Last Day of ChaBooCha Lite! #ChaBooChaLite #ChaBooCha

Today is the last day of the ChaBooCha Lite challenge. How have you done? Have you reached your target? If your first draft complete? Let me know in the comments below.

And now, let's get to the prize winners:

  Winner of a copy of "Shakespeare: A book of Quotations" is Anita Banks.

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 Winner of a  "working" book cover, created by me, is saputnam.

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Winner of  a copy of "Write To Be Heard - Write Like You Talk: Help With Voice, Character, Dialogue... and more" by Aaron D. Gansky is Anita Banks.

Winner of Melissa Stoller's debut chapter book, "The Enchanted Snow Globe Collection: Return to Coney Island" is Melissa Gijsbers.

Congratulations to all the prize winners! E-mail me your mailing address and I will, eventually, get your prize sent out to you.

Get rid of your self-doubt and finish your book #ChaBooChaLite #ChaBooCha

One thing that every writer has in common is that we all go through periods of self-doubt. We wonder if we are good enough, if our stories are good enough, and often times we decide that we aren't and that they aren't. This defeatist attitude can keep many of us from ever finishing our stories. Some of us will finish our first drafts and then decide that our writing just isn't good enough and stop there.

But every writer, even many famous ones, is plagued by doubts. It's not just the obscure, never-read authors who doubt their abilities.

"It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous." ~Robert Benchley 

"I have been successful probably because I have always realized that I knew nothing about writing and have merely tried to tell an interesting story entertainingly." ~Edgar Rice Burroughs 

“Is the time coming when I can endure to read my own writing in print without blushing—shivering and wishing to take cover?” ~Virginia Woolf 

"You have to resign yourself to the fact that you waste a lot of trees before you write anything you really like, and that's just the way it is." ~JK Rowling 

"Sometimes you have to go on when you don't feel like it, and sometimes you're doing good work when it feels like all you're managing is to shovel sh*t from a sitting position." ~Stephen King

And no book is ready to go out into the world by the first draft. It's what we do after that counts. We have to edit our books, sometimes revise large portions of them, and then get someone else, preferably a professional, to edit them some more. There is a massive amount of work that goes into a book after the first draft is written before it reaches publication.

So don't despair if you are doubting yourself and your ability to write. It really is all in your head.

Happy writing!

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Giveaway

Melissa Stoller has generously offered her debut chapter book, THE ENCHANTED SNOW GLOBE COLLECTION: RETURN TO CONEY ISLAND as a prize for one lucky person. If you are signed up for ChaBooChaLite and you comment on this post, you will be entered into the drawing for the prize. The winner will be chosen by a random number generator on September 30th.

One week to go! #ChaBooChaLite #ChaBooCha

Only one week left to finish your story! Are you close to finishing it yet? If you are finding it is getting more difficult to write the story as you get further into it, let the picture above help you.

First, look at the typewriter. Most of us use laptops and desktop computers now, but have you considered writing one chapter using a different device or in a different way just to give your brain a jump start? Maybe get out a notebook and write out one chapter by hand. You'll be surprised how helpful it can be when you are feeling stumped at the computer, plus you get the bonus of being able to edit it a bit when you type it all into the computer later.

Next, look at the camera. Is your story set locally? Or is it set in nature? Go out and take some photos. Use them as references while you write. Is there a wild animal in your story? Go to the zoo and watch it's natural behaviour. Take photos of it. Think about how to use what you've seen in your story.

Third, look at the hourglass. Are you having trouble finding time to write? Try setting up some timed writing sprints. Set a timer and spend 15 minutes writing, if that's all the spare time you can manage. Even writing for just 15 minutes a day can get you a considerable amount of writing built up by the end of the month.

We've just had the Autumn Equinox (last Sunday), so maybe take a break from your writing for an hour or two and just go walk amongst the fallen leaves and take in the nature that is around you.

I hope your story has grown during this month's challenge, and for many of you, that it has taken you in directions you had not originally planned (that's part of the fun). Let me know in the comments how you are doing and how far your story has progressed.

Happy writing!

Dialogue in Chapter Books by Melissa Stoller #ChaBooChaLite #ChaBooCha

DIALOGUE IN CHAPTER BOOKS

In chapter books, authors use a combination of dialogue and description to hook the reader and move the story forward. When writing dialogue in chapter books, several factors must be taken into consideration, including the style of language used, the goal of the writer to show action, humor and heart, and the objective of portraying readable dialogue.

When crafting dialogue in chapter books, the age of the reader, usually between four to nine, is important. The language should be easily understood although there can be challenging words as well. And the sentence structure should be relatively uncomplicated for this age group. The speech patterns of the characters should give the reader a clue about the characters’ personalities and goals. And the dialogue can show action in the story through the indication of body language and movement. Also, humor and heart can shine through solid dialogue, especially when the writer includes specific and interesting details.

To draft dialogue accurately, try some of the following tips. Place yourself in situations where you can observe children. Listen to your own children or grandchildren, or the kids of friends. Volunteer at a local school, library, or bookstore. Observe children on the playground or in restaurants. Notice what they are saying to each other and to those around them and take notes. Those snippets of conversations could fit right in to your next chapter book manuscript. Also, read current chapter books and consider how authors write the dialogue in their books. You can read the dialogue aloud to hear how it sounds and what the words convey. Finally, think like a child. Write the dialogue as a child would speak, not how an adult would converse. Keep the dialogue authentic, interesting, and easy to understand.

Here are three examples of snappy dialogue in recent chapter books:

Maddy McGuire, CEO: Pet Camp, By Emma Bland Smith, Illustrated by Lissie Marlin (ABDO Publishing, 2018)(this dialogue sets up the pet camp plot. Vivid details and movement help draw the reader in and make the idea believable).  

            “We can run a summer camp!”

            “You can’t run a camp. You’re not a grown-up.”

            “I could do it! Mom would help me.”

At least Maddy hoped she would.

            “Actually, that’s a pretty good idea,” said Drew. “School is almost over, so the timing is right. It could have a theme. Like coding!” Drew had been to a coding camp last summer.

            Maddy jumped up. “No, not coding. It has to be something I’m really into.”

            “Okay, then what?” asked Drew.

            She looked at her red horse notebook. She jingled the animal charms on her bracelet. She glanced at the stuffie basket. It overflowed with kittens, puppies, and rabbits.

            “Pet camp!” she shouted.

Warren & Dragon: 100 Friends, by Ariel Bernstein, Illustrated by Mike Malbrough (Puffin Books, 2018)(the personality of Dragon already shines, as he eats his marshmallow and huffs and puffs. Also, the heart of the story about friendship and the sibling relationship is evident even in this brief dialogue).

            “I don’t mind moving,” I say. And it’s true. I won’t have to listen to our neighbor Ms. Reilly call me “Warri-Boo” anymore.

            “That’s because you don’t have any friends.” Ellie says.

            “That’s not true!” I do not say it might be true. “Dragon is my friend.”

            “Dragon isn’t real.”

            “I am so offended,” Dragon says in between bites of marshmallow.

            Ellie shakes her head. She looks a lot like Mom when she does that.

            “You shouldn’t offend Dragon. He gets scary when he’s offended.”

            Dragon huffs and puffs as best he can.

Jasmine Toguchi: Mochi Queen, by Debbi Michiko Florence, pictures by Elizabet Vukovic (Farrar Straus Giroux Book for Young Readers, 2017) (this dialogue is written using age-appropriate language and vivid details, and the emotion of the younger sister will resonate with the reader).

            “I’m going to help make mochi,” I said to Sophie.

            She kept picking at her orange nails. “You’re too little. You’ll only get in the way.”

            “I’m big enough.” Yesterday I noticed I came up to Sophie’s chin. During the summer I came up to her shoulder. I was growing!

            “Just wait your turn,” she said.

            This year, Sophie would sit at the table in the backyard with Mom and all the other women. She would probably get to sit right next to Obaachan, our grandma who came from Japan every year for the holidays.

            “Stop pouting and finish cleaning,” Sophie said. “You’ll get your turn at mochi-tsuki when you’re ten.”

            I wished there was something I could do before her. Something she could never do.

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Enjoy writing dialogue during ChaBooChaLite 2018! Happy creating, and I look forward to reading the dialogue in your future chapter books!

  

Melissa Stoller is the author of the chapter book series The Enchanted Snow Globe Collection - Book One: Return to Coney Island and Book Two: The Liberty Bell Train Ride (Clear Fork Publishing, 2017 and 2019); and the picture books Scarlet’s Magic Paintbrush and Ready, Set, GOrilla! (Clear Fork, Fall 2018). She is also the co-author of The Parent-Child Book Club: Connecting With Your Kids Through Reading (HorizonLine Publishing, 2009). Melissa is a Regional Ambassador for The Chapter Book Challenge, an Assistant for the Children’s Book Academy, an Admin for The Debut Picture Book Study Group, and a volunteer with the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators/MetroNY. Melissa has worked as a lawyer, legal writing instructor, freelance writer and editor, and early childhood educator. She lives in New York City with her husband, three daughters, and one puppy. When not writing or reading, Melissa can be found exploring NYC with family and friends, traveling, and adding treasures to her collections.

CONNECT: 

www.MelissaStoller.com

http://www.facebook.com/MelissaStoller

http://www.twitter.com/melissastoller

http://www.instagram.com/Melissa_Stoller

http://www.pinterest.com/melissastoller                                            

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Give-away

Today's prize is a copy of Write To Be Heard - Write Like You Talk: Help With Voice, Character, Dialogue... and more by Aaron D. Gansky. If you are a signed up member of ChaBooCha Lite, the only thing you need to do to be entered to win this prize is comment on this blog post. Winner will be chosen by a random number generator on September 30th, 2018.

Half-way there! #ChabooCha #ChaBooChaLite

We are already halfway through the challenge. How is everyone doing? (Let me know in the comments, please.)

I know that many of you have struggled. There have been all sorts of weather events going on around the world, and if you happen to be near any of them, I'm sure it has made this challenge even more difficult as you focus has had to be elsewhere. Likewise, I know some of you have struggled with health issues, with family issues, with financial issues and with other distractions. I get it. Writing can be HARD.

So if you have stuck with us this far, I am truly impressed. It isn't easy for any of us, but getting those words down and our story written is worth it. I promise you, it will be worthwhile.

Just keep writing. Make a habit out of it.

image found on Pinterest here

"Working" Covers Can Help You Write your Story #ChaBooChaLite #ChaBooCha

The above picture is of a working book cover I made for the novel I was writing a couple of years ago during Blog Your Book in 30 Days and Camp NaNoWriMo.  It is not the official cover for the book. The final book cover will probably look nothing like the above image. But it was fun to make and having an image to have in place for the book cover gave me a bit of a kick in the pants to keep writing.

During NaNoWriMo, members are encouraged to create a book cover to use as a thumbnail image for their project. I think it can be just as useful during ChaBooCha. Having a working cover is an inspirational tool to use. Your story is calling to you to write it and now it has ammunition in the form of an image to call to you with.

Another trick, if you don't want to make a simple image for your book cover, or you don't have the necessary skills to do so, is to look up images of people who look like the vision you have for your characters.

Below are some random images of men and women, found easily on royalty-free image sites such as Pixabay.com:

                                

Of course, for children's books, you will most likely find images of younger people such as children or teens.

 And here are some "working" images I made for some of my children's NaNoWriMo stories a couple of years (two of whom used the covers for their published books):

Just make sure that you don't spend so much time on this that you don't get your writing done. It can be a fun and inspirational tool to use during your writing, but, used incorrectly, it can also become another distraction that keeps you from writing.

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Give-away

I create book covers, sometimes with more success than other times, using photo-manipulation, with your photos and/or stock images. Whether or not I can create your vision depends on what your vision for your cover is. I'm offering to create a "working"cover for one prize winner. If you are signed up for ChaBooCha Lite, just comment on this blog post in order to be entered to win. Winner will be chosen by a random number generator on the 30th of this month.

Naming Characters by Melissa Gijsbers #ChaBooChaLite #ChaBooCha

Naming Characters

Coming up with names for your characters can be hard. To be honest, there are days when I think that, if I’m having trouble naming a character in a book, it’s amazing that my kids were ever named!

There are a number of ways I try to name a character:

Use the first name that comes to mind

Every now and again, a name will just come to me as I write the story, and it works. If it doesn’t, I figure I can always change the name later if I need to.

Baby Name Books & Apps

Books and apps can be useful when you are trying to find a name that is a specific ethnicity, or you are looking for a name that has a specific meaning. When all else fails, close your eyes, open the book, and put your finger on the page, and use the name closest to your finger!

Top 10 or 100 Lists

If you are looking for a name from a certain year or era, then doing a search for the top names of that year or decade, can give you a lot of great ideas for names you may not have thought about before. There are also lists of the worst names in a year, or strangest names.

Name Generators

These can be useful if you are looking for names for a fantasy or science fiction story or are looking for a name that is a bit different from names that would appear in books, apps, or popular name lists.

Ask for suggestions

When I’m really stuck, I will post something on Social Media asking for suggestions. The ideas that come back may be used in the story or may point me in the right direction so I can find a name for my character. I also know of people who have auctioned off the opportunity to name a character in a story!

Names of people you know

As much as I try not to do this, you could name characters after people you know. This can be both a good and bad thing as people you know could take it as a positive or a negative, especially if you name a less than pleasant character after them!

What are some of the other ways you come up with names of characters?

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Melissa Gijsbers is an Australian author, blogger, and speaker who has been a member of the Chapter Book Challenge since it began. She currently has three chapter books published, all written and edited during the challenge. When she’s not writing or running workshops, she is caring for two teenage boys and working in the family business. You can find her online at melissagijsbers.com and www.facebok.com/melissagijsbers

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Give-away

Today's prize is a copy of Shakespeare: A Book of Quotations. If you are a signed-up member of the Chapter Book Challenge or ChaBooCha Lite, just comment on this blog post in order to entered for the prize. Winner will be chosen by a random number generator on the 30th of September 2018.

Welcome to ChaBooCha Lite 2018! #ChaBooCha #ChaBooChaLite

Today is the first day of ChaBooCha Lite 2018!

ChaBooCha Lite is another chance to write an early reader, chapter book, middle grade book or YA novel within a month. The premise is the same as the premise of March's Chapter Book Challenge. (The Lite challenge will have less prizes and less guest blog posts.) You will still be trying to write your book during the 30 days of the month, but instead of running in March, ChaBooCha Lite runs in September.

It's also completely acceptable for you to finish a book previously begun or to edit one you have already written, as long as you complete the work in September.

It's another chance to challenge yourself, and to give yourself a deadline for writing your book. Want to join us? Sign up here.

If you'd like to add this year's ChaBooCha Lite badge to your website or blog, right-click the size of badge you'd like below and save it to your computer to add at your convenience.

ChaBooCha Lite - Final Day! #ChaBooChaLite #ChaBooCha

The final day of the ChaBooCha Lite has arrived. I hope this day finds everyone who participated, if not finishing their books, then at least having written more this month than they would have done without the challenge.

We have some prize winners to announce for three of the four give-aways this month.

The winner of the Novel Under Construction writing journal is Melissa Stoller! Congratulations Melissa! Please contact me with the mailing address that you would like your journal sent to.

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The winner of the signed copy of THE ENCHANTED SNOW GLOBE COLLECTION: RETURN TO CONEY ISLAND is saputnam. Congratulations! Please contact me or Melissa with the mailing address you would like your book sent to.

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The winner of the hand-made mermaid charm bookmark (different from the one shown in the picture; pictured is a cat charm bookmark) is Meli Glickman! Congratulations, Meli! Please contact me with the mailing address you would like your book sent to.

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I hope everyone has enjoyed this "lite" challenge and found it aided them in being more productive with their writing! Feel free to let me know a little about your book in the comments below. And thank you for joining us!

Why Write for Children? #ChaBooChaLite #ChaBooCha

Why do so many people want to write books for children? There are as many reasons as there are children's authors, but I'll try to list some of these reasons below.

Childhood is fleeting. As children grow, their perspectives change. They lose some of their innocence. They start to see the world differently. And they are still learning about life, morality, choices and consequences. Childhood is the brief period of time when we can entertain them in a specific way, and when we can teach them, capturing their minds while they are still full of imagination.

Children need to believe that good can triumph over evil. In everyday life, things don't always happen for the better. Sometimes life can give people, even children, some hard knocks. But while they are still children, we can impart to them stories of good triumphing over evil and instil a sense of hope that they will need in order to make it through some of the trials life will eventually throw their way.

Children need to believe in magic. It doesn't have to be the magic of wizards and magicians, but the beauty that can be found in the world, in every beautiful flower, every new baby born, every wonderful creature living on the planet is a type of magic. Children need to believe in the beauty all around, and they need to believe that the impossible can be achieved in order for their imaginations to come up with impossible things and turn them into possibilities.

Children need to learn empathy. Studies have shown that children who read a lot are more likely to feel empathy for others. We have the ability to influence compassion and kindness in the children who read our stories.

Your reasons might not be listed above. I'd love to hear your reasons for writing for children in the comments.

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Give-away

One person who comments on this post will be selected by a random number generator to win a ChaBooCha teddy bear. As there are only a couple of days left of the challenge, you will be given until the 7th of October to leave a comment. The winner will be e-mailed.

Critique Groups by Aleesah Darlison #ChaBooChaLite #ChaBooCha

Hi, I’m Aleesah Darlison. I’m a multi-published, award-winning Australian children’s author.

In the last six and a half years, I’ve had thirty-six books commercially published, including my eight book fantasy adventure series, Unicorn Riders, which has just been released in the US.

But… ten years ago, I knew nothing and no one in the children’s publishing industry. I was as green as they come!

What was one of the best things I did to get my career on track?

It was to create a children’s writers critique group – well, two groups, to be precise.

So what happened, was that I knew I wanted to be an author. I worked out that I would have to skill myself, teach myself, how to write properly. As you probably already know, writing for children isn’t as easy as people believe.

I went along to a number of writing workshops that were being run by well-known children’s authors.

The first workshop was an introductory course on writing for children with Dianne (Di) Bates. Di has won many awards both for her writing and her services to children’s literature. It was Di who encouraged the attendees at her workshop to connect and form a critique group. I collected everyone’s contact details with the intention of doing just that.

At around the same time, I attended a workshop that was run by Libby Gleeson. Libby is a much-loved Australian children’s author. She’s won plenty of awards too and was also presented with a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Queen’s Birthday honours in 2007. Huge kudos.

At Libby’s workshop, I met and networked with more aspiring and emerging authors. We had much in common including our need to continue our education as authors and our desire to be published.

I collected more contact details. Now all I needed was a venue. That’s when I got in touch with the NSW Writers’ Centre (another fabulous resource for authors in Australia!) and asked them if they could provide a room for us to meet. They happily did so – and it was free of charge and central to everyone. We were living in Sydney in the time, a huge city, so a central venue was crucial.

From that point on for several years I coordinated and chaired two separate critique groups. One group was for picture book authors only. The other was a broader group of children’s author of all age groups/genres.

There were about six to ten of us coming every fortnight, although we had a much larger database of people. Not everyone could attend every week.

We had a list of rules that we tried to live by. No personal or confronting feedback, constructive feedback on manuscripts only. Everyone has a turn. Try your best not to defend every comment made or justify every word written – the author being critiqued really needed to listen more than they spoke, otherwise the feedback ended up falling on deaf ears.

So, why was it so crucial at the start of my writing career to be part of a critique group? Some clear reasons, in a nutshell included:

1. Networking. Taking the journey with other people at the same skill level as you and developing those contacts as life-long friends.
2. Having people who understand where you’re coming from as an author and where you’re desperately trying to get to.
3. The chance to read your work out aloud to other writers and gain crucial, constructive feedback free of charge. Priceless.
4. Attending a regular critique group meeting means you have a deadline to work towards. You will finish that story because you want to read it out.
5. Having a forum to share your work – on paper and also verbally as you read and perform it. One of the main reasons I write is to share my stories and my ideas.
6. Knowing you need a new story or chapter to read at the critique group gets your ideas out onto paper – you’re one step closer to becoming published.
7. In a critique group your writing will develop to a publishable standard under the guidance of others.
8. Reading your work out at a critique group (or even having someone else do it for you) allows you to see and hear the errors in your writing. Often you’re writing blind, especially when you first start out, or you’re writing with the blinkers on. You’re so in love with your own work – or so tired of editing your own story – that you can see what’s wrong with it. Let others do it for you!                                                                                                      

Of course you’re not going to agree with every item of feedback you receive. There are matters and stories that are close to your heart and you may consider that what you’ve written – and how you’ve written it – is right and true and correct. You may consider that your story is as precious as The Holy Grail. And yes, authors do get precious about their work. We spend countless hours lovingly creating our stories, after all.

But writing is an incredibly objective thing. Listening to other people’s opinions and taking on-board how they have heard or read you work is crucial to the story’s development. It’s also crucial to your development as an author. Once you’re published, don’t think that for one moment the feedback is going to stop. You have to learn to have a thick skin, but also to listen to people dissect your writing as they find their own truth and meaning in it.

As time went by, the members of both my writers’ groups developed their skills. Those picture books, chapter books, novels and short stories that we were reading out, well, many became published in magazine and in book form.

Several of the people I started with in the critique groups are now multi-published authors. We still walk the path together and while we might not be critiquing each other’s work (many of us have agents and editors who do that for us now) we still support each other.

I’m proud of the fact that authors rose from my critique groups. A critique group, your critique group, can help you rise too.

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Aleesah Darlison is an award-winning Australian children’s author. To date, she has published thirty-six books for children including picture books, chapter books, novels and series. Aleesah has won numerous awards for her writing including the 2015 Environment Award for Children’s Literature (Non-Fiction) and an Australian Society of Authors (ASA) mentorship.

Aleesah travels throughout Australia and internationally delivering talks and workshops to children and adults at preschools, schools, libraries, literary festivals and writers’ centres. Her 8-book fantasy adventure series, Unicorn Riders, has been released in hardcover and paperback in the US. In 2016, Aleesah set up a business called Greenleaf Press, which provides critical support services to authors, illustrators and small businesses.

Websites: www.aleesahdarlison.com  and www.greenleafpress.net.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AleesahDarlisonFanPage and www.facebook.com/GreenleafPress

Twitter: @Aleesah and @Greenleaf_Press

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Give-away

Today's give-away is a hand-made mermaid charm bookmark (different from the one shown in the picture; pictured is a cat charm bookmark). Just comment on this post by September 30th to be entered to win. 

How to Start Writing Your Chapter Book During ChaBooCha Lite by Melissa Stoller #ChaBooChaLite #ChaBooCha

HOW TO START WRITING YOUR CHAPTER BOOK DURING CHABOOCHA LITE

You made it! You’re here, in Chapter Book Challenge Lite – ChaBooCha Lite! You’re ready to start writing your chapter book. Now what?

I’ve written several posts for Chapter Book Challenge with tips about writing chapter books at http://chapterbookchallenge.blogspot.com/2017/03/working-your-way-through-chaboocha-2017.html
http://chapterbookchallenge.blogspot.com/2017/07/book-release-enchanted-snow-globe.html and http://chapterbookchallenge.blogspot.com/2017/05/cover-reveal-enchanted-snow-globe.html

I also wrote a post as a guest blogger on Alayne Kay Christian’s blog about how to decide if your story is better suited to be a picture book or a chapter book. https://alaynekaychristian.wordpress.com/2017/09/09/melissa-stollers-top-ten-chapter-book-writing-tips/

And I’m thrilled that my debut chapter book, THE ENCHANTED SNOW GLOBE COLLECTION: RETURN TO CONEY ISLAND, released this summer from Clear Fork Publishing/Spork, with beautiful illustrations by Callie Metler-Smith. I enjoyed the writing journey and I’m working on finalizing book two during this ChaBooCha Lite month.

Thank you so much, Becky, for inviting me to blog during ChaBooCha Lite. I love the community you have created, and I look forward to spending much more time learning with everyone involved!

For now, members of this special community, here’s a LITE post to help you get started on your chapter book writing journey.

START WRITING YOUR CHAPTER BOOK:

1) READ MENTOR TEXTS: Read some books in the chapter book genre. Go to your local library or bookstore and study at least five recent chapter books that you can use as mentor texts. As you are reading, note the following: what topics lend themselves to chapter books? What lengths are the books? How old are the book’s protagonists? What is the suggested reading age? Think about the writing style, the pacing, the use of illustration, the story arc, and more. I also recommend reading chapter books that have different settings so you can get ideas and see what resonates with you.

2) BRAINSTORM IDEAS: Spend some time thinking about your actual story. That may seem elemental, but it is really important to develop workable ideas. Who are your main characters? What is the conflict that they face? How will they grow or change throughout the story? Who are the secondary characters? Are there any subplots? Is the story funny, touching, scary, creepy, or some combination? What is the setting – family and home, a school, summer camp, another planet? Is the story set in the past, present, or future? What are the broader themes you hope to focus on? It may take some time for your ideas to marinate, simmer, and finally gel.

3) OUTLINE YOUR BOOK: I know that not everyone enjoys writing with plot outlines, but I suggest giving it a try if you are new to chapter book writing. Many chapter books use the ten-chapter format, so start there. Try to outline how your book starts, what happens in the middle section, and how it ends. Your approach and storytelling may change as you write, but at least you have a starting point to help you keep the plot moving forward. And, with an outline, you can always write the chapters out of order if one area, such as the middle, is giving you trouble or making you feel stuck. You can always discard your outline, but at least it gives you a starting point and a roadmap to follow.

4) CHECK OPENING LINES AND CHAPTER TRANSITIONS: Think about how you will hook the reader right from the beginning. How will your first line, paragraph, page, and chapter keep the reader excited about turning pages and continuing to read your story. And remember that each chapter can work almost as a mini-story, with its own story arc with a beginning, middle, and end. And each chapter ending should contain a transition, almost a cliffhanger, that keeps the reader engaged and wanting more.

5) JUST GET STARTED:  Sit down and start writing! It’s been said before but it’s worth repeating: it’s much easier to edit words that are already written than to stare at a blank page or screen. Try to write without editing yourself too much as you go along. Maybe try writing freely until you have a chapter or two and then go back and make some edits. At some point, you will send your draft to your critique partners (maybe even another writer you meet this month in this writing group!). But for now, just keep going and get the story written.

Good luck with your chapter book writing this month during CHABOOCHA LITE and in the future! I look forward to finding your books in libraries and bookstores and to reading them all!

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Melissa Stoller is the author of the debut chapter book THE ENCHANTED SNOW GLOBE COLLECTION: RETURN TO CONEY ISLAND (Clear Fork Publishing, July 2017); the debut picture book SCARLET’S MAGIC PAINTBRUSH (Clear Fork, 2018); and THE ENCHANTED SNOW GLOBE COLLECTION: THE LIBERTY BELL TRAIN RIDE (Clear Fork, 2018).  She is also the co-author of THE PARENT-CHILD BOOK CLUB: CONNECTING WITH YOUR KIDS THROUGH READING (HorizonLine Publishing, 2009). Melissa is a Regional Ambassador for The Chapter Book Challenge, an Admin for The Debut Picture Book Study Group, an Assistant for Mira Reisberg’s Children’s Book Academy, and a volunteer with SCBWI-MetroNY. Melissa writes parenting articles, and in previous chapters of her life, she has worked as a lawyer, legal writing instructor, and early childhood educator. She lives in New York City with her husband, three daughters, and one puppy. When not writing or reading, she can be found exploring NYC with family and friends, travelling, and adding treasures to her collections.

 Connect with Melissa online at www.MelissaStoller.com, MelissaBergerStoller (Facebook),  @MelissaStoller (Twitter), and Melissa_Stoller (Instagram).

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GIVE-AWAY

Melissa is happy to send a signed copy of THE ENCHANTED SNOW GLOBE COLLECTION: RETURN TO CONEY ISLAND to one lucky winner. Please comment on this post to be eligible.

Interview with author Neil Griffiths #ChaBooCha #ChaBooChaLite

Last March, I got in touch with Neil Griffiths, an author of multiple children's books who was doing school presentations in my area. He agreed to answer any questions members of ChaBooCha had for him, but we didn't complete the Q&A in time for the March challenge, so I decided, as the information was still useful, to post everything here during ChaBooCha Lite. 

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- How do you get into schools? What do you present, especially to different age groups & group sizes? 

I have spent the last 21 years working with schools, universities, colleges, libraries and family groups. At the very beginning I realised that to get well known you need to be prepared to travel and do long hours. So I covered all the UK to begin with and then began to travel worldwide.

I also made the decision in the early days to be me! By that I mean that I wanted to be as natural in my presentations as I could and base much of what I said on real experiences in my personal life and professional one too.

I also knew that I had to offer a unique experience during my sessions that no-one else offered.
So through long hours ( I am usually on the road by 4am!!) I gradually built up a reputation. I created a website but most of my bookings come from recommendations.

It has really helped that I was a headteacher (editor note: for those in the US, a headteacher is the equivalent of a school principal), giving me credibility with schools etc.

I have also been very flexible and versatile, being prepared to work with adults, children, teachers, parents, prisoners, in fact with any group who love children and want them to have a good start in life.

- Once you get your foot in the door, what do you send to the school in advance of the visit, so the children are prepared and excited about you coming?

Once I have been booked, I get a confirmation email and then send them one which outlines my visit and requirements. These are simple and easy to organise. I invoice after the visit.

- Freebies and activity sheets? How do you get students involved in the presentation? How do you keep students engaged? How is presenting a chapter book different from picture books? Do you read a chapter? And then do an activity? 

When in settings, I do interactive storytelling with ages 3 to 11 and offer training for parents on developing a love of reading and to professionals on how to support reading for life. The skill is to be able to quickly adapt a story for all ages and my techniques as a trained teacher of 40 years makes this much easier.

When working with children, I rarely read word for word from the book. I perform them and use puppets and props and get the children to play some of the characters for me. Then I have whole school activities as part of the role-play.

When presenting my chapter books I take part of the story and role-play that. The art of getting children interested is in the skill of the presenter. You must know how children tick, understand their humour and get down to their level. It is all about dramatic presentation that allows you to create wild moments and then quiet calm moments and that takes years to get right. I do not give out handouts or freebies.

- Tips on getting book sales? What are your best marketing strategies?

Marketing books is notoriously difficult. My advantage is that almost every day I am in a setting or at a conference so I have a captive audience.

I never pay for advertising as it is rarely effective and very expensive. I have a great website and really present my books well on the road  with an attractive stand that has front covers of all the books.

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Neil Griffiths was a Primary School headteacher for 13 years before taking on the role of director of a National Literacy Project for the Basic Skills Agency. This agency believed in Neil’s highly original Storysack idea and allowed him to promote it to schools and communities throughout the UK. After six years, Neil began to devote all of his energies to the project and set up what is now the worldwide, highly acclaimed, and award-winning Storysack® phenomenon.

Many publishers and institutions have asked Neil to contribute his wealth of experience to their projects over the years – his knowledge of learning, his gift of story, his passion for teaching, and his love of children – helping them to produce prized resources and to achieve success in the highly competitive educational market. He has created award-winning play resources, written a nursery curriculum, a best-selling resource book on creative play for Nelson Thornes Publishers, and imaginative material for the Early Learning Centre. He has developed a scheme for supporting English as an additional language for Harcourt Publishing and has consulted for a highly successful toy manufacturer.

Neil also finds time to write his own children’s picture books, published exclusively by Red Robin Books. They feature strong storylines, memorable characters, enchanting language, and arresting illustrations. They charm children and have sold in the thousands. Neil loves to tell a story and a story time with him is a rare and highly entertaining event as he magically draws his audience into his storyworlds.

Neil is also available for inspirational training worldwide. He is known internationally for his unique delivery, exceptional energy, and his rare storytelling gift.

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Give-away

On September 30th, one person's name will be drawn to win this Novel Under Construction writing journal. All you need to do is comment on this blog post by September 29th. You have to be signed up for ChaBooCha Lite in order to be eligible for this prize.