Writing Tip: First Person Point of View

Illustration by Kelsey Walker, age 9

The "Point of View" of a story or poem describes the narrator, or who is telling the story. "First person" point of view is when the story is told by the person who experienced it first hand. You can tell a story written in the first person because the main character is telling the story, and refers to himself or herself as "I." This can make the action in a story seem more intense and exciting. Other points of view can also work well. When before writing a story, consider what point of view would make your story most interesting.

James Gui uses the first person point of view in The Evil Magician and reading the first paragraph really makes you want to find out what happens next, doesn't it?

"I was nervous as I walked up the dark stairs to the stage of the magic show at the circus. The magician had called on me for a magic trick. I wondered what I was suposed to do ... pull a bunny out of a hat? Jump inside a box and get cut in half? Whatever I was supposed to do, I didn't think I wanted to know."

By using this view point, the people reading his story don't know any more about the mysterious magician than that main character so they feel just as frightened! Finish the story here:

 
Fairy Tales and Fantasy Issue

Art Tip - Cut Paper

Cut paper is a colorful way to make an eye catching piece of artwork. Use colorful construction paper, and consider mixing in some other types of paper, like wrapping paper or others. Be aware that newspaper will turn yellow as it ages, and magazine paper wrinkles when glued with wet glue (use a glue stick or other glue that isn't wet feeling).

Launch Pad has published several outstanding pieces of art done with cut paper. Check them out!

Coral Reef, written and illustrated by Richard Graham, age 10
Oceans Issue

Snakes, written by written by Clarie Moran, Age 8, and illustrated by Kieran Storer, Age 8
Animals Issue

At the Magical Fountain, written by Tatiana Soto, Age 11, and illustrated by Hannah Schmitt, Age 10
Fairy Tales and Fantasy Issue

Writing Tip: Repetition

And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep

Those are the closing lines of a famous poem called "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening" by American poet Robert Frost. He uses repetition to create a mood and change the pace of the poem. It also makes you think about the last line. Repetition in poetry is often a great way to get readers to pay attention to what you are writing. But be careful when you use it, "repetitious" means repeating something in a way that gets boring or tiresome because your reader has already heard it. It is challenging to be an author who uses repetition without being repetitious.

Katie Yoder, age 11, makes a great use of repetition in her poem "Loons in Maine," in the oceans issue.

Hundreds on the ocean waves
Black, floating loons
Spotted, dotted, red-eyed loons
Black floating loons.

Read the poem and see the beautiful illustration here:
Oceans Issue

Art Tip: Complementary Colors

The Launch Pad blog is now featuring useful writing and art tips for aspiring writers and artists ages 6 - 12. Our first tip is on using complementary colors.

Complementary colors are the colors that are opposite from each other on the color wheel:

Red and Green
Orange and Blue
Yellow and Purple

Using complementary colors in a piece of artwork makes the colors stand out more, and almost always makes a good piece of art great. Hannah Schmitt, age 10, used complementary colors in her illustrations for At the Magical Fountain. Look at how she used bits of bright pink (pink is really light red!) to complement her greens and make the artwork interesting.



Read the poem and look at all the artwork in the Fairy Tales and Fantasy Issue:
Fairy Tales and Fantasy Issue

Happy July 4th!

Illustration by Isabelle St. John, Age 11, Appleton, Wisconsin, for the upcoming Summer Fun issue

There is still space available in the Summer Fun issue (July/ August 2008). We are looking for written work and illustrations relating to summer vacations, hiking, camping, horseback riding, trips to National Parks, summer sports, or anything else related to summer activities and fun!

Visit the Submission web page to find out how to submit.

Oceans Issue

(Illustration by Sophia Rosen from the Oceans issue)

Dear Launch Pad Readers, 

I am pleased to announce that the "Oceans" issue of Launch Pad has now been published.  This third issue is accessible on the magazine web site.  In the "Oceans" issue, you will read a number of beautifully illustrated stories and poems by our outstanding young authors and illustrators.

Launch Pad still needs contributors.  We are looking for works for our Summer Fun (hiking, camping, summer sports, vacations, etc.), Mystery, and Variety (any topic) issues.  If you are a teacher, librarian, or parent, please encourage young people to submit their work!  Launch Pad especially needs young illustrators, so please encourage parents of young artists to submit a sample of their work.  Samples may be emailed to the editor.   I would welcome any comments that you might like to share about our most current issue.

Please consider showing your support for Launch Pad by forwarding or posting this announcement on listservs, blogs, Facebook, or other resources.  We are still looking for a publishing or association partner to launch a print version of the magazine.  If you know any individuals who might be interested, please let them know about this opportunity.

Enjoy the "Oceans" issue!

All the Best, 

Paul Kelsey

Editor and Publisher

Launch Pad: Where Young Authors and Illustrators Take Off!

editor@launchpadmag.com

http://www.launchpadmag.com

Launch Pad Welcomes International Authors and Artists

(Illustration from “A Day at the Beach,” by Aditi Laddha, from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. Aditi’s work will appear in the upcoming “Oceans” issue)

Launch Pad welcomes Aditi, a young artist from India, to its growing list of international contributors hailing from Australia, Belgium, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It has been remarkable to watch these talented young authors and artists “take off” from across the globe, making Launch Pad a worldwide success.

Launch Pad invites submissions from any country and is still looking for material for the “Oceans” and “Summer Fun” issues. Visit the More Ideas page to learn most about these themes, and the Artists and Illustrators page to learn more about some of our contributors all over the world.