Writing For Children.

Shoeshine was saying that he would like us all to try a childrens story in September.Ive already tried it at home and its more difficult than I thought.I never wrote more than four lines,before I got stuck.I wonder if reading a few childrens books,comics & watching childrens t.v. will help me ?Has anyone had any success with childrens stories. ?

You need to decide what age group of children you want to write for, and what sub-genre. For example, do you want to write Harry Potter-esque fantasy, or are you more interested in fiction for teenage girls along the lines of, say, Meg Cabot?

Once you've made the decision (and it should be something that you enjoy reading too) you need to take yourself off to the library and read as much as you can in that field. Make sure you don't go back any further than a few years in terms of publication date as, like all publishing trends, the market for children's fiction changes rapidly.

At first you'll find yourself unconsciously imitating the style of whatever your favourite author is; that's where a group like this comes in, to spot the homage.

This is an excellent book which I refer to all the time (though mine is last year's edition).

I'm not part of the writers group but last year I spent a lot of time developing (and delivering) children's stories. They were mostly therapeutic stories, or a variation on traditional fairytales. Making up a children's story (a good one) is harder than it sounds.

I'd be happy to give you some pointers. A good book to start with is this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0863152082/104-7269888-7791110?v=glance&n=283155

another link you may find interesting:

http://www.waldorfhomeschoolers.com/fairytales.htm

Thanks hecate & Titian.It will only be for SF writers Group.Its just something Ive never tried.I think your point,Hecate about working out what age group to write for.,is a good one .I think it would be easier to write for very young children first.Thanks for your links Titian.

For younger children (3-6) there should be good moral intent. Good must always overcome evil (the witch must die, she cannot be reformed and put back into society). You can allow death into the stories, or other unthinkables, as children can then learn in a metaphoric way about life; in a way that they can understand. If you look at the Grimms tales they can be quite barbaric and some parents worry about the content but this is a really healthy way for children to learn about life.

Beauty should always represent goodness and vice versa. There is a lot of symbology in a good children's story.

Anyway I could go on and on and on.....................so, to cut a long story short.........it's a long story.

Good luck.

For younger children (3-6) there should be good moral intent. Good must always overcome evil (the witch must die, she cannot be reformed and put back into society). You can allow death into the stories, or other unthinkables, as children can then learn in a metaphoric way about life; in a way that they can understand. If you look at the Grimms tales they can be quite barbaric and some parents worry about the content but this is a really healthy way for children to learn about life.

 

Beauty should always represent goodness and vice versa. There is a lot of symbology in a good children's story.

 

Anyway I could go on and on and on.....................so, to cut a long story short.........it's a long story.

 

Good luck.

Yes, thats a good point,they should be morally good.Thanks. I will keep that in mind.

For the older age range you should introduce some moral ambiguity though. Think Snape in the 'Harry Potter' series (who is still going to turn out to be good, I don't care what anyone else says...)

For the older age range you should introduce some moral ambiguity though. Think Snape in the 'Harry Potter' series (who is still going to turn out to be good, I don't care what anyone else says...)

Ive never read Harry Potter.J.K.Rowling must be very clever to write those kind of books. I think that age group do like a bit of "Evil" now & again.I think it would be easier to write really nice simple stories for very young children.I used to love "Rupert Bear" but maybe it isnt sophisticated enough for todays children.

Ive never read Harry Potter.J.K.Rowling must be very clever to write those kind of books. I think that age group do like a bit of "Evil" now & again.I think it would be easier to write really nice simple stories for very young children.I used to love "Rupert Bear" but maybe it isnt sophisticated enough for todays children.

I think that simple stories are better for young children, particularly because there is so much stimulation and sophistication today. That is part of the reason that children grow up too quickly now. Keep them young for longer I say.

Deep down, all children are blood-thirsty little nazis. Thats why the Grimms fairy tales and Dahls stuff was so popular.

Kids have very dark souls and Im going to try to cater for that.

Blood n snot will abound!