WRITING AND ILLUSTRATING CONTEST FOR CHILDREN. GREAT PRIZES!

ATTENTION TEACHERS, PARENTS, CHILDREN, AND WRITERS! WIN PRIZES!

Sienna, the Cowgirl Fairy Art by Brian Martin

POOF!

You are a cowgirl (or cowboy) fairy!

 

WRITING AND DRAWING CONTEST

FOR KIDS 7-11!

Holidays are coming! How would you like a gift card to help you buy gifts? Would you like two signed copies of Sienna, the Cowgirl Fairy: Trying to Make it Rain to give as gifts? Or keep one for yourself and give the other away?

How to win . . .

Two signed copies of Sienna, the Cowgirl Fairy: Trying to Make it Rain and a $25 Amazon gift card.

 

1. If you are 7-11 years old, draw a picture of a cowgirl or cowboy fairy.
2. And write a story about what you would do if you had cowgirl/cowboy skills and fairy powers. You are the main character or hero in this story. This story will be your adventure that results in something good happening for other people.
3. The story must be no less than 75 words and no more than 125 words.
4. The story must have a beginning, middle, and end.
5. Be sure to give your story a title (not part of word count) and to put your name as the author of the story. Sign your drawing too.
6. Honor system. You must create the story yourself and draw the picture yourself.
7. You may ask an adult to help you type the story (as you have told it) or take a picture of your handwritten story.
8. You may ask an adult to help you take a picture of your drawing.
9. You may ask an adult to help you enter the contest by posting it as a comment on this blog post by November 25, 2017.
10. You may do this as a class project. Everyone in your class will illustrate and write a story, and the class will vote to determine which story will be entered into the contest. Be sure to add to your entry your school name and location, your classroom number, your teacher’s name, and of course, the author’s name.

Cowgirl/Cowboy Fairy Abilities

As a cowgirl/cowboy fairy, you can . . .

• Ride horses.
• Use a lasso to capture anything.
• Herd cattle.
• Take care of horses, goats, donkeys, cows, pigs, and chickens.
• Fly.
• Use your wand and fairy dust to make magic.
• You can also add or create your own cowgirl/cowboy fairy powers and skills.
• Your friends may be fairies, humans, animals, or all of the above.

FOR ADULT WRITERS

Help me spread the word for this contest and your name will go in a drawing for your choice of one of the following:
• A signed copy of Sienna, the Cowgirl Fairy Trying to Make it Rain
• A picture book critique
• A chapter book (first three chapters only) critique

GUIDELINES FOR ADULT WRITERS DRAWING

1. Share one of the five prepared tweets below.
2. Visit my page in the SCBWI BookStop and sign my guest book, which is located on the right under my photo. Be sure to have a look around. There are lots of great 2017 children’s books to view. If you signed my guest book previously, that counts – just let me know in your comment.
3. Honor system. Share news of the contest with your child’s (or children’s) teacher(s), or any teacher, and your name will go in the hat twice!
4. Comment on this post to let me know you have tweeted and signed my guest book. And your name will be entered in the drawing. Good Luck! Don’t forget to let me know if you have shared the contest with teachers, so I get your name added a second time.

PREPARED TWEETS

Children’s Writing & Illustration Contest. Great prizes! #SiennaTheCowgirlFaiy #SCBWIBookStop @alayne_kay https://tinyurl.com/ya5ra8f4

Children’s Writing Contest. Gift card, signed book, critiques. #SiennaTheCowgirlFaiy #SCBWIBookStop @alayne_kay https://tinyurl.com/ya5ra8f4

Children’s Writing & Drawing Contest. Prizes! #teachers #SiennaTheCowgirlFaiy #SCBWIBookStop @alayne_kay https://tinyurl.com/ya5ra8f4

Children’s Writing & Drawing Contest. Prizes! #parents #SiennaTheCowgirlFaiy #SCBWIBookStop @alayne_kay https://tinyurl.com/ya5ra8f4

POOF! You’re a cowgirl/cowboy fairy Children’s writing contest #SiennaTheCowgirlFaiy #SCBWIBookStop @alayne_kay https://tinyurl.com/ya5ra8f4

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She’s Baaaaack! Tara Lazar with More on Art Notes

Guess what? Tara Lazar has a little more to share! She reached out to me about doing a second post on illustration notes. Why? Because she had just a little more to say. And I totally agree with what she has to say. So here it is. . . .

 

WAIT — THERE’S MORE
by Tara Lazar

 

Alayne, when it comes to art notes, I thought I said it all…

But the day my post was published, a friend said to me, “But I talked to [well-known illustrator] and he said he never looks at art notes. He told me not to bother.”

Well, I know this illustrator is widely published and award winning, but do not listen to him. (At least about this. Sorry, dude.)

The illustrator is not the first person to read your manuscript.

But who is?

The EDITOR you want to ACQUIRE IT.

So don’t think about the art notes being solely for your illustrator. They are more for your editor.

The editor must understand the story and your vision for it. If there is something they do not comprehend because you’ve been too stingy or cryptic with the art notes, then they may just send a rejection.

If an art note is necessary to understand the action, put it in. If your text says “Harry was happy” but you really want him to be hopping mad, the editor isn’t going to know that without [Harry is angry]. Editors cannot read your mind. This is your chance to ensure that she or he gets what’s happening.

After the editor acquires your manuscript, lots of changes may happen, including the stripping of art notes. And that’s OK. By the time illustration work commences, your illustrator has already been pitched on the story and its vision. There have been talks between the illustrator, editor, designer and art director. Your illustrator will be brilliant and do things that you cannot even yet imagine. They will blow you away.

But if the editor is confused while initially reading your manuscript, you will never even get to that step. Your story could be doomed to dwell in a drawer forever.

Remember, the art notes aren’t necessarily for your illustrator…but for your EDITOR.

Thank you for the bonus, Tara!

If you haven’t seen it, be sure to read Tara’s first post How Picture Book Writers can Leave Room for the Illustrator.

Check out – Illustration Notes: To Include Or Not Include on Johnell Dewitt’s site. It is loaded with info and resources on the topic of art notes.

Kidlit.com also has some good information about including illustration notes. (Full disclosure – I discovered this post in the Kidlit411 Weekly)

 

ABOUT TARA

Tara loves children’s books. Her goal is to create books that children love. She writes picture books and middle grade novels. She’s written short stories for Abe’s Peanut and is featured in Break These Rules, a book of life-lesson essays for teens, edited by author Luke Reynolds.

Tara created PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) as the picture book writer’s answer to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). PiBoIdMo is held on this blog every November. In 2015, PiBoIdMo featured nearly 2,000 participants from around the world.

Tara was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2010 and has permanently lost feeling in her feet and legs. She has an inspirational story to share about overcoming a chronic illness to achieve your goals and dreams. Tara can speak to groups big and small, young and old—just contact her for more information.

Tara is the co-chair of the Rutgers University Council on Children’s Literature Conference, a picture book mentor for We Need Diverse Books and an SCBWI member. She speaks at conferences and events regarding picture books, brainstorming techniques, and social media for authors. Her former career was in high-tech marketing and PR.

Tara is a life-long New Jersey resident. She lives in Somerset County with her husband and two young daughters.

Her picture books available now are:
• THE MONSTORE (Aladdin/S&S, 2013)
• I THOUGHT THIS WAS A BEAR BOOK(Aladdin/S&S, 2015)
• LITTLE RED GLIDING HOOD (Random House Children’s, Oct 2015)
• NORMAL NORMAN (Sterling, March 2016)
• WAY PAST BEDTIME (Aladdin/S&S, April 2017)
• 7 ATE 9: THE UNTOLD STORY (Disney*Hyperion, May 2017)

To learn more about Tara and her work, visit her website.

 

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TARA LAZAR – LEAVING ROOM FOR THE ILLUSTRATOR

At a recent SCBWI conference, one editor mentioned leaving room for the illustrator. So, I asked Tara Lazar if she would share what that means to her and give some advice on how to do it.

 

HOW PICTURE BOOK WRITERS CAN LEAVE ROOM FOR THE ILLUSTRATOR
by Tara Lazar

“Leave room for the illustrator.” You hear it all the time.

But what does it mean?

I imagine the school bus, smelling like moldy socks and overripe bananas (which have an eerily similar aroma). Should you scoot over? Stop saving that seat for your bestie?

Well, kinda. The illustrator’s art is the elephant on the school bus. It’s the first thing people see when your bus…err, I mean book…rolls into the world. So it’s in your best interest to make that pachyderm shine.

So let the elephant speak for himself. Don’t shove words into his mouth. Don’t over-describe what he’s doing.

The elephant picked the perfect seat. [elephant in back, bus on two wheels]

The kids made him feel welcomed. [kids crowd in first row to balance bus]

It was a smooth ride to school. [flat tires]

OK, you see what I did there?

Read those lines without the art notes:

The elephant picked the perfect seat.

The kids made him feel welcomed.

It was a smooth ride to school.

Eh, rather ordinary without those notes. But with them, it’s funny. It might even be hilarious.

A picture book comes together when the words and the text play together. And sometimes there’s a tug-of-war between them that elicits giggles and guffaws.

Leaving some things unsaid is a technique you must learn as a picture book writer.

So go ahead, DON’T WRITE!

And that, my friends and elephants, is how you write a picture book.

Alayne: Tara’s guest post prompted me to ask one of the most common questions that picture book writers ask. . . .

“I’ve been told by agents that text should be clear enough that art notes are not necessary, so how do you leave room for the illustrator without art notes?”

Here is Tara’s answer. . . .

Well, what you’ve been told by agents is true…and also not true at all.

Often at conferences and workshops geared toward new writers, presenters steer picture book writers away from art notes. That is mostly because new writers tend to use unnecessary art notes. New writers either try to dictate what their characters should look like or describe action that is perfectly clear by the text (or at least well implied). So it is sometimes easier to put the ix-nay on the ote-nay at that level.

Also, some illustrators will tell you they don’t look at the art notes. And that’s fine. Once they understand the overall story, they can tuck the notes away and think of something better.

However, if what you have written is not understandable without art notes, if the story does not make sense without art notes, YOU MUST USE ART NOTES.

Look at DUCK, DUCK, MOOSE by Sudipta Barhan-Quallen. There are only three words in that book–really, two, because DUCK is repeated. If she submitted that manuscript without art notes, there would be no story. Her story is IN THE ART, IN THE ACTION.

I have written manuscripts that use so many art notes it renders the story difficult to read. In those cases, my agent and I submit the manuscript in grid format. There’s a handy post on my blog that talks all about it. (https://taralazar.com/2012/10/03/art-notes-in-picture-book-manuscripts/)

The art of playing tug-of-war with text and image is best demonstrated by author-illustrators. It’s a difficult skill for authors-only to master, but it is one that all the best authors use.

Alayne: For additional information, see my post on including art notes in manuscripts.

 

About Tara

Street magic performer. Hog-calling champion. Award-winning ice sculptor. These are all things Tara Lazar has never been. Instead, she writes quirky, humorous picture books featuring magical places that everyone will want to visit.

Tara loves children’s books. Her goal is to create books that children love. She writes picture books and middle grade novels. She’s written short stories for Abe’s Peanut and is featured in Break These Rules, a book of life-lesson essays for teens, edited by author Luke Reynolds.

Tara created PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) as the picture book writer’s answer to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). PiBoIdMo is held on this blog every November. In 2015, PiBoIdMo featured nearly 2,000 participants from around the world.

Tara was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2010 and has permanently lost feeling in her feet and legs. She has an inspirational story to share about overcoming a chronic illness to achieve your goals and dreams. Tara can speak to groups big and small, young and old—just contact her for more information.

Tara is the co-chair of the Rutgers University Council on Children’s Literature Conference, a picture book mentor for We Need Diverse Books and an SCBWI member. She speaks at conferences and events regarding picture books, brainstorming techniques, and social media for authors. Her former career was in high-tech marketing and PR.

Tara is a life-long New Jersey resident. She lives in Somerset County with her husband and two young daughters.

Tara’s picture books available now are:

• THE MONSTORE (Aladdin/S&S, 2013)
• I THOUGHT THIS WAS A BEAR BOOK(Aladdin/S&S, 2015)
• LITTLE RED GLIDING HOOD (Random House Children’s, Oct 2015)
• NORMAL NORMAN (Sterling, March 2016)
• WAY PAST BEDTIME (Aladdin/S&S, April 2017)
• 7 ATE 9: THE UNTOLD STORY (Disney*Hyperion, May 2017)

A big THANKS to Tara for sharing her wisdom with us. To learn more about Tara and her work, visit her website at https://taralazar.com/

 

 

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TARA LAZAR’S UPCOMING GUEST POST, WINNER OF MELISSA STOLLER’S GIVEAWAY, AND MORE

The Winner

The winner of Melissa Stoller’s giveaway is Jane Heitman Healy! Congratulations, Jane, you have won a signed copy of The Enchanted Snow Globe: Return to Coney Island.

 

Tara Lazar’s Upcoming Guest Post

I’m excited to share that next week, the one and only Tara Lazar will share some of her expertise regarding how to leave room for the picture book illustrator.

More – Lots of resources for chapter book writers

• Do you have a chapter book idea, but don’t know where to start?
• Do you have a chapter book idea, but feel something is missing in your first draft?
• Do you have a chapter book that you’ve been unable to finish?

If you answered “yes” to any of the above, you might want to check out my guest post on the GROG blog I Have a Chapter Book Idea – Now What? The post is full of chapter book writing resources and my own checklist for developing or editing your chapter book.

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