Creating Characters

Jan Field's KidMagWriters.com is always filled with an abundance of great information. I found the following today as I was reading:

Technique

Storytellers: Character Creation
By Jan Fields

Most stories for young people have one main character, the protagonist. Longer forms, such as novels, can handle two main characters and sometime when an author is attempting to capture an old-fashioned voice (in a novel), you’ll even find the story jumps from head to head of many characters. However, it takes room to make those things work and magazines stories are short and tight – which is why you see single main characters in almost all magazine stories.

Jan's article is filled with great suggestions on creating characters depending on age level. To read the rest of this article or explore KidMagWriters.com, go to http://www.kidmagwriters.com/technique.htm

Goal Setting

First and foremost, let me say Happy New Year! I am a bit slow this year in the goal setting realm which was reiterated quite clearly to me today as I was exploring the KidMagWriters.com website. Here is what jumped out at me...

Get Going with Goals
By Jan Fields

January is a great time to look over what you accomplished in 2009 and work out ways to go a bit further in 2010. Did you get as much done in 2009 as you'd hoped? Probably not since most of us have higher hopes than we have time. But sometimes the problem occurs when you set your goals based on the actions of someone else other than yourself. We can hope or wish for things that involve other people, but goals need to be completely under our control.

Jan offers wonderful words of wisdom in her article. I encourage you all to go take a look at http://www.kidmagwriters.com/workday/office.htm for great steps to goal setting, especially if you are a bit delayed as I am this year! I hope you find Jan's article as helpful as I did today.

Voice at KidMagWriters.com

Here is a great discussion about voice. I found it very helpful and hope you do as well. Jan Field's KidMagWriters.com is always full of great information. Check it out at http://www.kidmagwriters.com/index.htm.



Finding Your Fiction Voice

By Bonita Pate Davis

Finding the right voice for your magazine short story could mean the difference between a finished story that really works and one that doesn’t—quite. Take a story, any story, and write it twice. Use the same themes, characters, and plots. But employ different voices. One works; the other doesn’t.

For an in depth review as well as wonderfully concrete examples, please see Bonita's article at http://www.kidmagwriters.com/index.htm.

Making Writing Work in an Uneasy Economy

Making Writing Work in an Uneasy Economy

By Jan Fields

Basically, I have to make money as a writer. It's my job and my family depends on it. When the economy gets funky, I have to adjust because I'm simply not open to NOT being a writer. So, how can we keep on this writing path and bring in a bit of financial help for our families?

To read more about Jan's exciting informative article visit: http://kidmagwriters.com/workday/office.htm