I love writing stories for children. My only regret is that my day job and needing to sleep get in the way of it! Anyway, for anyone in the throes of starting-out writing for children or if you’re just thinking about it, here are my top five tips for getting started.
Andrew Guile
Read, read, read!
Our children’s world is a very different place to the one that we inhabited and the books that are published are different too. You have to read what’s out there to know the market and what might attract a publisher or an agent. Also, the more you read, the better your writing will be. It’s a win-win.
Write, write, write!
Writing is like any other discipline, you have to practice. Write something every day. Don’t edit, don’t worry about the topic, just write. Think about your childhood, the good, the bad and the ugly! Go deep. What did you think, feel, smell and fear on that first day at school? What is your most memorable day at school ever? What was the worst? Who was your first ever best friend? What do you remember about them? Who was your favorite teacher?
It’s often said that people should write what they know. True, but you’ve have to have an appreciation of what it is that you do actually know in order to write about it. Explore those old wounds, articulate how you felt. Don’t hold back. Children still have the same hopes, fears, challenges and hurdles that we had ten, twenty or thirty years ago. Stories are soft way to explore some of the tougher things in life that children have to cope with. Divorce, loss, being in care, friendships (or lack of them), etc. Explore your past so that you can inject your stories with meaning and specific detail. That is what will bring them to life.
Dive in!
Procrastination kills productivity. The kernel of an idea for a story could be a character, a theme, a place, a setting or an explosive ending that makes you wonder how those characters came to be there. Just start and see where your idea takes you. It might develop into something exciting, it might not, but there’s no chance of you getting anywhere with it if you don’t try.
Ignore the voice in your head!
You’re rubbish. You can’t write. Who are you trying to fool? No one is ever going to read this trash! Why are you wasting your time? You have to find a way to ignore that little voice. Indeed, you MUST ignore it if you want to succeed. We all have one. It’s like a little devil that sits on our shoulder and scoffs at our efforts from time to time. Send him on his way.
Find like-minded people.
My last and best tip is to join the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI - https://www.scbwi.org/). We call ourselves ‘Scoobies’. Through SCBWI you can access fantastic courses, join critique groups and immerse yourself in a culture of writing for children. The society has many published authors, many who have written books and are seeking agents or publication as well as many who are at the start of their writing journey or who have self-published. Being among people who love writing like you do is the best motivation ever. You will find new friends who will guide and encourage you and help keep that little devil off your shoulder!
Writing is one of the windows through which I consider the world around me. The idea that a story I have written may inspire a child, make them smile or look at the world in a new way is the ultimate prize. Enriching the lives of children is the most worthy of ambitions.
If you want to write, you ARE a writer. So, go write.
