The Writer's Guide to Crafting Stories for Children [Paperback]

As a college English instructor, I've read a number of books on writing. None of them compare to Crafting Stories, and none of them have affected me so personally. I read Crafting Stories cover-to-cover twice, and both times something magical happened. The first time through, Nancy Lamb's no-nonsense approach to writing forced me to rethink and reshape my first novel into something that was immediately accepted by a renowned literary agent. Several months later, I was at wit's end trying to figure-out how to tie up some loose ends before my agent would send the final draft out to editors. I decided to revisit Crafting Stories, and the answers became apparent at once. My rewrite was accepted without a single change, and it's currently being considered by five of the largest publishers in the United States. There's no way I could have gotten this far -- that fast -- without Lamb's uncanny ability to succinctly describe the intangible.

As a writer I have read a ton of books on all aspects of fiction and nonfiction writing. I have a complete outline for a line of children's book, so I purchased this book for insight particularly into the children's genre. However, this book is a must read for all fiction writers. It certainly is geared toward children's books, but dicusses all the fundamentals from structure to scenes to voice. It was one of the most comprehensive books on fiction that I have read. And it was a delight to read. It has a nice, easy flow with examples and touches on all aspects of fiction writing. Whether you are writing fiction for children or adults, all writers could greatly benefit from this book. Again, great read and very informative!!!

I've read this book 2 1/2 times and I have to rave about it. I bought it based on the reviews and they are correct and then some. This book is a must have for anyone who wants to write fiction, even if it's not for children. The principles are very much the same.

Nancy Lamb gives clear examples throughout this book on techniques such as structural design, plot, sub plots, scenes, point of view, voice and tone, characters, mid story crisis, etc., etc. Chapter headings are Foundation & Structure, Structual Supports, Interior Designs, and Finishing Touches. She covers everything, even how to deal with that inner critic.

Her writing style is very comfortable to follow and easy to read. I too, like another reviewer, experienced something inspirational and magical while reading this book which really helped my creative muse. Ms. Lamb helped me to rethink the structure and plot of my book with a better understanding of where I was going and how to carry the story through. She uses solid examples taken from popular children's books throughout to demonstrate her point and I think that's what I found most useful. She teaches you to analyze the techniques in the books that you read to see how they are written, what the author was doing--that was amazing and I'll never read a book the same way again... "reading in a way that teaches you how to write".

She has lots of tip pages like "Nancy Lamb's Twenty-Six Steps to Good Writing". Many of these I want to pin up next to my computer as I write to check against each chapter. For example, "Does it carry the scene advance the plot or develop the characters? If not rewrite it or get rid of it".