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By M. Molly Backes Personally, I think the beginning of a story is the hardest part to write. When I was working on The Princesses of Iowa, I wrote the ending once and didn’t change much in revisions. I rewrote some chapters in the middle quite a bit, while I hardly touched others. But the beginning? Continue reading First Things Third: How to Write a Great Beginning By M. Molly Backes Like any good Chicagoan, I’ve studied improv, and much of what I know about writing fiction I learned in improv classes. The two have a lot in common. They’re both concerned with human relationships. They both work best when they trust their audience to help them build a story together (my fiction professor Continue reading Speak the Speech: Dialogue Lessons from Improv By M. Molly Backes Almost every editor in the world will tell you she’s looking for a manuscript with a strong narrative voice, but creating a rich, complex, and believable character voice is easier said than done. Voice isn’t just the way your character speaks—not just her dialogue or diction or syntax. It’s not just the words Continue reading What’s Your Dominant Metaphor? Creating Character Voice By M. Molly Backes If you’re reading this article, you’re probably doing everything right. You’re a member of SCBWI, and you actively work to build your network of fellow writers. You’re a student of storycraft. You spend a lot of time thinking about structure and plot and characterization and how to hook your reader. Your bookshelves are Continue reading Unstick Yourself By M. Molly Backes You’ve come to an emotionally intense moment in your story. Your character’s heart pounds in her chest, her mouth goes dry, hair stands up on the back of her neck. Her fists clench, her teeth grind together, her face gets hot. Her frozen blood moves like ice through her veins. The problem? This is Continue reading More Than a Pounding Heart: Capturing Emotional Experience By M. Molly Backes Kurt Vonnegut famously said, “Every character should want something, even if it’s just a glass of water.” So, I ask my students, what does your character want? Too often, they give me blank looks. Their stories have beautiful scenes, well-rendered settings, witty dialogue, memorable characters, and protagonists who stand in the center of the Continue reading You Can’t Always Get What You Want (But You Might Just Get What You Need) By M. Molly Backes In medias res. You’ve heard it a thousand times from a thousand different teachers and writers. It’s right up there with “Write What You Know” and “Show, Don’t Tell” on the list of Writer’s Commandments (along with “Thou Shalt Not Spend Too Much Time on Facebook” and “Thou Probably Shouldn’t Try to Give Continue reading Don’t Start in the Middle By Jennifer Ward Patterns are everywhere. People create them on buildings, in textiles, in homes—just look at the patterns that surround you as you read this. Patterns exist in nature as well—google the Fibonacci sequence; you’ll never look at a flower, a pinecone, or a seashell the same way again! And now, we are enjoying the pattern Continue reading Pattern Perfect By Jennifer Ward Getting an idea for a book can be exciting! However, transforming that idea into a complete story can be a challenge. What direction will your words take? Where do you begin and where do you end? Just as I travel unfamiliar city streets with a navigational system to guide my way (love you, Ms. Garmin!), Continue reading Writing Road Maps: Plotting the Structure of Your Picture Book By Jennifer Ward Hello, fellow SCBWI-Illinois members. Happy New Year! My name is Jennifer Ward, and I look forward to getting to know you as I share strategies, content, and wisdom pertaining to writing children’s literature. I will do my best to fill the void left by Carmela Martino. (The Prairie Wind will miss you here, Carmela!) But we Continue reading New Year, New Goals, New Contributor 
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