Friends often ask me whether I have read books on how to write for children and I have to confess that I have only read one, Pamela Cleaver’s Writing a Children’s Book: How to Write for Children and Get Published 
out.
But I do regularly read blogs by writers and agents and anonymous children’s editors. I got onto blogs when I was hunting for advice on how to write a book synopsis (if you are like me, a chill will run up your spine at the mention of synopsis).
You can, however, learn how to write a good synopsis and be entertained at the same time. I always enjoy agent Nathan Bransford’s blog and his guide to writing synopses is informative, though I tend to write shorter synopses than he recommends (mine are no more than two pages double-spaced). I also got a lot from romance writer Kathy Carmichael’s article – in fact, her examples helped me loads. I like this approach from Marg Gilks, too.
But the winner is Miss Snark, anonymous literary agent/blogger, whose Crap-o-meter series of synopses, first pages, hooks and cover letters is the place to go if you need a belly laugh and some learnin’ at the same time. Miss Snark, who no longer blogs, but mercifully has left her punditry up for posterity, used to put out a call for entries and be inundated with people’s synopses, which she would then dissect in red ink. Read and learn. Once you have gone through about 20 of them you will begin to get it. View Miss Snark’s Synopsis Crap-o-Meter here, and do read the other entries on her right-hand menu for further erudite observations on life, publishing and George Clooney.
My other fave anonymous blogger is Editorial Anonymous, a children’s editor whose wit is up there with Miss Snark’s. Don’t miss her right hand side panel for further hilarity and links to other very good blogs and sites.
There is also Scotland based novelist Nicola Morgan, who is giving us all a reason not to do our work and read her publishing blog instead. She is doing a series on writing skills and has just covered voice and pace. But there is oh so much more to be entertained by, not least her witty take on the writer’s life.
Last, but by no means least, is Patrick Ness’s Writer in Residence blog for Booktrust. Not only does Patrick’s blog talk frankly about his own experiences as the award-winning writer of The Knife of Never Letting Go
Synopsis, synopsis, synopsis! Hey look, no chills. You, too, can learn how to write one and have a bit of writerly fun at the same time.
and 
and Julia’s recent book, 
. Her current book, 
is a very moving story with a stunning setting and I highly recommend it.
by 
an anthology that includes Yellow Rabbit, my very short story about the adventures of a stuffed rabbit left behind in a hotel by its young owner. All the contributors to the book, including such luminaries as Michael Morpurgo, Roddy Doyle, Charlie Higson and Anne Fine (as well as Monty Python’s Terry Jones) donated their stories and a hefty percentage of sales goes to Childline, a telephone helpline for children run by the 
I hesitate to write much about the plot for fear of spoiling it for you, but suffice to say it is about twenty-four hours in the life of seventeen-year old Mia who faces an existence-altering decision. Hearing Gayle describe how Mia’s character evolved and how she felt chosen to tell her story resonated with me and probably every other writer in the room. One does feel that characters surface from the ether and suddenly you are compelled to work with them.
is the first book in the series about LA girl Gina being packed off to a Scottish boarding school and guaranteed culture clash, new girlfriends and various permutations of boys. Judging by the young fans Carmen had in the audience (no, it wasn’t just us zealous grown-ups hungry for inspiration) and their excitement about the next book, she’s onto a winner.
fame. Gayle spoke of her suprise when her agent first suggested the novel could be made into a film, because of the way it is organised into short sections moving back and forth over time, but that she was delighted with the screenplay. One thing she was not so delighted with, but refreshingly honest about, was a book project she recently spent months on and then decided to shelve because it just wasn’t working for her. 