title: The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for Children and Young Adults
author: Cheryl Klein
description: Cheryl B. Klein [is] a craft-focused fairy godmother[<em>The Magic Words</em>] is a well-organized master class.<br /> - <strong>Mary Quattlebaum, <em>Washington Post</em></strong><br /><br />Inspiring, comprehensive, and insightful, <em>The Magic Words</em> ably fills a gaping hole on the shelves of developing and experienced writers alike. An essential guide to the art and craft of writing for young readers.<br /> - <strong>Anne Ursu, author of <em>The Real Boy</em> and <em>Breadcrumbs</em></strong><br /><br />Insightful, enlightening, and practical, <em>The Magic Words</em> is a book that belongs on every writers shelf. Loaded with concrete examples and specific strategies, its likely to end up dog-eared and well wornthat favorite book on craft that writers revisit again and again with each new project.<br /> - <strong>Kate Messner, author of <em>The Seventh Wish</em> and the <em>Ranger in Time</em> series</strong><br /><br />What Cheryl B. Klein talks about when she talks about writing is what every aspiring childrens and young adult novelist needs to hear. She offers generous insights, frank talk, nuts and bolts advice, editorial wisdom, and ample encouragement. <em>The Magic Words</em> is all the inspiration and guidance youll need to get your novel started, and more importantly, to get it finished.<br /> - <strong>John Dufresne, author of <em>The Lie That Tells a Truth: A Guide to Writing Fiction</em> and <em>I Dont Like Where This Is Going</em></strong><br /><br /><em>The Magic Words</em> manages to articulate, in clear and compelling language, what others rely on intuition to understand. The result is a comprehensive and engaging examination of what readers will recognize to be true about the best novelsand yet have never heard expressed.<br /> - <strong>Eliot Schrefer, two-time National Book Award nominee for <em>Endangered</em> and <em>Threatened</em></strong><br /><br />Editor Cheryl B. Klein guides writers on an enjoyable and practical-minded voyage of their own, from developing a saleable premise for a novel to finding a dream agent. She delves deep into the major elements of fictionintention, character, plot, and voicewhile addressing important topics like diversity, world-building, and the differences between middle-grade and YA novels.<br /> - <strong>Nikki Vanry, <em>Bookriot.com</em></strong>
zlib_text: Dedication
  For my kids, who always want to know what I’m writing, even when they know the answer will be
  so unsatisfactory as to involve neither dragons nor magical cats.
  
  Dedication
  For my kids, who always want to know what I’m writing, even when they know the answer will be
  so unsatisfactory as to involve neither dragons nor magical cats.
  
  Contents
  Cover
  Title Page
  Dedication
  Prologue
  Chapter One
  Chapter Two
  Chapter Three
  Chapter Four
  Chapter Five
  Chapter Six
  Chapter Seven
  Chapter Eight
  Chapter Nine
  Chapter Ten
  Chapter Eleven
  Chapter Twelve
  Chapter Thirteen
  Chapter Fourteen
  Chapter Fifteen
  Chapter Sixteen
  Chapter Seventeen
  Chapter Eighteen
  Chapter Nineteen
  Chapter Twenty
  Chapter Twenty-One
  Chapter Twenty-Two
  Chapter Twenty-Three
  Announcement
  About the Author
  
  By Cat Sebastian
  Copyright
  About the Publisher
  
  By Cat Sebastian
  Copyright
  About the Publisher
  
  Prologue
  “A thousand thousand years ago—” Will said.
  “Just say a million,” Martin said. “Why do you need to make it sound so fussy?”