Lynn Rogalsky

“30 Nuggets of Knowledge from the Tucson Festival of Books, Part 2”

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Beyond the literature tents and inside the red brick walls, Lynn discovered the 30 Nuggets of Knowledge that has enriched her writing.

I continue on with the golden wisdom from the 2015 Tucson Festival of Books. Again, below are the second set of 10 morsels (in no particular order) of writing insight from successful children book authors: 11. When you hit a dry spell in writing, go work out, take a walk, etc. Just live your life and your writing will come back to you. 12. Picture books should not have too many words. Remember to leave room for the illustrations. 13. The action in a picture book needs to move the book along. Also called page turns. 14. Read a lot of current picture books. “Get them in your bones!” 15. You have to remember why you want to write for children. You must be willing to do whatever it takes to “get there.”

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Illustrator Lynne Avril (standing) moderates the Series Panel, featuring children’s book authors (l-r): Betty Birney, Ursula Vernon, Doreen Cronin.

16. Know the craft of writing, the children’s book industry, and what agents and editors want. 17. It takes just as long to get an agent as it does it does a publisher. 18. Most authors must market their book even when they publish with a bigger publisher. 19. Fantasy writing has rules you must follow. 20. Starting a manuscript is easy. Ending it is harder. In my next blog post, we’ll look at the concluding 10 nuggets of knowledge in Part 3. I’ve incorporated #14 into my weekly routine, how about you? Also, I’m discovering # 17 and 20 are very true! Your Input: Among this second set of 10 nuggets, which speak to you the most and why?

Published by Lynn Rogalsky

I'm a former TV News Producer/Reporter who now has a love for writing children's picture books and middle grade novels. As an active member of the Arizona chapter of the Society for Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI-AZ), I attend workshops to better my writing craft, and mingle with other like-minded children’s book writers/illustrators published and pre-published. Being a member of a dynamic SCBWI writer’s critique group is a monthly highlight. I'm actively submitting my children's manuscripts to agents and editors. Here’s my writing background: Lynn Rogalsky is a native (since age 5) of Tucson, Arizona where she befriends the saguaros and wildlife. Since she grew up in this beautiful desert city, a thread of Southwest flavor shows up in many of her humorous stories for children. Lynn became aware of her writing talent by a middle school English teacher. During her high school senior year, Lynn’s English teacher also praised her writing abilities. She encouraged Lynn to study Journalism, which she did at Pima Community College and the University of Arizona. Lynn began her professional writing career as a newsroom intern at KGUN Ch. 9, Tucson’s ABC-affiliate TV station. She quickly worked her way up to News/Feature Writer and 10PM News Producer, giving her B.A. in Journalism a good workout. Currently, Lynn works as a freelance Slogan Writer, which takes a lot of creativity to project an idea in one short phrase. In the past, she has enjoyed working as a Copywriter for a catalog company and ad agency. With a minor in Creative Writing, later she yearned for more than news and feature stories. Lynn fell in love with the idea of writing for children at a workshop given by award-winning children’s author, Jennifer Ward in 2008. That spark took flame after meeting another Tucson children’s author at the Pima Writers’ Workshop. As an active member of SCBWI since 2008, Lynn has been inspired by many authors and fellow members. In Spring 2009, she completed the class “Writing For Children” at Pima College, taught by award-winning children’s book author, Juanita Havill. Lynn has since written multiple picture book manuscripts, one chapter book, and has a middle grade novel in the works. She loves writing and working “quirky” into her manuscripts. Photography is another passion of Lynn’s, and she often incorporates her own photographs in her writing blog, Whimsical Words Blog. She has also had my photos hanging in galleries. Visit her photography fan page, Through Lynn’s Lens on Facebook. I can't live without my faith, family, friends, dogs, and Indian food. Thanks for stopping by!

8 comments

  3. I am following #14 too but I have read a lot of picture books online and I suspect most of them are self-published. I am not very impressed. I will more real books at the library. That is always fun.

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  5. #11 and #16 — Knowing the craft of writing minimizes dry spells, but sometimes still the words just don’t flow right. Taking a break and getting away from the page almost always results in better writing (for me). Sometimes, when I’m under deadline, “getting away” is just 3 minutes to go grab a fresh cup of coffee. Remarkably, that still works.

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    • I agree with you, Forrest. But sometimes one needs to take a break from “crafting” if you will. I feel the two feed each other. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

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