#pls feel free to add onto this post if u want with your own recs

[crunch-barr]

u mentioned making a rec list for books for children that are less problematic and better written!! i would love to see those <3

welcome to bean's list of book recommendations to read to your kids instead of h*rry p*tter, from an ex-hp kid who looked really hard for good books to fill the void all those years ago:

(pls lmk if any of them are problematic or haven’t aged well and I didn’t know, I’ll remove them from the list !!)

disclaimer: i was a kid reading kid books during the early 2000s and early 2010s, and I’ve realized while making this list that a lot of the writers I read growing up are... very white and cishet. that’s not to say there weren’t diverse writers being published or trying to get published, but there was certainly a lot less push for diversity in genre fiction (especially children's) back then. to make up for this I’ve added links to lists of diverse middle grade novels after my personal faves list, I haven’t personally read all that are mentioned on those lists but I plan to! please go check them out!!!! Most of them were published in the past few years

personal childhood favourites of mine:

The "House of Secrets" Trilogy by Christopher Columbus and Ned Vizzini. This was my favourite series as a kid, and surpassing HP in my mind at the time was like. Insane. That being said, goodreads has some simply scathing reviews of this by some adults who thought it was too violent and crowded but 12 year old me LOVED it SO MUCH. There’s some violence, there’s magic. It’s about three siblings and their creepy old house that can travel into books, but the books they travel into are WILD. I remember the second and third being better than the first. These would be fun to read aloud, too

"Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin was one of my absolute favourites as well from that time. I’ve read it as a late teen/young adult as well and it still holds up. It takes inspiration from Chinese folklore, it follows a girl named Minli who takes it upon herself to find fortune for her family. I remember carrying this book around in my backpack for like a year after I read it bc I loved rereading it so much. It’s so good guys it’s so good

"The Princess Bride" by William Goldman. This might seem like a basic pick, but it’s on the list bc I read this out loud with my mom when I was 10, taking turns, and it was SO FUN. I had the time of my life. It’s such a romp of a book and works so well read out loud.

The "Chrestomanci" Series by Diana Wynne Jones— it’s the same sparkly magic as HP, but written better and also written first. I liked everything she wrote, but this series was really solid. My fave was The Lives of Christopher Chant

“The Girl Who Could Fly” by Victoria Forester retains that HP school vibe, with kids with superpowers instead. I remember loving this book a TON as a kid. I remember some specific scenes so clearly, they just live in my mind constantly

Rapid fire multi-book series’ I’ve read and generally liked, that would be fun to read to your kids:

- the "Land of Stories" series by Chris Colfer

- the "Wrinkle in Time" series by Madeleine L’Engle

- "Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart

- "The School for Good and Evil" series by Soman Chainani

Honourable mentions that didn't really fit the list:

- "Good Omens" by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (actually a lot of Terry Pratchett is good for this genre!! I also loved Gaiman's books as a kid but they are a bit darker)

- "From the Mixed-Up Files of Ms Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg (I just love this book too much to not include it)

Honourable mention but not a middle grade read-aloud style thing:

- ALL the Lumberjanes volumes by Noelle Stevenson (et al.)

And here are some links to diverse middle grade fantasy lists that have been published recently!

https://www.feministbooksforkids.com/middle-grade-fantasy-books/

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/kids/8-amazing-diverse-middle-grade-fantasies/

https://www.readbrightly.com/contemporary-diverse-middle-grade-books/

https://hclib.bibliocommons.com/list/share/220740577/677756200

https://www.google.com/amp/s/lgbtqreads.com/middle-grade/%3Famp

https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/diverse-childrens-books/ <- this link also includes an excellent portion on the importance of diversity in children’s fiction, while also talking a little about how diversity has become much more prevalent in publishing since the early 00s.

There are so many good books out there. Go read! Read good stuff to your kids out loud!! Support your locally owned bookstores!! Buy books for your kids that aren’t written by bigots

[hayjeon]

Practical Tips on getting your fics out there!

I’ve gotten an influx of these types of questions here recently, and the more i thought about what i was gonna add, it became really long :(  

disclaimer: a lot of the things i bring up are just from personal experience as a writer on this site, what my followers have told me they appreciate, and what i tend to look for when im looking for fics to read! If you don’t like these tips then pls move on :) 

although i’ll mention them, i’m also not going to be focusing on cliche tips like “write for yourself” or “grammar issues” cause those are pretty obvious!

1. accessibility of your blog 

when you’re trying to get your name out there, make sure that you’re creating an inviting experience for any potential followers! this includes:

a memorable url! be creative!

have some fun designing your blog’s aesthetic! (i love cute blogs because it reflects a bit of the writer’s personality), and (i prefer blogs with white backgrounds because it’s easier to look through/read, say, in contrast to a pitch black one where the words need to be white!) 

put your masterlist link in your bio (even better if you can link most recent fic! found this most helpful when i revisit authors that i like and can easily see if they’ve updated or not)

an organized and easy-to-navigate masterlist (personally, i prefer masterlists organized by band, instead of types of fics ie. i hate when i have to choose between drabbles, oneshots, and series masterlists; i really prefer to see them altogether!) --> see section 3 

organized tags (if you’re going to be posting a lot of non-fic-related content like pictures or videos, tag them properly so followers can sort through and find your fics easily!), or (if you’re going to be writing in different mediums like drabbles, or answering asks, make sure to use a unified #mine or #writing or #fics to centralize your content) 

2. get your name out there!

write write write! once you have some fics that show your talent, don’t be shy! 

join writing groups: when i first started out, I joined a bunch of groups that would reblog my fics in the midst of the content of much bigger writers; these blogs developed a following, and as a result of my content mixing in with bigger blogs’ content, so did my own tumblr! there’s been a stigma recently with these groups, but im sure you can find one thats supportive and not clique-y! 

send your fics to rec pages: what’s the harm? the only bad thing that can happen is that they ignore you! who cares! get out there! 

if you can do the above, i really encourage you to ask your fave writers for advice/to read your fic: again, the worst that can happen is that they say no or don’t respond or don’t have enough time, but it’ll be a good opportunity to get some feedback! i for one read (or try to read) every single rec that falls into my inbox. if i like it, i’ll #rec it, and if i don’t, unless the writer asks me for feedback, i move on!! 

utilize your tags!!: i’m not entirely sure if this is still the same or not, but from my memory, it’s the first 3-5 tags that matter the most? so utilize them well; push back the tags that aren’t really relevant (ie. #writing, #fics) and push more the main subject line of what you wrote (ie. jungkook fluff, bts smut, namjoon angst). these will populate your fics into the tags better!

headers!: when i’m scrolling through an infinite page of fics, the headers catch my eye the most; try being creative! you can find a lot of info out there on how to make ur headers super aesthetic, but i can share my tips too! --> see section 3

3. your masterlist 

here are some practical tips! 

organize by band, not type of fic/member/centralize your masterlist: i went onto a blog recently and clicked their bio mlist link to find a page full of 20~ish “JUNGKOOK MASTERLIST”/ “JAEHYUN MASTERLIST” and when i clicked on each one, they only had like 2 or 3 fics per member. i think it would’ve been better if she’d centralized all her fics! that keeps whoever is looking interested and more likely to click on another fic while browsing

add info about the fics!: when scrolling through a masterlist, it’s easy to get lost; try to add some snippets of info (ie. a short sentence you liked from the fic, a quick summary, a description of the au/scenario, or even a header!) this all gives some info about the fics you have tagged! 

headers: this isn’t a requirement, but i personally love a good header on fics i read and i love making them myself as i finish up a fic and get ready to upload it; here are free sources: unsplash for HQ stock pics, crop/edit/filter in VSCO, and then add aesthetic script with fontcandy) 

try to fill it up!: after i visit a blog after reading one good fic, i usually browse through their mlist to see if there are any more that i’d be interested in. if there’s a lot to look forward to, i’ll almost always follow; try to write as much as you can in the first few months to try and fill up your mlist and give blog viewers a reason to visit your blog again, follow, or even reblog your content!) 

4. try not to reproduce cliche fics: 

honestly tumblr’s writing community (and armys) has grown insanely these past few years and, unfortunately, even from my perspective, in the past 3-4 years, all the writers have sort of become blended together in my brain. but, i can say that the ones who consistently stand out are the ones who produce consistent content and think outside of the box! 

i tend to gravitate towards fics that have really interesting plotlines (ex. btssavedmylifeblr’s VOID is always a surprise to read because it’s sO unique! i usually don’t read ot7 fics but this one is legit my fave) 

I know it’s tempting to try and just write typical smut fics to try and gain some traction, but tumblr is already too overloaded by that kind of content; try to write something that’s special and unique! this will set u apart from the thousands of other writers here --> see next section

5. create unique fics: 

this is also personal to my writing style, but i get so bored writing just casual fics about the members, and it affects the fics i choose to read too; i prefer unique fics which you can achieve through: 

circumstance/au: create a fun au!; don’t just create an arranged marriage, create an arranged marriage in joseon dynasty, or between a werewolf and a hunter! (shameless self plug); don’t just give me friends to lovers, but give me spiderman!jungkook friends to lovers! (ie. cupofteaguk’s exchanges)

jobs: give them out-of-the-ordinary jobs; don’t just give me enemies to lovers, but give me rival!anchors who end up loving eachother! (ie. jimlingss The Newscasters)

fun dialogue: create good back-and-forth, (something i’m still working on!)! this will help your characters develop personality, and that way, readers will start to develop that themselves as well (ie. dad!yoongi from insemination wars by prolixitae is such a specific character that i love so much!, or obiwrites’ garden characters were so memorable!)

create memorable personalities: don’t give me a flat character, try to develop 4d personalities in all of your characters! (im still working on this too!) this way you can really make an impression on your followers! a great way to practice/recognize this is: “Ask my Character.” Can your followers ask a specific character a specific question, and would you be able to deliver an answer that is very specific to that character’s tone/voice/personality? If yes, then ur doing well! If not, try to think of ways that you can make tht specific character from a specific story, really unique and separate from your other characters.

6. some practical writing tips

be yourself, write for your own pleasure, blah blah blah; yeah you know already haha but here are a few more practical tips! 

grammar check: if you can, try and hone your grammar! makes for an easier read 

write like you: i personally LOVE this by obiwrites, but even the way she writes exudes her personality and is so specific; try not to be caught up in adding hundreds of synonyms and exquisite language; in fact, simpling it down and being more concise and honest with your writing is better than a superfluous sentence; this will also give ur characters so much more dimension and funk

use those commas/sentence variation: try to use more commas; this will feel like you’re the narrator to your own story; it also makes it more fluid to read in my opinion, over those short. clipped. sentences. (ie. “he came over, sitting down on the corner of your bed with an expression you’d never seen before” over “he walked over. he sat down, looking sad.”) 

half-half dialogue/narration: a fic with too much dialogue can get confusing, and a fic with too much narration can get dry; try to balance them out, and weave in and out of each! 

quality over quantity: don’t feel burdened to write a 30k word fic. in fact, i think some of the shorter fics (ie. any of versigny’s stuff) made a bigger impression on me over the longer fics because they were short, left me wanting more, and were just so high-quality in such small quantities. try out your hand at drabbles and one-shots, and don’t feel too burdened to try and develop a series right off the bat! 

abandon pigeon-holes: i’m guilty of this; i start series and then end up with no vision for the stories and they end up giving me writers block. its okay. just stop or discontinue them or leave them on a hiatus; it’s okay. your priority is yourself, and if abandoning certain works are part of that, then go ahead. it’ll help you progress more. 

and finally.......

i’ll add more as they come up! but if you liked this, then pls lmk! i’d love to give more tips and tricks; i think i started this blog 3-4 years ago when there weren’t as many writers here, but im glad you’re thinking of starting out/wanting to grow more! don’t feel intimidated! it’s not all about the notes/followers but creating a blog you’re proud of. 

so write what you’re proud of, or interested in, and keep going. i truly thoroughly had so much fun writing this post. if there are any writers who read through this and have some more advice, pls msg me! 

all the best to you!