To the uninitiated, writing books for children is easy. You put a few words on the page and add some pictures. How hard can that be? Often times this thinking will lead someone who has decided to write their first book to start off writing a piece for children. The reality is writing for children is very complex. In a longer work a writer does not need to be as concerned with each individual word. Note - I did not say that a writer does not need to be concerned with each word, but as concerned. When your piece is 100,000 words in length, you have the luxury of using a few words and phrases which may be less important to the overall story. When your length is under 500 words, every syllable counts.
With writing for children the specific target audience within the children's arena must be defined in advance. Is the book meant to be a beginning reader book, is it for children who don't read yet, or is the book targeted for the early middle reader or advanced middle reader? Each one of those categories within children's books is very specific as to the requirements. The age range for the target can be as limited as one year. For example, a book can be written for the second grade reader. The target audience determines the range of unique words which should be used, the number of syllables of those words on average, as well as the total word count range.
With books aimed at adults, there is a little more lattitude as to target audience. Genres can be combined or crossed and there is more flexibility for experimentation with plot development, point of view, and tense. Since books for children are necessarily written for developing readers, the rules must be closely adhered to in order not to lose or overwhelm your readers.
So how do you know what the rules are? The internet is a vast repository of information and a few searches will provide an overwhelming amount of detail to read through and digest. One good resource which I have found is Suite101.com under the writing and publishing section. You will find articles for all types of writing which can be used by the novice and experienced writer alike. In particular, there is a series of articles written by Jennifer Jensen which cover the basic rules for the different levels of writing for children and have links to more specific information about those categories, so this is a very good place to start.
Once you have digested the rules for the target audience you are writing for, the next step is to study other books in the target group. By analyzing what works and what doesn't in the books which have been written for your target audience, you will gain a better understanding of what works and what doesn't in your own work. This actually applies to writing in general and not just writing for children. Find a hundred books (or more) written for your target audience and read them. Use of the public library helps offset out of pocket expense for this phase. Then choose the top ten out of those you have read to conduct an in depth analysis of the contents.
In order to thoroughly analyze the books you have selected as being the best in the category, you will need your own copy of these books, either in hard copy or digital format. My own personal preference is to have something in digital format so I can more readily conduct word count or phrase count analysis without having to resort to a manual bean counting method. I also don't like to mark up hard copy books, but have no such qualms about highlighting, bolding, or adding notes to a digital copy. Determine in advance what writing techniques you will be looking for, so the same criteria applies for all books you are studying. Some of the things to keep in mind are:
- Good opening lines
- Good usage of telling and not showing
- Usage of metaphors and similies - which worked and which didn't
- Realistic dialogue
- Verb usage - active vs. passive
- What senses are used in the book?
- How is the plot constructed?
- How do the characters develop throughout the book?
When you run across a passage which you feel is awkward or could be written better, take a few moments and rewrite it. This will help to solidfy in your own mind what didn't work and why. In addition to this, for picture books, retype the words for the picture books and read through story without the pictures. Does the story flow? Is it easily understood? These are but a few ideas to help focus your thoughts and ultimately improve your own work. Writing for children can be very rewarding as you watch the delight in the face of your readers as they turn the pages, but it also can be very hard to get just right.
Written for the LL Book Review
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LK Gardner-Griffie
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