Will Write for Cookies: KRISTEN FULTON plus Giveaway

Posted on May 20, 2017 by viviankirkfield

WILL WRITE FOR COOKIES

INSIGHT – INFORMATION – INSPIRATION

FOR WRITERS

TODAY’S GUEST

KRISTEN FULTON

What impresses me most about this kid-lit community is the generosity of its members—especially those who have achieved success and graciously share their knowledge. I met our Will Write for Cookies guest back in 2014. I’d heard she was taking the world of nonfiction picture books by storm. And 2014 was the year I had earmarked to take classes. So, I dipped my toes into the nonfiction pool and participated in her WOW Nonficpic Week Challenge – and fell in love…with her spirit, her wealth of expertise, and writing nonfiction pbs. I registered for her June Nonfiction Archaeology class. In July, I wrote Sweet Dreams, Sarah. And received LOTS of feedback and help from Kristen and our critique group. And LOTS of agent interest (and signed with my agent) because of it. Yup, that girl knows what she is talking about.

Nonfiction picture book author Kristen Fulton is happiest wearing her favorite set of pearls and carrying a notebook into any museum or history center where she could spend hours researching. Wafting through old books or around dusty artifacts, Kristen believes that is where she will find her next story hiding. As a lifelong student, Kristen is always on an adventure to learn something new, from a foreign language to veterinary science, her love for education has given her the discipline to do the research and bring pure nonfiction stories to children with the ability to entertain.

Dear readers…this Q&A is going to knock your socks off! Please leave a comment at the end to be entered into the giveaway for a copy of LONG MAY SHE WAVE which has just launched and has already been selected as a Fall 2017 Junior Library Guild selection.

Let’s give her a big Picture Books Help Kids Soar welcome!

Kristen, thank you so much for stopping by to visit with us.

ME: Who were your favorite authors/illustrators when you were a child?

KRISTEN:

Believe it or not, I don’t remember any picture books from my childhood. The first book I remember my parents reading to me was The Boxcar Children. My dad had this bizarre talent, he could draw anything on an Etch a sketch. I remember him reading and then stopping to sketch out the image, such as the dog or loaf of bread. We moved up to Anne of Green Gables with etch a sketch images of carrots, slates, and lakes of shining waters. Continue reading →

#50PreciousWordsforKids International Writing Challenge Stories are HERE!

Posted on May 11, 2017 by viviankirkfield

HURRAY! It’s time to unveil the wonderful stories from children all over the world.

Many thanks to the parents and teachers who encouraged their kids to participate.

The guidelines were simple.

I got several requests from teacher friends who asked for a few more days…so I extended the deadline to May 10th.

And the notes I got from parents and teachers were filled with thanks for creating this writing opportunity.

“Best wishes for a fabulous contest. This is a wonderful thing you are doing for kids!”

“My daughter told me she wants to write books like me, and my heart melted!”

“Thanks for hosting such a wonderful contest for young students.”

“Thank you again for organizing this fun event! My students were challenged to keep their stories under 50 words – especially since we’ve been working so hard in second grade to add details to lengthen our writing!”

I also decided to open the challenge to children all over the world—believing that, especially in these times, it’s important for us to come together—with children leading the way as the storytellers.

Each story was submitted by either a parent or a teacher. Teachers were requested to send one story per class. A couple of classes wrote a collaborative story. And one child even drew an illustration for her story.

By Grace, author of Brothers

#50PreciousWordsforKids BY THE NUMBERS:

#57 ENTRIES

#6 COUNTRIES

#15 U.S. STATES

I’ve already had inquiries as to when the NEXT children’s writing challenge will take place. So, I guess I need to start thinking about that…maybe it would be nice to have one in the summer to keep those young minds creating…and definitely one later in the fall.

Hosting this has been a thrill…the diverse topics and creativity are impressive. These are the future writers of our world!

Without further ado, I present the #50PreciousWordsforKids International Writing Challenge stories, listed in the order I received them. Continue reading →

#50PreciousWordsforKids is OPEN

Posted on April 30, 2017 by viviankirkfield

Logo by Vicki Fang

The #50PreciousWordsForKids International Writing Challenge is now OPEN!

Last month, I hosted a challenge for writers. I invited them to create a story for children in 50 words or less. #50PreciousWords drew hundreds of participants. What amazed me was the incredible creativity that was unleashed by the restrictive word limit.

MAGIC HAPPENS WHEN YOU MAKE EVERY WORD COUNT!

One of the participants told me that she and her six-year old daughter had an amazing bonding experience. Seeing her mom writing, the little girl wanted to write a story also. And she did. And her mom shared it with me.

DINOSAUR SNOW by Bethany (age 6)

It snowed a lot through the day. Pteranodon and her sister Teethless were bored. Pteranodon said, “I planned to go outside and it’s almost time for lunch. Oh it’s 11:00. Let’s go wake Mom and Dad.” “You’re right,” said Teethless. So they did. And then they ate lunch.

And when my eight-year old grandson spent a day with me, he wanted to write one, too.

Locked Out by Jeremy (age 8)

One evening, when me and my mom got home from school, we tried to unlock our door. We heard a snap. Our house key broke! We went to our neighbors for help. They said, “Get a ladder and climb into a window.” We followed their advice. Unlocked the door. Home!

Those two stories got me excited! As a retired kindergarten teacher, I’ve always been on a mission to help kids become lovers of books and reading. Now I write for children. My debut picture book, Sweet Dreams, Sarah, will launch next year.

What if I could encourage kids to become the storytellers! And so, #50PreciousWordsforKids was born.

#50PreciousWordsforKids coincides with Children’s Book Week, May 1-7.

EVERY CHILD in grades K-6 is invited to participate.

This is an INTERNATIONAL challenge…there will be stories flying in from all around the world!

Teachers can have each child write a story of 50 words or less…then the teacher and/or class will choose one story to submit. Perhaps this can be a whole-school event to celebrate Children’s Book Week. Or just a single class project. Teachers/students choose one story per class to email to me.

Parents are invited to encourage their children to write a story at home (whether or not they are homeschooled) – parents can email me one story per child.

My only rule is that the stories must be emailed to me by a teacher or parent (or other child-care facilitator).

Here are the guidelines.

The challenge runs May 1-7 and the stories need to be emailed to me: viviankirkfield@gmail.com by 11:59pm on Sunday, May 7^th.

I’ll enter those stories on my Thursday, May 11^thblog post. All teachers and parents will receive a certificate that can be copied and personalized with the name of each child who participated. And there will be seven mini-Skype author classroom visits randomly awarded—one per grade.

Please, dear readers, help spread the word by sharing this post on your social media channels and by reaching out to your teacher and parent connections.

If you have any questions or need clarification, just email me: viviankirkfield@gmail.com. I’m flying to Chicago on Thursday to visit with family…but I’ll be checking emails every day!

What a wonderful opportunity for kids to become the storyteller.

I’m excited to read all of their precious words.