As an adult, writing for children may be one of the hardest things you’ll attempt. The idea seems simple enough—use smaller words, add a puppy to the mix, steer clear of racy bits. Still, the old writers’ adage, write what you know, is significantly more difficult when most of us, despite what we may think, have forgotten what it’s like to be a kid.
One of the easiest ways to a reading child’s heart is through a story character. Not all children’s stories are character-driven, but everyone remembers Peter Pan, the cat in a hat, and a certain wizard by the name of Harry. Likeable characters come alive because the reader cares about them, and a living story is the best kind. It’s the kind that gets published, sold, and loved for years to come.
Know Your Audience
Surprisingly enough, some successful children’s book writers don’t have or even like children. If they’re successful, however, it’s at least partly owed to the fact that they
know children. They know who to target with their writing and their characters. They know what will grab their audience’s attention, what will lose it.
This tip is an obvious one: get to know a few kids. If you don’t have any of your own, visit a park with your dog and watch children at play. Talk to a few friends and family members with children and listen carefully to their conversations. You can even go to a kid-friendly restaurant like Chuck E. Cheese and observe a birthday party.
Create Active Characters
Active characters are doers—not the likes of Hamlet, who broods around and wins the disapproval of high school students across continents. Children are drawn to doers, someone who doesn’t let someone else tell them what to do. Kids have to listen to their parents, so why would they want to read about someone who has to listen to theirs? The very premise of
Where the Wild Things Are is that a child disobeys his mother.
Create Likeable Characters
No matter how active a character, if the reader doesn’t like him or her, the story won’t appeal. Children often get bullied in real life, so if a story is about a mean kid, why would they want to read about him or her unless it was his or her journey to becoming nice?
Neither, however, can main characters be perfect. Kids aren’t dumb, no matter what you’ve been told, and they don’t like being treated like they’re dumb. Nobody is perfect and they know it, so forget the knight in shining armor and make him afraid of sharp objects.
Create Character Through Names
Make characters distinguishable from one another by giving them distinct names—no John and Jake—and backgrounds. Unless you’re going the Dr. Seuss route with rhymes and alliteration, similar names can mildly confuse and even frustrate readers.
Moreover, think about what goes into a name. Many readers pull out baby name books to search for name meanings; others create nicknames, which are especially telling. Make a habit of writing down interesting names in your notes through daily life. Some sources include street and town names, films, religion and mythology, history, and the like.
Create Habits
What makes a character recognizable and real is the tags that the writer gives him or her—things that this character and only this character does, like stammer or chew gum. Showing a character through mannerisms, dress, speech, and actions is much more revealing and interesting to read than simply telling the reader that Sue is a Southern girl or Jack is an avid athlete. A dull character sketch makes for a dull story especially in children’s literature.
Bio: Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education, researching areas of
online degree programs over at her
blog. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.
