Wednesday, October 16, 2019

[GUEST POST] How to Write a Children's Book by Melisa Marzett



How to write a children's book? You need to come up with an original story, put bright characters in it, and add more exciting events to their lives. It seems that to do so, some imagination and the ability to coherently build a narrative are enough. But vivid imagination and the ability to articulate your thoughts in a complicated way is far from all that a beginner needs. He (or she) still has a lot to learn, and exciting and useful books for future writers will come in handy.

Bird by Bird, written by Anne Lamott is a cult work on writing from an accomplished writer. “Bird” will be useful for those who want to put into words, but have no idea where to start. The book will appeal not only to children's writers but also to everyone who is going to create for an adult audience. And even to journalists, copywriters, bloggers, marketing specialists - anyone who has to write a lot.

Lamotte is a US-respected author. Her bibliography contains seven fiction novels and about a dozen works in the non-fiction genre. Many of Ann's works have become bestsellers. In Bird after Bird, which has been 20 years old since its first publication, she is witty about the craft of writing. You will learn about the realities of the life of a writer, consisting of creative crises, envy, and battles with the editor and publisher for each paragraph.

If you ask what to begin with, first of all, you need to brainstorm. A good idea would be to reread some of your favorite children's books to get inspired, but you need to try to come up with something of your own; otherwise, it is going to be a copypaste. Find a story that matches your interests and opportunities.

Then, the most pleasant thing in writing children's books is the unlimited imagination. You can come up with anything you want. The sky is the limit. Please write about a talking mongoose or a man with a dog head and three legs, and no one will blame you for the nonsense!

As precisely as possible, define the age of your target audience! For instance, young children love fairy tales with simple plots and texts based on wordplay, poems, and sayings. At the same time, older children want to see a more complex plot and do not like it when the writer talks to them as if they were small.

And, at last, make a plan for your book`s story. There should be a conflict if it is a good story. But first, write (or draw) an outline of your story to define the beginning, the middle, and the end and to figure out how the characters interact. The scheme may be as follows:

Description of the character, the way s/he looks like and the environment;
A twist;
A culmination (what is going to happen when the main character faces the problem);
The solution to the problem and subsequent events.

Something special. There must be something special about your book, which would make it different from others and memorable for a reader. Follow the rhythm, who knows, maybe someone is going to read your story aloud. Your sense of humor or words you made up can be special about it.
The end! Do not forget that there has to be the end of every children's book.





About the author

Melisa Marzett loves children and loves to write. Currently working as a freelance writer for Academic Revision Companies, she writes articles on a variety of subjects. Also, she is an active person when it comes to sports and animal rights.

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