KidzTales - KIDLIT AND MORE!

WHAT WOULD YOU GET?

11/8/2021

Well, it's that time of year again, folks. It's time to think about what to get the people on your Christmas list. Even if you don't celebrate Christmas, it's a great time to get a gift for friends or family. But what do you get an author? I was wondering just that and I could just list things that I would want like an idea starter, a journal, or something along those lines.

I wondered if Amazon has any ideas. Where would I find them? So, me being me I decided to do a regular search on Amazon. I've been told that it is a search engine. So, I searched 'gifts for authors and writers.' It seems that Amazon has a lot of ideas and this is just some of what I found.

Character Development Journal: Everything you need to create characters your readers will love! In this, you'll find places to develop your character's characteristics, his or her family background, personal history, character arc, and more. I found this here.

Here's another gift idea I got a kick out of. It's a t-shirt and on the front of it is says, "I Am A Writer, Anything you say may be used in one of my stories." I think that's cute! This picture is a short-sleeved shirt. I don't know if it comes in long-sleeved or not, but you can check it out here.

I thought this was cute, too. It's a retro-looking typewriter/pencil holder for your desk. You can see this here.

I just loved this one! Well, I like my mugs. Here's one for the writer at a hefty 15 ounces. It holds both hot and cold drinks.

Here's one to help the writer on your list to conquer writer's block. It's a book called, "The Writer's Block: 786 Ideas to Jump-Start Your Imagination." You'll find it here.

Here's another that might help with writer's block. "The Writer's Toolbox: Games and exercises for inspiring the 'write' side of your brain." You'll find it here.

We can't forget that special pen for book signings! You'll find several different kinds on this page. From classy to humorous ones!

These are just a few ideas I've found. Do you have suggestions? Let me know in the comments!

VAMPIRES AMONG US

10/25/2021

We all know about the movie vampires that suck your blood only to have you join the undead. We also know that there are such things as vampire bats that use blood for food. These live primarily in South America. But guess what? VAMPIRES DO EXIST AND THEY DON’T LOOK LIKE BELA LUGOSI!

Yes, they are real and they live in every aspect of our society. Now bear with me here. This article does have to do with writing.
These vampires are known by a few different names: The psychic, the emotional, and the energy vampire.

How can you tell if you’ve been around them? It’s easy. Every one of us has been around that friend or coworker who makes us feel drained or suddenly tired. He or she is a psychic/emotional/energy vampire. In some cases, the person might not even know that they’re a vampire. Heck, you might be one and not know it! This does happen.

There are signs though. The psychic/emotional/energy vampire has the attitude that his/her needs are more important than anyone else’s. They feel that society’s rules (or any rules) don’t apply to them and nothing is ever his/her fault. No way! Oh, the vampire also has the attitude of, “I want it now and if I don’t get it I’ll throw a tantrum!”

How do you get rid of them? This might be trickier. Attend writing conferences. Do you like crafts or fishing? Attend these types of events. The thing here is to be around upbeat people with the same interests as you. Control your emotions. Don’t let your anger or frustration at the vampire show. He/she feeds off these emotions thus leaving you feel drained. Exercise daily. This makes you physically feel good making it hard for the vampire to feed off you.
These people remind me of the Dementors in the Harry Potter books. Remember how they made you feel as if there were no happiness left in the world when they were around?

As I said before, these vampires invade every part of our society. They're even in our writing physical and online critique groups.

These critique group vampires are attention seekers whose egos constantly have to be stroked. They are very touchy about the feedback they get on a submission and they don’t actually want to learn the craft of writing. They want to turn in a load of junk and have the other members fix it for them. They don’t have ideas of their own. These people are arrogant. They believe that writing is automatically coded into their DNA.

Now, what do we do about the critique group vampire? My first suggestion is the same as the first one above. Attend a writing conference. You can check out our events page for some good physical conferences to attend. Attend any other gathering that has to do with what interests you. It might be genealogy, knitting, woodworking, fishing, sports…. Well, you get the idea. The critique group vampire does not want to further himself. He/she wants to ride the coat-tails of others so, no matter what you may try, don’t enable him/her.

How do we rid ourselves without hurting their feelings? I have to be perfectly honest here. I don’t know except to try out another group where all the members are open to a good critique.

Now you know vampires do exist. None of them wear tuxedoes or say, “Let me suck your blood!”

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Sources:
http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2013/08/28/do-you-have-a-psychic-vampire-critique-partner-2
http://www.fastcompany.com/3009076/slay-the-emotional-vampires-that-are-holding-you-back

The Monster We All Know

10/11/2021

On my bumpy road to writing for children, a monster got in my way. Actually, he got in my way several times! I really had trouble getting him off the bumpy road too. Face it, you’ve encountered this monster yourself. All writers have. It’s the monster we call writer’s block.

What causes writer’s block? It can be just about anything. Stress, not sleeping (or not getting enough sleep), a family crisis, or putting yourself on a schedule to get a particular amount of work done each day. The list goes on and on! Have you had a breakup with your latest boyfriend or girlfriend? Yep! That will attract the monster. He’ll stop our words from coming just as long as he can.

I’ve been going round after round with the writer’s block monster lately. I have to admit that. How can we rid ourselves of this block? Luckily, there are several ways to do this!

Go for a walk. That’s what I said, go for a walk. Go out, walk around the block and talk to your neighbors.
Go to the mall, Walmart, or a bookstore. It doesn’t matter if you shop or browse. Just get out there!
Finish making your afghan, finish the painting you’ve been working on or work on whatever hobby you have.
Cook.
Have lunch with a friend.
Read that book you’ve wanted to read for so long.

I guess you’ve figured out by now that the thing that works best for me is getting away from the computer for a while. Sometimes this will work for me in a matter of hours, sometimes it will take a day or two, while sometimes it takes longer.

There are other ways to chase this monster away. Some people have found that starting another story or article works for them. I’m happy if this way works for you! It only works for me up to a point. Don’t get me wrong, try this way each time that monster hits. Sometimes it works for me, and sometimes it doesn’t. When it doesn’t, I know that it’s time to step away from the computer. Besides, I think I’m giving my muse a break.

Since we’re on the topic of starting something new, I’ve found some great help. This isn’t a book at all. It’s a website by Scholastic for idea starters. It says it's for teachers, but it'll work for you too. It's also another good way to battle writer's block! The link to STORY STARTERS is below.

Here are other ideas that might help. It’s called Ten Websites to Cure our Writer’s Block. I think you’ll find this helpful.

What works for you in the battle to beat writer’s block? Leave a comment and let me know!

Here’s a YouTube video I found that, in my opinion, gives the best advice of all. I think you’ll enjoy this.
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Link:
10 MORE WEBSITES THAT HELP CURE WRITER’S BLOCK WITH WRITING PROMPTS: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-websites-cure-writers-block-writing-prompts
STORY STARTERS: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/story-starters/index.html

Where Do Snowmen Go?

10/4/2021

TITLE: Where Do Snowmen Go?
PUBLISHER: Independently Published
PRICE: Paperback: $7.99, Kindle: $.99
ISBN-13: 979-8483818298
ASIN: BO9GZGWFTW

This cute and timely children's story by Jersey Jones is perfect for your youngest readers aged three to seven. It asks some very important questions like, "Where do snowmen go when they melt?" Or, "Where do snowmen live during the summer?"

In this twenty-five-page book, Mr. Jersey answers these questions when the snowman takes Asen and his little sister Sofia on a journey.

'Where Do Snowmen Go?' also gets your child involved by letting them find the snowman on every page. Your child is also able to get free coloring pages to accompany the book!

I highly recommend this book for your child's home library since it answers these age old questions that have been asked by every kid and is also interactive.

Word By Beth

9/27/2021

USED WITH PERMISSION

My friend, Beth Stillborn, has kindly given me permission to use a post from her blog. I know this will be as interesting to you as it is to me! Just follow the link to read it. http://www.bethstilborn.com/mary-kole-is-for-writers/?fbclid=IwAR2XNcPtumdgBCiEa0NenoOxJy6Yj6HScTvHliUGYmRsikYwumbBTh81EoU

Keep on writing!

FREE Online Book Festival

8/23/2021

To register for this free online conference, follow https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/middleway-words-book-festival-tickets-167061797333?ltclid=2eb7543c-efa5-440a-8382-6ff2ea2812d6&fbclid=IwAR2OPzAQsnB83VQgL9rjhkKEiqqoU8JzOHHFmUlNI2Y_Na60g8czdx4TOes

MARKETING YOUR BOOK

8/16/2021

Whoever said that writing your book is the easy part was so right. I still feel like I'm hitting my head against a brick wall when it comes to marketing.

I've taken The 5-Day Amazon Ad Challenge by Bryan Cohen. In fact, I've taken it twice! I knew that I'd gather more information the second time around, get it to stick in my brain, and I did. It's free and packed with information. This is well worth the time! He's having another challenge coming up in October, so watch for it. Like I said, it's well worth your time. Also, did I tell you it's FREE?

I've found out through Bryan's challenge that the more reviews the better, so I'm trying to find places that accept manuscripts to review that are in my genre. This is time consuming, but it'll be well worth it.

I've found a few places in my town that will accept my book on consignment. Now, I'm going to broaden my horizons and look at nationwide Indie Book Stores. Wish me luck!

In the meantime, I've found a video for us all to watch. It's from the Self-Publishing With Dale series and it's on marketing. I do hope it helps you as well as myself. Please follow this link to view this informative video. For some reason, Dale won't let it be played on other websites. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKxznoMoVH4

HOW OFTEN SHOULD I WRITE?

7/26/2021

Some people say that you should everyday until you get to a certain word count. Others also claim that writers should use a flexible schedule. Then again, even others say that you should only write when the muse inspires you. Do I do any of these? Yes. Should you? Yes.

I’ve found that I do best when I use the flexible schedule. I may or may not get some writing done on Saturdays depending on what my health allows. By doing a process of elimination and listening to my body, I’ve found it pays off for me to take Sunday off. After all, it is a day of rest. I do have to admit that there are Sundays when I’m on the computer writing away. That’s when I’m under a deadline.

It has been proven that like other muscles in your body, your brain needs a rest too. Science has found that you’ll be more creative and productive. The trick here is---again---to listen to your body. Your body will tell you when to give your brain a rest. Giving your brain a rest is taking time away from your writing and do anything that doesn’t concern writing. Don’t forget exercising and meditation. This helps immensely and even helps you with if you have writer’s block! But how do you know when to give your brain a rest?

Do you know that feeling you get when you’re so sleepy that you can hardly hold your eyes open? You’re getting a message here from the brain to take a break. When you keep right on writing and getting exhausted, tired, I-can’t-move-another-finger-on-the-keyboard feeling? Your body is screaming at you to stop! So, how do you rest your brain?

I know that the first thing that comes to mind is taking a nap. Believe it or not, that is a way! So are needlework, woodworking, going to the gym, watching movies, reading, or listening to an audiobook, cooking, or any other hobby. When the weather is nice, I like to take a walk and visit friends. The key here is to do what you like where it doesn’t involve your writing words. Don’t forget daily exercise and meditation.

Try the meditation video below called, Meditation for Writers: Meet Your Muse. Just sit in your desk chair, close your eyes, and focus on the music. I guarantee that you’ll feel 100% better!

In short, how much should you write per day? That’s completely up to you. Try the three different types of schedules above and your body will tell you which is right for you!

RESUCCITATE YOUR STORY

7/5/2021

What in the world? You’ve just finished your latest and (hopefully) your greatest story. You’ve let your friends read it and of course, they liked it. They’re your friends. You also read it to Rex, asleep in the corner of your office. He gave a yawn of approval too. So you proofread your manuscript and proofread some more. Is the punctuation okay? Check. Does each word move the story along? Check. What’s wrong with it? Try reading it to Rex again and listen to your words, Try reading it into a tape recorder and listening to it, or have your computer read it too you. Don't depend on what your friends and family say since they’re just going to tell you what you want to hear. There. Hear that? Read or listen to that section again. There’s no life in your character nor is there good description in the narrative. You have write visually and bring your book to life.

What is writing visually? It’s something we’ve all heard before. Show, don’t tell. For those of you who haven’t heard those particular words here’s my definition: It’s when your reader is able to put himself/herself in your book. You should engage all five senses to do this. Let your readers feel Jason punch Harry without warning. Let Mary smell those fragrant roses. Describe these sentences so your readers can feel that punch or smell the rose. Have your characters talk naturally. Describing in a few words what they feel (emotionally), see, question, etc. Also, people aren’t robots in real life and they shouldn't be in books, either. When was the last time you saw someone talking and their expression never changed, they didn’t talk with their hands, or they didn’t fix their hair when the wind blew?

For instance: Keira left school. “I’m going to the mall,” she said to Sasha. Here’s the same sentence brought to life. Keira raced down the hall stopping when she saw Sasha putting her books in the locker. “I’m going to the mall after school,” she puffed. “Wanna come?” “Sure! Wait a sec until I fix my hair. Maybe that new guy will be there.” Which description would you rather have in your manuscript? Which one shows more instead of tells?

Take a look at these sentences: The three young people climbed the hill. Okay. Now read this: As the three friends climbed, they swatted flies away from their faces. Bees buzzed around them while low-hanging tree branches smacked them in the face. Which sentence shows more thus giving it life?

The trick is to give your characters some character not only in the dialogue but in the narrative as well. In the narrative, your reader can see them struggling up that hill. In dialogue they can see, feel the emotions of the girls and relate to them.

Here’s a video by The Three Minute Writing Teacher that will help you along the way to bring your book to life!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d68vWb5rvso

I’ve also found some books, blogs, or websites that will help you with this.

BOOKS
Word Magic for Writers by Cindy Rogers http://www.amazon.com/Word-Magic-Writers-Cindy-Rogers/dp/1889715247/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1420086148&sr=1-1&keywords=word+magic+for+writers
You Can Write Children’s Books by Tracey E. Dils http://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Write-Childrens-Books/dp/1582975736/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1420086272&sr=1-1&keywords=you+can+write+children%27s+books
Picture Writing by Anastasia Suen http://www.amazon.com/Picture-Writing-Write-kids-library/dp/1582970726/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1420086481&sr=1-1&keywords=picture+writing

Blog
How To Write Visually by Donald L. Vasicek http://www.donvasicek.com/writing/how-to-write-visually/

Huckleberry Happiness One Scoop or Two

6/28/2021

TITLE: Huckleberry Happiness One Scoop or Two
AUTHOR: Judy Ann Davis
PUBLISHER: The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
COPYRIGHT: ©2020
ASIN: B087YM6SL7 (Kindle or Nook)
PRICE: $1.99-US

Emelia's parents have recently died leaving her and her sister to take over the family bakery completely. Yes, Emelia has a sister to help her out with the bakery, but she takes off to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to pursue her dreams. Also, a large mortgage on their family home looms over Emelia's head. What's a girl to do in 1885? Will Emelia find help?

I loved this ebook and so will you. I fully recommend putting it in your Kindle library. It's short and easy to read; I read it in one evening.

You can find Huckleberry Happiness One Scoop or Two on Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.