Writing became a serious profession when my sons and I began telling stories at the breakfast table about the characters we saw on cereal boxes. After we agreed that not all stories needed to explore bathroom humor, I started to write some of our stories down and develop them for a larger audience.

Here’s how I think about storycraft for different audiences:

Children’s books (ages 4-8) – For main characters, I identify a trait that young readers easily recognize (main character is afraid of the dark). I make the conflict clear and humorous. For example, the main character wakes up in the middle of the night because favorite stuffed animal is gone, must find it in order to go back to sleep, but, to help, brings along annoying stuffed animal who is very talkative, goofy, and distracting as they search the house at night.

In children’s books, I enjoy writing that illustrates different perspectives in fun and simple ways.

Middle-grade – The conflict is more elaborate. For example, being afraid of the dark might involve other layers, like a previous experience on a camping trip that is hard to forget, the judgment of friends at a sleepover, or caring for a sibling who is also afraid of the dark. The main character demonstrates more subtlety of emotions and has a more complicated thought process when confronted with obstacles. Sentences are more varied with the addition of more complicated structures. Finally, in middle-grade, I can do more with setting and description, trusting that readers will feel and begin to recognize how setting is helping create mood or tension.

Young Adult – I enjoy writing scifi/clifi for young adult readers, so the description and world building is important, but I don’t want to bore the reader with details, so the language must be sharp, and I’ll use more dialogue and sub-text. I’ll do more with love relationships and how characters interprete words and actions. The language will need to be more evocative, the conficts will evolve or change, and the decisions of the main character will be more difficult and painful. In young adult, it’s okay to shave away the glow in order to reveal a more mature reality.

Check out the Books and Essays page for a list of books, shows, and essays I’ve published. I am currently writing two YA scifi/clif novels and a chapter books series for young readers.

I have published books with North Star Editions Inc. and Capstone Publications. My essays have been published in regional and national magazines, including The Writer’s Digest, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and McClure’s  and blogs such as Rise Up for Students.