On July 1, New York and most of publishing hang out a sign: See you in September! And many of them mean it.
Manuscripts or e-mails sent in the 6 weeks from 4th of July to Labor Day may be at the bottom of the pile when work finally resumes. This is a frustration for writers who are ready to submit, but there are things to do while we wait.
Revamp Something Old
Pull out 3-5 stories from the “put aside” file. What have you learned recently about style, pacing, and readability that could give this great idea a new twist? Don’t take it seriously and have fun!
Characters
Change one animal in your story to whatever fauna is popular this year. (I am seeing Scotch Highland cow pictures and memes – “Harry Coo” is how it is pronounced there.)
Adapt any story to replace one character with a magical unicorn
Reverse the sexes of the characters or exchange people for animals
Format
Rewrite in short rhyming or lyrical stanzas or limericks
Try your whole story in dialogue with no descriptors
Experiment with telling the story using only written correspondence. (Or texts!)
Style
Talk directly to the reader
The protagonist advises a set of “how-to” steps
A circular format where the end comes back to the beginning
Genre
Cut the story back to 150 words for a board book
Look at your story as the first chapter. What adventures happen next?
Add nonfiction facts to the story with sidebars or backmatter
POV
Have a minor character describe the action with a limited understanding
Alternate pages of POV of two characters telling the same story
An inanimate object relates events from a stationary perspective
Time and space
Relocate the story to Paris, rural West Virginia, Antarctica
Can your story take place on the ocean floor, Mars, strange new world
How would things change if your story were set in Prehistoric Africa, Civil War, 2255
My grandson’s advice: Any story is better with an exploding helicopter!
Any writing is good practice, and these were stories set aside already. If these manuscripts are never published, you will have grown in some new directions for next fall, when New York opens again!
Robin Currie’s library career was in the children’s department, where she could baa, moo, and honk without getting shushed. She has traditionally published 45 picture books, writing stories to read and read again! Her next book is released on September 2 from Good Books/Sky Horse, Just Enough Room for Christmas.
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