Writing Tips & the 83rd Kid Lit Blog Hop

Carpinello's Writing Pages is back with writing tips from authors we've interviewed in January and February 2016. Please feel feel to leave your own advice in the comments.

I guess I would try to demystify novel-writing as 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. There are many good ideas for books, but authors are people who develop ideas into books. Sure, I’ve heard the stories of authors sitting down, starting to type, and hammering out their novels from beginning to end (with a slap-dash pull of the last page from what in my mind is the cartridge of a typewriter). But that’s uncommon, in my opinion. I use many practical tools to maintain control over my writing—outlining, charting, diagramming, deep questioning—and I revise, revise, and revise, then revise some more—Marie C. Collins, author of A Brief Stay at Earth Human Camp

Keep writing. Keep networking. Make yourself a real person. Enable people to get to know you. One thing I have learned about being an author is it is so much more than just writing. You must interact on social media. This is more than saying, “buy my book.” It is a matter of letting people know what your interests are and sharing about them. I don’t sell a book by saying, “buy my book”. I sell books when I introduce myself, talk about my kids, and why I write. Eventually, someone says, “what is your book about?” That is when I sell a book—Kandi Wyatt, author of Dragon's Future

The main advice I have is don’t give up. From what I’ve read, it seems like every author has a different process, but all seem to agree that you need to keep writing, every day if possible. I’ve found it incredibly helpful to set small writing goals and to track my first draft word count. When I first started my goal was to write only 300 words a day. This was so small that it seemed ridiculously easy. Most days I wrote over 700 words. That doesn’t sound like much, but it added up very quickl—David Brough, author of Del Ryder and the Crystal Seed

Being an indie author is so much more than just writing the manuscript. You need a great editor, formatter, and cover design person. Also, you need to know how to market a book in a constantly evolving media world. Surrounding yourself with people who have these tools is key—Tricia Copeland, author of Is this Me?   

And now,

Welcome back to another month of terrific children's literature on the April 2017 Kid Lit Blog Hop.

 

On this Hop, Carpinello's Writing Pages interviews

MG/YA Fantasy author

B. Roman

 

This hop takes place every 3rd Wednesday of the month. It is designed to engage a  group of people who love everything that has to do with children's literature. Everyone is welcome to join us: bloggers, authors, publicist, and publishers!

Have you seen the  Kid Lit Blog Hopper Facebook fan page? This page has all the news and information related to the hop plus ongoing posts, giveaways, news articles, etc. related to Kid's Lit. Check it out and of course, please like the page.

So for our hop, please make sure that your posts are related to Children’s literature only and add it to the linky. (Please make sure to add your direct post only) If you are an author, feel free just to link to your blog. Once you are done, then hop around to visit others. Please follow the co-host and visit at least the one or two people above your link. Please leave a comment when you do visit, we all like those.

Also, it would be appreciated if you grab the Kid Lit Blog Hop Badge and display it on your blog and/or your post. Note: Make sure you have the newest badge as the old one goes to the wrong page.
 
We would also be grateful if you tweet and/or posted on Facebook about the blog hop. Let’s grow this wonderful community.

Thanks for sharing your great children's books with all of us! The hostess will be around to see you.


Happy Hopping!

Reading Authors, Host

The Bookshelf Gargoyle

BeachBoundBooks

Cheryl Carpinello

Pragmatic Mom

The Logonauts

Spark and Pook

 

Add Your Link HERE

Meet MG Author Matthew David Brough

Carpinello's Writing Pages welcomes Canadian MG Fantasy author Matthew David Brough.

First, a bit about Matthew:

On a road trip across western Canada, a boy and his two older sisters listened as their mother read them The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Although he knew he loved the story, and as a teenager went on to fall even more in love with The Lord of the Rings, it wasn’t until the year he was turning 40 that Matthew David Brough felt the full force of these books. He sat down to write a story and out came Del Ryder and the Crystal Seed, the first book in a fast-paced fantasy adventure series for ages eight and up.

Matthew is a pastor who doesn’t like preachy books, but loves stories of hope. He lives in Winnipeg, Canada with his wife, Cheryl and daughter, Juliet.

Why did you pick to write books for MG?

Prior to finishing my first novel, I thought for many years about writing a book. As a pastor, I mainly thought I would write non-fiction—something about God, theology, or spirituality. I had also tried writing some fiction, but never finished anything. Finally, I decided that I would love for my daughter to be able to read a book that I had written. She was five years old, so I figured if I started right away that maybe I could finish it by the time she was ten. That’s how I chose to write for Middle Grade. I surprised myself when the first draft was finished in just a few months. Now, I’m hooked, and my daughter will turn six soon. She’ll have a whole series to read when she’s ready.

What types of books do you like to read?

Lately, I am really enjoying reading books to my daughter, including a great book called The Green Ember and the first Harry Potter book. I enjoy fantasy for younger readers, books with fast-paced adventure—yes, I enjoy Dan Brown—and I love biographies. I also read a lot of non-fiction.

When you are not writing, what do you like to do?

I’m not a full time writer, so this is a bit of a strange question for me, as most of my life is “not writing.” I love my job as a pastor, so preaching is certainly something I love. Outside of work, I love sports, mainly as a spectator (especially soccer, hockey, basketball), although I still play Ultimate Frisbee. I also like movies, going to the theatre and travelling, but most of all I just like spending time with my family.

Tell us about Del Ryder and the Crystal Seed and how the story came to be.

The original idea for the story was about a young boy who travels back and forth between earth and a fantasy world, bringing creatures back with him. It was loosely inspired by the movie Jumanji, where chaos ensues because the elements from a board game start coming to life around the two kids playing the game. There’s a funny thing about writing, though: the story doesn’t always do what you want it to do. As much as I liked the original idea, the girl in the story quickly became the main character. And once they were in Azdia, they ended up staying there far longer than originally planned. The book ended up being much more like The Wizard of Oz, in that a young girl and her three male friends end up stuck in another world, and they have to figure out how to get home.

Here's a peek at Del Ryder and the Crystal Seed:

Del Ryder, an ordinary eleven year old girl with something to prove and looking for a place to belong, leads her three best friends, Phil, Guy, and Sam, through a magic portal into the mystical land of Azdia. There they meet Crimson, one of the shape-shifting lumens, the caretakers of their world which is full of wonderful creatures and infused with an inner light. He is full of hope, believing that Del and her friends are the awaited ones who will rescue his world from a growing darkness. Unwilling to accept their destiny, the friends still manage to enlist Crimson’s help in what becomes a fight for their own survival. Held hostage by living trees, battered by storms, and caught in a stampede of giant feldroes, the darkness of Azdia blocks them at every stage of their adventure. But Del and her friends persevere, following the clues of a cryptic riddle, in the hope that it leads them home.

Have you written other books? If so, tell us a bit about them.

This is my debut novel. I have written a short story which is part one in a serial called The Adventures of Crimson and Hollow. The serial is accessible for younger children, and is a prequel to the Del Ryder series.

What’s next for your writing? Are you working on a new story?

The second book in the Del Ryder series will be available in May 19,  2016. There will be at least one more book in that series, and I hope to have more episodes in the Adventures serial.

What advice do you have for other authors?

The main advice I have is don’t give up. From what I’ve read, it seems like every author has a different process, but all seem to agree that you need to keep writing, every day if possible. I’ve found it incredibly helpful to set small writing goals and to track my first draft word count. When I first started my goal was to write only 300 words a day. This was so small that it seemed ridiculously easy. Most days I wrote over 700 words. That doesn’t sound like much, but it added up very quickly.

Anything else you want readers to know?

Yes! The title of the second book in the Del Ryder series is Del Ryder and the Rescue of Eleanor. It will be ready for Pre-Order on Kindle and Kobo February 19th.

Where can readers find you and your books?

Website
Twitter
Goodreads

Amazon