The other reason I turned to children's lit is so that I could start a weekly #kidlitchat with @bonnieadamson.com. Mission accomplished! Thanks for joining us again this week... and we'll see you all back here next Tuesday!

I think I was drawn to children's books because those were the stories that resonated with me AND cuz kids are the best audience. Honest. Willing to go where you want to take them rather than try to insist they know the better way. Etc. Plus I may still be a kid so write what you know. #kidlitchat

*Updated* my One Thing I've Learned blog on @pckt.blog. Photo is of a real-life #KidLitChat meetup! Speaking of which, follow @kidlitchat.bsky.social for topics every Tue 9 pm ET. Thx @gregpincus.bsky.social & @bonnieadamson.com for hosting! onething.pckt.blog/networking-i...

Networking is not a bad word - One Thing I've Learned

It can even be fun, if you stay authentic

onething.pckt.blog

TOPIC: Continuing our celebration of 17 years chatting, tonight we're re-upping the very first topic from the first #kidlitchat: "Why children’s literature? What excites you about it, whether it’s reading, writing or ???"

#kidlitchat is coming up at 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific right here today on Bluesky. All* your #kidlit pals will be there, so you should come join us! (*perhaps tonight we will discuss the techniques of hyperbole and exaggeration despite me thinking those wouldn’t cone up in a million years?)

Thank you all for joining in the birthday/anniversary party #kidlitchat. We will be here next week, too, and who knows... maybe 17 more years!

I find that birthdays, anniversaries, upcoming test dates, The Big Game or any things set to a specific time can help build a spine to your story or help build a type of momentum. Sometimes they're the A plot, but often just a way to give your character something to mull/strive towards #kidlitchat

First... just a tip of the #kidlitchat hat to @bonnieadamson.com for 17 years of coming up with topics (and being institutional memory when I suggest something we did, like, three weeks ago or what have you)!

TOPIC: #kidlitchat is 17 this month! Which is . . . REALLY OLD in social media years! How do you use milestones to shape your characters? How do all the "firsts," the annual celebrations, and the rites of passage provide opportunities to define character?

It’s #kidlitchat day! We shall gather here on Bluesky at 9pm Easter/6pm Pacific for an hour of #kidlit chatting. It shall be glorious!* (*or at least pretty darn fun). See you then!

Pitch: a weekly chat about all things kidlit with a bunch of smart, funny, open, generous people. Who wouldn't want to join that??? It's #kidlitchat, I tell ya, and I look forward to it happening again next Tuesday. Thanks for chatting this week... and see you then!

Jane Friedman addresses the comp issue among other things) in this article--which advocates for selecting comps that speak to the emotional arc: janefriedman.com/what-booksto... #kidlitchat

I taught a session before (actually... there are people who chat who have been in a version of this session!) on thinking of making a 'movie poster' of your manuscript and imagining the advertising line. "Hell, upside down" for the Poseidon Adventure, for example, tells a lot! #kidlitchat

This is a tricky topic here at #kidlitchat for sure, as there's not one quick trick or anything. But I find that a pitch that can be more than say "person A does this thing and obstacles happen" can make an idea really shine.

TOPIC: When you're pitching your manuscript (in any form - query letter, elevator, pitch contest), how do you communicate how the reader is going to FEEL when they're done, not just tell the story of what happens? What are your tips to finding the way to give a reaction to your pitch-ee? #kidlitchat

What’s that? You’re wondering if there’s a #kidlitchat at 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific today here on Bluesky cuz you would love to spend an hour talking with your #kidlit pals? Good news! There is! Looking forward to seeing you there….

Thank you all for joining in another #kidlitchat (a chat which is always accepting offers for screen rights, of course). Looking forward to seeing you all here next week, as well!

TOPIC: What books, from board books to YA, have you read recently that you think should be a movie or a TV show? #kidlitchat

Join us #kidlit folk tonight here on Bluesky at 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific for an hour of chatting that we call #kidlitchat. It’ll be a good time, if the past is an indication, and better if you’re there. See you soon, I hope!

TOPIC: What are your favorite and LEAST favorite parts of your creative process? And how do you keep a balance between "want to" and "have to"? #kidlitchat

There’s a #kidlitchat comin’ later today - 9pm Eastern, 6pm Pacific, right here on Bluesky. It’s a great chance to hang out with your #kidlit friends for an hour, I tell ya! I hope you will give it a try….

It's a happy accident that all of y'all have found #kidlitchat, I say. Thanks for joining in tonight... and we'll see you right back here next week, I hope!

Here's one - random day on the then Twitter and this @bonnieadamson.com account start chatting and... voila! #kidlitchat was born. (At the time, we'd never even met!)

TOPIC: Let's talk serendipity and happy accidents. How have these impacted you and your work? How do you keep yourself open to them? Hard work matters, of course, but do these other things ever factor in? #kidlitchat

There shall be a #kidlitchat here on Bluesky today at 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific. And you shall… well… do whatever you want. But I hope you will join us #kidlit folk and chat for a spell! Looking forward to it….

Thank you all for joining in another #kidlitchat and sharing more tips and tricks. I'm gonna save the transcript and read it again next week to see if I see things anew... and I hope to see all of you back here then, too!

I have two tricks. The first is, of course, putting the manuscript away for awhile. The second is that I borrow someone else's glasses.... #kidlitchat

TOPIC: How do you see a work-in-progess with fresh eyes when you're deep in it? Share your tips and tricks for seeing your work anew... #kidlitchat

There's a #kidlitchat happening at 9PM Eastern/6PM Pacific right here on Bluesky (even if I didn't say so first thing this morning. It's Tuesday, people! We #kidlit folk are gonna chat!). I hope we'll see you there!

To join the chat, you can: 1) Follow @kidlitart.bsky.social and manually check the Q's & A's here 2) Use the Search for Latest Results with #kidlitart 3) Use @deck.blue to make a column for #kidlitart and see the new replies in real time !!Remember to add #KidLitArt to replies!!

KidLitArt@kidlitart.bsky.social · 2mo ago

That's a wrap!!! Thanks everyone for joining @weyakindesigns.bsky.social & Charlene Chua @ TCAF ! June's topic will be Finding/Changing/Maintaining Your Art style, featuring a new banner by Katherine Thorne Join us on **JUNE 18** 9pm EST/6pm PST for the next chat! #KidLitArt