Writing
Writing For Children
When writing for children a popular way of getting started is to begin with an incident or happening. Any particular incident, whether you've read about it, or maybe heard about it on the news, or maybe a chance phrase or a meeting with someone may create an sudden unshakeable conviction that this is something which may one day be the beginning of a book. Writing for children is, contrary to what many people believe, just as difficult and challenging as writing for adults, indeed in many ways more so, so when you are writing for children, do select your incident or happening carefully as you need to gain, and keep a child's notoriously fickle attention.
In any case it may take years for you to begin writing for children, but the idea remains firmly fixed in your mind, and so does its potential for a good storyline. Consider the story of the manager of an orphanage who was aware that many of the children in her care had invented"real belonging mother" all of their own. In some cases the mothers actually existed, but many of these absent moms were invented by the children themselves to fill an aching need, because they didn't know who their real mothers were, they simply invented them.
When you are writing for children, you could perhaps consider this situation- store it away in your mind and give it time to take root. Possibly years later you may be able to use and develop it. Here's one possibility ....
Children in an orphanage create fantasy mothers for themselves. Some fantasise about wonderful, cuddly moms who love them deeply and only left them at the orphanage because they had no other option in a cold, hard world. Maybe other children that fantasise about heartless, evil women who simply abandoned them out of cruelty and spite - sounds a bit like a wicked stepmother - doesn't it? And we all know what wonderful tales have been woven around wicked stepmothers!
Of course not all situations will develop well. You do need to consider carefully what might be worked into a good storyline and which scenarios should be left well alone when writing for children. After all, you don't want to make your stories too scary! Remember those fantasy moms - those kids needed make-believe mothers who would support rather than destroy them, and any writing for children should always leave the reader feeling warm and reassured after the conclusion has been reached.
Article Published: Wednesday 10th October 2007
Related Articles 
|
Web Results for Writing For ChildrenAmazon.co.uk: Writing a Children's Book: How to Write for Children and ... Amazon.co.uk: Teach Yourself Writing for Children (TY Creative Writing): Allen Frewin Jones, Lesley Pollinger: Books ... Amazon.co.uk: Teach Yourself Writing for Children (TY Creative Writing ...Physicist Stephen Hawking and his daughter are to write a book explaining theoretical physics to children. BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Hawking to write children's bookPop star Madonna signs a deal to write five children's books with a famous illustrator for each one. BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Arts | Madonna to write children's booksLearn the special skills needed to write for children with The Writers Bureau home-study course with personal tuition. Writers Bureau - Writing for Children home-study course.childrens_thumbGetting through to today's yoof has never been easier with our mini-course on writing for children. BBC - Get Writing - - A3604772 - Genre-Buster: Children's FictionThe University of Winchester has a well-established reputation in the humanities, arts, social sciences, performing arts, business and primary education. We are constantly updating ... MA Writing for Children - The University of WinchesterThe UK children's writers site with information, diary of forthcoming events, discussion and book reviews. News Results for Writing For ChildrenChildren invited to join knight school (ic CheshireOnline) MOST children will have a break from reading, writing and ?rithmetic for a few weeks now, but Beeston Castle is starting up its very own knight school for one weekend only! Dane County nonprofit helps dyslexics (Wisconsin State Journal)Neal Strang labors five hours a day to defeat dyslexia, a brain disorder that makes it difficult for him to read and spell. At age 49, Strang, a retired Navy veteran, is among a small but growing number of adults and children receiving help from the first Dane County agency to focus exclusively on aiding dyslexics. "I had problems all through high school," Strang said as he concluded a recent ... Toys donated to children helped by MHMR (Alice Echo-News Journal)Alice Coyote Quick Lube held a stuffed animal collection for the children of the Coastal Bend who use MHMR services. To attract more visitors to the location on Saturday, Daniel Duncan and Barry Major parked their Hobby Stock racecars in front of the building. Chris Luttrell talks at jail about murder (FOX 7 WTVW Evansville)The man who pleaded guilty to killing a social worker's aide two years ago dreams of writing for children, even if it's from behind bars. Yesterday we learned Chris Luttrell's version about what happened to slain social worker Boni Frederick has changed multiple times. Child Online Law Loses Again (Gay City News)Writing a new chapter in a case that has been kicking around the federal courts for a decade, the US Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, based in Philadelphia, upheld a decision by a federal trial court that the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), a federal criminal law that Congress claimed was intended to protect children from exposure to harmful sexual material on the worldwide web, is ... Talks focus on city schools' future (Birmingham News)About 10 adults sat in a circle on a recent Tuesday at the North Avondale Public Library. There were no children there for story time, only adults gathered around a large writing pad waiting to begin. |
