Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: #atozchallenge Blog Check Up in 7 Steps

I'm taking part in the A to Z Blogging Challenge this April on my current blog at:
http://lexicalcreations.weebly.com/jens-blog

Want to join me? To make sure your blog is up to snuff, here are some great tips...

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: #atozchallenge Blog Check Up in 7 Steps

I've Moved!

Your Presence

Is Cordially Requested

to Join me

on my

CURRENT WEBSITE.

(Hope to see you there!)

Happy Birthday KidLit411 and Giveaway

Remember that Golden Ticket Charlie won, that got him the whole factory? Well, no chocolate required here (although not forbidden either), but you can win your own Submission Golden Ticket at KidLit411's massive Birthday Bash Giveaway. Maybe you have a manuscript that is ready and waiting to be picked up by a publisher, but you haven't had any luck with that slush pile. This contest is for you! Click on the image caption below to enter.

KidLit411's Birthday Bash

BTW, if it seems a long time since I posted here, that's because I have a new blog and website. Come join me there!

Look Out! I'm about to get controversial.

Being an ethnic minority at my high school taught me a few things. Though I was valedictorian of my graduating class (with the best grades of the entire school I might add), I watched classmate after classmate come forward to accept their scholarships. Some of the students walked away with literally tens of thousands of dollars. I received one scholarship in the amount of $500.

In those days, the internet was still a fairly new contraption, so the best way to find grants and scholarships was through the school counselor. I’d applied for every scholarship I could, but my minority status made me ineligible for 90% of the scholarships available.

Please don’t pity me! I did get a college education and am living a very satisfying life now. But what I learned that day was that being an ethnic minority has nothing to do with the color of your skin.

Because, you see, I’m white.

CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?: My Blog is Moving

So, it's kind of rough right now, but I'm publishing a website at
lexicalcreations.weebly.com.

It's already up, so you can check it out. It's far from perfect or even polished, and I'm not officially launching it at large quite yet, but I want my blog followers to get the first look at it.

For a while, I'll be publishing both here and on the new website. Eventually, though, you'll start to see "This post has migrated" messages here as I exclusively post on weebly. I keep you updated.

Why am I moving? Well, I've been getting a nasty error message on blogspot for  months, and I'm tired of it.

Thanks for following, and I hope you'll join me at my new site. :)

In the Air: Themes I'm seeing from Aspiring Authors

One of the biggest challenges I face as an aspiring kid lit author is writing something that is ahead of the trends. So when I see themes in what my critique partners and writer friends are working on, it's like a neon sign:

 

 



  5 Themes I keep seeing

(in random order):

1. Paranormal Romance

                   From Vampires and Zombies to Ghosts and Aliens, everyone is falling in love while struggling to overcome their own supernatural gifts and personalities. Some editors are still eating it up, while others would frankly like to see more humans being attracted to their own kind.

2. Mind Reading and Mind Control

                  This theme is popping up a lot in various forms and I have to confess to a work-in-progress with this in it. Twice. Maybe three times. What I don't see is many books on the market with this theme, so if you have a polished manuscript, submit it quick!  

3. Schools and Summer Camps
               Secret campuses, summer school and crazy camps are always popular among middle-grade books, but this theme might be getting a bit overused. I know a good part of a kid's life is spent in school, but isn't there anything else worth writing about?

4. Books About Bullies

                   I think most people are tired of hearing how to handle bullies from stories. The definition has been changed so much since I was kid, that I don't think I could write a convincing story about it anyway. If you have something to add to the onslaught, then more power to you. But I'm going to avoid if I can.

5. Apocalyptic Dystopian

                   I wrote a dystopian short story in college, but I never tried to get it published, for good reason. It was awful. I won't even tell you what it was about because you'll get the wrong idea. Now, I know this genre is huge right now, but when I sit down to write, I can't help but ask: "Is our future really that bleak?"

Parable of the Personal Trainer - a Fairytale

A personal trainer found himself in demand so he began interviewing prospective clients before taking them on.

One hopeful came into his appointment gushing with praise. “They say you are a miracle worker! That you can whip any body into shape.”

The trainer waved the man to a seat and began his interview:

“How often do you plan to come to the gym?”