For my writing friends, here are some links to help you with your craft:
Age This website clarifies what editors like for each genre and age group: http://www.write101.com/genres.htm
Anthropomorphism Here is a link that will help you with talking animals: http://www.librarything.com/tag/anthropomorphism It has a list of anthropomorphized animal books. You’ll need to find out about the publication date and publisher. They have funky links, so you’ll need to follow up at Amazon.com
Award winners Add some children’s books to your reading list… not just any books, but good books to emulate. Go to http://www.library.illinois.edu/edx/awards.htm for the list of award collections. Newbery is, of course, the premier award (watch for my next novel on the list soon J). Here is a website that gives you summaries: http://www.powells.com/prizes/newbery.html. Pick one that interests you, and analyze it like a textbook.
Book Construction Basic book construction is universal. You should understand the layout while you write your book: http://taralazar.wordpress.com/2009/02/22/picture-book-construction-know-your-layout/
British American spelling differences If you are American and submit to a British or Canadian publishers, you should use the Queen's spelling: http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/BritishCanadianAmerican.htm
Clichés Avoid clichés like the plague! Here is a list to avoid: http://suspense.net/whitefish/cliche.htm
Copyright law You should know your rights and the rights of the publisher you are working with: http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/public_domain/
Grammar Nothing annoys editors more than poor grammar. Here is a link to a website that has PowerPoints, quizzes, and general information on grammar:: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/index.htm Also for specific problems go to: http://www.getitwriteonline.com/archive/tips.htm There is even grammar software that will suggest corrections as you write: http://www.whitesmoke.com/ and http://www.writersupercenter.com/stylewriter/
Graphic organizers Here is a website that has many different graphic organizers: http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/graphic/ Sift through the ones that apply only to writers. Here is another good organizational tool called mind mapping which is a more informal organizational style: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map. Think of it this way: Writing is like making a meal, or even following a recipe. If you are missing one ingredient, the product does not turn out as well as you had planned. If you don’t plan ahead and get that one ingredient, it takes so much longer to make that meal because you have to go out and get what you need before you can begin.
Interviewing Here is a link to a very informative article on interview prep and procedure because editors love the primary sources: “Conducting Interviews” by Moira Allen at http://www.writing-world.com/basics/interview.shtml
Mythical creatures: A rather comprehensive list of creatures you can use instead of vampires or werewolves: http://www.mythcreatures.co.uk/index.asp
Newspaper archive I find this website extremely valuable when researching for an historical novel because you get a flavor for the times by immersing yourself in the newspapers: www.newspaperarchive.com However, find out if your local library subscribes to a news service like this first for free access to newspapers.
Novels Ellen Jackson has marvelous tips for writing novels for older children: http://www.ellenjackson.net/chapter_books_and_novels_61456.htm
Poetry Here is a link to a rhyming dictionary website that will help you develop rhymes for your poems: http://www.rhymezone.com However, remember that poety is not just about rhyme; it's also about the rhythm.
Punctuation Not sure where to put your comma or period? This site will help you: http://www.nationalpunctuationday.com/
Puzzles Highlights for Children always looks for puzzles for their Puzzlemania books. They pay $35 for each puzzle they accept. To see their guidelines, go to http://www.highlights.com/puzzle-guidelines and then click on the links to their sample puzzles. They look for puzzles that have strong illustration potential. Themed crossword puzzles are easy to create using any of the online tools such as http://www.puzzle-maker.com/CW/ Let me know how you do with this.
Quotes Inspirational quotes from published authors on the craft of writing: http://www.bethanyroberts.com/writing_quotes.htm
Readability Let's talk about age vs. readability for your story. Your writing is right on target for the age group you identified because your story is written on a 7th grade reading level. However, your topic is one that will appeal only to preschoolers. How do you know what reading level your story was on? To test readability, go to this website and paste in your text: http://www.addedbytes.com/tools/readability-score/. Click send, and Whalla! your readability score appears on the next page.
Style guidelines: Crinkles Magazine has posted style guidelines for their authors at their website. These guidelines are universal to most publishers: Style Guidelines
Teen lingo If you write for teens, you need to be their BFF by using their lingo. Go to this site to see some street slang and basic lingo used by teens today: http://www.thesource4ym.com/teenlingo/index.asp
Trademark Product names are tricky. Here is an informative website that explains about trademark items: http://www.publaw.com/fairusetrade.htmlScroll down to this section: “Using Another’s Trademark” and you’ll see that you can indeed drive a Ford, drink Kool-aid, and play with a WebKinz in your stories. However, if you malign that product in some way, you should present your article or story to the trademark holder to get their permission, again to avoid a lawsuit.
