youth in your own writing.
  3. Look at the world from an unfamiliar perspective. Make a snow angel. Hide in a closet. Climb a tree. Be pulled along in a little red wagon (if you can fit!). There are Big Wheels for grownups now. Try it!
  4. Create a new bucket list with your kids or grandkids. What do they dream of doing that you could do together?
  5. Do your kids write stories? Read them to grasp a worldview through their own words. What do they notice? How do they feel?
  6. Revisit the age of your characters. Go back to that time in your life and draw a map of your neighborhood. Walk through it in your mind and journal about it. What do you see? How do you feel? How did you react to events there?
  7. Do a stand-up dramatic read-aloud of a scene in your story.
  8. Face a childhood fear (mine was going down in our creepy 200-year-old cellar where I was sure bodies were buried).
  9. Engage in child’s play with your kids. Hide-n-Seek, Tag. A favorite of my son and mine was battling sock wars to Irish music.
  10. Eavesdrop on kids at the mall or park. Take notes of their conversation.
  11. Visit those places you spent time at as a child. Walk in your childhood shoes again.

I did #11 not so long ago. I resurrected an old manuscript rich with one of my childhood settings. It prompted me to go back in time to the campground my parents owned and operated in New Hampshire. When I drove up, I was zapped back to the 1970s.

Suddenly, I was nine-years-old again. I swam in the pool, fished with my dad, romped through the woods, collected dead butterflies and shotgun shells, whizzed about on strap-on roller skates, played pinball machines, and spun 45 records on the jukebox.

Returning was an emotional gut punch. I could be a child again in that place of innocence but just as it resurrected joyous moments from childhood, it also brought back painful ones.

I also rediscovered how every day as a kid was about being lost in the magical moments. Like finding tiny miracles over and over–in the little things.

What did I take away from this trip for my writing?

  • Vivid feelings of childhood – the good and the bad – to enrich my writing.
  • Revisited my creative foundations and reinforced my yearning to write for kids.
  • Fortified the connection from childhood to adulthood.
  • That I can mend my past while forging my future from it.
  • A renewed sense of childlike wonder, boxed up with a crooked bow and broken seams.

Most importantly, I remembered how awesome it was to be a kid again, to be lost in the moment. And that every day as a kid held magic. By renewing my own sense of childlike wonder, I could once again be lost in it while writing – and tap into the magic of the little things.

I also realized that in order to do my job well as a children’s author, and to find joy in it, I needed to rekindle my kid wonder not just once—but again and again. Just as I pondered this, a video of babies going through tunnels popped up in my Facebook feed. I couldn’t help but laugh at their wonder—and knew I would keep finding mine and seek it out in unexpected places that surround us every day.

How do you tap into your inner childlike wonder and write from a child’s point of view? Share your tips!

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Agent Spotlight: Kaitlyn Sanchez + PITCH OPPORTUNITY

By on August 30, 2021   /   Articles, For Writers  

Today I’m thrilled to introduce Mixed-Up Files readers to the incredibly productive and wonderfully enthusiastic agent and author, Kaitlyn Sanchez. Kaitlyn is an agent at Context Literary Agency and is a familiar presence online as co-creator and co-host of the Spring Fling Kidlit Contest and creator and co-host of the Kidlit Fall Writing Frenzy Contest. (See below for more information on those contests and more.)

While Kaitlyn isn’t open to queries, she has generously offered middle-grade writers an incredible opportunity to pitch their books in the comments section below. Writers will have until Wednesday, September 1 at 11:59 PM (EST) to post their pitches. (Anything after that will be eliminated.) Kaitlyn will comment on the pitches she would like to see. If you receive a comment, Dorian will contact you with submission information.

 

Rules for the Pitch Opportunity

  1. The pitch must be for a middle-grade manuscript or graphic novel.
  2. The work must be complete.
  3. The pitch must be 60 words or less.
  4. The pitch must be posted before Wednesday, September 1 at 11:59 PM (EST).
  5. Please remember, only the pitches that Kaitlyn comments on should be sent to her. Let’s be respectful of her time and the fact that she’s doing a special event just for us, even though she’s closed to queries.
  6. If you choose to pitch, be sure and click the “Notify Me Of Follow-Up Comments By Email” box so you’ll know if you received a response from Kaitlyn.

And now on to the interview!

 

About Kaitlyn

Dorian: It’s great to have you here Kaitlyn! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got involved in children’s literature?

Kaitlyn: Hi, Dorian, it’s so wonderful to be here. I’m a long-time subscriber of this fantastic blog and love all the book and industry people you highlight! I, myself, like many kidlit authors first got into this industry when I decided to write children’s books because I was reading them with my daughter. My mom had also always told me I should be a children’s book writer. Then a friend from college began writing picture books and asked friends on Facebook to edit them. This trifecta of writing events eventually led me here!

 

Dorian: What made you decide to become an agent? And can you tell us about Context Literary Agency?

Kaitlyn: Thanks for asking, Dorian! My road to becoming an agent is definitely a different one. I was in many picture book critique groups at one time (nine, I think) because I just loved helping people edit their books. At the same time, I accidentally stumbled, with my critique partner Ciara O’Neal, into running blog contests for picture book writers. My favorite part was connecting the winners to industry professionals, and because I was lucky enough to be in critique groups with friends who were interning with agencies, I realized, Ohh, this is what agents do. They help edit books and connect the authors to professionals in the industry who help get them published. So I posted a tweet that said I wanted to become an agent, and not long after, I was interning with the very talented Anna Olswanger.

Context Literary Agency is such a dream team! Tamar Rydzinski, our fearless leader and stellar agent, has brought together an amazing group including herself, co-founder of Manuscript Academy, Jessica Sinsheimer, and incredibly insightful Crystal Orazu. I am so happy to have the support of this team and love all the fun we have together, too!

 

Dorian: Sounds like a great group! What aspect of agenting do you enjoy the most?

Kaitlyn: Such a wonderful group! And, oh, Dorian, that’s a toughy! There are so many wonderful things about agenting, from reading a client’s awesome new idea, to strategizing about submissions lists, to getting an offer and getting to tell the client, to seeing the first sketches and covers, and eventually (we’re getting there next year!) getting to hold the beautiful book that I had a small part of bringing into the world in my own hands. So…uh…which do I like the best? Can I say all of these above?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dorian: Certainly! What books inspired you as a child to want to read and write?

Kaitlyn: Yay! So glad I got to say them all! And, love this next question, Dorian. I was on and off with books as a kid. I Iove love loved them as a child, especially The Rainbow Fish and Clifford. In fact, my parents told me I read a book for show-and-tell in kindergarten (and apparently it was upside down the whole time, ha!). Then in middle school, I discovered the magical world of binge watching TV—yup, I was an original binger before streaming services—and books fell by the wayside. But we had to do Accelerated Reader for school, so I had to find a book. One day, I was walking around the library and saw this beautiful blue spine on the shelf with gold lettering, so obviously, I had to pick it up. It was The Red Badge of Courage, and I just loved it. Luckily, my godfather was an English teacher and gave me Black Boy as a follow up. I’ve been in love with historical books and historical fiction in particular ever since I read these incredibly powerful books. Also, Harry Potter was a pillar series from my childhood, especially because Harry grew up with us (I was about the same age as he was for most books) and for the seventh one, in college, my now-husband read the whole book aloud to me; it was epic! Finally, another amazing historical fiction from my childhood that I hope more people read is Thursday’s Child. There are many many more, but I’ll stop there. Feel free to check out my Manuscript Wish List for more: https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/kaitlyn-sanchez/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dorian: While you’re closed to queries right now, what type of stories do you wish would land in your inbox in the future? And what type of pitches would you be excited about in the comments section?

Kaitlyn: Ohhh, goody goody gumdrops! This is super fun. I’ll focus on middle grade here. I love love love coming-of-age novels. Although some of the books I listed above are historical fiction, they’re also coming-of-age novels, too. I love friendship stories, comedy, mysteries, magical realism (but I typically shy away from full blown fantasies). For topics, I love sports, especially soccer, and math or science. I love seeing internal battles and joining characters as they deal with emotional aspects of life, and I love fun. Good ol’ fun! I would be super interested in working on a horror that’s not too scary or gruesome, too! I am always interested in learning new things (in a non-didactic way, of course), and I am a huge proponent of kids seeing themselves in stories, so please pitch me diverse stories – LGBTQ+, BIPOC, neurodiverse, and more.

 

Tips on Pitching and Querying

Dorian: What tips for writing a successful pitch can you give writers?

Kaitlyn: Wow, that’s a toughy. For novels, it’s important to give a good idea without giving too much away—easy right? Ha, no way! But I would much prefer clarity over intrigue, so I know what to expect. I hope writers always remember, pitches are much different than writing itself and take a whole different skill set, so practice, practice, practice!

 

Dorian: Great advice! What tips do you have for writers in the querying stage?

Kaitlyn: *Blows raspberry* Well, for querying writers, I really like the term “query trenches” because it really depicts the emotional state you’re in at that time—there are many unknowns underneath all the pressure. And that feeling can still apply when you get an agent and you’re on submission to editors, so it never fully goes away for most of us. (For those of you who are like, What is she talking about? This is all a breeze. Please teach the rest of us your ways! Pretty please, with a cherry on top!) Though once you have an agent, you have someone in your corner interpreting and guiding and supporting you during passes, so my best advice is to get a great writer’s support team. Sometimes you need a hug (even if it’s virtual), sometimes you need help interpreting, sometimes you need people to celebrate with who truly understand. But most of all, from an agent perspective, I can tell you, if an agent says the story isn’t a fit for their list, that doesn’t mean your story isn’t good. It usually means you’ll find someone else who is better to represent it. Though editing is always an option, don’t think that one pass means it’s time to edit. Also, from me as a writer, don’t use red for the passes on the form where you keep track of your queries. For me it was too harsh, and I may have ended up hating red for a bit. Consider orange, it’s a bit softer on the eyes. 😉

 

Contests!

Dorian: Please tell us more about the contests you run as well as any other social media projects you’re involved with.

Kaitlyn: Of course! I love talking about these wonderful opportunities!

Spring Fling Kidlit, which I co-host with Ciara O’Neal, was the first contest created and is a blog contest for picture book writers to stretch their skills, create a community, and connect with industry professionals.

Fall Writing Frenzy, which I co-host with Lydia Lukidis, is similar but it’s open to all Kidlit writers (PB-YA) and instead of a hierarchy of winners, it’s a contest where each writer selected as a winner gets paired up with someone in the industry we hope they will work well with.

And surprise! There’s another I help run that just completed its second year; Kidlit Zombie Week. This is a revision week and pitch contest where you can work on manuscripts with tips and support of a wonderful community. It’s mainly for picture book writers because the hosts, which are actually a wonderful critique group I’m part of—six Ladies and a MANuscript—are picture book writers, but any Kidlit writer can participate. More info here: https://kaitlynleannsanchez.com/contests/

 

Dorian: Those are some great opportunities! One last question: Can you tell us about a special interest, hobby, or obsession that you have that isn’t mentioned in your bio?

Kaitlyn: Of course, Dorian! What a fun question. One of my favorite obsessions is soccer. I’ve always loved playing and still do. When I’m out on the field, nothing else matters—the rest of the world falls away. It’s part of who I am and where I feel a huge sense of belonging as well as incredibly free. I hope that everyone has a hobby that allows them to feel this way every now and then.

Thanks so much, Kaitlyn, for taking the time to answer these questions. For more about Kaitlyn, here’s how to connect with her on social media:

Twitter: @KaitlynLeann17 https://twitter.com/KaitlynLeann17?s=09

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kaitlyn-Leann-Sanchez-Author-2078363339152222/ 

And here’s how to follow her wonderful clients:  https://kaitlynleannsanchez.com/literary-clients/

For those of you who are interested in pitching your middle-grade book to Kaitlyn, follow the guidelines above and go for it! Good luck!!

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