Tag Archives: kid lit

A Character MUST Die!

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A Character MUST Die!

Natalie Bright

 

My WIP is going great. Writing, writing, writing… until this morning.

Last night, our 13yo told me about the latest video game that he and his friends have mastered. It takes place at world’s end (of course), with a surprisingly complex back story (I’m told most games have them). Groups of people were sheltered in different bunkers and given tests of endurance. Long story short, there’s lots of killing and then the survivors commit suicide. That’s where he lost me. So what’s the point of playing this game?

If you write stories for children as I do, this is the reality of entertainment today. How can my historical western book compete against a video game and hold a young reader’s attention? I asked my 13yo his opinion about a fight scene I’m working on. We talked about body movements, hand placement, and the ability of staying on a horse while my character shoots arrows.

“Who dies?” he asked.

“No one dies,” I said.

“It’s not a good story unless someone dies,” he said.

Is that true? I thought about my favorite stories. Charlotte dies. Old Yeller-gone. Jo’s little sister in LITTLE WOMEN. Basically everyone in Hunger Games except for…well, you know. My son might be right. Except no one dies in my story. I can’t kill any of my characters. I like them all, and basically I need them for books 2 and 3. (Dreaming big for a series.)

“They learn to trust and help each other,” I said. “Bitter enemies become best friends and it’s a happy ending.”

“That’s not good,” he replied.

“I’d read it.” This from our 17yo as he studied the contents of the frig. At least I have one reader.

As I sit here staring at the words on my computer screen, I’m wondering which character must go? What’s wrong with a happy ending? All of my characters want to live and I have no idea why. They’ve completely taken over. It happens sometimes.

nataliebright.com

 

 

SCBWI

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SCBWI

By Natalie Bright

Do you know about this group?  If you aspire to write for children, this group is a MUST.

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is an international professional organization with over 70 regions throughout the world. Closest to my area, I try to attend at least one regional conference every year.

One Day of Inspiration

The recent North Texas conference in September proved to be an inspirational day with creative writers. The tools shared for story craft were exceptional, and the presentations were well worth my time and travel expense. The main reason I made the trip to Dallas several weeks ago was to hear the founder of SCBWI.

Lin Oliver organized the very first children’s writers conference along with co-worker Steve Mooser, in 1972. Before that, there wasn’t any resources for writers who wanted to craft stories for children. Lin knows this because she tried to find one. A managing board was formed from the faculty who provided how-to talks on craft to about fifty people. Lin mentioned that her own mother made the potato salad for that first gathering. Today SCBWI has grown to 25,000 members representing regions all over the world. From an organization with beginnings in volunteerism, friendship and a great love for children’s literature, SCBWI has become a powerful force in the field.

WHY?

Participating in an organization is important for your writing career. Not only can you stay updated on market trends, story craft techniques, and the publishing bizz in general, you can talk to other writers. There’s nothing more inspiring than lunch with 100+ children’s authors. The creative energy is electrifying, and you’ll come home armed with confidence and with renewed energy to keep writing.

For more information go to scbwi.org.

 

 

8 Good Writing Practices of Neil Gaiman

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8 Good Writing Practices of Neil Gaiman

By Natalie Bright

Neil Gaiman pens science fiction and fantasy in a variety of forms—novels, children’s books, graphic novels, comic books, and film. From an article in The Guardian, I’m sharing his tips on writing:

8 Good Writing Practices

  1. Write.
  2. Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down.
  3. Finish what you’re writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.
  4. Put it aside. Read it pretending you’ve never read it before. Show it to friends whose opinion you respect and who like the kind of thing that this is.
  5. Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.
  6. Fix it. Remember that, sooner or later, before it ever reaches perfection, you will have to let it go and move on and start to write the next thing. Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.
  7. Laugh at your own jokes.
  8. The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it’s definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I’m not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.

 nataliebright.com