It’s not enough to simply “write a children’s book.” It’s not that simple. When you believe writing for a younger audience is easy, you automatically assume less of your audience and it shows in your writing and it is an immediate turn-off.
Tag Archives: middle grade
Let’s Discuss Middle Grade (part one)
As with all children’s literature, voice is incredibly important. It must reflect the voice of the target audiences and draw them in with every chapter.
Latest Interviews From All By My Shelf
I try to interview at least one author a month. Give these great interviews a listen and then make sure to purchase these books so you can study them on your own Writing Journey.
Finding Your KidLit Voice
Writing in the appropriate voice is probably the hardest thing about writing children’s lit. You don’t just have to just worry about the words on the page and the age appropriate way to say them, but also how it sounds.
Let’s Talk About Dialogue: Tags and Beats
As an editor, I see a lot of new writers attempt to break their dialogue up with beats. Beats are handy for adding rhythm to the dialogue and forcing natural pauses where you want action to happen, but when you use them incorrectly they become a burden on the reader, and, before it even gets there, the editor.
An Interview with Jessica Speer
In this episode, I’m joined by Jessica Speer, author of BFF or NRF, a guide to making and keeping healthy friendships. You can purchase BFF or NRF here, from my Bookshop. We played Name That Book and MAD Blurbs. If you’d like to ask my next guests (which include Michelle Mason, Soman Chainani, and Hayley Krischer), then visit BuyMeACoffee.com/JMTuckerman and become a supporter or member today. Check out the scoreboards below to see how Jessica faired against my other guests.
An Interview with Soman Chainani
Soman Chainani, the author of The School for Good and Evil, stopped by to talk about his upcoming title, Beasts & Beauty: Dangerous Tales. We talked about some amazingly horrific documentaries as well as the importance of updating fairy tales for the modern era.
An Interview with Jessica Vitalis
Jessica Vitalis stopped by to talk about writing The Wolf’s Curse. We talked about research, played some games, and discussed our apathy about killing our characters. Someone’s got to go, you know? Give it a listen then go get yourself a copy of The Wolf’s Curse.
An Interview with Jessica Speer
In this episode, I’m joined by Jessica Speer, author of BFF or NRF, a guide to making and keeping healthy friendships. You can purchase BFF or NRF here, from my Bookshop. We played Name That Book and MAD Blurbs. If you’d like to ask my next guests (which include Michelle Mason, Soman Chainani, and Hayley Krischer), then visit BuyMeACoffee.com/JMTuckerman and become a supporter or member today. Check out the scoreboards below to see how Jessica faired against my other guests.
Upcoming Interview with Jessica Speer
August 16th, 2021 @3pm EST, Jessica Speer, author of BFF or NRF will be coming by to talk shop on the podcast. Want to ask her about her book? Writing non-fiction for kids? Or anything else your heart desires? Become a supporter or member for just $5. Suporters make a one time payment, members make a monthly payment. There will be member exclusives in the future.