Think Like a Kid Compiled by Maria Witte If you want to write for children, you need to know how their minds work. Here are a few of our favorite writers of the Writer's Digest Your Assignment for Kids contest.
Spring Snow By Alice Anne Ellis Read an excerpt from the winner in the children's fiction category of the 75th Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition.
Start Me Up By Elizabeth Sims Stop panicking and start writing! These three unorthodox methods can help.
TECHNIQUE
Reason to Rhyme By Uma Krishnaswami Here are five steps to writing picture books in rhyming verse.
From the Beginning By JoAnn Early Macken Beginning-reader authors and editors talk about what writers need to know to make the right impression on their audience.
Pie Charts, Footnotes & Doodles—Oh My! By Varian Johnson It's becoming increasingly common for middle-grade and YA authors to include supplementary elements in their fiction. Here's how to incorporate them successfully, without alienating your young readers.
Spoiler Alert! By Laura Preble Pop culture, slang and day-old sushi: These things can quickly go bad. Here's how to keep them from fouling up your YA fiction.
Three's Company By E. Lockhart, Sarah Mlynowski and Lauren Myracle In whimsical fashion, three authors relive their experience collaborating on a YA novel How to Be Bad.
A Giant Leap By Candie Moonshower Here are 10 essential steps to writing and publishing your first novel.
INSPIRATION
Kids, Meter and Rhyme By Kara Gebhart Uhl Jack Prelutsky was named our first-ever Children's Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation last year. Here he talks about how he got his start, and he also shares 40 years worth of writing wisdom.
Lessons From an Author By Alice Pope Jo Knowles, author of Lessons From a Dead Girl, talks about her road to publication—a road that was paved with contests and grants that got her noticed.
Teen at Heart By Maria Schneider TV writer Aury Wallington makes her print debut with a novel for adolescent girls.
Blue Jean Lady By Kara Gebhart Uhl Ann Brashares zipped up her mega-selling The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series this year. Here she talks about creating her now-famous characters, dealing with teenage themes and moving on.
Finding My Way By Laura Preble This debut YA author contemplates her so-called "lucky break."
OPPORTUNITIES
A Push Into Teen Fiction By Jack Clemens An editor and author of teen novels discusses the children's book publishing industry and his new imprint.
Big Deals for Little Books By Laura Rennert Write blockbuster middle-grade and YA fiction.
The World of Series By Aury Wallington If you're a novice YA writer looking to get published, consider the growing teen series market.
Poetry for the Younger Set By Kara Gebhart Uhl Will the creation of a Children's Poet Laureate and the staying power of novels-in-verse allow room for new writers in this burgeoning market?
Target: Children's Writers Compiled by Alice Pope You've finally finished the manuscript you've been laboring over for months, even years. It's time to send your baby out into the world, but where do you start?
ESSAY
Drawing Success By Elizabeth O. Dulemba A picture-book author/illustrator recounts her two-fold path to publishing success.
