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Story Sparkers: A Creativity Guide for Children's Writers

11/16/2014

5 Comments

 
Picture
"Ideas are everywhere. They are walking down the sidewalk, hidden in stolen snippets of conversation, buried in the books we read and the movies we watch. Every waking minute- and every dreaming minute- is filled with tiny sparks just waiting to be ignited." 

With it being the middle of PiBoIdMo, there's still time to come up with those 30+ ideas. 

And thankfully, I've discovered an old book that looks promising.  Yes, this book is fourteen years old, however the content still works. 


(From Amazon)
This book is a practical guide for writers interested in writing for the children's market, and teaches aspiring children's writers how to generate, assess, and apply ideas for fiction as well as nonfiction, short projects as well as long ones. Marcia Thomton Jones offers exercises, worksheets, and guidelines for assessment to help writers apply what they've learned to on-going projects or to help them begin new projects. Story Sparkers begins with an overview of how to write fiction and nonfiction books for children. Jones then discusses the specifics of idea generation assessment and application. The design is open, easy to browse and features boxed tips and quotes from top children's writers. By the end of the book, writers will have a plethora of ideas and insight to help determine audience and appropriate genre, and helpful hints for developing new ideas. While this book is intended for novice writers who are interested in writing for the children's market, writers with experience will find it helpful and motivating, too.


This book is filled with writing exercises and prompts to get your ideas flowing. 

Here is a sampling of brainstorming type activities just from chapter two:

Webbing
Freewriting
Listing
Questioning
Researching
The Five Senses
Overheard Conversations
Dialogue
Letters
The Big Idea
What If?
Thinking Small
PIctures
Pet Peeves
Reading
Forced Relationships
Timelines
Possessions
Doodling
In My Shoes
Musical Muse

Unfortunately, it is out of print. But fortunately, you can get a used copy online for a cheap price. 

So if you are still stuck, during PiBoIdMo, check out this fabulous resource. 
Picture
Mandy Yates is currently an elementary reading specialist and children's book writer. She has an 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, as well as The Chapter Book Alchemist  http://www.childrensbookacademy.com/the-chapter-book-alchemist.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.   
5 Comments
Johnell link
11/17/2014 06:49:44 am

Love it when these gems pop up. Thank you for sharing this one.

Reply
Maria Oka
11/17/2014 07:08:20 am

Thanks for sharing! Trying to get those Sparks flying over here.

Reply
Nicole Popel link
11/17/2014 07:30:51 am

Thanks for sharing this fabulous resource with all of us!

Reply
Joanne Sher link
11/17/2014 11:47:16 pm

Ooooh - looks like a good one! Thanks, Mandy!

Reply
Ted link
2/14/2022 10:22:33 am

Don't simply train your kids to read…
Train them to address what they read.
Train them to address everything.

Reply



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  • Home
    • THOH KidLit Creative Retreat
  • WRITING
    • Craft & Business of Writing Childrens Picture Books
    • The Chapter Book Alchemist
    • New!! Middle Grade Mastery Instant Access
    • Mastering Graphic Novels
    • 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
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    • 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