Writing for Young Children

Writing for Young Children

          When writing stories for young children, defined here as any child under eight years old, there are a few things to remember.

          1) The main character should be about the same age, or act the same age, as the intended reader. A couple of years older is fine (i.e. a story for a 4 - 6 year old child should have a main character who is 6 - 8 years old). Often a character's age is never mentioned in the story.

          2) The story should be focused on one character throughout the whole story. The story must be told from this character's point of view.

          3) The subject matter should be something a child would understand.

          4) The story problem should be something a child can deal with. The best stories help children to solve problems in their own lives.

          5) The story should be fun to read. Funny stories are enjoyable for both the child and the adult who reads to them.

          6) Remember, children often want to hear a story over and over again. The parent should like the story as much as the child. A few side jokes wouldn't hurt.

          7) Have a poetic sense of timing. Children's stories are often very short (average 50 - 500 words - but varies by publisher). Like a poem, you need to say a lot with a few words. Choose your words carefully.

          8) Use simple language. One and two syllable words are best. Unlike stories for older readers, you can use the same words over and over.

          9) Stories for new readers should use a few similar words. Most books in this category have only 40 - 60 different words. Word lists often appear in these books.

          10) Children are very impressionable. Don't put anything in a story you don't want your readers to imitate.

          11) Have fun, likable heros and fun, unlikeable villains.

          12) Have a real sense of danger (i.e. "almost getting caught" type of danger), and real fear, joy, laughter, etc. Children have emotions, too. Adults sometimes forget this.

          13) Adults should be seen and not heard. Adults should not help the child. They should not take center stage in the story. Their part should be minor if they are in the story at all.

          14) Make the problem something important to the child. The solution should require the child do something he normally wouldn't want to do.

          15) The story should be understandable without pictures. Most of the time a writer has no control over what pictures appear in their book. Describe the characters and scenes so that both the reader and the illustrator can picture them.

          16) Name your main character an easy to pronounce name. Common, well-know names are often best. Name bad characters strange, unique names. It's great when the reader has the same name as the hero. It's bad when they have the same name as the villain.

          Note that all the rules of writing in general apply to writing for children as well.