[writing-with-stef]

Knowing your reader - part 02

Early Readers (Age 5-8)

Also called “Easy Readers” are short books that are written in a controlled language, with grammatically simple sentences. The length of these books can vary between 32-64 pages and 200-1500 words, depending on the publisher. Each page shouldn’t contain more then 2-5 sentences and is usually accompanied by a full page illustration. A very good tool when writing for early readers is the “Children’s writers word Book” . It is a great book where you can look up a word and find out the advised school level and find equivalent words for other school levels. Since reading itself is already challenging enough for beginners it is important to keep the plot simple but still engaging. As much as some people might think otherwise, writing for early readers can be rather challenging and maybe not advisable for new Authors. It is difficult to write engaging stories with so many restrains on vocabulary, sentence length and comprehensibility.

Transition Books (Age 6-9)

These are the bridge between early readers and chapter books. They are written like early reader books, but can be up to 4000 words on around 30 pages. They usually contain chapters of 2-3 pages and black-and-white illustrations every few pages. They can already be action packed stories with page turners at the end of each chapter to encourage further reading. It is quite common for these kind of books to be part of a series.

Chapter Books (Age 7-10)

In this age group series are very popular. The books are up to 10.000 words long (around 45-60 pages), and are broken up into 3-4 page long chapters. As transition books, they include black-and-white illustrations every few pages, but the language is much more complex. Chapter books contain subplots and a lot of action. Chapters often end in the middle of a scene to engage and encourage the reader to turn the page  and keep reading. To make reading a pleasurable experience they are often light-hearted and funny stories.

Middle Grade, MG (Age 8-12)

Some of the best known Children’s books are written for this age group, for example the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling. Kids in this age group are fluent readers and immerse them self into reading. The language is more challenging, with longer sentences and a much less restrained vocabulary. Stories have less linear and complex plots with twist and subplots involving secondary characters. This is a reason why series of up to 10 books and more that include the same cast  are very popular. The book length varies between 25.000-50.0000 words per book. Genres that are appealing to this age group include Fantasy, Crime, Horror, and Humour.

Young Adult, YA (Age 12+)

YA books have been growing more and more popular over the past years and have become a very competitive market. One of the reasons might be that YA books reached out of their actual age group and are now also being read by woman over 35. But this doesn’t mean that Authors should start targeting the new discovered marked when writing for YA, the target audience still are teenagers. The length of this age group can vary between 40.000 - 80.00 words. The stories are very complex, containing multiple major characters and can be written in multiple characters view points. The most common genres still include Fantasy and Horror, but also Romance and Sci-Fi.

New Adult, NA  (Age 18-25)

OK, strictly speaking this doesn’t belong in the children’s book category anymore but I thought it still might be worth mentioning. New Adult is a very new genre that developed over that past few years. It is a cross over genre between YA and Adult fiction.  The books are usually less Fantasy and Sci-Fi oriented and concentrate more on Romance.  NA books take on more adult issues than typical YA books. The books often include more sex, which can be quite graphic but not to an erotica level of 50 Shades of Grey.  The usual book length for this genre is about 60.000 - 90.000 words. The most common sub genre is definitely Romance!

Important Tip

Children prefer to read about characters that are slightly older then themselves, so the main character of your story should be in the top range or a year above the age group you are writing for. For example if you are writing for MG (age 8-12), it is good to have a main character that is 12 or 13 years old. Check out Part one of the “knowing your reader series” here: http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/136809406779/knowing-your-reader-part-01

[writing-with-stef]

Knowing your reader - part 01

As a writer reading is just as important as writing. It is important that you know the market and the audience you are writing for. If you want to write Young Adult (YA) Books you should read YA, if you want to write Middle Grade (MG) books you should read MG. Of course you should never only read one genre as a writer, it is important to read across all genres. But especially when it comes to children’s books you will find a lot new writers who choose this genre because they think it is the easiest one and have not read a single children’s book in there adult life. Don’t become one of them. Find out what is currently trending in the market and what has been popular even though it has been around for a long time. Visit your local book stores and libraries and talk to them. Also a great source for information are Publishers websites, there you will see what titles are forthcoming and which series the publisher commissioned as well as long time favorites. 

Children’s Book categories    

Keep in mind that those categories and age groups are guidelines that vary from country to country and from publisher to publisher. This is just a rough overview to help you with your own research.

Pre-School (Age 0-7) Short books that have a maximum of 32 Page that are meant to be read out loud by an adult and feature eye catching Illustrations. Pre-School book can be split up into three sub-categories: Baby Board Books, Toddler Books and Picture Books.

Baby Board Books (Age 0-2)

These books are about engaging the children through pictures. Baby board books are usually small in size, so the adult can hold the baby with one hand and the book with the other. It also allows the baby to hold and play with the book without the adult, learning to grab and to turn pages. These books have very few words or even no words at all, because the time it takes to read 25 words or more per page is too long for children at this age. They will constantly reach for the book, trying to grab and turn the pages, regardless if the adult finished reading the page out loud. For new writers it is difficult to break into this market, since most of these books are written in-house or commissioned. Toddler Books (Age 1-3)

Toddler Books tell very simple stories familiar to the child’s day to day life. For example using the potty, not wanting to sleep or learning to share, as well as learning numbers or colors. These books have less then 250 words and about 12 pages on average. They also can be Novelty Books that contain pop ups or flaps, use different textures or make sounds.

Picture Books (Age 4-7)

Traditionally Picture books are around 32 pages and have a maximum of 1000 words for the upper range of the age group and less then 200 words for the lower range. The preferred word count varies depending on the country and the publisher. It is important that you find out the preferred word count from your local publishers and write accordingly. The Stories should be simple plots with a beginning, a middle and an end, without subplots or complicated twists. They should contain one main character that portrays the children’s viewpoint, emotions and concerns. Characters that appeal to children of this age can be children, toys, animals and fantasy characters. When writing picture books it is important to keep the rhythm of the spoken text in mind since they are going to  be read aloud. But this means also that the language can be more complex, also think about including words that sound funny or add spoken sound effects.

You can find Part Two of the “Knowing your reader” series here: http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/152067510639/knowing-your-reader-part-02

[writing-with-stef]

Character Development - part 05 - naming your character

Names have something quite magical about them, they have the strange power to bring anything to life and make us care about it on a personal level. My mom used to name everything, the plants, our toys, the computer, she even gave a name to her car “Tipolino”. The name made this car something more then just an object that you use to drive around in, the name gave it the rank of a companion, a pet or even a friend. My mom loved that car. She talked and sang to it and in the winter she would often beg it, not to give up on her. I was not allowed to say anything bad about it, or mention the moss that was growing on the door, in order to not offend Tipolino. This might sound strange to some of you but this is the power of names. Names bring things to life. This is why we tend to name our favorite plush toys as children so that they could accompany us on our adventures and this is why we need good names for our characters. 

Choose names by their meaning

A good starting point, when looking for a characters name, is to go for a meaning that suit the characters personality. For example if your character is smart girl that likes reading books, a possible name could be Sophia, meaning “wisdom” in Greek. If Sophia has an older brother that protects her from the bullies in school his name could be Alexander, which comes from the Greek name Alexandros meaning “defending man”. A great source to find names and there meanings are baby name websites such as http://babynames.net.

Easy to pronounce

Especially when writing for children, you will have to make sure the names are easy to pronounce and to remember. A name like Vavrinec (yes is it a name) might not be the best choice if you are planing to publish in an English speaking country. Even if you are writing a fantasy novel for 8+ year olds with elves and dwarfs in it, make sure that the names you make up are not to complicated. A great website to create fantasy names is http://fantasynamegenerators.com … hours of fun! 

Choose names that fit into the period and location of your story

If you are writing about a girl that is living today in London you should not choose a name like Brunhilde, unless she is a German vampire that has been around for a few centuries or she has very cruel parents. Of course that works the other way around too, if you are writing a historical novel, set it 18th century england, you wouldn't want to name the girl Arya, a name that is currently very popular but did not exist before Game of Thrones.

Avoid names ending on S

If you are writing in English it is a good idea to avoid names like Thomas or James that end with the letter S, simply because using the possessive form for those kind of names isn't easy to pronounce and disturbs the reading fluency. This is particularly important in children’s books which are usually read aloud or read by beginning readers.

Use alliterative initials

A good way to distinguish characters in children's fictions and make them easy to remember for kids is to use alliterative initials.  Peter Pan, Mickey Mouse, Willy Wonka and Bilbo Baggins. Most of the minor characters in the Harry Potter series follow this strategy too, like: Severus Snape, Luna Lovegood, Madeye Moody, Dudley Dursley, Cho Chang, Dedalus Diggle. Just to name a few of them. 

Keep them distinguishable 

Try to avoid having multiple character names starting with the same letter like Anna, Amber and Adam, it will make it hard for the children to distinguish between he characters and remember their names. Also try to stay clear of names that sound too similar like Greg and Craig, even though they start with different initials it is very easy to confuse them when spoken aloud. 

Speak them aloud

If you are done with choosing the names for all of your cast, read all of them again out loud, see if they are all easy to pronounce and to distinguish. Sometimes names that look great on paper can have small problems when spoken aloud, for example a name like Mariam Manson looks quite good written, but once it is said out loud it might be confused with Maria Manson or maybe Mariam Anson, depending on the reader.

Check out the rest of the series about Character Development:

Part 01:

http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/133561082239/character-development-part-01

Part 02:

http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/133655817084/character-development-part-02-choosing-your

Part 03:

http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/134589523709/character-development-part-03-getting-to-know

Part 04:

http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/134719056804/character-development-part-04-flat-and

[writing-with-stef]

Character Development – part 04 – flat and well-rounded characters

You might have heard of “flat” and “well-rounded” characters before, but lets talk about them in detail. What they are and when you want which one. So what is a flat character? A flat character is a 2 dimensional character, a character that never changes and stays the same character throughout the whole story. A static character. You will encounter them in minor side roles. For example some of the teachers or ghost in Harry Potter, like “Rolanda Hooch” the flying instructor and Quidditch referee. You don’t want or need to develop a well-rounded character for a role like that. Flat characters can sometimes also be used to emphasize the internal or external development of the well-rounded character around them over the course of the story. Tip: A good and easy way to create an appealing 2 dimensional character is to think of their role in the story and ask yourself what animal character would fit well into it. For the example of  Rolanda Hooch, she is the flying instructor and is characterized like a hawk. She has short, spiky, gray hair, with piercing yellow hawk-like eyes, she is a great flyer and nothing gets past her. If you need a shy, unnoticeable character, consider taking a mouse for reference. A smallish girl that wears a gray sweater, nerdy glasses, hides behind books and scurries away when looked at. Using animal stereo types helps the reader to easily recognize the type of characters they are dealing with, especially when writing for children. Take a look here, if you need an inspiration. Well-rounded characters: Also called 3 dimensional or dynamic characters develop and change throughout the story. They grow and hopefully surprise the reader once in a while. Any major character should be a well-rounded character no matter if it is the protagonist, antagonist or one of the major side kicks. When creating a well-rounded character you have to keep in mind how he is going to develop. A rounded character is affected by the events of the story, suffers, learns, grows and change accordingly. If a character would make the same decisions at the end of the story as in the beginning it means that he has not changed and is most likely a flat character. Tips to create well-rounded characters: 1. Give them Flaws. Everyone has fears, weaknesses and makes mistakes and so should your characters. Having weaknesses and having to face and overcome them (or maybe fail trying) throughout the story makes them believable and easy to emphasize with. 2. Give them Strengths If a character has a weakness they of course also need a strength. Sometimes they know about it and maybe misjudge or underestimate it. But sometimes they discover them later on in the story and will have to learn how to use it. 3. Give them Goals What does your character want? What motivates their actions. Keep in mind that the goals will often change throughout the story. Taking a way the possibility of reaching a goal and have your character change accordingly is almost unavoidable when creating a dynamic character. 4. Give them Achievements What happens when they archive any of their goals and how do does it affect them? If they archive something they wanted and it wasn’t what they really needed, they might learn something about themselves or the situation there are in and develop accordingly. 5. Give them Conflicts

One key ingredient for creating a well-rounded character is to give them inner conflicts. For example a moral dilemma between their goals and they needs. Can they abandon their dreams and wishes for a greater good?

Check out the rest of the series about Character Development:

Part 01:

http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/133561082239/character-development-part-01

Part 02:

http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/133655817084/character-development-part-02-choosing-your

Part 03:

http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/134589523709/character-development-part-03-getting-to-know

Part 05:

http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/136396034734/character-development-part-05-naming-your

[writing-with-stef]

Childrens Book Review - “Dustbin Dad”

When I started writing, I started with Rhymed Picture Books. I don’t know why, but I always loved how they read aloud, almost rolling of your tong. Of course when you start writing in a specific genre you have a look around to see what else is out there and that is how I stumbled upon “Peter Bently”. I love Peter Bently’s Books! They are remarkably well done, incredibly funny and they often have a small but not at all nagging lesson for the kids (and Parents). The wonderful quirky illustrations from the artist “Russell Ayto” make this Book an all in all pleasure to read with your kids.

“Dustbin Dad” is about a problem that many of us know from home. Quite a few parents hate seeing the food go to waste after their children’s didn’t eat up and gobble up the left over food them selfs. In Dustbin Dad this has an unusual outcome. Since Dad is so used to eating all the left over food that is around the house he accidentally ends up eating the medicine that was meant for the cat. Shortly after he finds himself Miaowing on top of the tree, having grown a long tail and some whiskers. This is a hilarious little story that will make your kids laugh and scrape their plates for sure.

[writing-with-stef]

Character Development - part 03 - Getting to know your character

The characters are the foundation of your book. It is not only important to make them appealing and entertaining but also to get to know them as well (or even better) as yourself.

Exercise one – Write a Character Biography

Start by writing the biographies for all your major Characters. To get into the characters head it can be a good exercise to write the biographies in first person. This way you can explore the character and their voice at the same time.

Important Tip: Everyone is the hero of their own story

What does that mean? Keep in mind that every character thinks of them self as the hero of their own story, even the antagonist or the funny sidekick. The villain can’t be just evil and do evil because you need someone for the job. He does it because he has his own reasons for it, because he believes in it! He might be doing it because he thinks he is doing the right thing. He has motivations for every move he makes and it is your job to understand him and his feelings through and through.

Exercise two - Interview your characters

Imagine you are got the task to interview your major characters and write a news article about them for a local newspaper or maybe even take a news paper that could exist in their world. Like interviewing Harry Potter for the Daily Prophet. Interview them about their past or maybe about recent events that happened in or before your story.

Exercise three - Write a diary as your character

This is one of my personal favorites. For one week write a Diary as your Character. Day to day life or around the time of an important event in your story. I find this very helpful (and fun) not only in the planing part of my books but also throughout writing them. Sometimes I get great ideas for side plots or dialogs while doing this.

Exercise four - Throw your character into the temple of doom Well it doesn’t have to be as dramatic as an Indiana Jones film, but to find out more about your characters behavior and character traits, try throwing him/her into different situations and find out what he/she would do or how they would react. For example: It is late at night, and your character is unable to sleep. What will he/she do? What is keeping your character awake?

Exercise five – Have a chat

OK, this one is a simple one. Talk to your characters, either as yourself or from one character to another. If you have problems „pretending“ having a conversation with your characters just at your desk maybe create an online profiles for them, on Facebook or a forum, and use the private chat function.

Check out the rest of the series about Character Development:

Part 01:

http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/133561082239/character-development-part-01 

Part 02:

http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/133655817084/character-development-part-02-choosing-your

Part 04:

http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/134719056804/character-development-part-04-flat-and

Part 05:

http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/136396034734/character-development-part-05-naming-your

[writing-with-stef]

Character Development - part 02 - Choosing your characters appearance

If you have trouble visualizing your character think of it as if you are casting a movie. Think about actors that would fit perfect into your characters role, look for images and take it from there. Can’t think of anyone fitting? Try take a browse around websites like  www.shutterstock.com. Look for main character traits like: “8 year old boy”, “girl with freckles” or simply things like “mother”.

Found a picture to identify your character with? Great! Print it, hang it on your desk or put it into your notebook … Keep it around you when you write, speak to it!

Things to keep in mind:

The physical appearance of your characters has to fit their lives and personality. It is part of what shapes the character. Harry Potter wouldn’t have been the character he was if he would have been a ruggedly handsome, 6 feet high, Californian sunny boy. Think about how would Marilyn Monroe have turned out if she would have been flat chested and had a crooked nose?

Think about your characters ….

height

weight

age

sex

race

skin and hair colour

build

possibles scars (and where they came from)

allergies

deformities

posture 

nervous ticks and gestures 

sound of the voice (does he speak with a lisp)

eyesight

…. etcetera

Physical traits effect how the character would have developed just as much it effects real people.

Check out the rest of the series about Character Development:

Part 01:

http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/133561082239/character-development-part-01

Part 03:

http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/134589523709/character-development-part-03-getting-to-know

Part 04:

http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/134719056804/character-development-part-04-flat-and

Part 05:

http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/136396034734/character-development-part-05-naming-your

[writing-with-stef]

Character Development - part 01

Creating believable and appealing characters is essential and might strike you in the beginning as quite challenging. Here are a few tips and tricks on how to create your characters and getting to know them. 

A few tips before you start:

Keep in mind fictional characters are not the same as real-life-human-characters:  • Fictional characters are more simple. If you would write down every single thought and all the sensory impressions that goes through your head in a single day, you could probably fill a whole book. This is why in fiction you must choose the thoughts, impressions, feelings and so on of your character, that portrait motivations and development, that will affect how the character deals with the predicaments of his story.  • Fictional characters are larger than life. Fictional characters are better or worse then us. They are more noble or nasty, more handsome or repellent, they are simply more exaggerated. Even if they are going to be dull and boring, they have to be extraordinary dull and boring. Why? Because it’s fiction! People don’t want to read about their ordinary neighbor and their ordinary lives. Check out the rest of the series about Character Development:

Part 02:

http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/133655817084/character-development-part-02-choosing-your

Part 03:

http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/134589523709/character-development-part-03-getting-to-know

Part 04:

http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/134719056804/character-development-part-04-flat-and

Part 05:

http://writing-with-stef.tumblr.com/post/136396034734/character-development-part-05-naming-your

[writing-with-stef]

Welcome to my World ..

... and now .. go home!  Naah .. just kidding! Everyone is welcome to stop by. This is where I want to share my journey to become a better Writer. Here you will find news about me and my work as well as lots of tips and tricks on writing. Feel free to take a seat and ride along.