Writing Advice for Aspiring Authors from a KidLit Rebel

Rule Number One from the creator of Casey Grimes

Every now and then, someone gets in touch asking for writing advice. Some of them are kids and some are older. They’re all young, aspiring writers because they haven’t been writing very long. I don’t mind. Writing is such a weirdly cool pastime, it raises lots of questions—and being asked those questions is flattering. 

It’s also humbling, because I don’t consider myself the greatest writer in the world. I do think I’m pretty good. On my better days, I sometimes think the needle even might be leaning great. My skills have come a long way after publishing roughly 300,000 words, and I’m always trying to improve. Since I don’t have time to write a letter to each person who asks me for advice, I’m writing this one. 

 Now, if you think you might want my writing advice, I’d better warn you. I took a fiction class in college and didn’t learn anything about writing fiction. I’ve read loads of writing advice online, and I thought most of it was stupid. Almost everything I’ve done as a kids’ author goes against the grain of the Big KidLit Industry. In fact, the Casey Grimes books became a success in spite of those people. So you’re about to get advice from a contrarian. That’s a person who does things his own way. I’m kind of a rebel writer. 

That’s not what I set out to be, but it’s what happened.

So getting advice from me could be good or bad. My approach has resulted in six Casey Grimes novels, a novella and several short stories with more on the way. It’s resulted in over 180,000 books sold in a few years. Will it work for you? You’ll have to be the judge. Whatever happens, don’t say I didn’t warn you. 

We’ll start with a single rule, and if you’re into this series, I’ll eventually walk you through my entire creative process and get to popular questions like, Do my characters need to be likable? Can I edit my own work? and How do I get published? But we’ve got a ways to go before we talk about stuff like that. Which brings us to… 

Rule Number One: Have a Good Time Reading

Does this one seem obvious? Maybe so, but you can’t take anything for granted. Everything I learned about writing began when I learned to read at age six on Christmas Eve at my grandparents’ house. I realized my mom would let me stay up later and later if I kept working on my phonics. Up until that point I’d been holding out—I was a stubborn kid—but that night I learned to read so I wouldn’t have to go to bed.

Once that happened, there was no stopping me. I was surprised at how easy and fun reading was, and I started checking out stacks of books from the library. Dozens at a time. I started with dinosaurs, hideouts and pirates and moved on from there. Luckily didn’t have an iPhone to stare at, so I read them all and my mom would take me back for more. Eventually I started riding my bike to the library. Longer books, I’d check out and carry home in my backpack. Shorter ones I’d read in the aisles. This type of thing used to be a lot more common. Maybe we can bring it back. 

If you have a bike and a local library, go for it. Then send me a note and tell me how it went. Include a photo to prove it really happened if you want. What did you check out? Was the librarian cool? We may have to create some kind of Books & Bikes award. 

Anyway, I’ve read thousands of books over the years. Since I’m a dad now, I read thicker ones so I don’t get through as many as I used to, but I still read thirty to fifty a year. If you want to write, you should read a lot too, and you should enjoy it. Why should you? Let’s try to put it into words.

Reading a good story shows you what is possible for a writer. It gives you ideas to try and things to avoid. After a while, it will teach you what good writing looks like and what bad writing looks like. It shows you the kinds of things that should happen (and not happen) in the books you want to write. It also keeps you from being an irritating snot—which is what happens when someone who does not read books tries to write one. 

Most important, reading a great story wakes up your imagination so you know what it feels like to be pulled into an adventure. If you don’t know that magical feeling, you won’t be a good writer because you, the writer, will be trying to create that magic, trying to capture it—and it’s not easy, like cornering a White Stag or a Golden Snitch. These are things you’ll only learn by reading lots of books and having fun doing it.

Personally, I read lots of kid books, and I especially did when I first started writing my own. I also read detective stories and crime fiction because I love mysteries and tough, gritty heroes. I also read classics, because they’re the best, action novels because I like action, and suspense because I like suspense. You get it. Oh, and obviously I read fantasy because I like imaginary worlds. I also read nonfiction, because theology and philosophy stretch my mind—and who wants a brain that sprains easily?

Let’s make another obvious point here.

If you are really into a sport, let’s say pickleball, than reading is like watching players backpedal all over the court and jump in and out of “the kitchen” whacking a plastic ball. If you’re into rap music, reading is like watching the artist swagger onstage and dance around while he spits into a mic. You’re enjoying the performance and being inspired. 

You don’t need to read all the books at once. Start with what you like, then branch out. The important thing is to keep at it, and keep having a good time. Reading needs to be something you like. 

Now, this brings up a controversial question. The DNF problem. 

What if you start a book, and you realize you’re not into it? Should you give up and give the book a Did Not Finish rating—the most insulting rating possible? People have been arguing about this for a long time. Here’s my take. 

Whenever I start a book, I give it at least few chapters—up to fifty pages if it’s longer. Some stories take more than a few pages to get from zero to sixty, and that’s ok. After several chapters, if I’m still not into the book, it becomes a DNF and I don’t feel bad about it. I gave it a chance, and my goal is to have a good time reading, not trudge through an exhausting story. 

There are important exceptions, though. One is when the book is a classic that thousands of people have loved. The Hobbit would be an example. Maybe I feel like it starts kinda slow, and it was written in a different era, and how many dwarves are gonna knock on this door anyway?—but I’m going to keep reading because the book has proven itself. If I were to give The Hobbit a DNF, that makes me look stupid, not the book. And by the way, it’s a great story once it gets going.

Another exception might be a book that a good friend really likes, or several friends. Usually I’ll read that book cover to cover, even if I don’t feel the same passionate love. Once I read a 1200-page book for this reason. (It was just ok.) 

There can be exceptions the other way too. I’ve given up on books after a few pages because I could quickly tell the story would be stupid. Some of those books I’ve come back to later and discovered I was just in a bad mood that day. But some I was right about.

Hopefully you’re starting to understand the dilemma. The important thing is to keep reading and, for the most part, keep having a good time. You will need to read more than your friends—unless you have very cool friends. Reading needs to be a hobby for you.

At this point, you may be wondering why I’ve spent so much time talking about something obvious. Here’s the kicker.

You’d be surprised how many wannabe authors don’t have time to read. Back when I hung out on Twitter, I ran into dozens of grown-ups who were eager to write books for kids. These people knew their stories would be amazing, wonderful, and shiny—way better than Harry Potter, they said. But these adults didn’t have time to read themselves. If you asked what they were reading, they’d give you a weird look and get right back to posting #AuthorLife GIFs and squeeing about the characters they were about to create (but hadn’t started yet). 

They were way too busy to read because all those TikTok videos weren’t going to watch themselves, and anyway, they already knew what the perfect kid book would be like—because they were going to write it, of course! And besides, who has time to read kids’ books? Scrolling through social media for hours was way more important. Needless to say, none of these people ever wrote a good kid book. Most of them never wrote anything at all.

This is making sense, right? To become a writer, you will need to sacrifice all the time you waste staring at your phone. Less time on social media, more time reading books. You need a story-loving brain—not the attention span of a sugar-sipping gnat. If you can pull that off, you’re way ahead of most aspiring writers. That’s why rule number one is so important. Have a Good Time Reading.

But…if you’re someone like us, and you want to be more than a story spectator…reading is not enough. You’ll need a special skillset very few possess. It’s not rocket science, but I’ve seen it in the wild so rarely it could be considered a superpower. We’ll talk about it next time when we get to Rule Number Two.

Did you enjoy this post? If so, leave me a comment or a like. Happy to answer questions, and of course I’d love to hear from aspiring authors or educators who teach them. These posts will be paid content in the future, so now might be a good time to upgrade your Sylvan Spy subscription (or ask your parents to). If money is tight but you don’t want to miss out, send me a note. I’m happy to offer gift subscriptions when they’re needed.

A Note About Patronage

The Casey Grimes stories are my full-time job. It’s a risky life but good, a little like fighting monsters for a living. The books began as read-alouds with my kids, but after I got up the courage to publish them, the series took off and I started making enough to justify the huge amounts of time and energy it takes to write all those action scenes. Hundreds of notes from readers helped too, although they aren’t as useful for feeding my teenagers.

You may already know, but I created and published the Casey Grimes stories without permission from Big KidLit. The agents, editors, and committees who decide what kids ought to read have very selective tastes. I don’t like their priorities, and it turns out most kids and parents don’t either. Long story short, I like battling Big KidLit. Gaming the gatekeepers. Defying the dragon. It’s a good fight and a needed battle—but there’s not much of a safety net. 

If you love courage, tenacity, and most of all, adventure…if you love fantasy books written for the people—and the people are boys, girls, and parents—I invite you to think about becoming a paid subscriber or founding Sylvan Spy member. The stronger the support I receive from you, the more books, short stories, and posts I can promise. 

What are you signing up for? World-class fantasy adventures that are retro in a wild, magical way that used to considered normal…but rare…because, let’s be honest, a series like this doesn’t come along every day. Boys love them. Girls love them. Parents love to steal them. Books for kids you’ll be happy your kids are reading.