Writing for Children – Definitely not Child’s Play

By Marina Cohen

As the author of two middle-grade novels, Shadow of the Moon and Trick of the Light, I’m often invited to schools to do presentations.  Children are an enthusiastic audience – full of eager questions, such as, “When did you start writing?”  “Where do you get your ideas from?” or “Who’s your favourite author?”  Interestingly enough, the one question no young person has ever asked me is, “Why do you write for children?”  And yet, this seems to be the first thing most adults want to know.

I suppose the simple answer is:  I write for children because I enjoy it.  There’s a certain magic about slipping into a world, real or fantastic, and being able to see it from child’s point of view.

When I was little, my mother used to read to me from an old, battered book of fairy tales.  I never lost my fascination with these stories of enchantment and wonder and re-read them often.  The characters sprang to life and the plots didn’t always have neat, happy endings.  In fact, some ended quite tragically, like The Little Match Girl or sadly, like Swan Lake or bittersweet, like The Little Mermaid.  And though many of these tales dealt with difficult subject matter – poverty, abandonment, unrequited love, death-they dealt with it in such a fashion as to make the stories meaningful and accessible to young and old audiences alike.  It became my dream to one day write something as magical and as meaningful.

But a word of caution to those who believe writing for children is as simple as the texts often appear to be.  Make no mistake, young readers are savvy and keenly aware of what rings true and what doesn’t, what is fresh and what is cliché.  Especially at the middle-grade and young adult levels, readers don’t want a story that is overtly didactic, written for the sole purpose of teaching them that all-important life-lesson, or desperately sentimental – crammed with sugary characters and all too tidy endings.  In fact, some adults who haven’t picked up a children’s novel in some time might be downright shocked at just how edgy young adult novels are today.

So if you’re going to try your hand at writing fiction for children, here are a few basics you might want to consider.

First, ask yourself, “Who is my intended audience?”  Are you writing for pre-schoolers?  Beginner readers?  Middle-grades?  Young adults?  In each case there are readability requirements and length guidelines to adhere to in order for a publisher to consider your work.  Of course there are always exceptions, but bear in mind, exceptions can be a far more difficult sell.

Picture Books

These generally range from a few dozen words to 1,000, divided into 24 or 32 pages.  The single most difficult picture book to sell is a rhyming picture book.  For one thing, many simply don’t possess the skills of someone like Sheree Fitch.  Another reason is that publishers depend on their foreign sales to support their projects and rhyming picture books often don’t translate well, thus eliminating off the top 30% of a publisher’s projected profits.  Your best bet is a picture book in prose.  And certainly, at approximately 800 words, you need to make every single word count.

Check out: Please Louise! by  Frieda Wishinsky and Marie-Louise Gay, Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard, Scaredy Squirrel by Mélanie Watt

Early Chapter Books

Early chapter books run between 6,000 and 10,000 words.  The readability of an early chapter book is of the utmost importance as you are writing for those eager young ones who are just able to enjoy your books independently for the first time.  Make sure you check the level with a tool, such as Flesch-Kincaid.  You can find this under “Tools” on your toolbar.

Check out: Canadian Flyer Adventures by Frieda Wishinsky,

Middle grade

An extremely wide range of novels fall into this category.  They are usually between 20,000 and 40,000 words.  These independent readers can be quite fickle, so remember, you’ve got one, maximum two pages to impress and hook your audience.  If they don’t like your first page, they will put down your novel and never look back.  Start with a bang – grab hold of your reader and don’t let go until the last line.

Check out: Awake and Dreaming by Kit Pearson, The Bone Collector’s Son by Paul Yee, The Third Eye by Mahtab Narsimhan, Acadian Star by Hélène Boudreau, The Bone Flute by Patricia Bow

Young Adult (Y/A)

These tend to be between 40,000 and 60,000 words.  Similar to middle-grade novels, you need a powerful beginning, depth of character, a rock-solid plot and fresh, realistic dialogue.  The major difference between middle-grade and Y/A is often subject matter and the way it is treated.  Y/A’s can include sex, violence and sometimes even quite disturbing subject matter.  Often the line between Young Adult and Adult is blurred – the major difference is in the treatment of the subject.  For example, sex in Y/A is acceptable, though it is treated with the utmost respect and is never gratuitous.  It must be intrinsic to the plot and reveal something important about your character.  The same goes for violence and coarse language.  Today, many adults are reading Y/A, thus turning these novels into what publishers refer to as “crossovers”.

Check out: Daughter of War by Marsha Skrypuch, In the Garage by Alma Fullerton, A Thief in the House of Memory by Tim Wynne-Jones, Alice, I think by Susan Juby.

General advice for writing for children

1. Decide which level you are writing for and then read 100 books intended for that same audience.
2. Join a critique group consisting of children’s writers.
3. Prior to submitting, research publishers well to see what types of books they publish – what level and what genres.
4. Write what you are passionate about – don’t try to follow a trend as you will inevitably miss it.
5. Revise.  Revise. Revise.  And when you’re done, revise some more.
6. Persevere!

For a fabulously in-depth look at writing for children, visit master children’s writer, Barbara Greenwood’s website at www.barbaragreenwood.com.

Marina Cohen has a Master’s Degree in French Literature from the University of Toronto.  She has been teaching in the York Region District School Board since 1995. For more information about Marina and her books, visit www.marinacohen.com.

Posted February 24th, 2009 in Resources