WEBVTT

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Did you know that most people who want

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to write a children's book never get past

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the idea stage? Not because they don't

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have good ideas, but because they don't

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know where to start? And that's

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actually a much easier problem to

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fix than you might think. Hi,

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I'm Laura Backes, publisher of

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Children's Book Insider, the Children's

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Writing Monthly, and cofounder of Write

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for Kids Online. For over 35

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years, we've been helping people just

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like you. Learn how to write

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the children's books they've always

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dreamed of. And now I'd like to

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welcome you into the wonderful world of

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writing for children. In the next few

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minutes, I'm going to show you a

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simple way to start your first children's

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story. Now, before we go any further.

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There's something important you should

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know. There's no one right way to

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be a children's writer. Some people want

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to see their book published and on

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the shelves. Others want to create

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something for their children or

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grandchildren. Some want a book they can

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use in their work with kids.

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All of these are completely valid

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and they all start the same

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way. So no

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matter why you're here, how

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do you actually start?

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The biggest misconception about writing

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children's books is that it's some kind

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of talent you either have or you

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don't. But that's not how

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it works. Writing for children is a

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craft. It's a set

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of skills you learn one at

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a time, just like anything else.

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You don't need an MFA, you

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don't need years of experience, you

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don't need to be a quote

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natural writer. You just need to

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learn what to do. And

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do it step by step.

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And that's where most people get stuck.

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They don't have a clear starting point.

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And if you're thinking that sounds

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good, like can I actually do

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this?That's completely

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normal. Because

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when you're starting something new,

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confidence doesn't come first.

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What actually

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comes first is a reason.

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There's something that made you click on

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this video, something that made you

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think, I'd like to do this. That reason

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is what gives you the courage to start.

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You don't need to have it all figured

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out. You just need a reason to take

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that first step. And once you take that

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step. Something important starts to

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happen. There's actually

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a simple progression that every writer

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goes through. First you have the

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courage to try. Then you make

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a decision and to stick with

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it. That's commitment. As

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you learn the basics, you build

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capability. And that's

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what creates confidence. Most people

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think confidence comes first, but

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actually it comes last.

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So if you don't feel confident yet,

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that's exactly where you're supposed to

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be. Because once you Start learning the

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right steps, everything begins to build

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from there. Remember at

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the beginning of this video I said

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most people who want to write a

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children's book never get past the idea

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stage. I can sincerely tell you that

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having worked with writers for over 35

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years, I have never once heard a

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bad idea. But many

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of these bits of inspiration never

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evolved into a book because the

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writers didn't know where to start.

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So let's make this real.

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What does actually starting a

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story look like?

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If you want to start writing a

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children's story, it actually begins with

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something very simple. Just about every

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story comes down to three things. A

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main character who wants something, but

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something else gets in the way.

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That's it. That's where stories begin.

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A kid wants to win the prize

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for a kite flying contest but doesn't

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know how to fly a kite. A

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dog wants to find its way home

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but keeps getting lost.

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You probably already have an idea like

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this, you just haven't broken it down

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yet. So if you take a few seconds

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and think. Who is my

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story about? What do they want? What's

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getting in the way?You've

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already started your first story, and

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that's how simple the starting point

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really is.

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So by now you've actually started a

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story. You have a character, a goal,

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and a problem. But here's

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where most people get stuck. They don't

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know what to do next, or how

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to turn that idea into a complete

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working story with a beginning, middle,

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and end. Starting isn't the hard part.

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Knowing the next steps, that's what makes

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the difference. And that's exactly where

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having a simple step. By step

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path matters, so if you want

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help taking that next step, I've

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put together a free beginner's kit

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It includes a full issue of Children's

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Book Insider and a simple step by

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step CHEAT SHEET you can use right

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away.

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So if you're not guessing what to

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do

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you have a clear place to start.

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You can grab the beginner's kit

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using the link below, and then

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you can take that next step

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toward writing a magical story for

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children.

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