Edith Hemingway relaxes on the porch of the writing studio behind her house in Frederick County.
For many adults, reading favorite books are some of their fondest childhood memories.
It is those memories that are responsible for the decision of some writers to take up the craft and art of writing for children.
Contrary to a common misconception, writing for children is not easier than writing for adults, nor does the technique involve talking down to children or using only monosyllabic words.
In fact, according to Ramona “Mona” Kerby, a Westminster author of a dozen books for children and young adults, and the coordinator of an online graduate-level program at McDaniel College, the exact opposite is true.
“Mostly, I write non fiction, and I have written one picture book,”said Kerby, whose Owney, the Mail-Pouch Pooch was honored with the 2010 California Young Readers Award, the 2010 Vermont Red Clover Award and the 2008 Parent’s Choice Silver Honor Award.
“The subject of the books,” she said, “are biography and history. I’ve been writing for about 20 years.”
Owney was the name of a scruffy dog that wandered into the U.S. post office, in Albany, New York, in 1888. Apparently, his keen sense of smell attracted him to workers and the mail pouches they handled. At one point, the dog, of its own volition, took up the task of guarding the mail; and, shortly thereafter, Owney began traveling on mail trains all around the country.
One such trip, described in Kerby’s book, took Owney around the world.
“Sometimes a publisher will ask for a book on a certain topic,” Kerby said. “Sometimes I come up with the idea and propose it to the publisher.”
McDaniel’s online graduate-level program on writing for children and young adults, which will enter its third year this fall, takes a minimum of one year to complete, Kerby said. Typically, there are 10 to 18 students taking each course. An online romance writing course offered by McDaniel was modeled after the children’s program.
The courses, eight-week programs, are taught by published writers, publishers and editors. After successful completion of five courses, students receive a certificate in writing for children and young adults that can be applied for credits leading to a Master of Liberal Arts degree, Kerby said. Courses offered include Reading like a Writer; Fiction: Writing Novels for Grades 3-12; Non-Fiction: Writing for Grades PreK-12; Writing Picture Books for Grades PreK-4; and a workshop for writing books for children and young adults.
Lisa Graff, who lives in Narbeth, Pa., near Philadelphia, is an adjunct instructor in the Writing for Children program. A former editor at Farrar, Straus & Giroux Books for young readers, Graff, who writes novels for teens using the pseudonym Isla Neal, has written six books for children, a number of which have been named to the suggested school reading lists of 10 states.
“What I love about writing for children of that age group,” said Graff, “is that when you are growing up – when you are 8, 9, 10 years-old – you are really figuring out the big questions of life: What it means to be part of a family, part of a community and the world at large. These are big issues to children. I like dealing with large issues in a small scope, focusing on school, family and friends. They are not truly epic tales.”
Writing for children requires the ability to understand the world from their perspective, Graff said. Sometimes that involves interacting with members of the target audience – learning their concerns, their dreams, their fears, their language – the world as they experience it.
“Writing for children is partly an innate skill, but also comes a lot from reading and practice,” said Graff. “ You can learn tricks to make your own work a lot stronger. In the Reading Like a Writer class I teach, I have students take apart every paragraph, every word choice by popular authors. The key is to realize that you have those choices every time you tell a story.”
Edith Morris Hemingway, who, other than growing up in Florida, has no relationship to Ernest Hemingway, lives in a 1930s log cabin named Misty Hill Lodge, situated atop Braddock Mountain in Frederick County. On occasion, she hosts writer’s workshop retreats from her home. An adjunct instructor for McDaniel’s writing program, Hemingway’s book Road to Tater Hill was inspired by her childhood memories of reading The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Calico Captive, The Good Master, and A Wrinkle In Time.
“While Road to Tater Hill is fictionalized, it begins with a sense of my childhood memories of the 1960s,” said Hemingway, who had a chance to see the world because of her father’s job as a flight engineer with American Airways. “It is set in the North Carolina Mountains during the summer of 1963.”
Hemingway’s dream of a writing career became a reality after taking an adult creative writing class where she met Jacqueline Shields. At the time, the PBS series The Civil War by Ken Burns was capturing the attention of the American public. Hemingway and Shields decided to visit nearby Antietam Battlefield, where they were inspired by a faded photograph of Charley King, a 12-year-old drummer boy with the Pennsylvania 49th Volunteers, who had fought at Antietam on Sept. 17, 1862, to write a story for children.
The result was Broken Drum, published in 1996. After the success of that book, Hemingway and Shields again collaborated on Rebel Hart, the true story of Nancy Hart, a teenaged Confederate spy. It was published in 2000.
“I occasionally host the Misty Hill Lodge Writing Workshops in my cabin,” said Hemingway, whose is currently working on her second solo book. “It is very frustrating that people assume that writing for children is very easy. I’ve had people ask, ÔWhen are you going to write a real book?’ Children are one of the most important audiences for which to write.”
Lois Szymanski, another Carroll County-based children’s author, who occasionally teaches a children’s writing course at Carroll Community College, has written 20 middle-grade books and two non fiction adult books.
Chincoteague Island and its herd of wild ponies is the subject for a number of Szymanski’s books. Several other of her books feature the Gettysburg Ghost Gang, which tells the story of a group of friends who learn about the Civil War through a ghostly friend.
Joseph Fleck, 68, a Westminster woodworker, architectural millwork consultant and an inspector for the Architectural Woodwork Institute, enchanted his grandchildren with tales of his childhood growing up in a small New England town on the shores of the Taunton River, in Massachusetts, which flows into Narragansett Bay. About five years ago, his wife, Gypsy – or “Jo,” as she is called – suggested that he write memoirs for the children.
“I loved to spin yarns for my 10 grandchildren about my life as a young man,” said Fleck. “My first book is based on my experiences during a four-year period in the 1950s, when I built a raft called The Barnacle, and had a number of adventures until my raft was ravaged by Hurricane Carol in 1954.”
Intrigued by the idea, Fleck went to the local library and borrowed books on the art and craft of writing for children. Fleck joined the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, (SCBWI) – a move that other writers recommend.
All of the authors urged aspiring writers to join SCBWI, take writing courses, read voraciously, learn the craft – and be persistent and don’t give up.
For more information on:
Ramona Kerby: www.monakerby.com
Lisa Graff: www.lisagraff.com
Children’s Writing Program at McDaniel College, visit www.catalog.mcdaniel.edu
Edith Hemingway: www.ediehemingway.com
Lois Szymanski: www.loisszymanski.com
Carroll Community College: www.carrollcc.edu
Joseph Fleck: www.joseph-fleck.net
