Kelly's Writing Update

Several people have been asking me when my next book is coming out....well, my answer is not simple and keeps changing.

After the first of the year, I had planned to self-publish one of my stories that's had a special place in my heart for ten years called Bubble Man Pop. It's a story that will be definitely be published in one form or another eventually, but I decided to submit it into a writing contest this spring.

Since winning third place in The Detroit Writing Room contest last fall, I feel that entering writing contests might be a better way of getting published and to network with other writers. The current contest I entered will share their results on April 26, and if I don't enter their writer's showcase, then my stories are bounced back to me for self-publishing or entering other contests.

I have to tell you about this contest I entered, it's super cool. It's called the PB Party. The judges read the first 70 words of all the manuscripts to decide their winners—that's it! It doesn't matter how awesome the story is, if it doesn't capture the judges' attention in the first 70 words, they throw it out the door.

Through this contest I've learned that the first part of any story has to include a "hook" to capture the reader's interest. I'm not sure how many pages a chapter book has to include a strong hook for the reader (I'm sure it's probably within the first page), but with children's picture books it needs to happen within the first 70 words. (This small paragraph has 72 words...it's definitely not a lot!)

So, while I anxiously await the results of the contest, I've been writing, writing, and writing some more to make sure all my stories have valuable hooks at the beginning. I have so many stories I've been sitting on like a broody mama hen for several years. Stories that are "good", but I've been getting my writer's magnifying glass out to see how I can make them better. Polish them up!

Most children's picture books are 500 words or less with every word being meaningful to the story. Throw out little, insignficant words like a, of, the, that, this, etc. I've been combing these small words out of my manuscripts, replacing them with bigger words that are fun to read aloud and capture the interest of my young readers. Sometimes I've reworded my stories so much that they make a turn in an entirely different direction than I had originally written.

I swallow hard as I make these big changes to my book babies, the stories I've lovingly stored safely inside my computer for years. I keep telling myself I'm just taking out some words, that's it...I'm not killing my awesome characters, they still have value. These changes will make the stories more marketable and appealing to agents...which is the only way to get my books traditionally published by the top five publishing houses.

The leader of my writing group gave me a new nickname during our last meeting...I am now known as The Word Slasher, DUM, DUM, DUM!!!

I'll keep you updated on the results of the contest and my writing plans for the rest of the year.

Thanks for reading my Country Squawk,

Kelly aka The Word Slasher

PS. In next week's post, my 13 baby chicks will be making their exodus to the outdoor baby coop...they are very loud and stinky in my basement and need to hit the road! Then I'll put another 22 eggs in the incubator and start the process all over again, haha!