Why Writing for Children is Not Easy
Could you write for children?
It is possible to become a children’s book author but writing for children is not as easy as many believe.
At first blush, children’s stories seem simple enough and many writers create a story and send it out, hoping for publication.
In actuality, your story has to appeal to a triple audience:
To the publisher who will evaluate it for critical and necessary elements.
To children–is your main character someone children can relate to? (What child behaves all the time? What child doesn’t enjoy a good laugh? What child isn’t curious?)
To parents–you likely remember the stories you had to read to your kids repeatedly. Some you enjoyed; others you did your best to avoid.
Why Writing For Children is Not Easy
Many factors contribute to a solid manuscript, such as creating an effective picture book title, writing a compelling opening, and planning your verses for page turns.
Many seasoned children’s book authors, in fact, create book dummies for each of their stories to help them to spot weaknesses and improve on them. Making a book dummy can help you to see how your verses should fall on the pages.
A good children’s story has to have a clear direction, action scenes, a memorable character and a story arc.
As can be seen, much has to be considered when writing stories for children.
Learning How to Write for Children
Prolific Australian author Robyn Opie relates that she wasted valuable time trying to get her kids’ books published. As she gained experience, she discovered that publishers want certain elements in children’s stories and she wrote her stories accordingly.
Robyn has achieved incredible success using this knowledge and has carved a career writing for children.
She has 76 published books under her belt and more in the works.
Her site has won the designation of “101 Best Websites for Writers” from Writer’s Digest.
Robyn is considered one of the best sources, for information about how to get a children’s book published.
Robyn offers free tips and insider knowledge to those who want to build a career writing for children.
Recap: writing for children and getting your stories published can prove difficult if you do not have a clear understanding of what makes a solid children’s story.
Bestselling crime author Jo Nesbo talks about his brand new children’s book, Dr Proctors’ Fart Powder, and how it differs writing for children. Dr Proctor’s Fart Powder publishes 4th March 2010. £5.99 PB SIMON AND SCHUSTER UK www.simonandschuster.co.uk
Video Rating: 4 / 5
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