As with anything you attempt to do, it’s essential to know what you’re doing.
My father was a contractor – he built homes.
How structurally sound do you think those homes would have been if he didn’t know what he was doing or didn’t know how to read blueprints?
Or what about a musician who didn’t learn how to read music? Or one who knew the basics, but never practiced them. Would you attend a concert that this musician was giving?
Well, the same thing applies to writing for children.
It’s true that a self-published author can publish a poorly written book; no one will stop him. But do you think that’s fair to the reader and those authors who produce quality books?
The answer is NO on both accounts.
A common problem with new children’s authors is that they’re not familiar with the different genres.
I’ll see 2,000-word picture book drafts or 9,000-word middle-grade drafts.
I’ll also see things like an intended middle-grade draft with inappropriate content for the age group.
Knowing or learning the specifics also applies to the words you use in your story. Everything must be age-appropriate when writing for children.
And there must be a main character (protagonist).
A story I recently reviewed had no main character. It didn’t have a story arc either.
The lack of arcs is common for some new authors. They have a message they want to convey, but don’t realize it needs to be within the boundaries of a good fiction story.
Another biggie is middle-grade stories with multiple points of view (POV). Some new authors even go so far as to change POVs within a chapter. Having more than one POV within a chapter usually isn’t a good idea for any genre. However, aside from within the same chapter, you can have more than one POV in upper middle grade.
A key point is to keep things simple when writing for the younger reader.
I realize that many people think writing for children is easy.
How hard can it be, right?
Well, it’s actually a tricky genre to write in.
If you want to do it right, adhere to the industry’s guidelines when writing for children. In other words, you need to know what you’re doing… you need to play by the rules.
Some elements that pertain to playing by the rules are:
- Word count
- Sentence length
- Chapter length
- Story length
- Age-appropriate content
- Age-appropriate words
- Point of view
- Protagonist
- Character arc – the protagonist must overcome the obstacle and grow in some way as a result of the journey
- Story arc
While other factors involved, these are ten of the most important.
So, before you jump into a children’s story, read a lot of books in the genre you want to write. Be sure they’re well-written, though. A good way to do this is to read recently traditionally published books by top publishers, such as Simon & Schuster, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Chronicle Books.
There are good self-published books out there, but it’s sometimes a guessing game as to which are well-written and which are poorly written. You wouldn’t want to learn or model poorly written books.
Traditionally published books will be up to the current publishing guidelines and well-edited.
You should also take a few children’s writing courses, read books on writing for children, and, if possible, work with a children’s writing coach to help you overcome the hurdles of writing a publishable book.
I’m a working children’s ghostwriter, editor, and coach. I can help turn your story into a book you’ll be proud to be the author of, one that’s publishable and marketable.
Or maybe you’d rather do-it-yourself. Check out my book, HOW TO WRITE A CHILDREN’S FICTION BOOK.
There’s also an online course: FICTION WRITING FOR CHILDREN ECOURSE.
If your children’s manuscript is done and you need help self-publishing, check out WRITERS ON THE MOVE PRESS.
You can contact me at: kcioffiventrice@gmail.com. Or give me a call at 347—834—6700. (Please leave a message- I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.)
MORE ON WRITING FOR CHILDREN
Writing a Fiction Story – Walking Through Walls Backstory
Learning to Write for Children – It’s More Than Just ABC
10 Rules for Writing Children’s Stories
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