What Are the Best Graphic Novels for Kids and Teens?

“Can you recommend a good graphic novel for my son/daughter who is [so many] years old?” 

I’ve heard this question a lot, and I’ve been pondering the answer a long, long time. My main problem is that there are just so many great books out there for kids! How do you choose?

Well, I do have one easy answer, and it's The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Ryan North and Erica Henderson. Squirrel Girl eats nuts and kicks butts and is just the best superhero there is, hands and paws down. 

I don’t care how old your child is, what their gender is, or even if you have a kid. Squirrel Girl is just the best comic-book/graphic-novel series there ever was.   

So I'm just going to tell you why the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is the graphic novel series you should get your kids (and yourself), and then I'm going to follow it with a long, though incomplete list of some great graphic novels for kids and teens.

A bit about me: I’m a mom, a life-long lover of comics, a former comics magazine editor, editorial cartoonist, consumer columnist and arts-and-entertainment writer, and I have degrees in English Literature and Theater Studies, as well as a teacher’s certificate. I have no personal connection to any of the graphic novels mentioned here other than having read them.   

So let’s get to it.  

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl 

By Ryan North and Erica Henderson 

Recommended age group: All of them  

As the name implies, this is the story of a girl with squirrel powers. She has a powerful tail, agility, proportional squirrel strength (including in her bite), and she can talk to squirrels. 

That's not what makes her my favorite superhero. 

Squirrel Girl defeats her enemies by turning them into her friends. How? She talks to them and finds out why they are behaving badly. Then she offers them a less destructive alternative.

One teacher I introduced Squirrel Girl to said, “Oh, she’s a superhero psychologist!” Well, she’s actually a computer science student, but yeah. She helps villains become better people. How is that not the best superhero ever?  

Here she is making friends with Galactus, who before meeting Squirrel Girl was the "Devourer of Worlds." She convinced him to eat nuts instead, thus saving planet Earth, as well as countless other planets. How cool is that?

But it’s more than that, of course. Squirrel Girl also introduces readers to some math concepts and computer science. I’m not kidding! Here she is teaching how binary can let you count up to 31 on one hand. 

And speaking of kidding, did you notice the footnote above? Ryan North includes hilarious footnotes on most pages of Squirrel Girl, as well as many of the other comic books he writes. It goes above and beyond what you get with any other comic book (or at least any other comic book that wasn’t written by Ryan North).  

And let’s not forget Erica Henderson’s artwork, which perfectly complements the writing. 

Henderson makes every character unique, and I have to love that so many different faces and body types are represented. Squirrel Girl herself has thick thighs, like me. The body positivity is just wonderful. 

Derek Charm replaced Henderson toward the end of the series, and while Charm’s work is dynamic, I really missed Henderson’s artwork. She brought these characters to life and made them real for me. No other artist who's drawn Squirrel Girl had done it so well.

An A+ just isn’t a high enough grade for the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. This series can be enjoyed by every member of the family and deserves an A++.  

Shannon and Dean Hale’s novels about Squirrel Girl’s early adventures are also very highly recommended for middle-graders and advanced younger readers, as are Ryan North's Power Pack, Jugheah, and Adventure Time graphic novels. His choose-your-own-adventure books, Romeo and/or Juliet and To Be or Not to Be, as well as his nonfiction book How to Invent Everything are recommended for teens, adults and more advanced middle-grade readers.

I just can't recommend The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl written by Ryan North and illustrated Erica Henderson highly enough. 

But wait, as they like to say in infomercials, there's more!

A Partial List of Other Recommended Graphic Novels for Kids and Teens

OZ: The Complete Collection adapted by Eric Shanower, art by Skottie Young  (7+ for some tense situations)

Bone by Jeff Smith (7+ for some tense situations and bad behavior)

The Ballad of YaYa by Patrick Marty (10+ for very tense situations. This series deals realistically with war from a child's perspective.)

The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner (7+ for some tense situations)

Giant Days by John Allison (older YA for adult situations) 

Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki, art by Steve Pugh (10+ for tense situations and bad behavior)

Zatanna and the House of Secrets by Matthew Cody, art by Yoshi Yoshitani (grades 1-4)

The Backstagers by James Tynion IV (7+ for some tense situations and mild, not graphic romance)

Lumberjanes by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Brooklyn A. Allen and Noelle Stevenson, who created the new She-Rah and the Princesses of Power (7+ for some tense situations and mild, not graphic romance)

Space Boy by Stephen McCranie (10+ for tense situations and peril, some implied violence, and teen romance)

Enola Holmes by Séréna Blasco, originally published in France, based on the novels by Nancy Springer that inspired the Netflix series starring Emma Watson (10+ for tense situations, bad behavior, and implied violence)

Brave, Awkward and Crush by Svetlana Chmakova (10+ for middle-grade subject matter, such as first crushes, school gossip, and bullying. Particularly recommended for school libraries)

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson (7+)

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang (10+)

Stargazing by Jen Wang (7+ this book involves a tense situation with a child who has a serious medical issue)

The Deep & Dark Blue by Niki Smith (7+) 

Jughead by Chip Zdarsky, illustrated by Erica Henderson, and Jughead by Ryan North and illustrated by Derek Charm (ALL ages. I learned to read with Archie Comics, and these are Archie Comics written by North and Zdarsky. Nuff said.)

Adventure Time by Ryan North (ALL ages with some mild tension)

Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi (7+ Super easy to read but high in tension, perfect for middle-grade reluctant readers) 

Avatar: The Last Airbender, based on the animated series from Nickelodeon (7+ High in tension and peril, some violence, though nothing graphic, some romance but nothing shown beyond kissing) 

Sisters, Smile, and Guts by Raina Telgemeier (all ages, although Sisters deals realistically with sibling rivalry and Guts deals realistically with a health issue, particularly recommended for school libraries)

El Deafo by Cece Bell (all ages, autobiographical, deals with growing up with hearing loss)

Lightfall: The Girl and the Galdurian (7+ for some tense situations) 

Diana: Princesss of the Amazons by Shannon and Dean Hale, illustrated by Victoria Ying (grades 1-4, easy to read, some tension, peril, and naughty behavior)

More: The Unstoppable Wasp, Spider-Man (by Brian Michael Bendis), Ironheart, Supergirl: Being Super, All-New Wolverine, Marvel’s Runaways, Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson

 

Writing Words for Nerds #AtoZChallenge--U is for Unique

“My book is fantastic!” he said. “And it’s unique! There’s no way anyone has ever written anything like it.”

I rolled my eyes, which was okay, because no one can hear you roll your eyes over the telephone. I think.

This was a friend of my husband, and he needed to talk to me because he had just written a children’s book, and he wanted someone to publish it.

Unlike me, he didn’t have a literature degree and he wasn’t published even once in some local magazine, forget about having years of experience as a newspaper and magazine writer and illustrator. He was just a dad who had made up a story that entertained his kid. But in his heart he knew it was the best thing since The Cat in the Hat, only better.

Too bad he wasn’t a celebrity. Then maybe his story would have had a shot.

“Are you sure?” I asked. “How many picture books have you read?”

“I don’t need to read any picture books,” he said. “I just need to you to tell me how you get a publisher.”

“It doesn’t work like that.” I sighed. “You have to read children’s books to make sure it hasn’t been done before.”

“I know it hasn’t, because it’s unique.” There he went again.

I wasn’t about to ask him what made it unique. The way he skirted the subject, I could tell he was afraid that I was going to steal his fantastic and unique idea.

Yeah, it doesn’t work like that, either. Real writers like me have more ideas than we know what to do with. We don’t go around stealing them.

Eventually, I gave up and told him to buy a copy of the latest Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market guide. I felt bad about helping someone add to the world’s slush piles. Stuff like that gives the rest of us a bad name. It makes publishers close their doors to submissions, which makes everything harder for those of us who know what we’re doing. Sometimes we even give up on the submission process, which means the slush piles get worse and worse, and the door openings get narrower and narrower.  

But there wasn’t anything else I could do. In his eyes, his story was amazing. He said so, so it had to be true! Why couldn’t I just take his word for it? And why was I standing in the way of his obviously brilliant idea? So I didn’t. I gave in. I wasn’t about to destroy his day-old dream of publishing a picture book and becoming richer than J.K. Rowling all because of his brilliant and unique idea that took him all of five minutes to come up with. I left that up to the publishers.

So I how do I know his story wasn’t all that he thought it was?

Because he made it clear that he didn’t read children’s books.

That means his story had either been written a hundred times before, or it actually WAS unique—but only because there was something so horrible wrong with it that no decent editor would allow it to be published. 

This isn’t to say that it’s impossible to write something unique and worthy of publication. It certainly IS possible, and it’s something every writer should aim for.

But the way to get there isn’t by refusing to read the books that already exist in your intended genre.

No, the way to get there is by reading and reading and reading some more in your chosen genre. It’s by analyzing those books to figure out what works and what doesn’t and why. It’s by reading nonfiction books that show you how to analyze and understand your chosen genre. It’s by reading until you discover there’s a book you need to read in that genre but can’t because it hasn’t been written yet. Only once you’ve made that discovery, will you have truly found the seed of something unique.

But that’s just the seed.

To help it grow into a beautiful and unique flower, you’re going to have to plant it in good soil, water it, feed it, and nurture it.

Because a story isn’t just an idea. That’s why you can’t copyright an idea. A story is an idea expressed in a unique way. Only the way the idea is expressed can be copyrighted. 

J.K. Rowling wasn’t the first person to write a kids’ book about a school of wizardry, but she was the first person to create Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and all the things that make Harry Potter one of the most popular series of all time.

So how do you come up with a unique way of expressing a story idea?

It starts by reading and reading and reading some more. By analyzing those books to figure out what works and what doesn’t and why.  By looking for the things you can say that no one else has said—not because they’re horribly wrong, but because no one with your unique way of looking at the world and expressing what you see has ever tried it before.

That’s how you develop the one thing every editor and every agent says he or she is looking for: a unique voice.

All of this takes time. If you just decided to be a children’s book writer yesterday, trust me, you’re nowhere close. Pick up a bunch of children’s books are start reading.  Analyze what you read. How many pages are there? How many words are on a page? How much of the story is told through the text, and how much through the illustrations? Is there dialogue? Who’s the main character? What age? Is there something on the right-hand page that makes you want to turn the page to find out what happens next? To quote Mem Fox, “Writing a picture book is like writing War and Peace in haiku.” This job is a lot harder than it looks.

Or as Pablo Picasso put it, “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”

You first need to learn what a voice is before you can develop one that’s unique to you. You need to understand the rules before you can break them, or at least make them your own.

So what exactly is a writer’s voice? More on that in my next blog post. 

Looking for YA and Kids Book Writers, Illustrators and Other Pros on Twitter?

I've put together a great list of KidLit people on Twitter, and I highly recommend you subscribe if you want to see the latest tweets by writers and illustrators with just a click.

Here it is!

https://twitter.com/SheviStories/lists/cb-and-ya-people

It's a great list full of great stuff. Hope to see you there.

Love,

Shevi

Three Great Graphic Novels for Tweens and Teens

At the 2015 New York ComicCon, I attended a panel called “Geeking the Stacks.” It was about libraries and graphic novels for kids and teens, and I found it very informative.

One thing I learned is that kids today LOVE graphic novels, so much so that one of the publishers at the panel said, “Send us your graphic novels. We can’t publish them fast enough!” There aren’t that many people out there who can write and draw well in the graphic novel format and who are interested in creating books for kids and teens. If that’s you, you’re in luck!

The librarians talked about what seem to be the most popular graphic novels among kids and teens. Here are just three of the ones that I also love: Smile, El Deafo, and Baba Yaga’s Assistant.

SMILE by Raina Telgemeier

1. Smile by Raina Telgemeier tells the personal story of one girl’s experience with braces. Raina explains that while she needed braces to fix an overbite, she REALLY needed braces after an accident knocked out her two front teeth!

I really liked Smile, because I could relate to Raina. Not only did I need braces, but I know what it’s like to have friends who aren’t your friends at all. I also know the courage it takes to let go of a bad situation when it’s the only one you’ve ever known so that you can find new friends, nerd friends like you who love the same things you do and will support you instead of pressuring you to be someone you're not.

Smile has won several awards, and I can see why. This is a perfect graphic novel for teens and preteens dealing with braces and negative peer pressure. I love it!

EL DEAFO by Cece Bell

2. El Deafo by Cece Bell tells Cece’s very personal story about how she became deaf and discovered her own “superpower.”

El Deafo is great, because it shows that deaf kids are just like other kids. They just want to have friends, especially a best friend. They aren’t perfect, and they don’t want to be treated differently because they’re deaf. Cece also explains some of the struggles of being deaf that most of us hearing people don’t know anything about, like the difficulty of going to a sleepover party when you can’t read lips in the dark. Cece isn’t perfect, and she doesn’t always make the right choices, but that’s okay. What real kid does? El Deafo has also won several prestigious awards, and it’s no wonder why: El Deafo rocks!

BABA YAGA'S ASSISTANT by Marika McCoola

3. While the other two books here are essentially memoirs in graphic novel form, Baba Yaga’s Assistant by Marika McCoola and illustrated by Emily Carroll is a fantasy that brings the legend of Baba Yaga into a modern-day setting.

Baba Yaga is a witch in Russian fairytales. Sometimes she's bad, but most of the time she’s scary and harmless, at least when it comes to kids who are kind and clever. The main character, Masha, is both. Her father is about to remarry, and while her future step-mother seems okay, her future step-sister is a little brat who likes to bite people. But that's not the only reason why Masha is unhappy. Recently, her beloved grandmother died, and Masha misses her a lot. Masha's grandmother used to tell her stories of her fantastic adventures with Baba Yaga, so when Masha finds a want ad from Baba Yaga,  she jumps at the chance to become the witch's assistant.

Will it turn out to be everything that Masha hopes, or will she get turned into Baba Yaga’s supper? And if Baba Yaga does like her, will Masha choose to stay, or will she change her mind and return home? You'll have to read the book to find out.

I’m familiar with Baba Yaga from other children’s books, but I really like the modern-teenage take in Baba Yaga’s Assistant. Masha is plucky, kind and resourceful, and I’d love to read more books about her. I highly recommend this book  for kids and teens who prefer graphic novels with elements of fantasy and some scares, but nothing too scary.  Masha is a great main character, the art is beautiful, and the story seems to hit all the right notes. I love it!

These aren’t the only graphic novels for kids and teens that I love, but I think these three are a good start for anyone who wants to give this genre a try.

Happy reading.

And remember: if you love something, say something!

Is It Possible to Make Your Childhood Dreams Come True?

When I was little, the thing I enjoy doing most of all was creating worlds with my older sister and younger brothers. Our building blocks were made of wood, plastic, and pretty much anything else we could get our hands on. We made pirate ships out of Tinker Toys, and cities out of blocks and plastic tracks for toy cars. We populated them with plastic soldiers and plastic animals. But these weren’t just toys in my mind. Assembling these worlds was only the first step. When everything was ready, the stories began. A zebra could be a queen, a soldier a king. And the stories that could grow out of them were as endless as childhood days.

Already back then, I knew what I wanted to do when I grew up: I wanted to create worlds.

Of course, I soon discovered that THAT job was already taken. (And what a fine job the Creator doing, too. I particularly love the Many World theory. If I could, I would also create an infinite number of worlds.)

The next best thing in my mind then was to create worlds by making movies or TV shows. After all, filmmakers get to create worlds that have a physical reality. You can see a movie. You can hear it. And what you see and what you hear are determined by the creators of that movie. I wanted to be one of those creators.

And then I grew up.

I discovered that to the most part filmmaking is a collaborative process. I might have a vision of this world that I want to create, but if I try to turn that into a movie I’ll have to deal with many other people who will want to impose their vision of what this world should be. And I didn’t want to have to deal with people like that. Sure, collaborating was fun when my sister and my brothers generally agreed about the rules of the stories we were creating. But it wouldn’t have been at all fun if someone had grabbed the toy zebra and said, “Don’t be ridiculous. A zebra can’t be a queen!

So for a while, I locked the part of myself that wanted to create worlds away. It’s not that I stopped creating stories; I could no more do that than a singer could give up singing or a dancer could give up dancing. Creating stories is a part of who I am. I do it from the time I wake up to time I fall asleep. But I gave up on the idea of sharing my stories with others. I watched them play on the little screen in my mind.  My characters made me laugh and cry and smile, and that was enough.

Life went on. Writing and drawing turned into things I did for newspapers and magazines, things I did for a living. And I loved it, until I had to quit when we moved back to the USA so that we could find a better school for my autistic son.

Without a job, I had to ask myself what I wanted to do.

And then I remembered how I felt when I was a little kid building worlds out of wooden blocks and plastic toys. I remembered wanting to create worlds. And I thought about all those worlds that were already a part of me. Those characters had given me so much. What if there were others who needed these stories and these characters as much as I did? So I decided to write those stories down and share them with the world.

I love writing stories. It makes me happy. I love spending time with Toren the Teller, Gilbert and Amber from the Legend of Gilbert the Fixer, and most of my other characters. I also love sharing them with you. When Gilbert says something that makes me laugh, I get a second smile on my face, just thinking about how it’s going to make you laugh, too. There’s no way I’m giving that up.

But lately, I’ve been thinking about that dream that I gave up on, my dream of being a filmmaker.

Times have changed.

When I was a teenager, there was no such thing as YouTube. My sister, my younger brothers and I sometimes made short videos. We lip-synched “We Are the World.” (My sister did a great Bob Dylan.) We played with perspective, so my brother could stand on my hand. We used stop motion to make a Play-Doh snake swallow a plastic tank after the tank ran over it. I remember one stop-motion piece I made on my own with scissors dancing in what looked like a ballet. These videos were so much fun to make, but probably not more than a dozen people got to see any of them, and I have no idea where they are now.

Nowadays, though, anyone can make a video and share it with the world. I couldn’t make my dream come true back then, but is there really anything stopping me now?

So I went out and bought the equipment. I’ve got a brand-new video camera, and even a teleprompter. And I’m excited! I’m going to be making videos, and I have so many ideas for them.

I plan to create a channel where I talk about the things I love: movies, tech, TV shows, books, games, and more. Too often great things disappear because not enough people hear about them. I want to try to make a difference, and I want to use video to do it.

I know it’s not the same thing as creating worlds, but the worlds I create are still too big for the kind of budget an amateur like me can afford to produce on video. That’s okay, though. Like I said, there’s no limit to how big a world I can create on paper, and I plan to continue doing just that.  

Is there something you loved doing when you were little or something you wanted to do when you grew up? If so, what’s stopping you from doing it now?   

It doesn’t have to be big.  Just take a small step in the right direction.

Make a video and post it on YouTube. Publish a short book with CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing. Go to one of those studios that let you take home a painting you’ve made yourself. (I’ve done that, and it’s fun.)

The painting I made at Make Me, Take Me. It's not a fine work of art, but it was fun to make and I like it.

If you have the chance to rediscover something that once brought you so much joy, why wouldn’t you take it?

Everything You Wanted to Know About Publishing a Picture Book (But Didn’t Know Who to Ask): part 1 of 4

So I recently published my first picture book, Fay Fairy’s Very BIG Problem, and I learned a few things (or to put it another way, I ran into a few big problems myself and was able to find out how to fix them).

I figured it would be a good idea to put together a series of articles about the experience, since it doesn't seem anyone else has really done that. There are a million and one blog posts about how to indie publish in general, but when it comes to publishing picture books, the information seems to be scattered in little answers to little questions all over the 'Net. This post will hopefully help me get it right from the start next time, and hopefully it will also help anyone else interested in indie publishing a picture book avoid some of the problems I ran into. 

First, why would you want to publish a picture book?

There are so many good reasons not to publish a picture book. Picture books are the most expensive books to create, because full-color books cost more to print (and most picture books have to be full color). If you’re not an illustrator, hiring a good one should cost you minimally a hundred dollars per page. Minimally. Per page. It can cost a lot more than that for good art, and you want good art. There are just too many picture books out there with bad art, and no one needs that.

So if you're thinking of publishing a picture book because you think they're easy to write and you can get your six-year-old to supply the illustrations, well . . .   

I'm not saying you shouldn't, but don't do it thinking you're going to sell a thousand or even ten copies. Do it because it sounds like a fun family project. Otherwise, don’t do it unless you’re an illustrator yourself.

Okay, so let’s say you're a writer-illustrator, like me. I was an editorial cartoonist, a newspaper illustrator, a layout artist, an arts-and-entertainment writer, and even a consumer columnist. Of course, you don’t have to have been all of that. You just have to have some talent in writing and especially illustrating, and you have to enjoy putting words together with illustrations. Illustrations are more important to a picture book than writing, because you there are lots of picture books that don’t have words or that have very few words; but there’s no such thing as a picture book without illustrations or some sort. Let’s say you're going at this with a realistic understanding of the rewards. You know you're not going to sell a lot of copies. Sure, it might happen, but that's not your expectation or your goal. You know your book will be competing against The Cat in the Hat, and Winnie the Pooh, and whoever Disney’s latest princess is for a book buyer’s dollars. And you can’t expect to win against that sort of competition.

So why are we doing this?

We're doing this because professional picture-book writers and illustrators know that the real money that’s to be made in picture books doesn't come from selling copies of books; it comes from paid school and library visits. Professional picture-book writers and illustrators also know that one leads to the other. Do a reading at a library, and chances are that some of the parents will be interested in buying copies of your book. Yes, there are author visits in middle schools, and sometimes even in high schools, but it’s generally easier to get gigs like this with picture books. It's also fun.

That was my reason for deciding to publish a picture book after having published four novels for kids, teens, and adults who like books for kids and teens. I wanted something for a younger age group; I wanted something for library visits, school visits, and parents with small children at street fairs. And I understand I’m still not finished, because during the last street fair I participated in, I met some kids and parents who were looking for early chapter books, the kind of thing suitable for third grade. I actually have one of those I started to work on, Gloria Turkey: Biggest Bird on Broadway, a funny tall tale about the creation of the first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It’s on the backburner (along with several other books), because it will require a hundred or so more illustrations than I've already put into it (about 50 or 60). But at least I've now expanded my potential audience with my first picture book.  

Getting back on topic, let’s say you have what it takes to make a picture book, and you’re going into this with reasonable expectations. Since youve decided to go it on your own, the first thing you’re going to want to do is find a service that will print and distribute your books.

I picked CreateSpace for Fay Fairy’s Very BIG Problem.

Why CreateSpace?

CreateSpace and Lightning Source are the two most popular printers for indie published books. CreateSpace belongs to Amazon, which makes it super easy to get your book published with them available on Amazon. Lightning Source belongs to Ingram, which is one of the world’s largest distributors of books to schools, libraries, and brick-and-mortar bookstores, which means that using Lightning Source makes it easier to get your books into schools, libraries, and brick-and-mortar bookstores. I use Lightning Source for my hard cover books, because CreateSpace has yet to offer hardcovers as an option; but I use CreateSpace for everything else because it’s just easier to work with—and it’s free.

“Easier,” however, doesn't mean trouble-free, hence the problems I ran into and the need for this series.

Okay, so now you know the why, who, and where. The next article in this series will deal with the most important question: how? The next article will be all about writing a picture book for publication. Don’t miss it!

Everything You Wanted to Know about Publishing a Picture Book (But Didn't Know Who to Ask):

Part 1—Introduction

Part 2—Writing

Part 3—Illustrating

Part 4—Publishing

Writers, looking for inspiration? Have you tried a random photo generator?

Do a Google search for "random photo generator" and you'll find several. Here's a link to one: http://www.pbase.com/photos/random.html

Looking at the photos can give you places, characters, actions, and moods. If you don't feel inspired by what you see, click again to get new photos.

When I tried it, I got a little girl picking up a turtle in a garden. That could be the start of a story. Just ask yourself, "What happened after that?"

I also got a backpack on a kayak. That could also be the start of a story.  Just ask yourself, "Who does that backpack belong to? Why is that person in the kayak? Who else is there? What's their relationship? What kind of conflict could evolve on their adventure?"

Clicking "more" gave me a wistful bride looking out a window and a race car. Put the two together, and you can probably come up with a great story. Maybe the bride is giving up racing. Maybe she wants to race away. Maybe she's marrying a race car driver, and maybe he was killed in an accident on the way to the wedding.

Give it a try. It's a lot of fun, and you never know what you're going to come up with.

Here are some random photos of mine to get you started.

Have fun writing!

Writers, where do you get story ideas? Here's a simple method.

This is the presentation I'll be delivering at the book launch for Why My Love Life Sucks at the Highland Park, New Jersey library this Thursday. Kids will learn how to break a story down to its parts and use those parts to write new stories.

This presentation will be followed by a fun, story-generating craft, book-launch party favors, love-and-vampire themed sweets, and a book signing. It should be great!

I hope you can come; but if you can't, I hope you enjoy this presentation. If the event goes well, I might do the same thing at author visits at libraries and schools in the area.

What do you think? Could this method work for you? 

Please feel free to share it with your kids, teens, students, friends, and fellow writers. 

Thanks, and I look forward to reading your comments!

Shevi Arnold

Yippee! I just read the nicest review for Dan Quixote: Boy of Nuevo Jersey!

I don't know who J.C. is, but I thank you so very, very much!I hope your eldest enjoys it too.

http://theothersideofthepage.wordpress.com/2011/08/21/359/

"So, I guess to sum it up there are a lot of great messages in this book, delivered in an amusing story without being preachy or too in your face. I think it would definitely appeal to the middle grade reader, and even as an adult I found things to like. I will probably read this with my eldest in the near future."

A writer's step-by-step plan for using social media

Social media is so confusing. Writers know it's important, but where do you start? Twitter? A blog? Facebook? What do you post? How often? And how does it help you sell your book?

I've read several wonderful books on the topic. Here's a rundown of their top tips:

Author 101: Bestselling Secrets from Top Agents by Rick Frishman and Robyn Freedman Spizman

The main thing I learned from Author 101: Bestselling Secrets from Top Agents is that a writer needs a platform. It doesn't matter if you write nonfiction or fiction, it's all about your platform. So what's a platform? There are actually two kinds (three if you consider that Facebook or Twitter are also platforms, but this refers to a writer's platform).

The first kind of platform is how readers think of you when they think of you. For example, Isaac Asimov will always be known as a science fiction writer, even though he wrote many books that weren't science fiction. J.K. Rowling will forever be identified with Harry Potter. J.R.R. Tolkien will always be remembered for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Maybe in the future, I'll be known as the writer of Toren the Teller or Gilbert the Fixer. But for now, my platform is that I'm a funny writer, a Geek Goddess, and the author of humorous fiction, fantasy and science fiction for kids and teens. I also have a reputation for helping other writers out.

The second kind of platform is made up of the number of Twitter followers, Facebook fans, blog subscribers, and so on that you have. If you want an agent in today's publishing environment, you're going to need this kind of platform--but how do you get it? That part wasn't so clear, so I kept looking.

Smart Self--Publishing: Becoming an Indie Author by Zoe Winters

Smart Self-Publishing: Becoming an Indie Author is chock full of information and useful advice, both for self-publishers and traditionally published authors. While the author writes about the things that worked for her, she does acknowledge that other authors have succeeded with things that didn't, and you may succeed with them too. This sets this book apart from almost every other book I've read on self-publishing, which have gone on and on about why you should e-publish and how much success the author had as an indie publisher.

You'll learn why you need a newsletter, where you can create one, and what you should and shouldn't put in yours; working out a marketing schedule and a marketing plat; why you need to set both short-term and long-term goals, and what those goals can be; self-editing, critique groups, and hiring a freelance editor; what kind of prizes lead to more sales (and what kind don't); and all aspects of marketing, from social networking, blogs and blog hopping to marketing with video and paid advertising when you've earned enough to afford it.

This is one of the most helpful books I've read on self-publishing, and I highly recommend it.

Still, even though it talked a lot about the importance of blogging for writers, I still didn't feel I had enough of a grasp on the details. Yes, it mentioned that it's a good idea to post several times a week, but what good is that if no one is checking out your blog? How do you get people to give your blog a glance? And then a second glance? And then maybe subscribe? So I went looking for another book on the details, and I found a great one.

ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income by Darren Rowse and Chris Garret

Although it's not writer specific, I found ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income invaluable for the depth of information it contains about successful blogging.

There are two ways to make money blogging: either by selling advertising space, or by using your blog to promote your work, for example, as a freelance writer or editor. I went through the book with a highlighter, and I ended up highlighting something on every other page.

I even put stars near some things I found particular helpful. For example, there's a list of question to ask yourself to help you better understand your target audience. There's also a section on useful blog properties, and another wish suggestions for how you can create useful blog content. It was great.

We Are Not Alone: The Writer's Guide to Social Media by Kristen Lamb

 Of course, at this point, I had learned so much I felt like my head might explode. I needed one book to help me tie it all together, and luckily I found it in We Are Not Alone: The Writer's Guide to Social Media.

This book is awesome! And in my next blog post, I'll tell you why.

Meanwhile, if you have any questions about social media for writers, please feel free to ask them in the comments section below. I'll do my best to answer them if I can.