Writing for Children

Tips on Writing for Children
Sample Children's Book Cover Letter/Proposal
Books for the Serious Children's Writer
Children's Book Writing Resources on the Web
Newsletters

Tips on Writing for Children

Laura Backes, the editor of Children's Book Insider, suggests asking yourself four questions to determine if your idea is any good:

1. Why would kids care?
2. Does the idea need developing or refining? Keep asking, “What if?”
3. Why do you love this idea? You have to be excited about the idea.
4. How will you sell this idea to an editor? Find your hook.

“I'm looking for a good story and a book kids will enjoy. That's the absolute key. It has to have a beginning, middle and end. Something has to happen.” - Lisa Banim, Senior Editor/Acquisitions and Development, Peachtree, Writer's Digest, June 2005

Tips to Making Your Children's Book Great
“In a children's story, your hero must earn his status by overcoming obstacles within himself-not by getting help from other characters.” - Gloria Kempton, Writer's Digest, April 2005

“The classic advice to 'show, don't tell' is particularly necessary to entice a young audience raised on a visual media diet.” - Liza N. Burby, Writer's Digest, May 2005

“Write from deep inside. Get so involved with your character they feel as real to you as anyone you know or have ever met.” - Judy Blume, The Writer, June 2005

“If you're going to write, you must read, read, read-everything from fables and fairy tales to poems and stories. Read with your writer's eye,' noticing how your favorite authors create memorable characters and develop inner conflict, how they open a story and set a narrative pace, how they wind down to a meaningful ending.” - Sarah Anne Johnson, The Writer, June 2005

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A List of Short Tips

• When writing nonfiction for children, do not assume they have knowledge about your topic
• Get into the child's world-write from their viewpoint
• Choose language and behavior that is age-appropriate
• Make sure the story keeps moving
• Include age-appropriate humor
• Understand your protagonist and antagonist
• To write for children, you must read children's books
• Always be on the lookout for fresh ideas
• One of the best ways to start a story is by opening with action and conflict

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Sample Children's Book Cover Letter/Proposal

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Books for the Serious Children's Writer

This three volume set by Eve Heidi Bine-Stock can be helpful for the serious children's picture book writer. Volume I of this series investigates the overall structure of children's picture storybooks at the macro level. Volume II, investigates the very building blocks of picture storybooks at the micro level: the word, the sentence, the scene and the story. Volume III digs into learning from figures of speech.

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Children's Book Writing Resources on the Web

• Write4Kids - the children's writing supersite  
• Institute of Children's Literature - writing course, books, and a newsletter to adults interested in learning how to write and be published for children and teens
• Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)
• Verla Kay's web site for children's writers and Illustrators
• Children's Book Insider 
• Children's Writer 
• SmartWriters.com - resources for writing for children

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Newsletters

• Children's Book Insider (monthly newsletter)
• Children's Writer (monthly newsletter)

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