Writing for Children

INTERVIEW WITH KATE DICAMILLO Kate DiCamillo's writing journey has been a truly remarkable one. She grew up in Florida a... Read more

HOW NOT TO GET REJECTED Perhaps the most common question from new picture book authors is, “Why do agents and editors sa... Read more

CREATING CHARACTERS INSPIRED BY REAL LIFE One way to find great characters is to look in the world around you. This seem... Read more

GIVE YOUR CHARACTERS SOMETHING TO DO Summed up to its essential core, a plot is the result of applying pressure to a cha... Read more

A CHILDLIKE VOICE Kids are far more discerning than many writers suspect. They know a "fake kid" when they hear one, so ... Read more

CREATE YOUR AUTHOR PLATFORM What IS a platform? It’s your visibility. The wider your reach, the more books you can sell.... Read more

6 STEPS TO SUBMISSION SUCCESS These days a vast majority of publishers and agents accept submissions online, whether thr... Read more

BREAK INTO PUBLISHING Writing is a noble proposition, in and of itself. Published writing is something else entirely. An... Read more

10 THINGS THAT MAKE EDITORS CRINGE Nobody wants to make an editor (or anyone) cringe when they read your manuscript. Ins... Read more

POINT OF VIEW AS A TOOL This and last week’s podcast is based on an article written by author and former ICL instructor ... Read more

BEING INSPIRED BY EVERYDAY OBJECTS It's human nature to become attached to things. We connect specific memories to objec... Read more

INTERVIEW WITH EMMA WALTON HAMILTON Emma Walton Hamilton is a best-selling children’s book author, editor, and writing c... Read more

AN INTERVIEW WITH EMMA D. DRYDEN Emma D. Dryden founded drydenbks LLC (www.drydenbks.com), a premiere children’s editori... Read more

HOW TO EVOKE DETAIL IN YOUR WRITING Today we’re talking about the art of description. This episode is inspired by Assign... Read more

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTING TO GO TO A WRITING CONFERENCE PART 2 In last week's episode, we talked about how to... Read more

5 TIPS TO REV UP YOUR OPENING When a reader picks up your book, you don't want them to put it down. Here are five tips f... Read more

RESHAPING YOUR STORY PART 1 You’ve finished a draft (or several drafts) of a story you’re excited about. You set it asid... Read more

EVALUATING YOUR SOURCES Today’s episode comes from the IFW book Searching: A Research Guide for Writers, now available i... Read more

ASSEMBLING YOUR SUBMISSION PACKAGE When it comes to becoming a published writer, queries are quintessential. They repres... Read more

INTERVIEW WITH RENEE LATULIPPE Renée M. LaTulippe has poems published in many anthologies including School People (ed. L... Read more