Craft Articles
Join us in exploring others’ craft and building our own.
Here you will find explorations of mentor texts – articles that dive into specific craft elements in published books, interviews with authors, and tips on growing and improving as a writer.
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Jenn Bailey: Crafting the Ultimate Payoff
“If your climax feels a little flat, or if you aren’t feeling the emotional payoff you’ve expected, look at earlier chapters and scenes. Make sure you’ve written in the reasons that make this climax inevitable. And that you’ve positioned your main character in the kind of emotional state where this final scene will let readers feel a satisfactory resolution.”
Kate O'Shaughnessy: Patience with the Process
“I’m always trying to tell myself to do less and trust the reader more. Trust that the actions of your characters will speak for themselves. Have them do kind things and you won’t have to describe them as kind. The reader will understand it, because the reader is smart. And it’s always much more exciting to figure something out than to be told it.”
Cindy Chang: Playing with the Past
“Writing about a lived experience, especially a difficult one, can be challenging. As much as you may want to share exactly how the events unfolded in reality, it’s okay to take some creative liberties. Ultimately it’s more about figuring out the story and focusing on communicating the wants, conflicts, and lessons learned through your lived experience. And in doing so, you may find yourself feeling a little freer from the past.”
Serena Gingold Allen: Success with Scenes
“Even though it can be intimidating to share your work with others, particularly when you're starting out, find and join a critique group. It's important to find a good match, so keep trying out new ones if the first one you try doesn't work. I wouldn't be the writer I am today without my critique partners!”
Misa Sugiura: Taking It One Scene at a Time
“It is very easy to feel like what you've accomplished isn't enough. The solution (it's not easy): Enjoy the ride you're on. Let go of the stuff that's out of your control (other author's experiences, marketing budgets, awards) and control what you can, like writing your next book.”
Erin Becker: Go For It!
“I want to write books that make people feel good. I wrote Crushing It during the pandemic, during a difficult time in my life. Writing this story was like a warm hug and a reminder that sometimes, things do turn out okay.”
Weaving Details and Carving Icebergs: Revising a Novel
The story that I hadn’t been ready to tell for the first edition, became my guide for the second. The question was, where to begin? The first edition was like a locked house—I needed to find a way in, rearrange the furniture, and tear down some walls without burning the house down.
Are Critique Groups Right for You? Tips From Gennifer Choldenko
I have been in critique groups on and off for most of my career. I’m here to tell you that they can be wildly helpful and bracingly unhelpful–the trick is how to make them work for you.
Visiting New Spaces: A Q&A with Meera Sriram
Meera Sriram’s picture books take kids to a not so often visited “space”—people, place, experience—to evoke wonder and spark conversations. Sriram feels empowered and hopeful when she thinks about how her stories have the power to influence a child’s worldview.
Writing for Everyone: A Q&A with Patricia Tanumihardja, author of Ramen for Everyone
"I focused on just his family members because I realized that I wanted to weave together themes of food and family, in particular the father-and-son relationship. Food has always been a very important part of my family, both when I was growing up and now that I have my own family. My mom liked to cook and it was her way of showing her love for us. Similarly, I like to cook my husband’s or son’s favorite dishes and/or add in favorite ingredients here and there, just because I want to show them I “see” them and I love them."
The Writing Quest: A Q&A with Karen Krossing
Karen Krossing shares her publishing journey--it's been a long and fruitful one!--as well as her exploration of writing in various categories, from YA to picture books, and details of her writing process.
Anne-Marie Guest Blogs at The Official SCBWI Blog
In January 2023, I had the pleasure of being the guest blogger for The Official SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) Blog. Here are links to the posts, in case you missed them.
Writing Lived Experience: A Q&A with Michael Leali
Every manuscript seems to have its own distinct journey, but every story I write begins with an awful lot of daydreaming, staring into space, jotting a phrase or two onto a sticky note, and coming up with a working title.
Taking Poetic Risks: A Q&A with Margaret Chiu Greanias
Since I began writing picture books, I've longed to tell the story of my relationship with my Amah (grandmother, in Taiwanese). Even though we saw each other infrequently, I adored her. But like Kylie, my main character in Amah Faraway, I always felt a bit shy at the start of our visits--due to my own cautious nature, the distance, language barrier, and cultural differences.
Finding Your Book--in the Bookstore
Knowing where my book would sit on a shelf and what books it would be friends with helped me think more clearly about my revision. When I’m faced with a choice, I can consider what would sit well in the spot I found for it.
A Novel-In-Verse is a NOVEL first: An Interview with Aimee Lucido
"Craft study has helped me tremendously to make better books, and to hone my ear so that I know when something is working or not. I've become so much better at writing stronger characters with more compelling arcs, I can tell when my language is pitch-perfect and when it's falling flat, I can revise more quickly than ever before, I can look at comp titles when I get stuck, I can pull from a wider range of craft techniques when I'm struggling to convey something . . . the list goes on and on. Learning craft has helped me become a better writer in countless ways."
