Tag Archives: authors

What to Take on Your Writer’s Journey #2: Ask Why Must You Write This Book?

05 Wednesday Jan 2022

Posted by in Author's Perspective

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

by Rieko Mendez

Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels.com

Editor’s Note: This is the second of three installments on What to Take on Your Writer’s Journey. Look for the third installment next month that will explore deeper revision.

I’ve been writing YA fiction seriously for the last five years. Like many of you, I’ve immersed myself in books on the writing craft and consumed every minute of workshops I could afford. Early in the pandemic, I lived for those free SCBWI digital workshops. In these blog posts, I want to share something different — the less obvious, yet crucial insights that upped the game in my writing journey.

Continue reading →

10 Inspiring Kite Tales Quotes from 2021

29 Wednesday Dec 2021

Posted by in Author's Perspective, Illustrator's Perspective, Tips and Tools

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Photo by Tairon Fernandez on Pexels.com

Another year has flown by, and while we have borne the loss of some great creators and publishing influencers, we still have a tremendous community of children’s book writers, illustrators, and translators to look towards for inspiration. We have had many words of wisdom shared on Kite Tales this past year and it is a great pleasure to share them again with you now.

Writing for children requires grit and self-reflection; a sense of play and an openness to the changing world. As creators, we can find inspiration in change and embrace our own strengths and weaknesses to make something greater than we thought possible. Take heart and have patience, we are all on this journey together.

Continue reading →

The Power of a Listicle

06 Wednesday Oct 2021

Posted by in Author's Perspective, Tips and Tools

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , ,

by Sherry Shahan

Simply put, a ‘listicle’ is a catchall phrase for a short article arranged as a list. Each numbered item expands on the topic in simple, succinct sentences. Rarely is an individual item given more than a paragraph. 

Young readers are drawn to listicles because they offer information in easily digestible chunks—as opposed to trying to absorb concepts plopped on a page in an inky mass. 

Continue reading →

Announcing the Winner of the 2021 Sue Alexander Grant!

11 Wednesday Aug 2021

Posted by in Contests & Grants, SAG, Writers Days

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , ,

by Brenda Scott Royce, SCBWI-L.A. Contest Coordinator

Christine Van Zandt, 2021 Sue Alexander Grant winner

We’re thrilled to announce this year’s Sue Alexander Grant winner—Christine Van Zandt—for her nonfiction picture book, Butterfly Dreams. The book’s inspiration came in May 2020, when Van Zandt and her daughter bought their first milkweed plant, “unaware that a mother monarch had sent us home with a surprise—actually 26 surprises,” she says. “Soon, our plant was covered in adorable caterpillars. We excitedly watched them grow, . . . until all perished.”

The sad turn of events led Van Zandt to research monarch declines, plant milkweed, and educate others by writing this lyrical story. 

Here’s what our judges had to say about her manuscript: 

Continue reading →

#KTWriteOn with Author Elana K. Arnold: Before Revising Work, Consider Re-Visioning Your Core Beliefs

07 Wednesday Apr 2021

Posted by in #KTWriteOn

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Welcome to the Kite Tales Writing Challenge: #KTWriteOn. Each writing challenge is crafted by a kid-lit publishing professional to help spark ideas, renew creative energy, and get your work moving out into the world.

This exercise was created by Elana K. Arnold, author of critically acclaimed and award-winning young adult novels and children’s books, including the Printz Honor winner Damsel, the National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of, and Global Read Aloud selection A Boy Called Bat and its sequels. Elana teaches in Hamline University’s MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program and lives in Southern California with her family and menagerie of pets. Today she’s challenging us to revise our work by first taking a look at what we believe about ourselves.

Continue reading →

#KTWriteOn with Agent and Author Eric Smith: Take It One Page at a Time

13 Wednesday Jan 2021

Posted by in #KTWriteOn

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

Welcome to the Kite Tales Writing Challenge: #KTWriteOn. Each writing challenge is crafted by a kid-lit publishing professional to help spark ideas, renew creative energy, and get your work moving out into the world.

This exercise was created by Eric Smith, a Young Adult author and literary agent with P.S. Literary living in Philadelphia. His latest novel, Don’t Read the Comments, was published by Inkyard Press in January 2020, and was a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults nominee. His upcoming books include You Can Go Your Own Way (Inkyard Press, November 2021), and the anthology Battle of the Bands co-edited with Lauren Gibaldi (Candlewick, September 2021). Today he’s sharing some wisdom with us on how to be present for our own work regardless of what’s going on around us.

Continue reading →

#KTWriteOn with Children’s Librarian Amber Morrell: Author Visits in the Time of Remote Learning

07 Wednesday Oct 2020

Posted by in #KTWriteOn, Tips and Tools

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Welcome to the Kite Tales Writing Challenge: #KTWriteOn. Each writing challenge is crafted by a kid-lit publishing professional to help spark ideas, creative energy, and get your work moving out into the world.

This exercise was created by Amber Morrell, an author of middle-grade fantasy from Orange County, CA, where she’s a member of SCBWI SoCal. She’s also a children’s librarian and professional storyteller: “With poems, puppets, and songs, I create narrative experiences for children of all ages.”

Today, Amber’s bringing us an exercise that challenges authors to rethink their school visit presentations in a time when almost everyone is learning from home, online. If you’ve never done a visit before, or aren’t there yet in your career, you’re still going to learn a lot about keeping kids engaged, and we can all use that! Write on!

Continue reading →

Attention Novelists: SCBWI-L.A. Mentorship Contest Opens February 14!

12 Wednesday Feb 2020

Posted by in Contests & Grants, Mentorship Contest

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

by Cheryl Manning 

The SCBWI Los Angeles region offers a plethora of events and contests for writers and illustrators throughout the year. I’ve been inspired and enlightened by many of them, but the Mentorship Contest stands out. Here are six reasons why my mentorship was so meaningful. 

LinkaBookLaunch1. Favorite New Author 

I was writing a middle grade novel and therefore reading mostly books in that genre. When I found out that YA author Catherine Linka had chosen to mentor me, I purchased her novels A Girl Called Fearless and A Girl Undone. Instead of prepping my manuscript to send off, I began reading Catherine’s first book and was sucked into Avie’s story of survival in search of freedom. Within one chapter, Catherine’s storytelling skills and authentic dialog had me hooked. By the end of her second book, I knew that I was the luckiest mentee on the planet. When I found out that her newest novel, What I Want You to See, was about to launch, I knew I’d be the first in line.

2. Memorable First Words 

Continue reading →

Meet April Halprin Wayland, Author, Poet, and Beach Retreat Instructor

16 Wednesday Oct 2019

Posted by in Author's Perspective, Central Coast, Writers' Retreat

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

By Ann Rousseau Smith, SCBWI CenCal News Liaison

2020 April Halprin Wayland - photo credit Morgan Eagle!! (1)

(Photo: Morgan Eagle)

April Halprin Wayland will be joining us for our picture book retreat, January 10–12, 2020, in San Simeon, California. She writes poetry and picture books, including More Than Enough: A Passover Story and the Sydney Taylor Gold Book Award winning New Year at the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story. She was named UCLA Extension Writers’ Program Outstanding Instructor of the Year, and blogs with five other children’s authors at TeachingAuthors.com. April will be presenting four sessions during the retreat weekend, which is open to the public, and will include time to write, join small critique groups, stroll on the beach, and enjoy a beachside campfire in the evening.

ANN ROUSSEAU SMITH: Welcome to the Kite Tales blog! Most people love origin stories. Can you tell us a little bit about your first published picture book?
Continue reading →

Four Reasons Why Cons Are Not Cons

04 Wednesday Sep 2019

Posted by in Industry Conferences, PAL

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

by R. S. Mellette

LA Comic Con 2018 -6As we prepare for the Los Angeles Comic Con on October 11-13, I’m hearing from some PAL members, “But I don’t write science fiction…”

So?

Last year for the first time, I organized the SCBWI PAL booth at the Los Angeles Comic Con. I had no idea what to expect. The adventure started with a mass of people RUNNING through the aisles. They were not going to see a film star. They were not going to be the first to watch a new Marvel movie trailer. They were going to buy clothes – Hot Topic was having a doorbuster sale. That’s when I realized, this weekend wasn’t going to be what I expected. Continue reading →