{"id":1111,"date":"2013-11-04T08:31:12","date_gmt":"2013-11-04T15:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.authorjennifergriffith.com\/?p=1111"},"modified":"2013-11-04T08:31:52","modified_gmt":"2013-11-04T15:31:52","slug":"ever-wanted-to-co-author-a-story-with-your-child-tips-on-how","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.authorjennifergriffith.com\/?p=1111","title":{"rendered":"Ever Wanted to Co-Author a Story with Your Child? Tips on How!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Amie<\/a>

Amie and her 13 year old daughter Bethanie. Pretty girls, right?<\/p><\/div>\n

As a mom of creative kids, I have often wanted to co-write stories with my kids. It’s fun, but sometimes the process can break down.<\/p>\n

Good news! My friend Amie Borst just released her debut novel, CINDERSKELLA, which she co-authored with her daughter Bethanie. Together they developed this fun, spooky plot, and the end result was this book good enough to publish. I asked Amie to tell us what it was like to work together, and to give us moms some tips for how to successfully complete a great novel…together! Take it away, Amie.<\/p>\n

______________________________<\/p>\n

Three Great Things About Team Writing With My Daughter<\/strong><\/h1>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She has fantastic ideas.\u00a0 When she presents them to me I\u2019m always resistant.\u00a0 My instinct is to play it safe, so I tell her that her ideas won\u2019t work and why I feel that way. Later, as we write the story, I find she was right all along and I end up eating my words. Thankfully she\u2019s pretty forgiving and I only hear, \u201cGee, if you\u2019d just listened to me in the first place, we wouldn\u2019t be going through this revision right now\u201d a few times. A day. <\/span>An hour.<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Children are a lot less inhibited. They\u2019re not afraid of their ideas. They\u2019re willing to make mistakes. And they\u2019re not as restricted by their self-esteem or discouraged by the criticism of others. \u201cIf people don\u2019t like it, then that says a lot about them.\u201d\u2014That\u2019s what she tells me when I worry about the merit of our story.<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She just writes the story. I tend to edit as I go, which means I never really make a lot of progress. But she tells me, \u201cMom, you can\u2019t fix it unless it\u2019s written.\u201d She\u2019s right. If there aren\u2019t words on the page then there\u2019s nothing to edit.\u00a0 Even the worst parts of a story can be revised later.<\/p>\n

4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She\u2019s an example to me for all the above reasons.\u00a0 While I might think I\u2019m an excellent teacher and she needs to follow my example, it\u2019s really me who learns the most from her. \u201cRaising parents is so hard.\u201d\u2014Yes, she has said that to me!<\/p>\n

5)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She can count better than me J<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tips for writing with children:<\/strong><\/h1>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Create a tangible storyboard. We use poster board and color coded post it notes.<\/p>\n

a)Write the book title across the top of the poster board<\/p>\n

b)Draw an arch to represent a timeline.<\/p>\n

c) Cut up post it notes and divide them into categories (plot, world building, characters, theme, etc)<\/p>\n

d) Fill out the information for each of the categories, similar to an outline or plot graph. This is where I have learned to let go of my control and allow Bethanie to go wild with her ideas. In fact, she does most of the plotting now.<\/p>\n

e) Place the notes along the timeline of the story.<\/p>\n

f) This is an example of one of our story boards in the early stages. We later removed the notes, drew in our arch and replaced the notes.<\/p>\n

[EDITOR’S NOTE: I am a lame WordPress User and\u00a0cannot get the image to copy onto this page. Lame-o moi. So sorry. Use your considerable imaginations here to picture a large piece of poster paper with different colored post-it notes on it,\u00a0each color representing a different aspect of story: plot, character, etc.]\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Have them work on a scene, writing it out. Typically, Bethanie will type up her scene on the family computer and email it to me. I copy and paste it into the manuscript and work on fleshing it out. She usually has 3-5 pages worth of words, which I bring up to 10 pages or so with imagery, adding to dialog or dialog tags and filling in any other gaps. Sometimes I see where there can be another story element added, so I\u2019ll call her into my writing room and we\u2019ll discuss it. If it works, we add it together, if not, we drop the idea and move on.<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Let them write. Don\u2019t worry about punctuation, spelling or grammar. Just encourage them to get the words on the page. When I receive Bethanie\u2019s email I don\u2019t ever point out her errors, I just correct them once I put them in the manuscript. When she sees the edited version, she learns from her mistakes then, without having it pointed out to her constantly.<\/p>\n

4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Don\u2019t shoot down their ideas. If, for some reason, an idea doesn\u2019t end up working, find ways to keep portions of it or perhaps make alterations to that idea so it can fit the story.<\/p>\n

5)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When we receive notes from our editor, we discuss anything that impacts the plot or voice. I make the corrections, print it off and have her read it and check for errors.<\/p>\n

6)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Encourage them to keep trying, to keep writing and to never give up!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

_______________________<\/p>\n

And now, I’m sure you’re dying to check out Cinderskella! It’s the book I’m reading right now, and I’m finding it a great story — one I’d actually get a kick out of reading with my own 11 year old daughter.<\/p>\n

\"CINDERSKELLA!\"<\/a>

CINDERSKELLA!<\/p><\/div>\n

Cindy is just a normal eleven and three-quarter year-old. At least until she wakes up one night and finds out she\u2019s dead. Well, she isn’t technically dead\u2014she just doesn’t have any hair . . . or a nose . . . or skin. Yep\u2014all bones, no body. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Human by day and skeleton by night, Cindy is definitely cursed. And because her mother recently died, Cindy has no one to turn to except a father who\u2019s now scared of her and an evil stepmother who makes her do the housecleaning with a toothbrush. To make matters worse, the Spring Fling dance is approaching, and Ethan, the cutest boy in sixth grade, doesn\u2019t seem to know Cindy exists. Of course, Cindy doesn\u2019t think letting Ethan find out she\u2019s part skeleton is the best way to introduce herself.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

While facing such perils as pickled pig\u2019s feet, a wacky fortune teller, and a few quick trips to the Underworld, Cindy\u2019s determined to break the curse\u2014even for a single night.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can purchase Cinderskella at:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amazon <\/strong>http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Cinderskella-Amie-Borst\/dp\/1939967252\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382049675&sr=8-1&keywords=cinderskellam<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Barnes & Noble <\/strong>http:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/cinderskella-amie-borst\/1117023980?ean=9781939967251<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Books-A-Million <\/strong>http:\/\/www.booksamillion.com\/p\/Cinderskella\/Amie-Borst\/9781939967251?id=5720940932171<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n

Add it to your to-read shelf on Goodreads! <\/strong>https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/18311564-cinderskella<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

About Amie and Bethanie<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amie Borst is a PAL member of SCBWI. She still believes in unicorns, uses glitter whenever possible and accessorizes in pink. She enjoys eating chocolate while writing and keeps a well-stocked stash hidden away from her family. A native New Yorker she currently resides in Northern Virginia with her husband, three children and a cute dog named Lily. She wishes she had a hot-pink elevator with carnival lights to travel the world. But for now, her minivan will have to do.<\/p>\n

Bethanie Borst is a spunky 13-year-old who is an avid archer with Olympic dreams, enjoys the outdoors, loves reading and is quick to make lasting friendships. When she is not writing, she swings on a star.<\/p>\n

You can follow Amie and Bethanie on facebook at www.facebook.com\/AmieAndBethanieBorst<\/a><\/p>\n

You can find Amie at her blog www.amieborst.com<\/a>, twitter, www.twitter.com\/AmieBorst<\/a> and pinterest www.pinterest.com\/AmieBorst<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She’s got a RAFFLECOPTER contest going on at her website, too, so bop on over and enter.<\/p>\n

Thanks, Amie!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n

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As a mom of creative kids, I have often wanted to co-write stories with my kids. It’s fun, but sometimes the process can break down. Good news! My friend Amie Borst just released her debut novel, CINDERSKELLA, which she co-authored with her daughter Bethanie. Together they developed this fun, spooky plot, and the end result […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"bgseo_title":"","bgseo_description":"","bgseo_robots_index":"","bgseo_robots_follow":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[26,459,500,5],"tags":[639,638,637,636,634,635],"class_list":["post-1111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-reviews","category-giveaways","category-interviews","category-writing","tag-amie-and-bethanie-borst","tag-amie-borst","tag-cinderskella","tag-mother-daughter-authors","tag-tips-for-writing-with-kids","tag-writing-with-kids"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2OUjT-hV","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.authorjennifergriffith.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.authorjennifergriffith.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.authorjennifergriffith.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.authorjennifergriffith.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.authorjennifergriffith.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1111"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.authorjennifergriffith.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1115,"href":"https:\/\/www.authorjennifergriffith.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1111\/revisions\/1115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.authorjennifergriffith.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.authorjennifergriffith.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.authorjennifergriffith.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}