Tag Archives: advice

Funny Picture Books Need Golden Hearts

I love the Children’s Book Academy. I just finished a month-long workshop on writing picture books and learned so much. Some manuscripts I need to revise one more time are humorous and that is important, because everyone loves funny stories (especially me,) but the best humorous tales offer a deeper layer, like the finish on a fine wine.

Click on this link to read what it means to create a picture book with both humor and heart.

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A Panel of Writers Discusses How they Got Their Agents

I don’t know about you, but I’m currently looking for an agent. Here’s a podcast panel with five agented writers talking about how they connected with those all-important partners in the publishing business.

Click here to check it out.

Visit me elsewhere on the Internet.

See my latest paintings.

Try some poetry prompts.

Check out my Authors Guild site.

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I just created a new collection of digital landscape paintings on Fine Art America, These colorful works are based on photographs I took out of the window of Amtrak's Zephyr. #digital #landscapes #prints #artwork #FineArtAmerica #colorful #Colorado #west Spring is coming. This morning I added some new photos to my Dreamstime portfolio, https://www.dreamstime.com/bluerabbit_info The Bridge Series photographs inspired my 1990s acrylic paintings on canvas. https://lindaarmstrongsportfolio.wordpress.com/166-2/linda-j-armstrong-studio/about/the-bridge-series-photographs/ #photographs #BridgeSeries #Pasadena #California #Bridges #lightandshadow #abstract #abstactphotography

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    Advice about Naming Characters

    Think of your favorite story people. Their names are as familiar as those of your best friends. In real life most of us don’t bother to adjust our names to our personalities, so sometimes they don’t quite fit.

    As writers, though, we can take advantage of subconscious biases to help readers love or hate story people.

    Here’s an interesting article from the Pikes Peak Writers newsletter about character names. I love this organization and have attended many of their excellent conventions. The one this year is virtual and signup will begin soon.

    Click on the link below for the article What’s in a Name?

    What’s in a Name?

    or visit one of my other recent posts for writers.

    I’ve been finding great articles for quite a while. Looking for something special? Try the tag cloud.

    2012 2013 advice agent agents author authors blogs books challenge character children's books contest creativity fiction help hints ideas information inspiration literary literary agents NaNoWriMo NaPoWriMo novel novels november picture book picture books plot poem poem a day poetry professional promotion publication publicity publishing resources revision social media structure submissions writers writing

    I’m a painter and photographer too. Visit my art blog “Thinking in Pictures.”

    https://wordpress.com/posts/lindajarmstrong.wordpress.com

    Here’s what’s going on over at my Instagram account.

    I just created a new collection of digital landscape paintings on Fine Art America, These colorful works are based on photographs I took out of the window of Amtrak's Zephyr. #digital #landscapes #prints #artwork #FineArtAmerica #colorful #Colorado #west Spring is coming. This morning I added some new photos to my Dreamstime portfolio, https://www.dreamstime.com/bluerabbit_info The Bridge Series photographs inspired my 1990s acrylic paintings on canvas. https://lindaarmstrongsportfolio.wordpress.com/166-2/linda-j-armstrong-studio/about/the-bridge-series-photographs/ #photographs #BridgeSeries #Pasadena #California #Bridges #lightandshadow #abstract #abstactphotography Why I love living in beautiful Western Colorado. New photos in my Adobe Stock portfolio, https://stock.adobe.com/contributor/9940/Linda%20Armstrong I've created a page for my Bridge Series, a group of paintings I did in the nineties when we were still living in Los Angeles. https://lindaarmstrongsportfolio.wordpress.com/166-2/linda-j-armstrong-studio/about/the-bridge-series/. It was the second series of abstracts I did with the same working process I use now--photographic studies, then loosely representational paintings, then abstract paintings. #art #abstract #EarlyWork #acrylics #paintings #California #Pasadena #bridges #LightandShadow I just added a page to the Journey section of my website. It features some of the photographs I used as reference for my Bridge Series acrylics on canvas. See the page here: https://lindaarmstrongsportfolio.wordpress.com/166-2/linda-j-armstrong-studio/about/the-bridge-series-photographs/ I just added a new page to the creative journey section of my website. It shares some of the pastel drawings I did in shared model groups at Barnsdall art park. These are all costumed models. I'm going to devote a separate page to the nudes. https://lindaarmstrongsportfolio.wordpress.com/166-2/linda-j-armstrong-studio/about/barnsdall-figurative-pastels/ My early paintings in the eighties featured people of Southern California doing 80s SoCal things, This one was some women considering handmade quilts at the Rose Bowl flea market, Some were from sketches and others from photo notes. #painting #acrylic #figurative #myjourney #creativejourney #California #quilts #contemporary #earlywork #1980s I'm uploading pictures from my artistic journey to the bio section of my blog. This one is from the nineties when we lived in Los Angeles. To see more visit https://lindaarmstrongsportfolio.wordpress.com/166-2/linda-j-armstrong-studio/about/

    and here’s my account at Flickr. There are abstract photos and also some cool pics my Dad took when he was in Alaska in World War II.

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/redrockpoet/

    See ya around the Web.

    Keep up with my latest hot finds.

      Have a Picture Book MS? Check This Out

      Click on the link for information about how to create a winning entry for PB Pitch sessions on Twitter.

      6 Tips to Help You Get Ready for Your Picture Book Manuscript to Be Discovered on Twitter through PBPitch

      More resources for picture book writers and more about me.

        https://www.instagram.com/thisbluerabbit/

        A Selection of Websites for Writers

        The Write Life is a good site go get to know. It includes many excellent resources for writers. Here’s their 2020 list of websites. When you have time, cruise around and see which ones fit your needs.

        https://thewritelife.com/best-websites-for-writers-2020/

        Photo by Bich Tran on Pexels.com

        2012 2013 advice agent agents author authors blogs books challenge character children's books contest creativity fiction help hints ideas information inspiration literary literary agents NaNoWriMo NaPoWriMo novel novels november picture book picture books plot poem poem a day poetry professional promotion publication publicity publishing resources revision social media structure submissions writers writing

          How to Write a Chapter Book from an Expert

          Interested in writing for children? Don’t miss this great post on literary agent Jill Corcoran’s blog. While you’re there, check out other useful information for writers. I have heard her speak at conferences. Writers who have her as an agent are very lucky. She is warm, honest, and experienced.

          #WritingTips Raffle Editor Jen Arena’s Expert Advice on Writing Chapter Books Win a Copy of Jen’s 100 SNOWMEN.

          An Agent Critiques First Pages

          An Agent Critiques First Pages

          You only have a few paragraphs to capture a reader, whether a buyer on a site or in a bookstore, or a publishing professional. In this great post from Kathy Temean, agent  Sean McCarthy critiques first page submissions from three different children’s book authors.

          NaNoWriMo Tip #3: Create a Character Outline – GalleyCat

          Galley Cat will be offering great tips for writing your novel every day this month. Check out the day’s post and the archive.

          NaNoWriMo Tip #3: Create a Character Outline – GalleyCat.

          From The Write Practice Blog, Advice on Creating Good Bad Guys

          The most important character in your story is the villain. If you find that your story is lacking something, you probably don’t have to look any further than the opposition. If your hero doesn’t have much to overcome, he can’t be much of a hero. The greater the evil he faces, the greater your protagonist will be. Even in stories of man against nature, it can’t just be any storm, it has to be the Perfect Storm. See what I mean? Click below for some great ways to make your opposition more effective–and more original.

          50 Shades of Villain: How to Characterize Without Cliché.