Craft Articles
Join us in exploring others’ craft and building our own.
Here you will find explorations of mentor texts – articles that dive into specific craft elements in published books, interviews with authors, and tips on growing and improving as a writer.
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The Magic Number Three: Brand-New Bubbe by Sarah Aronson
Numbers have power, magic, even. Not the abracadabra kind, but the kind that makes a reader sit up and pay attention even though they don’t know why. Sarah Aronson understands the power of the number three as a literary device and uses it masterfully in her picture book, Brand New Bubbe.
It's All About Play (and Gusto!): A Q&A with Sarah Aronson
Sarah Aronson: “No two projects emerge the same way, but I will commit to this: my process is aggressively playful. It’s my policy NEVER to say no to an idea until I’ve tried it out.”
In Summary: Backstory
Backstory is a necessary part of telling a story, but how much to include and what to leave out can be complicated. It's rare in books for kids to have many pages of backstory in a row (though Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate does it with style). At KidLit Craft, we've explored backstory in many categories and genres. Here are our favorite posts about backstory.
In Summary: Picture Books from Start to Finish
into YA and picture books (and even some early readers and chapter books). Today, we're highlighting a range of picture book posts, from an overview of picture book elements to backmatter. Enjoy!
In Summary: Point of View
The 4th post in our "In Summary" series, collecting our best posts on point of view. These posts detail how different authors approach point of view, and tools they use to craft each point of view effectively.
In Summary: Emotion
Our summer series, In Summary, draws together a number of posts from are archives on specific craft topics. Today's posts offer strategies for how to capture your characters' emotions, communicate them to your readers, and make your reader feel something too.
In Summary: Setting
Place matters. A story set in Paris can be transported to Atlanta, but the story fundamentally changes because of the geography, culture, language, idioms, weather, daylight hours, experience of time, and so much more. These posts explore how to establish settings and leverage them to enhance the reading experience.
Stories are Stories: Learning from Early Reader Cat Can Fix It! by Stefanie Hohl
Just because you have to use simple words doesn’t mean the story has to lack emotion or depth. It’s challenging, but early readers can still use all the elements of story—character, plot, setting, etc. In fact, looking to early readers as a model, writers in other categories can see how efficient storytelling can be without sacrificing emotional depth.
Writing Deep Stories with Simple Words: A Q&A with Stefanie Hohl
“Studying craft is the best thing I have done for my writing. I like to write in many different genres, and each one informs the other. Reading and studying books and examining how other authors accomplish their craft has helped me tremendously.”- Stefanie Hohl
Learning from 2022 Picture Books That Soar High with Craft
Diverse group of authors highlight craft elements in their latest books that you can integrate into your own writing or illustrating.
Crafting Characters: Building Character Relationships
In our final Crafting Characters post, we dive into character relationships. These authors share the questions they ask, the strategies they employ, and the exercises the use to develop rich character relationships.
Crafting Character: Discovering Desire
What does your character want? Desire drives a story. Yearning creates propulsion. But how to you find/create/discover your character's desire? These seven authors give us their strategies for engaging with their characters' desires in ways that make their stories richer and keep readers turning pages.
Crafting Characters: Getting to Know Your Non-Fiction Characters and By Working Outside In
It's CRAFTING CHARACTERS post number 5! Today we've got something for everyone--working from the outside in, and special tips for getting to know your non-fiction characters. Whether it's asking "what if"? or interrogating a character's economic circumstances, whether diving into research or interviewing a real live person, in this post you'll find wisdom for taking your characters--both fictional and real--to the next level.
Crafting Characters: Getting to Know Your Character Through Writing Your Story
It's our fourth installment of our CRAFTING CHARACTERS series, and today, we check in with writers who work their characters out on the page as they draft. Some of these authors do use some freewriting techniques, but usually after they've seen their character in action on the page, or during the revision process. Read on for some excellent insights!
Crafting Characters: Getting to Know Your Character's Traits
In our third post of Crafting Characters, our authors and contributors share how they connect with their character's traits--whether through pulling from their own personalities, using tarot cards, or looking for opportunities for opposition. Read on to find out their strategies.
Crafting Characters: Getting to Know Your Character By Thinking and Listening
Welcome to our second post in our Crafting Characters series. For some people, working out character before putting pen to paper is the best way forward. Others have characters show up nearly fully formed, or at least with enough substance to have something to say. Those people often make efforts to listen to their characters--whether through freewriting, through scenes, or through meditative daydreaming. These authors and our contributors share their favorite ways to develop their characters. Read on for some mindful strategies for uncovering character and letting the characters speak.
KidLit Craft's Comprehensive Guide to Character
Looking at voice, interiority, internal arc, character relationships, and more, our writers have analyzed mentor texts in all categories to discover strategies for creating characters that leap off the page and into readers' hearts. This list is one you can return to over and over to find just the post you need in the moment.
Picture Book Mentor Texts: Making 2nd Person POV Sing in How To Wear a Sari
HOW TO WEAR A SARI is a charming how-to guide for wearing a colorful, twinkly, silky sari. It’s also a great mentor text for how to write an excellent picture book in 2nd person.
Follow Your Curiosity: A Q&A with Darshana Khiani
Follow your curiosity. Write and draw what you like. Know there are no set rules but it is important to understand the current book market. Picture book writing is all about how strong the concept is and then how well it is executed.
KidLit Craft Goes to the Movies: The Emotional Antagonist in Eddie the Eagle
Some great stories make use of what Melanie Jacobson calls the emotional antagonist. The emotional antagonist is on the protagonist’s side, but the protagonist doesn’t have their approval or support.Jacobson believes emotional antagonist can be a powerful addition to a book because it gives a story an extra satisfying ending–a resolution with the emotional antagonist. We can see the emotional antagonist in action in Eddie the Eagle (2015).