An Interview with Pat McCarthy - Children's Author

Pat McCarthy has written more than twelve non-fiction children's books. Her newest, "Heading West: :Life with the Pioneers" is now available on Amazon.com. Pat's love for nature, photography and history inspire her to share this love with her readers. Pat McCarthy is also and expert author at Ezinearticles.com Please welcome Pat McCarthy to Carma's Window.

Q: Hello Pat, I understand you write mostly non-fiction for children. Your newest book, “Heading West: Life with the Pioneers” is about pioneer children and their families who traveled in covered wagons. Is this story about a particular group? What time period does this story cover?

Pat: No, the book is not about a particular group. It pretty much covers the whole pioneer era, which was mainly the 1800s, especially the last half of the century.

Q: What types of activities did you include in “Heading West”?

Pat: I tried to balance the activities, including crafts, writing activities, games, and recipes. They include making a model of a cabin, pretending you're on the Oregon Trail and writing a letter back home, playing Blind Man's Bluff and making cornbread and butter.

Q: I see that you have written biographies of Henry David Thoreau, Abigail Adams and so on. What is the most difficult thing about writing on the subject of these historical figures? You say biographies are your favorite. Tell us why.

Pat: Probably the most difficult thing about writing biographies is sifting through all the information available and trying to decide what is true. Well, we all like talking about people and hearing about what people are doing, so I guess I like learning about a person's life. It seems like everyone is interesting when you find out more about his or her life. I'm always looking for little tidbits that I think kids will like.

Q: What are your writing habits? Do you work on an outline before starting the actual story?

Pat: I work best under pressure, so I work a lot harder as the deadline comes closer. This isn't necessarily a GOOD thing, so I wouldn't recommend it! I definitely do an outline first. I have to do one in order to get a proposal approved, but I would anyway. I do a very complete outline of each chapter, and once I plug all the info into the outline, the chapter seems to write itself.

Q: I have heard that many publishers do not encourage authors to contribute any art work or photographs with their submissions. You are an avid photographer. Do you supply your own pictures for your books?

Pat: The publishers I have worked for not only encourage, but REQUIRE the authors to provide the photos for the books. I took about half the pictures for the pioneer book. Some are stock photos of famous people and many are old ones from the Library of Congress that are out of copyright or were never copyrighted. I think this is much more common with nonfiction than with fiction, where they definitely don't want you to provide illustrations unless you are a professional illustrator.

Q: Which element of writing comes more naturally for you—plot, characterization, description, dialogue? Which one gives you the hardest time?

Pat: I write mostly nonfiction, so plot and dialogue don't really apply. The plot is already there - I just have to discover it. And in true nonfiction, there isn't dialogue unless you're writing an autobiography, where you were there to hear the conversations. When I'm writing fiction, dialogue comes easily for me. Trying to get the plot to all work together is the hardest.

Q: What advice would you give to aspiring children’s writers who are trying to break into the field?

Pat: Don't give up. Perseverance is more important than talent, but it helps to have both.

Q: Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? What seems to work for unleashing your creativity?

Pat: I don't really have writer's block. There are times when I don't feel like writing, but I don't think that's exactly the same thing. And a looming deadline does wonders to cure it!

Q: What type of book promotion seems to work best for you?

Pat: There wasn't a lot I could do to promote my other books, as they were sold to schools and libraries. I'm hoping to have more book signings and to do lots of school visits with this book. I also am working on a website. I'm on Facebook and have a Blog.

Q: What future goals or projects are in the works?

Pat: I'm working on a proposal for another book for Chicago Review Press. I do have a mid grade novel that I'm sending out, but no bites so far.

Q: Where can readers learn more about you and your books?

Pat: They can look at my Blog, which can be found at www.patmccarthysauthorblog.blogspot.com When I get it set up, my website will be www.authorpatmccarthy.com I'm hoping to have it up early in August.

Thank you so much Pat for taking the time to answer my questions.

Carma

8 Steps to Writing Articles for Children

Article writing is a key tool for children's writers. It is a great way to get your name out there and garner some publishing credits. Enjoy Pat McCarthy's article below.

Eight Easy Steps to Writing an Article for Children

Have you thought about writing an article for a children’s magazine? Maybe you have an idea, but you’re not sure how to go about it. Here are some tips.

Step One. Choose a topic. It should be something that many children will be interested in. But it should also be something you know about or are interested in learning more about. Animals, sports, famous people, science and how-to articles are all popular choices..

Step Two. Narrow your topic. Concentrate on just one aspect of it. I wanted to write an article about birds. I’d just returned from Florida, so I decided to concentrate on the birds I saw in one place, Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge. This was still too broad a topic, so I honed in on how different birds there eat. The article, “Dinner at Ding Darling,” was published by Children’s Digest.

Step Three. Research your article. Use both online resources and books and articles. Editors like a mix of print and Internet sources in a bibliography. Look for interesting little tidbits that will appeal to kids. Find facts with wow appeal and yuck appeal. Kids like the amazing as well as the gross.

Step Four. Organize your research. Jot down the main points you want to make, then go through your notes and plug them into your outline. It doesn’t have to be a formal outline. It just needs to get your thoughts in order. I love outlines. Once my outline is done, the article seems to almost write itself.

Step Five. Write the article. Decide what age you are writing for, then try to keep your writing on that level. Don’t talk down to kids but try to use words that age child would know and understand. Keep your sentences simple and fairly short. Use short paragraphs. Children are intimidated by large blocks of type.

Step Six. Revise and edit your article. To make sure it flows smoothly, read it aloud to yourself. That will enable you to notice the rhythm and to find repeated words. Be very sure there are no errors in spelling or grammar.

Step Seven. Research the markets. Get a copy of Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market or research children’s publishers online. Make sure your article is the right length, for the right age, and on a topic the magazine uses.

Step Eight. Submit your article. Then get busy writing another one.
Sound simple? Try it! With a little work and practice, you can be successful at writing articles for children.

Pat McCarthy is an instructor for the Institute of Children's Literature and the author of over a dozen books for children. Learn more about her books at her blog, http://www.PatMcCarthysAuthorBlog.blogspot.com If you have a question about writing for children, e-mail Pat at patmcbirder@woh.rr.com. More resources for children's writers will soon be up on the blog. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pat_McCarthy


Write it down,
Carma

You Can Write Articles for Children Too: Follow These Eight Easy Steps

Read this great article below by children's author Pat McCarthy and let her take the mystery out of writing for children.


Eight Easy Steps to Writing an Article for Children

Have you thought about writing an article for a children’s magazine? Maybe you have an idea, but you’re not sure how to go about it. Here are some tips.

Step One. Choose a topic. It should be something that many children will be interested in. But it should also be something you know about or are interested in learning more about. Animals, sports, famous people, science and how-to articles are all popular choices..

Step Two. Narrow your topic. Concentrate on just one aspect of it. I wanted to write an article about birds. I’d just returned from Florida, so I decided to concentrate on the birds I saw in one place, Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge. This was still too broad a topic, so I honed in on how different birds there eat. The article, “Dinner at Ding Darling,” was published by Children’s Digest.

Step Three. Research your article. Use both online resources and books and articles. Editors like a mix of print and Internet sources in a bibliography. Look for interesting little tidbits that will appeal to kids. Find facts with wow appeal and yuck appeal. Kids like the amazing as well as the gross.

Step Four. Organize your research. Jot down the main points you want to make, then go through your notes and plug them into your outline. It doesn’t have to be a formal outline. It just needs to get your thoughts in order. I love outlines. Once my outline is done, the article seems to almost write itself.

Step Five. Write the article. Decide what age you are writing for, then try to keep your writing on that level. Don’t talk down to kids but try to use words that age child would know and understand. Keep your sentences simple and fairly short. Use short paragraphs. Children are intimidated by large blocks of type.

Step Six. Revise and edit your article. To make sure it flows smoothly, read it aloud to yourself. That will enable you to notice the rhythm and to find repeated words. Be very sure there are no errors in spelling or grammar.

Step Seven. Research the markets. Get a copy of Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market or research children’s publishers online. Make sure your article is the right length, for the right age, and on a topic the magazine uses.

Step Eight. Submit your article. Then get busy writing another one.

Sound simple? Try it! With a little work and practice, you can be successful at writing articles for children.

Pat McCarthy is an instructor for the Institute of Children's Literature and the author of over a dozen books for children. Learn more about her books at her blog, http://www.PatMcCarthysAuthorBlog.blogspot.com If you have a question about writing for children, e-mail Pat at patmcbirder@woh.rr.com. More resources for children's writers will soon be up on the blog.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pat_McCarthy

Write it down,
Carma