Language in kids books
My 7 year old has recently been reading the Peter Rabbit books. One thing that struck me was the language. These books were aimed at children. The language is sophisticated. Ask my 7 year old what “soporific” means, he can tell you. Comparing this to the language in...
Wishing I was back at school…
Now, I hated high school. I don’t have the best memories of the time I spent there, but there are some days I wish I was back in school… It’s not every subject, just English. One thing I appreciated (now, not then) is the discipline of writing something, handing it in...
Through the eyes of a child…
If you’re a regular reader here, you know that I’ve been participating in Write on Wednesday with Ink Paper Pen. Over the last few exercises, I’ve written a couple of pieces that describe events and activities through the eyes of a child. I have started editing Time...
Entered a competition…
I’m holding my breath slightly right now. I stumbled upon the Kids’ Book Review Inaugural Unpublished Picture Book Award! and as I have an unpublished picture book I’ve been working on, I thought I’d enter. With some encouragement from my PlanBig friends and followers...
Sunshine in a Cup
It’s Write on Wednesday time again. This week we have a writing prompt: “Bring me sunshine in a cup.” You can read the whole prompt here. Sooti edged closer to the table. It was beautifully decorated and she had been told not to touch ANYTHING. Mum had placed every...
A new idea for Jimmy James
Driving home from school yesterday, I asked my 9 year old how his lunch was. He replied “Good” then giggled, saying “How can lunch be good? It’s not as if it can be naughty!” This led to the suggestion that we should explore a Jimmy James story with a naughty lunch…...
Amazing things for a 9 year old
I need some help. I am in the process of editing the first Jimmy James story I have written – the story of Jimmy James and his amazing socks. Here is my question: What are some day to day amazing things that can happen to a 9 year old boy? My own 9 year old has given...
Jimmy James writes a letter
It’s Write on Wednesday again. This week is a “Choose Your Own Adventure” challenge. You can read the details here. I was sent a gorgeous book for my birthday that is correspondence between two people. I have also seen a number of reports about how kids aren’t writing...
Kids book – an update
It’s been a while since I’ve updated you on my kids book. If you’ve been supporting my plan on PlanBig, you may have seen some updates… But here’s the latest: About a month ago, I attended a workshop by Create a Kids Book. I wasn’t very well on the day, and didn’t...
A story challenge?
I’ve been toying with an idea for a while… Short stories seem to be my thing, and I also seem to be writing things one paragraph at a time. So, I was wondering if a story could be written/published on Twitter – 140 characters at a time. The idea would be to publish an...