VS Grenier ~ Award-Winning Author, Speaker & Podcaster

Sometimes classified as a genre of its own, creative nonfiction writing is actually an umbrella term that includes a variety of writing types. The unifying characteristic of the styles of writing that make up creative nonfiction is that while the writer deals with actual events rather than invented events, the writer uses techniques of fiction and poetry writers. Some of the types of written works that fall under the category of creative nonfiction are personal essays, memoirs, meditations, cultural commentary, nature journaling, and travel writing. Often nonfiction writing becomes dry as it deals with facts, or boring as it explains processes. By injecting a little creative life into these nonfiction written works, the writer can hold the interest of the reader and offer them a little entertainment along with information. To capture the essence of creative nonfiction, it is important to write with a sense of "I." Even if the article is told in third person...

Join V.S. Grenier and Marsha Casper Cook on December 5 at 1PM EST 12 NOON CST - 11 AM MT -10 AM PST for a special edition of World Of Ink Network as they welcome Emma Dryden. Also on the show and part of the discussion will Jan Britland. This is one show every children's writer should listen to. Emma has an incredible resume. Before she graduated college she landed an internship as a “jack of all trades” assistant at Viking Children’s Books and once she earned her B.A in English Language and Literature from Smith, she became an Editorial Assistant at Random House Children’s Books. She was then hired as Associate Editor for the legendary Margaret K. McElderry, whose imprint was part of Macmillan Children’s Books, and was later named Senior Editor of the imprint and was then made Vice President, Editorial Director, and in 2005 I became Vice President, Publisher of Atheneum Books for Young Readers and Margaret K. McElderry Books, imprints of Simon & Schuster Childr...

Blog Talk Radio’s World of Ink Network Show: Stories for Children withhosts VS Grenier, Kris Quinn Christopherson and Irene Roth will be chatting with Jan Britland about her Rodger Dodger Dog Series. Jan Britland is an author and artist. She lives in Punta Gorda, Florida with her husband Bill. They have a bulldog named Madison, a parrot named Lola, three red-eared slider turtles named Sparky, Luigi and hale. And last but not least Goldie a pond fish. All of whom are portrayed in her stories. When she is not writing Children's books, she teaches oil painting to adults. You can reach Jan through her website, http://www.rodgerdodgerdog.com . The show will air live November 28, 2011 at 2pm EST. You can find out more about Jan Britland’s World of Ink Author/Book Tour schedule at http://storiesforchildrenpublishing.com/RodgerDodger.aspx . There will be giveaways, reviews, interviews, guest posts and more. Make sure to stop by and interact with Britland and the hosts at the ...

Utah Children's Writers: The Road to Writing for Children and Teens by VS Grenier... : "It is the magic of fiction that allows the young reader to 'escape' from ordinary day-to-day doings and to live more fully in a heightened, highlighted version of life, with adventure possible at every turn of the page" —Lee Wyndham, Author Every time I think everything has been said about writing, something new pops up. I don’t mind admitting I’m wrong. Heck, I think that’s one reason why I love writing for children and teens, but knowing the nuts and bolts is important before you sit down to write, especially for the children and YA market. Read more here http://utahchildrenswriters.blogspot.com/2011/11/road-to-writing-for-children-and-teens.html

Jewel Kats is an award-winning writer. She’s also one tough cookie. At the age of nine, Jewel endured a car accident. Her physical abilities altered forever. She spent weeks in the Hospital for Sick Children recovering, has survived eight leg surgeries, and currently walks with a cane. (Note: It’s fashionably handpainted!) Nothing stops Jewel. For six years, she penned a syndicated teen advice column for Scripps-Howard News Service and TorStar Syndication Services. Jewel has earned $20,000 in scholarships from Global Television Network and Harlequin Enterprises Ltd. She’s penned three children’s books, including: Reena’s Bollywood Dream, What Do You Use to Help Your Body? and her latest book Cinderella’s Magical Wheelchair . VS: Jewel, I want to thank you for being my guest here on The Writing Mama today. So to start things off, what do you do to help balance your writing life with your family life? Jewel: I’m very, very close to my family now at this point in life. I have a...

It’s always interesting how writers find ideas for their stories. Some may simply come up with an idea, others may see something that triggers a story, and sometimes a story is handed to a writer. I had never thought of rewriting a folktale until I received a rough outline of an ancient Chinese tale, Taoist Master of the Lao Mountain . I belonged to a writing critique group and a Chinese nonfiction writer had a basic outline that he wanted to pass along to a children’s writer. This was in June of 2008. After reading the outline, I loved the lessons it could bring to children. Folktales come from all over the world and usually provide morale messages geared toward doing right, rather than wrong. These tales are a wonderful way to teach children through an engaging and entertaining story. Since the tale, as with many ancient tales, involved an adult as the protagonist the first thing I needed to do was rewrite it for today’s children’s market, meaning it needed a child protagonist. Wa...

Blog Talk Radio’s World of Ink Network Show: Stories for Children withhosts VS Grenier, Kris Quinn Christopherson and Irene Roth will be chatting with author Karen Cioffi Karen Cioffi is an advocate of education, reading, and the environment. She loves how reading can spark a child’s imagination and bring him or her to new worlds and on amazing adventures. Along with writing children’s books, Karen is a ghostwriter and freelance writer, and has several nonfiction books on writing and book marketing. She has lived in New York City all her life, and two of her favorite sayings are: “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” American proverb “Be the change you want to see in the world.” M. Ghandi You can visit Karen’s blog at: http://karencioffiwritingandmarketing.com For more about Karen’s books and ebooks go to: http://www.karencioffi.com/karen-cioffis-books-and-e-books/ The show will air live November 21, 2011 at 2pm EST. You can find out more about Karen Cioffi’s World of I...

In 1986, Jan was driving her children in a new town to start school. On their way, they would pass a beagle type dog chained to a huge Magnolia tree. Some days they would see the chain hanging down from the tree. "I think we just assumed the dog was in the house until one day we realized he was up in the tree. From that day on, Rodger Dodger Dog as we called him became a favorite. It was a 45-minute drive, which can become boring so as we passed him, I would start telling a story about Rodger Dodger's adventures up the tree and beyond. Because I am so dyslexic, the stories had to rhyme so I could remember them from day to day. They also started the same to get me going," shared Britland. However, it wasn´t until 2008 when Britland received a phone call from her daughter Kelly, who had young children of her own that the Rodger Dodger Dog started to even think about becoming a children´s book or series for that matter. "My daughter was complaining her son ...

Karen Cioffi has had an assortment of jobs; none of them she says has influenced or inspired her writing. What gives Cioffi’s writing a ‘kick in the pants’ was having to go on disability due to Multiple Sclerosis. “After needing several years to get some health and strength back,” Cioffi shared, “I was able to write, and with the urging of one of my daughters, I turned a lullaby I wrote in the early 1970s into a children’s bedtime picture book, Day’s End Lullaby . Then I was hooked.” Karen Cioffi is an advocate of education, reading, and the environment. She loves how reading can spark a child’s imagination and bring him or her to new worlds and on amazing adventures. Along with writing children’s books, Karen is a ghostwriter and freelance writer, and has several nonfiction books on writing and book marketing. “I’ve been writing since I was in grade school. I’m not sure what inspired me; it was just in me to want to write. I think this is the case with most writers, whe...

Jan Britland is an author and artist. She lives in Punta Gorda, Florida with her husband Bill. They have a bulldog named Madison, a parrot named Lola, three red-eared slider turtles named Sparky, Luigi and hale. And last but not least Goldie a pond fish. All of whom are portrayed in her stories. When she is not writing Children's books, she teaches oil painting to adults. VS: I want to thank you for being my guest here on The Writing Mama today, Jan. To get things started, what do you do to help balance your writing life with your family life?  Jan: When my children were young, I was a single parent. When I wrote, I wrote my notes and ideas down and put them in the drawer. Then I needed an even bigger drawer. I never had time to even think of getting published. Now there are so many ways to get published. None of those early stories have been published. VS: How long have you been writing?    Jan: I have been writing stories down all my life. But I never took it s...