Let's continue our series which  will take us, step-by-step, from absolute beginner to published author. The topic of the previous issue: Who Is Your Reader?  If you missed it, you can read it here:  http://write4kids.com/update101008.html

Today let's talk about what you should write about.

Perhaps it's best to begin with a few things you shouldn't write about:

• Subjects that have been beaten to death.  If you want to write another alphabet book, or a book in which our hero learns that it's OK to be different, or a story about a talking squirrel and his magical forest friends, you had better have a really fresh take on things, or else you're wasting your -- and the editor's -- time.  The best way to determine over-covered topics?  Ask your local children's librarian about the kinds of stories she hopes never to see again.  You'll get an earful -- and a roadmap of where not to go.

   

• Subjects that have been covered better than you can possibly manage.  As far as I'm concerned, no one should ever attempt to record a cover version of an Otis Redding song.  Really, what's the point?  Is it even remotely possible to do that song better than Otis did it?  But yet, some have tried.  And they've failed.

  If you're inspired by a truly great writer, that's wonderful.  Generations of writers have been sparked by the work of Dr. Seuss, or Judy Blume or Gary Paulsen.  But no one will ever succeed simply by copying what those extraordinary talents have done.  If you read Hatchet and decide that you're going to take a crack at your own story about a boy stranded in the wilderness after he has to land a plane on his own, you're missing the point.  If you read Hatchet and decide that you're going to write an entirely fresh and original adventure story for boys, you're on the right track.

   

• Subjects you don't care about.  So you read that horror for teens is hot right now, and you decide that your ticket into the publishing world will be a YA novel filled with frights and chills.  That's cool -- if you understand and appreciate the genre.  But, if you aren't inclined to read horror books on your own time just for the fun of it, what makes you think you're at all capable of doing the genre justice in your own writing?  "Write what you know" is an absolute truism, but I would amend it to "write what you're passionate about".  That's the real key. (I have a simple and foolproof technique for determining this coming up at the end of this piece.)

So, with that in mind, here are my two tips for coming up with a story idea that will resonate with readers and give your talent the best opportunity to shine:

1.  Write about something from your own life and make it meaningful to today's readers.

In the last installment of this series, I suggested that you create two imaginary children to represent your readers.  Here's the key point from the piece:

Before you start your manuscript, create two "characters" to represent your potential readership.  One boy, one girl.  Give each one a name.  Imagine their age, their physical appearance, the way they speak and how they dress.  Think about what they do with themselves in the hours not spent reading your book.  Who are their friends?  Who are their antagonists?   What else do they read?  In what kind of house or apartment do they live?  And, most importantly, what are they looking for when they pick up your book?  To be entertained?  Enlightened?  Scared? Tickled pink with laughter?  

Don't start writing your book until these two youngsters truly become real to you.  Now, start writing your book for them.  Forget the publisher, forget the editor, forget the (hopefully) hordes of other kids that will ultimately read your book.  Write this book for those two kids.  

Now examine your own life and find the things that have the most meaning for you.  Did you overcome a great obstacle?  Accomplish something you never thought possible?  Experience a tragedy?  Have a family member who got ill or was disabled?  Develop an unusual hobby or interest?  Make a list and see what speaks loudest to you.  Now go back to your imaginary readers, take yourself out of the event and place one of them into it.  In one stroke,  you've obtained the necessary distance to write this story.  Set your story in the child's world, not yours.  Let the child deal with it in his or her own way, not necessarily in the way you dealt with it.  Let go of the story and allow your new protagonist to take over.  You just might find that your story is a heck of a lot more fascinating, unpredictable and meaningful than you've ever imagined.

2. Discover Your True Passions and Write About Them

Here it is, my foolproof method of determining the things that you truly and deeply care about.  And it couldn't be simpler.    Just answer this question:

You just listed your top three passions.  Simple, right?  

Me, I go to the music section first.  Then I look at martial arts magazines.  Then political magazines.    How about you?

There, you've just discovered the subjects you should be writing about (unless, of course, your first three stops are Hustler, High Times and Soldier of Fortune, in which case I suggest you might reconsider this whole children's writing thing). 

(Note: for this issue's featured article, I selected a classic piece from Children's Book Insider entitled Turn an Idea Into a Book.  It should work as an excellent complement to this step.  See Item 9 for the article.)

Want to discuss your target audience and your children's writing journey?  Visit our message board at http://write4kids.com/wwwboard and chat with other writers.  I've created a special section just for Updaters to share their thoughts about this article.  Registration to use the forum is free and takes just a few seconds. 

Many writers have gotten an important early credit by writing for the magazines of Carus Publishing.  These are high-quality publications with excellent distribution that tend to be welcoming to new writers and illustrators.  

Carus has three categories:  Cobblestone Publishing Group Magazines (Appleseeds, Calliope, Cobblestone, Dig, Faces and Odyssey); Cricket Magazine Group Literary Magazines  (Babybug, Ladybug, Spider, Cricket and Cicada); and Cricket Magazine Group Nonfiction Magazines (Click, Ask and Muse).

According to the Carus website, Cicada currently has a moratorium on new submissions, but the others appear to be open.  Any of these magazines would provide a wonderful foot in the door for a new writer or illustrator, or a new market for an experienced pro.  

Here's a direct link to the guidelines for all the magazines:  http://www.cobblestonepub.com/guides.html

In the last issue, I offered up a meaty 20% discount on all our stuff 'cause the financial world was collapsing all around us in tiny little shards.  Things haven't gotten a whole lot better, but I'm tired of being so preoccupied with gloom, so I've decided to change the reason for the discount -- which we're keeping in place until November 7.

OK, 20.  That's the percentage of the discount, and it's also a pretty important number to me.  You see, Laura and I just marked the 20th anniversary of our first meeting.  I'd love to tell you it was a romantic encounter on a moonlit beach, and that I rode up on a horse and swept her off her feet.  Yeah, I'd love to tell you that but I can't.  Actually, the fateful moment that led to a wonderful marriage, a happy family and, yes, to the very existence of Children's Book Insider and Write4Kids, was made possible by the goofiest rock song of all time.

Yes, now it can be revealed, future generations of the Bard family tree, it all began because of Paradise By The Dashboard Light by Meat Loaf.

Fall, 1988.  Your humble correspondent is standing glumly in an oldies-themed club on 43rd Street in Manhattan (named, with delightful 1980s' understatement, Shout!) when he spies a beautiful girl with long reddish hair in a rose colored dress.  Incredibly, she's standing alone.  Knowing that it's only a matter of seconds before some Wall Street yuppie descends, he leaps into action.  Heart beating fast, he makes a beeline toward this vision in red and somehow manages to blurt out "Hi.  Wanna dance?"  She wants to dance.  Your humble correspondent is elated.  Just then, the Motown song that was playing fades out and he hears the opening blasts of guitar.

Na-na-na-nana. Nanana-nana.....

Dear god, it's Paradise By The Dashboard Light. A song about a guy's infatuation with a woman that ultimately morphs into a marriage so bad he literally prays for death.  

Worst.  Omen.  Ever.

But sometime around the moment when Phil Rizzuto starts shouting "He's rounding third and heading for home!", your narrator realizes that he and this ravishing beauty are laughing hysterically over the fact that their "song" would forever be Paradise By The Dashboard Light.  And so it is today.

That was twenty years ago.   And now you have a much happier reason to enjoy this:

You'll be brought to our product page and the 20% discount will show up in your shopping cart.  (If, for some reason it doesn't drop me an e-mail and we'll make it right.)

And Meat Loaf, if you're out there reading this, thanks bro.