Beginning writers sometimes wonder what readers between the ages 3 and 8 what to read about? Well, you might want to consider what type of things that they think about or fear. Some of the things that I’ve noticed kids talking about are:

1.	Death of themselves, siblings, parents, friends, and grandparents.
2.	Fear of being alone.
3.	Fear of storms, thunder and lightning.
4.	Fear of what will happen when a new sibling comes into the picture.
5.	The worries about making new friends in new situations.

    For an older reader, you can consider covering the topics of:

1.	Sibling rivalries are a big one for this age group.
2.	Worrying about doing things for themselves.
3.	They are consumed with their changing bodies, both in a physical sense as well as the emotional ups and downs that accompany those changes.
4.	Their popularity or lack of it can be important to this age which includes their relationships in school as well as those outside of it.

    These are just a few of the topics that the teenage reader thinks about. For inspiration, check out the children and teenagers in your life.

Peg Finley

     Are Story Planning sheets helpful or not? Do just beginning readers use them or do experienced writers need them, too? There are all sorts of sheets that can be used to help the writer plan out their story. Check several out and then decide what works for you as a writer.
    For a writer of stories for the birth to preschool ages, story planning is important because of the limit word count, and the need to get to the point. Plus, with the current picture book market being so soft and all the talented writers there are out there, any device that helps a writer get an edge should be used.
    For a novel writer, the story planner, including character sketches, will function to keep the details straight from the story’s beginning to its end. You wouldn’t want a character have reddish hair in Chapter One and black hair in Chapter 9.

Peg Finley

     Writing partners or critique groups can be a writer’s lifesaver... for the beginning writer as well as for a more experienced writer. Each person has to find what works for them. Try going onto the web and look for places that list critique groups. I know I got my first one that way. The process of finding what you need is as individual as the writer is.
    My instructor at the Institute of Children’s Literature, Linda Crotta Brennan, and I agree that we couldn’t do without our critique groups. Just having another set of eyes can help. It’s amazing how as writers as we write our stories we can miss catching an obvious mistake.

Peg Finley

     How important is your main character’s name? Does your mc name fit your character’s personality? For example, which name would you chose if I told you that my main characters is a tiny ball of fur dog that can’t sit still for even a moment? Then, I tell you that I want to use either the name Sparky or Lazy Lou. Which name of these two would you pick?
     I think that most people would agree that Lazy Lou doesn’t fit the profile of my main character/mc.

Peg Finley

     You’ve got a great start. Your character(s) are coming to life. You’ve put it down on paper but something just is not quite right. When reading it back to yourself, it seems uninteresting. You look at it critically, and discover that you are telling rather than showing. For those beginning writers, you might be asking what is showing. Consider the sentence below.
     The little girl cried. You’ll notice how flat and boring the sentence is. It does not have any details on what is happening to the little girl. The reader knows nothing about how she is feeling.
    Now, consider the second sentence. The young blond girl’s almond-shaped blue eyes stung as they filled. Her bottom lip quivered. A single salty tear drizzled down her chafed cheek, followed by one more. Then, more tears than she had ever cried before burst downward.
    You’ll want your reader to be pulled into and stay engaged in your story, so show them what your character is feeling.

Peg Finley

     You’ve worked hard to develop your character’s personality traits. You’ve decided on your main characters age and sex. You’ve determined where the story will take place, its setting. At this point, you have to decide on what time span the story will take place in.
     Now, it is time to ask yourself a crucial question, how long can my reader sit and pay attention? The attention span of a preschooler is much shorter than that of an older child. For a preschooler, a single span of time, say a day, is more than adequate.
     For an older reader, the reader can handle stories that are longer and more complex, so your story can take place over a longer span of time.

Peg Finley

     Keeping writer’s block from parking on one’s desk is something that every writer worries about from time to time. There are many articles and books on the subject of writer’s block that you can check out from your library.
     Many books suggest that writers use various exercises to keep the creative juices flowing. One of those exercises is Free Writing. You don’t need much for this exercise, just a pencil/pen, writing paper and a timer of some kind. Find a quiet place to work. Set your timer for five minutes and start writing. Continue to write until your timer stops. Don’t stop to edit your writing, just write. Let your thoughts flow.

Peg Finley

     If you are like most of us that write, you may have heard a lot about what editors want in stories that are submitted to them. Learning what is expected by an editor can increase your chance of your work being accepted.
     It seems like there is a fine line to avoid in regards to being preachy... yet having your character subtly change and grow from their resolving the conflict that they face in your story. Here’s a hint, if you have to ask yourself if your story is didactic, then it probably is.

Peg Finley

    You might be asking yourself, how many characters should my story have? That will depend upon the age of your reader. The number of characters for the youngest readers should be kept simple...one or two at the most. The character should have simple personality traits as well.
     For a slightly older reader, two main characters can be used. The writer can add more personality traits as the age of the child gets older.
     As a writer for a young adult reader, main characters become more complexed. You can have more characters and more conflicts. That age reader can handle the conflicts that most adults can handle.

Peg Finley

    Fiction can be defined as writing where the story starts in the mind of the writer and then they put it down on paper in the form of a story.
     Fiction writing allows the writer to take aspects of their childhood/life memories and/or situations and develop a story from them. A writer might use certain characteristics/personality traits from a person they know or know of... in combination with those of another person to develop their new main character.
    Fiction writers are only limited by what their imaginations can create. Using what writer knows with a wonderful imagination can further help the writer tell a great story. Don’t be afraid to let yourself dream.

Peg Finley

    When writing for children, it never hurts a writer to go back and revisit your childhood memories. You never know what ideas can come from those memories. Think back, do you have a time in your childhood that always bring a smile to your face when you think about it? You know the kind of smile that starts small and just grows and grows. If it made you smile, it just might make others smile, too. As you are thinking about that memory, think about the smells, sights, touches, sounds and tastes you had with that memory. Then, use those senses to put your story into words.
Peg Finley

    The importance of interesting dialogue in a story can’t be stressed enough. It can be a factor that makes or breaks the story or book. When writing dialogue, there are a few basic rules to follow. Below are five helpful tips:

1.	When a new character speaks, their dialogue gets its own paragraph.
2.	Always put dialogue in quotation marks.
3.	Quotation marks go at the beginning of the character’s spoken word and at the end of those words.
4.	When using punctuation marks such as periods, exclamation points, and question marks, they are typed before the end quotation mark.
5.	If you use a dialogue tag to tell your reader who is speaking, use a comma. It goes before the end quotation marks.


A good writer will practice using these tips until they become a natural part of their writing.
Peg Finley

    Are you a writer looking for something that is useful as well as free? You should consider stopping by your local library. Most libraries have access to the internet for email contact or on-line submissions as well as for a writer’s research. There are lots of good reference books there as well as books on subjects like writing. Your local library may also have book signing or story hours...not mention the biggest resource of all...the librarian. He/she often has a pulse on all the community’s events and knowledge of fellow aspiring area writers.
Peg Finley

    Feeling all alone as a writer with no one to understand your struggles as a writer? Your family is great but they really don’t get what happens to you when you get a rejection. You are not alone. Many writers experience these feelings. Having a writing partner or a critique group may provide the encouragement and support necessary for your growth as a writer. It might take a while to get exactly the right fit for you but most writers feel it is worth it.

Peg Finley

    Great stories that stand the test of time always have a definite hook at their beginning, lots of obstacles in their middle and a satisfying ending. The beginning of a story tells about the main character(s) and what is happening as well as defines the setting where the story takes place. In the story’s middle, things get difficult for the character(s). He/she has to decide to take action to resolve the difficulties. Those actions are what solve the problems and result in the character(s) growth. Finally, the ending wraps up all the loose ends and leaves the reader with a sense of satisfaction.

Peg Finley

    As a beginning writer, you might want to consider acquiring some great reference books for the shelf by your writing desk/table. Though it may cost you a little initially, you should consider it an investment in your career. Suggested reference books should include a good quality dictionary, a thesaurus, and at least one book on grammar. For children’s writers, a rhyming dictionary and market guides for magazines as well as for one for book editors can be very helpful.

Peg Finley

    Good ideas can disappear as any writer can tell you…sometimes it might seem like they are gone in a blink of an eye. To avoid that loss, you can keep a notepad, and pencil/pen in your purse, backpack, car glove box, and even at your bedside to scribble the ideas down. I bought a simple tape recorder so I didn’t have to wake up fully. Find what works for you and use it.

Peg Finley

    If you are like most writers, finding time to writer isn’t easy, but it can be done. Ask yourself, do you get up before everyone else in your household? If so, why not get up a half hour earlier and use that time to write? A half hour per day for five days adds up to 150 minutes or 2 ½ hours per week. Not a morning person, don’t sweat it. You can stay up a half hour later than everyone else and write. Make it a habit. You’ll be surprised how much you can accomplish.

Peg Finley

    Is your life hectic? Do you often have to juggle 50 things all at once? Do you find that people do not always respect your "writing" time? After all, you stay at home. You don't have to answer to a boss, do you? You can drop whatever you are doing at the drop of a hat, right? Believe me, you are not alone. Most writers have this problem.
    While there will be emergencies that have to be dealt with, you can prioritize what needs your immediate attention.
    One way to discourage interruptions is to learn how to say "No. Not right now. This is my writing time." It is not easy but it will save you headaches later on as your writing career flourishes.

Peg Finley

    So, you've decided what age group you want to write for, now comes the next step. What will you write about in your story? Who will your story's main character (mc) or characters be? What age? What sex? What physical characteristics will he/she have? What personality traits, maybe even flaws, will he/she display? Remember one othe best ways to flesh out your main character characters is to do a character sketch. If you know your characters, then writing about them will be easier.

Peg Finley

    If you really fancy becoming a writer, especially for children, you should start at the very beginning. You can start by reading. Read all that you can. Pick stories, books and/or articles written by successful authors that are written with the age group in mind that you want to write for. Get to know what interests kids that age. It will secure your spot in that age market. That is what the experts/published authors have done and look...they are successful. It will also help you know what kind of stories have already been told and what need to be told yet. In other words, do your research.

Peg Finley