Dragons? Princesses? Write A Story For Kids

This is pretty close to what it looked like outside our house this morning. On Monday, it was 75 degrees, around 40 on Tuesday for a high, and then the snow came blowing in overnight. That's what winter is like in the central part of Kansas. Never boring as it's always changing. We welcome moisture in any form it comes as we live in an area now proclaimed Extreme Drought. 

But on to today's topic. Knowonder! magazine for kids has published the second volume of stories for kids at Amazon. The White Sail is filled with 31 stories of adventure and fun. It can be purchased in both print and ebook form at the nominal price of $5.95 and $2.99 respectively. 

My story, "Message In The Night," is included in this new volume. Knowonder! editors pull their most popular stories from the online magazine to make up these print books, so I was pretty pleased to be in both Volume 1 and 2. 

Right now, Knowonder! is looking for stories about princesses and dragons--either one or together. Deadline is February 7th. So, put those kid story brain waves in motion and see if you can come up with a story to submit. Check out the other themed issues here.

The online magazine started out printing one new story every day which was a gigantic project. They have done a revision of the magazine this year and now print one new story about 3 times a week. That makes the competitiion for writers a little tougher. They still pay $25 for stories 500-999 words and $50 for stories 1,000 words and up. Read the submission guidelines before submitting.

Doing The Happy Dance Today

Last night, I received unexpected and happy news. My story, Message in the Night, won second place in the People's Choice Awards at Knowonder magazine for children.

I've written here about this online magazine a number of times hoping to give them a plug, also to encourage those who write for children to submit stories, and because I hold them in high regard. Editor, Phillip Chipping, is passionate about reading with and to children and promoting fine stories on a daily basis for families who visit the website.

Each month, four stories receive awards with a monetary prize of different amounts. One is Editor's Choice which needs no further explanation. The People's Choice Awards are given to the three stories receiving the most votes for the month. Readers vote by clicking on the stars at the end of the story plus leave comments.

My story is a historical fiction adventure tale. Whether it was the adventure or the historical aspect that won the praise, I don't know. Could be that it was a combination of both. I have always enjoyed reading historical fiction and I've found that it's also fun to write. I love the fact that this is a very painless way to learn history.

If you write for children, be sure to consider this paying market for your stories but follow the guidelines with care. They spell out exactly what the editorial group is looking for.  Note that the guidelines page offers both a short and a long version. It will be to your benefit to read the longer version which gives examples. The first story I had published at Knowonder! is used as an example in the guidelines. Having There's A Dragon In The Library  cited on this page made me feel very good. 

Inspiration For A Story

My Grandmother

Writers find inspiration for stories in strange places sometimes. My maternal grandmother has been the inspiration for several stories I've written. Most are true stories so have been in the creative non-fiction category. Grandma died when I was only twelve, so my memories of her are condensed into those dozen years.

But one inspiration turned into historical fiction for kids. It wasn't Grandma herself who inspired the story. Instead, a pretty little china dish with red roses and green vines in the center provided the notion for writing Just Plain Sarah Jane.

The dish had been in my mother's china cabinet from my childhood on. When Mom was getting ready to move to North Carolina in her 80's, I helped her sift and sort through her possessions. When we came to the small dish, she told me the story of how her mother had come to own something so lovely.

One day in the early 1900's, Grandma stopped by the general store in the small coal mining town where she lived. The owner greeted her by saying "Hello Elizabeth. I hear you got married." Grandma confirmed that it was true. She and Alex had married. The general store owner told her he'd like to give her a wedding gift. He looked around the many items in his store. Rather than giving her something practical, he selected the small, china dish with the roses in the center, scalloped edges shaded in blue. Grandma treasured that dish, passed it on to her daughter and then it came to me. In the family of a coal miner, I'm guessing there were very few things of beauty. Money bought the necessities with none left over for pretty things.

After the dish came into my keeping, I kept it on a table where I could see and enjoy it on a daily basis. One day, I brought it with me to the desk where I wrote. I typed a detailed description of the dish and thought about Grandma going into that general store, oh so long ago. Before I knew it, my fingers flew and a story for middle grade children took shape. I revised it a few times and read it to my critique group. They gave it a thumbs up.

The story was published once several years ago, and yesterday, it was featured as the story of the day at Knowonder! magazine online. You can read it here. If you read it and like it, click on the stars at the end to vote for the story.

Writers use a number of things as inspiration for a story. Family members, places, events, illnesses, tragedies, weddings, christenings--those are only a few. It's up to the writer to see them and use them.

What have you used to inspire a story you've written?

Hear This--Another Longshot Worked!

I think one of the reasons I like my writing life is the many surprises that come my way. Yesterday, I urged writers to take a chance and send in a story. Your odds of winning acceptance are better than when you buys a lottery ticket.

This morning, a message arrived from an assistant editor of a children's magazine. I'd had a story published in Knowonder! a couple of years ago. "The Boy Who Wanted A Tail" was one I'd written some years before but had never found a home for it. I was really pleased with the quality of the magazine when my issue arrived. So, I sent them another story, also written some years ago. "There's A Dragon In The Library" won a contest but it had never been published.

Soon after I sent the story, word arrived that the magazine would cease publishing. I was sorry to see it go but with the cost of publishing in today's world, it happens to many new magazines. A month of so ago, I received a message that Knowonder! was back in business again.

This morning, I learned that the assistant editor liked "There's ?A Dragon In The Library" and wanted to recommend it to the editor for acceptance. I'd actually forgotten that I'd even sent them the story, so this came as a real surprise. She wants to discuss some editing of the story with me and suggested we do it via a phone call. I think this is the first time I've been asked to discuss a story via phone. So, I'll set up a time to talk things over and hopefully, this old story, one that I've always liked, will soon find a home.

At the risk of sounding boringly repetitious, I'm going to say this one more time--Send your work to an editor. Even if nothing happens right away, you may get a nice surprise later on just as I did.