Writing a book for children has several unique aspects which need to be considered. It is much different from writing a book for adults in that there is such a wide variety of age groups to consider, and this will make all of the difference in your completed manuscript.
Target an age group. This is essential in writing a book for children. Specifically, one’s book must fall into the category of Infant/Toddler, Preschool (2 – 5), child (6 – 9), preteen (10 – 13), teen(13 – 17), or young adult (18 +). The infant/toddler books are picture books, but may have one of more words on a page. Preschool books are also picture books, but have more words. These books are very often those which help a child learn the alphabet or counting. Children’s books are those books which have many more words and this is also the age group in which short chapter books are introduced. Teen books are chapter books as are young adult. The biggest difference between these two age groups is the attention given to the subject matter, as well as the amount of detail.
Know your audience. The best way to do this is by spending some time with the age of the child you are writing for. Pick up on the way they relate to one another. Pick up on their language…their lingo.
Read books in the genre and age group you are writing for. This will open your mind and familiarize you with the characters in your book as well as the audience your book is written for. This is also the time to decide if you are going to write a fiction or a non-fiction book.
If you decide to write a fictional book, give your characters identifying characteristics. In order to make your characters more realistic, think of people you know and some of the traits they may have. Perhaps one is clumsy, or has hair that is always mussed. Perhaps another has glasses that are always falling onto his nose. These things paint an image in the readers mind, and gives them a visual to which they can identify.
Write an outline for the book as well as a synopsis. Write down the overall theme of the book, and what the outcome is going to be. Is there a lesson learned in the book? Write a brief summary of each chapter. This will help guide you along the way and help to keep you on track with where you are going.
Write a character sketch of your main characters as well as the important minor characters in the book. This will help you get to know your characters and that is very important when writing a book of any kind. You must get a feel for the characters that you have created…their likes, dislikes, hobbies, strengths, and weaknesses. Keep in mind that you may not include all of these fact in the book itself, but they are still going to be an important part of developing your character along the way.
Write a page or two describing the setting of your book. Describe the physical characteristics and any other information that will help you get to truly know the place. Keep in mind that you may not need to include every detail in your actual book. The purpose of doing this is so you will get a feel for the place in which your book takes place. This helps bring your book to life as it is written.
Decide on a time span if writing a fictional book. This is very important and will very much depend on the age of the child you are writing for.
Write your first draft, trying to stay within the word limit you have set for yourself as well as keeping to the outline. Don’t worry too much about editing and such. The first draft is the time to let your creativity and ideas flow. Editing and tightening your manuscript will come when your first draft is completed.
Set your first draft aside for a couple of weeks when finished. The pick it up, and read it from beginning to end. Don’t look for spelling or grammatical errors. Look for inconsistencies or general issues. Look for scenes that are repetitive as well as scenes that could use more information. When you are finished with this, then take care of the spelling and grammatical errors.
Have a trusted person read your manuscript. Get the feedback and make any changes you deem necessary. You will be on your way to being a published author!
