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So You Wanna Be a Picture Book Writer?

1/20/2014

4 Comments

 
Clearly, Ellie is clueless. But it's okay, we all were/are at first. But luckily, if you do want to become a picture book writer, there is a fantastic class waiting for you!
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The Craft and Business of Writing Children's Books is being taught by the amazing Dr. Mira Reisberg through http://www.childrensbookacademy.com/writing-childrens-picture-books.html

And I'm so happy to announce that I have the opportunity to assist her. I am actually a graduate of this amazing course.
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You will learn the basics and beyond!  The best part of the course for me, was having a critique group and being involved in a community of writers. 
As a reading teacher and writer of children's books, I've realized that writing is writing. The writing that we teach kindergartens or fourth graders is the same craft that I learned in my MFA program. There are basics of craft that you must learn as a writer, no matter what age. 

Having a background and degree in both reading and writing has been very helpful and eye opening. 

As an assistant in this class, I plan to share some of that insight. 

So, if you are thinking about taking this class, DO IT!

So who am I?
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And here are some of my thoughts about being a writer. 
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So, do you wanna be a picture book writer?  Then go for it!  Sign up today!
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Mandy Yates is currently an elementary reading specialist and children's book writer. She has nearly finished her MFA in creative writing from Spalding University and has been published multiple times in Highlights Magazine. 

She is also assisting Mira in teaching The Craft and Business of Writing Children's Books. http://www.childrensbookacademy.com/writing-childrens-picture-books.html

Find some of her teacher resources over at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mandy-Yates.

And you can follow her on Pinterest, Twitter,and Facebook.
4 Comments

Beating Out Your Story

1/20/2014

9 Comments

 
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Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve at least heard about the movie Frozen.  I’ve always loved Disney Movies, especially the classic Disney Princess Movies. When The Little Mermaid came out I was in 4th grade and I remember singing underwater at a pool (yeah a little scary) pretending I was Ariel.   Well my obsession with Disney musicals has continued well into my 30s.

I’d heard so many great reviews from adults and kids about this movie that I had to go see it last weekend. And it was everything everyone said it was going to be!

The humor? Killer! 

The characters? Relatable and likeable with (funny and adorable) flaws.    
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The music? Incredible. I predicted this would be a Broadway show and recently read an article confirming my prediction. (Yay!) 

And the structure of the plot?  Un “beat” able.

By un “beat” able I mean it had the right beats every story needs.  Which is why I’m blogging about a movie today.

Structure is so important and tough whether you are writing a picture book, chapter book, or a novel.    
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When approaching longer works of fiction, a great structure to follow is Blake Snyder’s “Beat Sheet” from his book Save the Cat. 


If you don’t have the book, you really should buy it.  Plus, there is a Save the Cat website where both old and new movies are broken down into “beats” so you can study this structure. 

http://www.savethecat.com/
Here are the basic beats in a story. The numbers beside each beat is the page it falls on in a script of 110 pages. (Obviously these numbers won’t line up with your book, since most likely you aren’t writing 110 page book exactly. But mathematically you could divide it to figure out about where each beat should take place.)

1. Opening Image (1):

2. Theme Stated (5):

3. Set-Up (1-10):

4. Catalyst (12):

5. Debate (12-25):

6. Break into Two (25)

7. B Story (30):

8. Fun and Games (30-55):

9. Midpoint (55):

10. Bad Guys Close In (55-75):

11. All Is Lost (75):

12. Dark Night of the Soul (75-85):

13. Break into Three (85):

14. Finale (85-110):

15. Final Image (110):

Attached you will find a word doc. to use for your own beats. 

beatsheet.doc
File Size: 38 kb
File Type: doc
Download File

Also you can view this document for the exact definitions of each beat.

save_the_cat_beat_sheet_definitions_3.docx
File Size: 16 kb
File Type: docx
Download File

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And without further ado, check out the amazing "beats" of Disney’s movie Frozen.

http://www.savethecat.com/2014/01/10/frozen-beat-sheet/

What do you think about Blake Snyder's beat sheet?  Have you ever used it before on a chapter book or novel?
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Mandy Yates is currently an elementary reading teacher and children's book writer. She is nearly finished her MFA in creative writing from Spalding University and has been published multiple times in Highlights Magazine. 

She is also assisting Mira in teaching The Craft and Business of Writing Children's Books.

Find some of her teacher resources over at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mandy-Yates.


And you can follow her on Pinterest, Twitter,and Facebook.

9 Comments

Oops - looks like Mandy and I had a miscommunication

1/13/2014

3 Comments

 
I was so looking forward to Mandy's post today and when it wasn't there, I reread my post above and realized that maybe she thought that it was just going to be me. Oh no!! I corrected the post now and hopefully we'll hear from Mandy soon. My agenting series will be back the first Monday in February.

Meanwhile to make up for this snafu, I am going to give you a sneak peek at one of the beginning videos for the upcoming interactive Craft and Business of Writing Children's Picture Books e-Course, which combines live webinars, written and video lessons, templates, optional critique groups and more goodies than you can shake a stick at (possibly an Australian expression). Anyway your upcoming video is on writing hooks to seduce the reader into reading further. And if you like weirdness, note how my bad-hair-day-hat takes on a life of its own towards the end :)
3 Comments

The Agony and Ecstasy of Agenting: Part 1

1/6/2014

6 Comments

 
For the past 5 months, I’ve been trying to keep two major parts of my life separate. One side as the director and an instructor here at Children’s Book Academy (formerly the Picture Book Academy). And the other as the founding agent of Hummingbird Literary. Recently, I realized it was becoming ridiculous and making me feel schizophrenic, so I’m getting integrated beginning with this first Mondays monthly series of posts on the Agony and Ecstasy of Agenting.

Agenting is hard work. Ridiculously hard. Most people have no idea what happens once they manage to sign with an agent. In the coming months, I’ll be talking about this and why you may or may not want an agent, how to work with an agent, what agents look for in submissions and how to increase your chances for representation, not necessarily in that order.

Right now I’m reading a client’s young adult manuscript that I’m in love with. It’s a real page-turner with believable characters, a building plot, a wee love story, universal themes, and an historical background. It needs some work but not too much; mostly in avoiding repetition and taking a bit long to hook into the drama of the story. While different age levels have different language and age-appropriate conceptual development needs, as well as different word counts, all good stories need a strong introductory hook. Helping to ensure this, is part of the magic and ecstasy of being an agent and a teacher. And then, of course, there’s the magic of making a sale to bring these meaningful and beautiful words into book form and then into children’s hands. The ups and downs of accomplishing what feels like a Herculean task to fruition is part of the agony while helping others is truly a joy.

As an agent, because of the small size of the agency, we can only accept submissions on certain dates, but when submissions come in, there are certain things we look for that show that the writer or illustrator is professional and knows what they are doing. As the director and an instructor at the Academy, part of my job is preparing writers and illustrators to create marketable children’s books. As an agent I’m on the receiving end of submissions. On January 24th at 6PM Pacific Standard time, I’ll be doing a free webinar on writing cover letters and pitches that agents and editors want to read based on what I've learned from both teaching and agenting. Here’s the link to register http://www.childrensbookacademy.com/free-cover-letters-and-pitches-webinar.html I plan on also leaving time for critiquing as many 30 word pitches I can to help make the submission as appealing as possible. I hope you’ll join me. Next month, I plan on writing about what an agent actually does.

6 Comments
    We are so excited to be mixing things up at CBA, beginning with some delicious additions to the Blogfish. Meet our  awesome bloggers!!

    Here's our lineup:
    1st Mondays begin with awesome multi-published former student Shirin Shamsi who will be focusing on Muslim and cultural kidlit.

    2nd Mondays will feature super smart Melissa Stoller whose career is taking off with several new books.
     

    3rd Mondays will feature
    Bryan Patrick Avery, published writer, man of mystery, and professional magician among other things.

    4th Mondays will feature STEM, STEAM & SEL obsessed author Kourtney LaFavre sharing delightfully dorky, quirky, and fun info.

    And 5th Mondays we'll be taking a break

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  • Home
  • WRITING
    • Mastering Great Graphic Novels >
      • 2023 Mastering Graphic Novels Registration
    • Craft & Business of Writing Childrens Picture Books
    • The Chapter Book Alchemist
    • New!! Middle Grade Mastery Instant Access
    • 2022 Kidlit Palooza >
      • 2022 Palooza Program
      • 2022 Palooza Faculty
  • ILLUSTRATION
    • NEW!! Craft & Business of Illustrating Children's Books Instant Access
    • Never a Dull Moment Workshop
  • TECH
  • About Us
    • Why Us?
    • Meet the Faculty, Lives & GT Judges
    • Testimonials
    • Books by Students
    • Our Bookshop
    • As Seen In
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
  • Blogfish
  • MN Course Access
  • Community
    • Our Bookshop
    • Come Play With Us!
    • Resources
    • Course Scholarships >
      • Yuyi Morales Picture Book Scholarship
      • Andrea Davis Pinkney MG CB Mastery Scholarship
      • Rafael Lopez Illustrating Childrens Books Scholarships
      • Larissa Marantz Merit & Need Scholarship