As our ticking clock hits zero, I bid you a happy official end to #kidlitchat. But as always, I encourage you to keep chatting and connecting and having dessert (as appropriate). And I'll see you back here next week... or will I (I say, trying to add drama!)?

(I am curious if anyone else is not seeing their #Kidlitchat tagged tweets in the stream tonight?)

So often, a manuscript's concept leads to natural drama - a final thing that we wonder if the character will do/not do/get to/not get to and the like. But a lot of stories don't have that built in from the start. At the end, it will feel like they did, though.... #kidlitchat

I am a big Olympics and sports in general fan and love to use the natural dramas of a game or a qualifying heat or a season goal to help give my stories some natural momentum. Which doesn't work in stories with no sports in them, of course.... #kidlitchat

TOPIC: The Olympics are full of plots/drama: ticking clocks, one-on-one competition, team competition, changing weather, too much available pasta, and more. So, how do you think about and add plot drama to your work? As a reader, what dramatic events hook you in and carry you along? #kidlitchat

Two minutes to get yourself ready for #kidlitchat. You can do it. I believe in you!

I hope you'll join us tonight for #kidlitchat here on Bluesky at 9PM Eastern/6PM Pacific. It's an hour of chatting with your #Kidlit community pals and, of course, and a path to Olympic gold! Or at least a fun hour.... See you then!

Thank you all for joining in on #kidlitchat (just as this same bunch has done every Groundhog Day week forever!). We'll see you next week for the best type of do-over: a new chat! See ya then....

I should add that I'm quite sure that the fact I give myself permission to fix things later is why my first drafts are ALWAYS perfect and do not need revision. I am sure this is true for you, too. Yes? :-) #kidlitchat

I like certain aspects of revision and dislike others, but one thing i find freeing in my first draft is telling myself “don’t worry about perfect. You can fix it later.” #kidlitchat

Just like last year on this same week, I arrive 22 minutes late! A re-do! #kidlitchat

Tuesday brings #kidlitchat at 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific here on Bluesky. We’re as regular as the tides, I tell ya (if they only happened weekly and always at the same time, natch, and had a few millenia less regularity). Come join us for an hour of chatting with #kidlit community friends! See ya soon.

There’s only a few hours left on the auction to raise money to help the people of Minnesota. I’m willing to up the stakes and throw in a 30-minute Zoom call as a stretch goal if bidding goes over $500. (It’s currently at $420.)

Join me in bidding on some great items here and raise some money for Minnesota! Lots of publishing and bookish items - agent and editor critiques, original art, AMAs and more! #kidlit www.32auctions.com/publishingfo...

I’m so thankful for this auction helping my home during a horrific time. I would love to read your picture book manuscript and then chat with you about it and whatever else you like! Happening now through EOD Friday! Plus there’re a billion other amazing items! www.32auctions.com/publishingforMN

Once in a lifetime opportunity for an aspiring picture book author! Want your pb to be considered at Sourcebooks executive editor Manlove's editorial meeting? Melissa & I are offering a critique & Skip-the-Slush-Pile pass in the Publishing for Minnesota fundraiser! www.32auctions.com/organization...

As always, thank you all for joining in on #kidlitchat. Community rocks. And we'll see you here next week!

I feel like this convo has convinced me that we don't need to start the "kidlitchatties" awards.... #kidlitchat

Although personally, I was surprised that Wicked didn't win anything.... #Kidlitchat

I think as with most awards, there's some kind of subjectivity that we accept. Like, two beautiful books, ya know? That's what makes it so interesting afterwards.... #Kidlitchat

Here, by the way, is a link to the complete list of ALA award winners: www.ala.org/news/2026/01... #kidlitchat

TOPIC: Have you checked out the new crop of ALA award-winners yet? Huzzah to the winners and to everyone who had a book out this year. As always, we ask "what do you think? What books were left out?" And... what do the awards mean to YOU as a reader or maker of books for children? #kidlitchat

Seven Minutes Til #Kidlitchat - the excitement mounts as people gather. Are YOU ready?

We will be having #kidlitchat at 9pm Eastern/6 pm Pacific in what is already a big #kidlit week. I hope you can join us for an hour of community and conversation (and maybe pie!)….

Ringing the virtual closing bell here at #kidlitchat, I wish to thank you all for putting the real YOU into the chat week after week. I for one, like y'all! And I look forward to seeing you here next week, too....

I think my world view shows up a lot. Not always in the main character, but it's always there. #kidlitchat

This topic is interesting to me since many people think the Gregory K in my first book's title is me. And he shares my name and my love of poetry and other things, but my editor named the character, not me! #kidlitchat

TOPIC: What's the most "YOU" aspect of your work? A character, a situation from your own life, a recurring theme, or the way conflict is resolved? What's uniquely you? #kidlitchat

It is #kidlitchat day (as it is every Tuesday)! Gather with your #kidlit loving Bluesky pals right here at 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific for a spirited hour of community. We’ll see you then!

"Why's Greg gotta ring that bell when we were only just getting started?" That's from my novel "The ending of each #kidlitchat." But as in the book, conversation doesn't have to stop with the metaphorical ringing, so I hope y'all continue and are still yakking til NEXT Tuesday when we do this again!

Millicent Min, Girl Genius by @lisayee.bsky.social begins "I have been accused of being anal retentive, an over-achiever, and a compulsive perfectionist, like those are bad things" and that is the character and tone right there in one sentence. Talk about pulling in a reader.... #kidlitchat

Always re-shared! :-) #kidlitchat

It's interesting how sometimes the first sentence is all we need to pull us in. But other times it's the first 10 pages or so. Or the first few pages of a picture book. Sometimes you just nail a feeling or a character or a laugh line, but I guess not every story needs or supports that. #kidlitchat

"Some days you just need pie." is the opening line of my 14 Fibs of Gregory K. and is proof that my love of pie is not just a #kidlitchat thang!

"On the far end of town where the grickle-grass grows and the wind smells sweet and sour when it blows and no birds ever sing excepting old crows is the street of the lifted Lorax." I mean now... come on! Who wouldn't read on? #kidlitchat

TOPIC: While we're still thinking about fresh beginnings, what are some of your all-time favorite first lines in children's books? ("Where's Papa going with that ax?" is already taken!) And what do you think makes a first line really grab the reader? #kidlitchat

Guess what? It’s #kidlitchat day (aka Tuesday). Join us #kidlit folk here on Bluesky at 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific for an hour of yakking and community. Easy parking, beautifully decorated space, and ample (virtual) treats! What’s not to love? I hope you can make it!

Thank you all for joining in to the first #kidlitchat of 2026. This is the official end, but please keep chatting. Our word for the year here (for the Nth time in a row) is "community." And I'm glad to be a part of this one with y'all!

This is a very, very good idea. <hint, hint> #kidlitchat

TOPIC: It's time for New Year's resolutions . . . or goals . . . or a word to define your mindset for 2026 . . . or your Guiding Principle for the year . . . or, what's the plan, Stan? (The focus here is for resolutions related to your #kidlit side, but share whatever you want!). #kidlitchat

It may be a new year, but it's the same #kidlitchat day, time and place - every Tuesday at 9PM Eastern/6PM Pacific here on Bluesky. If you want to join some fine #kidlit folk for an hour of chatting and community, I hope you'll make us part of your 2026. See ya soon!

How to Keep a New Year's Resolution Here’s my resolution trick: Resolve to break one really quick. That way when the “break” is done, You’re guaranteed of keeping one. #poetry #NewYear #resolutions

Thank you all for joining in on this, the final #kidlitchat of 2025. Thank you all for a wonderful year here... and here is to a happy, healthy 2026 for you and yours... full of creativity and joy, too! See ya next year!

The crew at the KidLit Deconstruction Zone podcast (@kdzpodcast.bsky.social) has a full episode dedicated to satisfying endings. Check out the episode & the resources in the description, #kidlit friends. youtu.be/DcGmR3SPIm0?... #kidlitchat #writing

I think there's also a difference between having a sense of where your plot is gonna end ("Hey, it's the big game/dance/event!") vs. knowing how all the character arcs end and what that will do to the finale.... #Kidlitchat

TOPIC: Let's talk endings here at 2025's end. Do you know how you're going to end your story when you start? Do you know the ending first? Do you have tricks/tips for making your story's ending as satisfying as possible? #kidlitchat

I’m not going to remind you again this year: #kidlitchat happens every Tuesday at 9pm Eastern. (And yes, that means tonight! See ya shortly.)

Let's have one last 2025 #kidlitchat tonight, shall we? Yes, we shall! Join your #kidlit pals tonight at 9 PM Eastern/6 PM Pacific here on Bluesky and have an hour of chatty fun to end the year with community (and maybe dessert ideas, too). See you then!

Thank you all for joining in on #kidlitchat (a holiday time tradition... and a Tuesday tradition!). We'll be here next week, too, for the last chat of the year. And wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday time in the interim!

TOPIC: What are your favorite bookish holiday traditions? Are there books you reread during the holidays? Favorite film adaptations? Family read-alongs? (And feel free to share other family traditions and favorite holiday pies!) #kidlitchat