Writing Journey
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FREE Badge Tracker and 30 Days of Writing prompts with newsletter sign up
I’m so excited to embark on year two of the Grow Your Writing Challenge in 2024! Check out these two awesome freebies for email newsletter subscribers! Grow Your Writing 2024 Badge Tracker and 30 Days of Writing Prompts Hop on over to the Grow Your Writing Challenge 2024 page to learn more about how to participate in our fun, low-pressure, self-paced, and FREE challenge to # grow your writing skills, snag a free water bottle sticker and social media badges, sign the pledge, and grow in your journey as a kidlit creator! Shine On,
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GrowYourWriting Creator Interview: Carrie Karnes-Fannin, KidLit Creative
Hello and welcome to my ‘#GrowYourWriting Creator Interviews’ blog series. My goal is to shine a spotlight on kidlit creators and their fabulous projects and allow them to share their tips and tricks to grow your writing. Today I’d like to welcome Carrie Karnes-Fannin. She is is a full-time writer and occasional artist. When not writing or drawing, she enjoys photography, hiking, and re-reading the works of comedic genius Douglas Adams. She firmly believes “42” answers “the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything,” but unfortunately has mislaid her towel. She lives in the Appalachian foothills of north Georgia with her husband, plus two fur kids: a groovy dog named Bodhi,…
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GrowYourWriting Creator Interview: Sara Kruger, Children’s Picture Book and Middle Grade Writer
Hello and welcome to my new blog series, ‘#GrowYourWriting Creator Interviews’. My goal with this series is to shine a spotlight on kidlit creators and their fabulous projects and allow them to share their tips and tricks to grow your writing. Today I’d like to welcome picture book and middle grade writer, Sara Kruger. She’s been writing picture books on and off for nearly a dozen years, and actively querying for the last four years. One of her stories, Waiting for Faith, was featured in the winter 2023 edition of Little Thoughts Press and her MG micro fiction story, The Glitch, won third place in the 2023 Kids’ Choice Kidlit Writing…
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GrowYourWriting Creator Interview: Tara Trudel, Children’s Book Author and Songwriter
Hello and welcome to my new blog series, ‘#GrowYourWriting Creator Interviews’. My goal with this series is to shine a spotlight on kidlit creators and their fabulous projects and allow them to share their tips and tricks to grow your writing. Today I’d like to welcome our first participant, Children’s Author and Songwriter, Tara Trudel. Tara, can you please tell us how the idea for FRACTURED came about and a little more about your process as songwriter for kid’s books? FRACTURED combines my background in children’s songwriting, comedy, and musicfor kidlit. I wanted to write a family music album that was structured like a sketchcomedy show with elements like comedic characters, callbacks, and an…
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My #50 PRECIOUS WORDS 2023 Entry | FROM SCAVENGER TO SILVER MEDALIST
My #50preciouswords entry this year is inspired by Carlo Paalam, a men’s flyweight boxer from the Philippines who won the Silver Medal during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. His story touched my heart and reminded me of similar endeavors as a young girl with my Lola. FROM SCAVENGER TO SILVER MEDALIST By Christine Alemshah [WC: 50, MG] The air buzzed. Music blasted. Crowds cheered. But Carlo Paalam’s razor-sharp eyes focused on one thing: his Olympic silver medal, melded from recycled gadgets — an ode to his former life as a scavenger. With parries, punches, and perseverance, Carlo freed his family from poverty. And proved no dream is impossible.
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Meet the #MidWeekCritique Team
#MidWeekCritique is a monthly initiative started by children’s writer Lori M. Keating to giveaway 3 – non-rhyming PB critiques of up to 700 words. It’s gone over wonderfully, and Lori felt called to build a team to reach more writers each month. This past month I joined the #MidWeekCritique team along with April Berry and Elizabeth James. Learn more about the group and its founder, Lori M. Keating. To enter the weekly contest, follow the #MidWeekCritique hashtag each week on Twitter and comment with your favorite GIF! Lori M. Keating How long have you been writing picture books? The very first picture book I wrote (and illustrated) was for a…
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Introducing my Kid Lit Pitch Pie FREE resource
I’ve been a member of writing Twitter since 2010 and have participated in dozens of pitch events. But you know how long it took before I got my first heart? Ten years!! In 2021, I received my first ❤️ during PBPitch from a wonderful and kind agent. I submitted my story right away, and she requested several additional manuscripts! That’s when a buzz filled my heart and spoke to me, saying — this is possible! I began honing my pitch writing skills, learning more about the process, and dove right in. I studied successful pitches and trends during events and entered another pitch event. Four hearts this time and 7…
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#FallWritingFrenzy Contest Entry: SEA IN THE SKY
SEA IN THE SKY By Christine Alemshah [WC: 196] The stormy sea sky mocked me. Could Daddy and I see the same sinister moon? Hopefully, he’s tucked safely inside his ship, not in danger of falling overboard as the swirling clouds suggested. “No costume, Beatrice? It’s almost time for trick-or-treating,” called Mom. I kicked the screen door. It squeaked. I hoped it might break. “You don’t want to go?” “I can’t, Mom. The sea is in the sky tonight.” “I think it’s lovely with that crescent moon up there.” “You mean the frowning crescent face staring at me? It’s creepy — and Daddy…” “Was supposed to go trick-or-treating with us?,”…
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How to use twitter lists and bookmarks
Hello everyone! Are you on Twitter? Have you heard of bookmarks? Or lists? I’ve received questions about these tools lately, and I wanted to share a how-to guide and why you might want to utilize bookmarks and lists on Twitter. I’m an organization queen, so they help me feel better about my twitter navigation experience, and I hope you enjoy using these helpful tools as well! Twitter lists:Why might you use a Twitter list? My top reason for using creating one is to organize relevant groups of people based on events or topics. I also use lists during pitch events to find other writers in my genre. Using a list,…
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#SpringFlingKidLit contest entry: FLORY’S FAIRY WINGS
Thank you for this delightful Spring Fling Kid Lit contest opportunity hosted by Kaitlyn Leann Sanchez and Ciara O’Neal. There are also some amazing prize donors! You can shower our hosts and prize donors with love by visiting their blogs, following on social media, and viewing their amazing books. I found my gif HERE. I now present my tiny tale introducing Flory, The Garden Fairy. FLORY’S FAIRY WINGS By Christine Alemshah WC: 149 At graduation, Flory and her fairy friends debuted wings displaying their true power. Willow’s green wings cascaded a flowering arch. Phoenix’s fiery wings transformed her into a bird. Amaya’s silver wings showered everyone in light rain. Flory…
