Do you want to raise a better reader, or teach your children to love to read? I’m no literacy expert, but I am a mom of two kids who truly enjoy books. I wanted to share what I’ve learned from my experiences promoting reading at home.

Read to your child every day

You’ve probably heard this advice a million times, but it’s SO important. The more your child hears language–and sees language on the page–the more he will comprehend. I’ll never forget the day my two-year-old pointed to a quotation mark in a book and said, “Mommy, what’s this letter?” He couldn’t read yet–but he knew enough about books to realize those marks on the page meant something, and that this “letter” was different from the ones he could identify. Reading together builds literacy skills and helps your child associate reading with happy memories–and pediatricians and librarians agree that you should KEEP reading out loud to your child even after he can do it independently.

Let your kids read what they like

My daughter has always loved fictional stories, but my son never showed much interest in them. I was worried he might not care about reading–until he discovered nonfiction. He devours books about the solar system, dinosaurs, marine life, and plagues (yes, plagues–he’ll tell you everything there is to know about bacteria and viruses). These topics (especially plagues) might not be my cup of tea, but I’m enthusiastic about them because he likes them, and because he’s motivated to read. I always let my kids pick their own books at the library; I never judge their choices or force them to read anything they don’t like. 

Model reading

Reading shouldn’t be a chore; it’s FUN! If your kids see that you enjoy reading–whether you’re into romance novels or nonfiction or even comic books–they will be interested in reading, too. Talk about what you’re reading and why you like it (in an age-appropriate way, of course!) Treat the library and bookstores as fun places for an outing. If you never read, find another role model in your family–an aunt, a cousin, an older sibling–who does, and let your child see that person reading and talk to him/her about books.

A word of caution–some experts say to avoid giving children “rewards,” like money or extra screen time, for reading. Reading should be pleasurable in itself–and the way YOU approach reading will teach them that lesson.

Leave empty space in your schedule

If kids are too busy with extracurricular activities–something I explored in a previous blog post–they won’t have time to read. Similarly, if you hand them the iPad every time they’re bored, they’ll never consider picking up a book. When I was a kid, I had a lot of free time–and I used it to read and write stories. If my parents had kept me entertained at every moment of the day, I would never have discovered my love for writing, or practiced writing enough to get published at a young age. 

Another note about technology…I won’t deny that there are some educational apps that can help your kids build reading skills. My favorite is Starfall–which is free! But these apps should be a SUPPLEMENT to regular reading, not a REPLACEMENT for it. Your child still needs to hold books in her hands, and to have you read to her daily. Many children end up clicking around aimlessly on an app without learning anything–but looking through a real book, even if your child only focuses on the pictures, is always beneficial. 

Growing a reader takes time and effort, but the payoff is worth it! And try not to obsess over your child’s reading level or compare her to her peers. Your child is more likely to make progress if she LOVES reading–not if it becomes a competition. 

As a writer–and a mom of two wildly imaginative children–I spend a lot of time engaging with creativity. Many people want to be more artistic or raise more artistic kids, and while I’m not a psychologist, I’m here to share a strategy that works for my family. Want to have great ideas? Leave space to get bored. 

Is being bored good for you? A recent New York Times article explained why we should let kids get bored occasionally–it develops their imaginations and makes them better problem solvers. I’m not advocating doing nothing all day, but I’ve found that some downtime is crucial to my writing; I can’t come up with stories if my mind is too cluttered. I’m busy, but I make space for creativity by a) not overburdening myself—I say no a lot! and b) taking advantage of opportunities to daydream. I get some of my best ideas while emptying the dishwasher–my hands are occupied, I’m being productive, and I allow my mind to wander. Similarly, if I have to wait somewhere–like in line at the supermarket–I DON’T take out my phone. I look at the people around me and I brainstorm: Hmm, that couple is fighting; I wonder what happened before they got here. The girl has a cool accent–sounds like a character waiting to happen. Ideas are constantly floating around us if we take time to notice them.

Here are my tips for letting boredom inspire you and your kids:

Downtime means NO SCREENS

My kids watch plenty of TV–I don’t know how I’d survive without cartoons! But when I refer to downtime in this post, I’m talking screen-free. Your child’s imagination grows when he’s playing pretend, drawing, making crafts, or building with blocks–not using the iPad.

Overscheduling is your enemy

Families today are SO BUSY. It gives ME anxiety to watch parents grabbing their kids at school and racing off to a new activity every day of the week. It’s great for kids to pursue their interests, but they also need room to breathe…so how many extracurricular activities is too many? Every family is different, but if your child is stressed out or overly dependent on you to organize her time, those are clues that you should drop some activities. In my family, we have a rule: each season, my kids participate in TWO activities. They pick what they want–soccer, music, dance, whatever–and they stick to those choices. They can’t add a third activity, even if all their friends are doing it. I’ve heard plenty of complaints over this, but I know being overstimulated isn’t healthy, and I know my kids’ limits. They’re happier in the long run when I protect their downtime.

Parents have the best intentions when packing their children’s schedules: you want your kids to learn and grow and you don’t want them to miss out. But if your child never gets a minute of unstructured time, she IS missing out. She’s not tapping into the power of her imagination–and her self-regulation skills may suffer, too. 

Celebrate and model imagination

Be excited about everything your kids make–even if it’s the millionth crayon drawing you’ve seen. Listen to their pretend stories, wear that crazy beaded bracelet, hang the foam monsters on the fridge. Their artwork may seem silly, but it’s a form of self-expression; if you respond positively, your kids will keep creating and get better and better at it. At the same time, if you have a creative hobby, don’t treat it as a guilty pleasure or a waste of time. You like to knit or sculpt or bake–so do it! You’re showing your child that making “useless” things is valuable–that we can find joy in creating, even if the results aren’t perfect.

We’re close to the start of a new school year. As you plan your kids’ schedules (and yours as well!), consider the value of downtime. You may be amazed at how creative your family can be.

Like most avid readers, I use Goodreads to review and discover books. When I self-published my novel Games of Chance, I was stoked to create my Author Profile–but I didn’t know how to get reviews on Goodreads! Then I heard that Goodreads offers marketing strategies for authors like Goodreads Giveaways. Many blogs and even a book about publishing and marketing that I love had positive things to say about Giveaways, so I gave it a try–and this was my experience.

How do Giveaways work?

Once you create your Author Profile, you can list a Giveaway. You can find more details about Giveaways here. This is the basic idea: 

• You decide how many copies to give away and how long your Giveaway will run. I chose to give away 100 Kindle copies (the maximum allowed) and to run the Giveaway for a month, the time length Goodreads recommended.
• You pay Goodreads to promote your Giveaway. The standard package, which I chose, is $119. They also offer a premium package for $599. These prices stay the same no matter how many books you give away.
• Anyone on Goodreads can enter to win a copy of your book. When the Giveaway ends, Goodreads will randomly choose your winners–you won’t see who won.
• If you’re giving away Kindle books, Goodreads delivers the copies to winners. If you’re giving away print books, that’s your responsibility.  I would NOT recommend giving away print books because 1) it’s more work for you and 2) you have to pay shipping costs in addition to the $119.

Goodreads makes the process easy for Kindle books. However, $119 is a hefty price tag, and you won’t make ANY royalties on the books you give away. One perk is that Giveaway Kindle books are reported as “sales” on Amazon, even if you don’t get paid for them; if you’re concerned about your bestseller ranking on Amazon, 100 extra “sales” might benefit you.

My results

878 people entered my Giveaway, which was exciting! However, I DID NOT see an increase in sales when the Giveaway was over–meaning the people who didn’t win probably didn’t buy my book. It’s been over three months since my Giveaway ended, and I’ve received two reviews and six ratings on Goodreads that MAY have come from Giveaway winners; only one reviewer mentioned Giveaways. Because I can’t see who won, I can’t tell whether these new reviews were a result of Giveaways or my other marketing efforts on social media. Even if I could attribute all my unidentified ratings to Giveaway winners, I consider six ratings and two reviews to be a small reward for $119. 

The reviews I received were positive, and it’s possible that those readers would never have found my book if it hadn’t been for Giveaways. As authors, we want to make an impact on as many readers as possible, and I’m grateful that Giveaways helped me reach new people. Still, I expected to get more buzz and more reviews for the money I paid!

Here’s a great alternative to Goodreads Giveaways: join a Facebook group that connects authors and readers, like this one, and host a giveaway there. This is much less expensive, and you have a better chance of getting reviews and communicating with readers.

To sum it all up

Book marketing for self-published authors can be a confusing process, especially for those of us who are much better at creating stories than selling them (like me!). Goodreads Giveaways might be more lucrative for writers from a different genre, like romance or fantasy. Character-driven literary fiction, which I write, is always a tough sell. It’s also possible that some of my winners haven’t finished my novel yet, and more ratings and reviews will trickle in once they do. Still, I am disappointed with my results and won’t be hosting another Giveaway anytime soon.

I published my first novel when I was fourteen, and I’m still writing now, at age thirty-four. Like other young published authors, I learned a lot from my early experiences; I also faced roadblocks that people who begin writing in adulthood might not understand. Here are tips for beginner writers–and especially for teen writers–from someone who’s been there!

1. Read, read, and read

To become a better writer, you have to read a lot. Read what you enjoy–YA, fantasy, poetry–but read books that challenge you, too. Read the classics–start with these lists from Goodreads or PBS . Read the stuff they make you read in school even if you hate it; someday, a fellow writer might ask you about it, and you’ll have evidence to give good ol’ Hawthorne a thrashing. But PLEASE don’t read garbage (you know which books are garbage). Sentence structure and word choice get stuck in your head; if you read bad writing, you’ll write badly. 

2. Make writing a priority

You probably pack your schedule with extracurricular activities that will look good on a college application. But writing is an extracurricular activity too, and it takes time and discipline to be good at it. Try to write every day, or at least several times a week; if you’ve scheduled time to write, don’t let anything else get in the way. Maybe you won’t do as many sports or clubs as your friends, but if you end up publishing a novel, or writing a story that wins an award, that will impress colleges, too. 

3. Surround yourself with creative people

In high school, my friends were artists–whether they were involved in theater or drawing or music, they were bursting with creativity. It was encouraging for me to be around people who valued imagination. We were weirdos. We were unpopular. But we inspired each other–and we inspire each other to this day (we’re STILL friends.) Seek out people who believe in art, and they’ll rejuvenate you when you’re in a rut. 

4. But don’t talk about writing TOO much 

It’s helpful to talk to other artists about the creative process, or to analyze books/songs/movies you love and why they work. But don’t share every detail of your unfinished stories with your friends. If you talk too much, you can talk the need to write straight out of you. Why would you bother sitting alone at the computer when you could be chatting about your ideas? The joy of writing must come from WRITING–typing word after word after word, and trying and failing–not from anything external. Plus, if you swap ideas with other people too often, you’ll lose your voice and your vision for your work. 

5. Put away your phone

Good writing takes focus–but we live in a world of distractions! When you’re writing, turn off your phone (really!!) or put it in another room. Disconnect from the internet and type your stories in a word processor that can be used offline. It may sound extreme, but consider this: studies have shown that multitasking reduces productivity by FORTY percent. Eliminate the temptation to use the internet or you may end up scrolling through Instagram instead of writing.

6. Write what you know–but don’t limit yourself to one topic

The teen years have an emotional intensity unmatched by any other time in our lives. Write about what you’re going through now so you don’t forget it!  If romantic relationships are a big part of your life, write about them–but don’t let romance dominate all of your writing. I remember a poetry workshop in high school where we had to write about someone important to us, but it COULDN’T be a love interest. My dad was a firefighter in a dangerous city; I wrote about how much I admired him, and how I feared for his life every time he went to work. It was the best poem to come out of my teen years, and it was different from my other writing.

Maybe, on the other hand, you’re writing about something you don’t know–a job or a life stage you’ve never experienced, or a place you’ve never been. You can learn about things you haven’t lived–the key word is RESEARCH. Read memoirs and blog posts. Interview people who are experts on the topic. The more personal your research is, the more easily it will translate into stories.

7. Don’t let ANYONE discourage you from writing

You probably won’t make a living from writing alone. But that doesn’t mean you should stop doing it! You can write and have another career at the same time. I’ve worked as a TV producer, teacher, bartender–and, most recently, a stay-at-home mom–all while continuing to write. Writing will always be my calling–my “real job”–even if it isn’t my main source of income.

No matter what, keep writing! My teen years were when I developed skills I use today; in fact, the main characters in my novel Games of Chance were born in a novel I started in high school. You might be on the cusp of the greatest story of your career. Write it!

Are you wondering how to create fictional characters, or how to make your characters more realistic? Many writers struggle with this, but it’s my FAVORITE part of the creative process. I write novels, so I hang out with the same characters for a long time–and I’ve developed strategies for getting to know them. Here are some helpful tips for beginner writers–or anyone who wants to improve their skills in character building.

1. Choose the right name

Naming fictional characters is really fun–but also really important! Your character’s name gives her a flavor before your reader knows a single fact about her. Choose a name that aligns with her personality and her role in the story. Here are some strategies I use:

• Pick a few names and write paragraphs about the character using those names. Do any of them feel right? If not, try something else.
• Say the name out loud–by itself, and along with the names of other characters in the book (this is especially important if your nameless character has a love interest!). 
• Use a resource like Behind the Name. I LOVE this website because not only does it give you a name’s origin/history, it also has an awesome feature called “ratings.” Anyone can rate a name based on 14 categories–is the name strong or delicate? Wholesome or devious?–and the website gives you a summary of those ratings. This gives you an idea of how your audience will perceive a name. Plus, you can then search for names that are RATED similarly to the one you chose, even if they have nothing else in common. It’s like searching by VIBE. 
• Keep a notebook where you write down interesting names you hear 

Picked a name? Time to start digging deeper…

2. Talk to your characters 

Yes, they are real people, so you need to know them like real people. Start by asking questions: “Who was your first kiss? What’s your relationship like with your parents? Your siblings? How did you get started on this career path? What are you afraid of?” Then respond to these questions–in writing, not in your head–in your character’s voice. Get a sense of how she talks; use words that she would use. Most of these “conversations” won’t make it into the novel, but they will help you create a multi-faceted person instead of a pawn being pushed around by your plot. In fact, once you get closer to your characters, you may change your plot–for the better.

When I’m unsure what a character would do in a particular scene–or I know WHAT I want him to do but I’m not sure WHY–I write it all out from my character’s perspective (not mine). I will type something like this into a document:

Alex, why are you being such a jerk?

I’m angry because…

Then I’ll brainstorm all the feelings churning beneath the surface. Since you’re not writing the actual text of the book, you don’t have to worry about polishing your sentences; write whatever comes into your head and only use the parts that work. Some of my favorite sentences from my novel Games of Chance were written this way, when I let my characters talk without restrictions.

3. Interview real people

Some types of novels, like historical fiction, require a lot of research. Other novels can mostly be written with what’s in your head–until you run into a character whose life experiences are wildly different from your own. How can you write about a firefighter or a psychiatrist or a software engineer if you’ve never been in these professions yourself? This is where interviews come in handy.

I find interviews to be the most useful form of research because they’re personal, just like crafting a character is personal. When you speak to an expert in a particular field, you not only learn facts–you also get a sense of how that person TALKS. Word choice is important in making a character sound authentic. One of the main characters in Games of Chance is a doctor, and several medical emergencies take place in the novel. As part of my research, I read every EMT book in the library along with dozens of blogs written by doctors–but I didn’t feel confident in my medical scenes until I interviewed a doctor. If your character’s background is different from yours, find people who have that background and talk to them. Don’t worry about sounding stupid–you WANT to find out what you don’t know!

I hope these tips can help you craft memorable characters! 

I recently wrote a blog post about how being a mom has made me a better writer. That got me thinking about famous writers who are moms–and how infrequently we celebrate their accomplishments! Instead of seeing motherhood as a detriment, let’s focus on the positive effects it has on writing. After all, who better to write books about sibling relationships, marriages, and parent-child relationships than the women who make those relationships flourish? These awesome mom writers are an inspiration to women everywhere!

Zibby Owens

Zibby Owens is the ultimate success story when it comes to stay at home mom entrepreneurs. She’s the author of the children’s book Princess Charming and the memoir Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature, and she’s one of the biggest influencers in the world of books today. In 2018, she started her award-winning podcast, Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books, and began interviewing contemporary authors. The podcast skyrocketed in popularity and now releases a new episode 365 days a year. As the founder and CEO of Zibby Media, Zibby expanded her company to include the publishing house Zibby Books, the magazine Zibby Mag, and more. She even owns an indie bookstore, Zibby’s Bookshop, which will be opening in February 2023. My kids love Princess Charming, and I listen to Zibby’s podcast all the time. Zibby does it ALL–and she’s raising four kids at the same time! Talk about stay at home mom motivation!

Angela Duckworth

Angela Duckworth is a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a co-founder of the nonprofit Character Lab. She is also the author of the New York Times bestseller Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. I read Grit back in 2016, and it made a huge impression on me; I have referred back to it several times in the course of raising my kids. In Grit, Duckworth explores the factors that contribute to success. She concludes that high-achieving people in many different fields–academics, sports, the business world, and more–have one thing in common, and it’s not talent! It’s grit. Duckworth defines grit as hard work and perseverance focused on a single, personally meaningful long-term goal. Duckworth’s research shows that you don’t have to be BORN gritty–grit can be cultivated through certain life experiences. A whole section of her book explores ways that parents, coaches, and teachers can help children develop grit. Duckworth shares advice from the dozens of people she’s interviewed as well as her personal experiences as a teacher and as a mom of two. I like when she describes her efforts to make sure her own kids wouldn’t give up easily, because her stories are a) relatable and b) filled with realistic, practical tips all moms can use.

Katherine Paterson

Katherine Paterson is the author of eighteen novels for children as well as more than twenty other books. Two of her novels won the National Book Award and two others won the Newbery Medal (Bridge to Terabithia, my number one favorite book from childhood, was one of her Newbery winners!). Paterson always loved to read and write but didn’t consider a career as a writer until later in life. She was a mom of FOUR when she decided to write fiction. She managed to squeeze writing in among her many stay at home mom duties and took a night class in writing that led her to publish her first novel. I devoured Paterson’s novels as a kid, and Bridge to Terabithia still brings me to tears! Paterson wrote Bridge to Terabithia after watching her eight-year-old son grieve the death of a friend who had been struck by lightning. Death is a heavy topic for a children’s book, but Paterson handles it beautifully, crafting memorable characters and showing a deep understanding of childhood emotions. Many of Paterson’s novels tackle tough issues like child abandonment, foster care (Paterson spent some time as a foster mother herself), and dysfunctional sibling relationships, but she makes these issues accessible for young readers.

If you’re wondering how to find inspiration as a writer and a mom, you’re in good company. Especially if you want to be an indie author and publish a book yourself like I did, it can be an uphill battle. But moms have more endurance than ANYBODY, so don’t give up! You may end up on the list of famous mom writers too!