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im not sure if anyone remembers but im trying to write a kids book based on my rats. im still having a little trouble getitng the art right but practice makes perfect. my main issue is writing the dang thing. i keep starting over and im never happy with it. i know how i want it all to go, my problem is that i suck at writing. i cant drag things out and i suck at describing things. i dont have a good style of writing and all in all just suck at putting words together in any sort of interesting way. the only decent thing ive ever written in my life was a depressing poem about my mom back in highschool. i want this to have a fun and carefree feel to it

writing isnt easy and i admire all of you who can write

i hope you enjoyed reading this mini rant, brought to you by shanna66 xp

i wrote some stories already and made the drawings for it.
i had classes about children literature, so i can share a bit with you.

don't worry too much on the writing part. some good children books are made only with drawings. the text is half of the message.

you can draw and then take a story from it - draw more than what you'll use, then pick some of your productions and then you'll feel inspired to just add a small sentence, or just a word, or not even that.

when you add a sentence you can allways go back and change it or sometimes add something more (or not!).

check out many different ChBook styles, think of how children think, check out also their math workbooks cause sometimes they might have funny ideas in the described problems. pay attention on the way it's written.

sometimes ChBooks don't really have a specific story - it's just ordered ideas in paper.

(oh and don't forget: ChBooks are not only for children. a parent won't buy it for his/her child if he/she don't like it. normally parents look for the way it's presented, the drawings or words used and the main messages.) - ok ok, "i'm not gonna seel it", but this is a nice thing to remember while you're making it. it helps.

(my academic formation is also about children literature)

good "luck"! (:

Many writers are unhappy with their work, Shanna. We always think we can do better. You don't even want to know how many stories I've stopped working on, or tried to rewrite, because I wasn't happy with my work.

Here is my advice.

First off, you know how you want it all to go. Is this a basic idea, or do you have every detail in place? Think about that.

Second, it doesn't matter if it totally stinks the first time around. Writers RARELY turn their first copy of their book into the publisher. They go back and tweak things, make their books better. The important thing is to get it done. Get through it. Once you've done that, you can go back OR you can have somebody help you go back.

Third, talk to other writers. This is kind of what you're doing. But don't just rant. Talk about your story ideas and let ideas bounce around. Bounce off ideas with other writers.

Fourth, make sure you know what kind of age group you're going for. Are you going for toddlers? Elementary school kids? Middle school kids? This will determine how you will write it.

If you EVER, EVER need somebody to critique your writing, give you suggestions, correct grammar, or any other number of things to do with writing--I would be overjoyed to help you with any of those things. You have help. Don't be afraid to use it. heart