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Some of you know that I’m working on my garden. Because of the bright sun that hits the back of my house, the plants usually burn up and die despite my diligently watering them each day. Will I be able to get my garden to flourish this year? Will it look nice? This is tension, or you can call it suspense. Do you need it in a children’s story? Yes!

Even the youngest readers need tension in their picture books. Middle-grade readers need more tension, and you need even more for young adults. So, just how do you accomplish this? It’s not really that hard and I have some suggestions.

The power of three. Do you remember learning about the power of three? It goes like this:

• Your main character wants to accomplish something, but there’s a problem. He/she thinks they have the problem solved.
• The main character (along with his/friends, dog, or whoever) set out to accomplish their goal only to find a problem ruining their plans of reaching the goal. This can be an obstacle caused by the antagonist. That might be the school bully, time for supper, the weather, a disability, or anything else you can think of. For a gentle picture book, maybe your main character is learning the alphabet when her mind goes blank at the letter M. Do any of these heroes/ give up? No. He or she wouldn’t be a good main character if they gave up. Now, he/she may stop and have doubts on whether the goal can be accomplished.
• Instead, the hero/heroine goes back and re-thinks the problem and starts over again with the help of friends or the trusty dog. This time, he/she reaches his goal.

The power of three works for any age level but is especially good in a picture book. For middle grade to young adult, you want more problems. You can increase the power of three to the power of four, five, six, seven, and so on. The older the child, the more problems prevent him from reaching the goal.

Shorter sentences. Increase tension by using shorter sentences or try using short, incomplete sentences that end in an ellipse. This is a great way to increase tension for middle grade and up. Study how this technique was used in the Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling or Inkheart series by Cornelia Funke. This way really keeps your reader turning those pages and feeling breathless by the time the hero/heroine reaches the goal. In Harry’s case, it was always during the battle scenes with Lord Voldemort. In the Inkheart series, the problem was escaping killers, getting out of the bookworld, and back home.

Increasing Problems. Increasing the problems in a picture book can be created with relative ease. Take the example I used above about the heroine learning the alphabet, gets to the letter M, and her mind goes blank. That’s a problem. You could use other common obstacles like little brother not sharing and he screams about it, a lost toy, and so on. But for middle grade books and up, the stakes are higher. It could be the school bully stealing the heroine/hero’s lunch money, thus forcing him to go all day on an empty stomach. It could be the theft of a new coat, forcing him to walk home from school in the middle of winter shivering. This raises questions in the reader’s mind that must be answered. Will the hero confront the bully after school? Will it turn into a fistfight in front of everyone? What about the problem of the stolen coat? What happens? Does the hero simply go to the teacher and leave it up to her to get his coat back? What happens? The older the child is, the more you raise the stakes. The more obstacles get in the way too. Or your antagonist has a following willing to do anything he says…a gang. Like I said, raise the stakes!
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Time limit. Is there a certain period the hero/heroine has to get the problem resolved? Take homework. It usually must be finished by the next day. Or is the main character making a birthday present for Mom and it should be finished by her birthday? This is another way of putting and raising tension in your story.
I hope I gave you some ideas on how to make your book fun and exciting for readers. Remember, without tension in your children’s book (or any book), it’ll fall flat.

Did you ever think of writing a children’s picture book in rhyme? There are so many of them out there, but how do you write them? Do you just write a poem? I’ve been looking into this and found some information on writing in rhyme for children.

First, have a children’s story idea. It can be what a child is thinking about when he’s supposed to be doing his homework, the vacation he took last year, sled riding or any other thought a child would think. You might write a child’s mystery or maybe a fantasy with unicorns, evil witches, and good wizards. Where do you go from here? Take a sheet of paper from your notebook. Write down words that have something to do with your idea. Leave space under these words. You’re going to need it. Next, write words that rhyme with the words you’ve already written. It doesn’t matter if they stay with the subject at all. You might not use them all. Now, what?

Start with a good hook. That’s right. Just like in any good story written in prose, you have to have a good hook at the beginning. The subject of your rhyming story should be memorable and one your reader will want to revisit. Who doesn’t remember Mary and her lamb? There’s an entire story in that nursery rhyme. Just like a story in prose, use strong adjectives and verbs so your reader can visualize what’s happening. Kids like repetition. Use a meter in your rhyming story. What’s meter?

Meter is the rhythm that’s in every wonderful poem or rhyming story. For more information on meter, please watch this video:
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Sources: 
Icing the Cake http://www.dorichaconas.com/Icing%20the%20Cake%20page.htm
Writing In Rhyme for Children http://www.writing-world.com/poetry/rhyme.shtml

So, you’ve had a terrific idea for a historical fiction story. The only problem is you can’t travel to the place the event happened. Because your book is a historical fiction, all of your facts have to be correct. Don’t have to scrap that idea just because you can’t get there. You can still write it!

Even if you don’t drive, you can still travel to where the event happened. You can travel by plane, train, or bus. Better yet, there’s an even better way to get there. I can sum this up in two words: road trip! Ask a good friend or family member to take you to your destination and make a party out of it! Be sure to take lots of pictures of your locale. Be sure to visit their local historical society. And don’t forget to visit the local library in that city or town. You’ll most likely find additional resources in their reference section. 

What if you don’t have the money or there’s some other reason you can’t travel to this destination? You still have three sources to help you bring your story to life.

LIBRARIES
Your local library is a wealth of resources. This is always the place to start. You say that you don’t have a library card? No problem. You can easily get one for free! Also, you can start using the card the same day. 

Where do you start? Ask the reference librarian. Librarians will bend over backwards, trying to help you find what you want. If they can’t find it, they’ll point you in the right direction.

As you find books pertaining to your subject, list the title, author, page numbers where you found your information, copyright, and the publisher. You’ll have to have this information for your bibliography.  

At your library, you can find information about the geography of the area that’ll be featured in your book. You can also find out exactly how people dressed, talked, what they celebrated, how they courted one another, and their traditions. Actually, the list goes on and on. You’ll also be able the address of the historical society where the event happened along with its’ address, phone number, and the society’s current president’s name. Be sure to take lots of notes at the library since you can’t borrow reference books. You don’t want to find the historical society this way? You can still find this. How? I have a two-word answer for you: the internet.

COMPUTERS
Most libraries have computer banks that are connected to the internet. Just give the librarian your library card and settle yourself in front of one. Do a search on your subject and you’ll be surprised at how many websites and blogs appear! You will find even more information there that agrees with what you just found in the reference books. To include your internet findings in your bibliography, list the title of the internet article plus the URL of the website or blog. Always write to the copyright holder to ask permission to use their work. You can usually find their address at the bottom of the website.

HISTORICAL SOCIETIES
This is an invaluable resource. As I mentioned before, you’ll find all of their contact information both on the library shelves and their website on the internet. Also, you’ll find so much more there, including a gift shop. Take full advantage of this. You can purchase period music, postcards of what the original subject looked like and what the area looked like, and more books on your subject. Many of the books for sale in their gift shop are only sold there. If the books aren’t in your library, offered for sale by the historical society, or in an online bookstore, email them asking if you can purchase the item through the mail. I’ve done this and the historical society I did business with was more than helpful! You’ll find a plethora of information on your subject there.

HISTORICAL WEBSITES
You name it, and you can find information about your subject on these websites. I did an internet search when hunting for historical websites and found 16,800,000 of them! Just search for them on your favorite search engine.

BEFORE I CLOSE
I’d also like to share my favorite research portal. It’s called World Cat https://www.worldcat.org. This site will take you anywhere. Here you can find Anything that you have to research for your historical fiction. This is worth taking a look at!
Thanks to libraries, the internet, and historical societies, we all can write our historical fiction books no matter what! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

​ Happy New Year! I hope 2023 is better for all writers.

Just for fun, I’d like us to boost our own morale. If you are wondering if I will join in, the answer is yes.
     1. Get yourself post-it notes, pad of small paper, or make            small pieces of paper.
     2. Next, get a basket, jar, or another container. A paper              lunch bag or plastic bag will do! Remember, this is just           for you, so appearance doesn’t count.
    3. Write down what you’ve accomplished writing related         in 2022 on your paper. As I said before, anything                     writing related counts. 

Did you start that newsletter? Write it down and drop it in your container. Did you finish that bestseller that you worked on in 2022? Did you start your next bestseller or are still working on it? That counts! Did you start a blog or a website? Are you an illustrator who finished illustrating that book? Give yourself a pat on the back and drop it in your container! Did you just break through the proverbial glass ceiling where you can support yourself by writing alone? Congratulations! Did you have an idea for your next masterpiece? Way to go! Are you an editor and edited a book in 2022 (or several)? That counts, so drop it in the container! Have you taken a course in marketing or sold your books at a book fair? That’s writing related, so it counts.
    4. Count up the things you’ve accomplished last year,                 when you’re finished. I think you’ll be surprised at                 what you did. Seeing your accomplishments will make              you feel great!
     5. Show the world what you’ve accomplished! I’ll help.
  6. Sign up for 'KidzTales News!' on this website’s homepage. There is a spot on my newsletter called Good News! Contact me at kidztales8@gmail.com. Let me know what you’ve done and I’ll print your Good News!