Writing For Children? Try Thinking Like a Child

One of the advantages in writing for children is that I get to think like a child. How do children think? If you have to ask that question, you might want to spend more time with children before attempting to write for them. One of the privileges of being a teacher, a mother, and now a grandmother has been experiencing firsthand the magical world called "childhood."

Relative to the world of children's books, here are some of my unscientific observations about how children think:

Children are enthusiastic. They are eager to know what is coming next in a story.

Children are creative. Ask them what they think will come next in a story, and enjoy their answers!

Children love pictures. They thrive on visual stimulation and they love bright, colorful illustrations. Try this: Tell a child about a dog riding a bike, then show them the picture. You will see a huge difference in their reactions.

Children love sensory descriptions. It's not enough to say, "The toy was soft." Children have a better understanding of descriptions such as “soft as a puppy” or “loud as a whistle”.

Children love happy endings. I don’t think there is ever a reason to have a children’s book with a sad ending. Let childhood be a time of optimism and fun.

A Children’s Story Doesn’t Need to Be Realistic. Children have no trouble at all believing that chickens can talk or rabbits wear clothes. In fact, it's much more fun to believe in make-believe.

Children love rhyming words. They also love the patterns of words that are repeated, such as "Fly,fly fly in the sky, sky, sky."

So, that's my short list of what it's like to think like a child. If you would like to write for youngsters, find a group of kids, sit on the floor, talk to them and, above all, listen!

Bobbie Hinman
http://bestfairybooks.com

We Are Not Our Best Intentions. We Are What We Do

Whenever I present or exhibit my books, I meet a lot of interesting people. To me the most interesting folks are the ones who want to write a book. At one elementary school event, I was even approached by a police officer in full swat regalia (really scared me) who wanted to talk to me about writing a children's book. Most of these well-meaning people have the best of intentions. Many have family stories that have been passed down through several generations. A few have told me that they have a story inside "that needs to be told". I tell them the most important lesson I have learned in becoming a children's author - that there is only ONE step between having intentions and doing something.

So if you are a would-be writer, or a would-be anything for that matter, why not give it a try? What if it works and you never do it? You won't know how great it feels until you do.

Bobbie Hinman
http://bestfairybooks.com

Where do Ideas Come From? - An Exercise in Creativity for Young Writers

There’s nothing as pure and crystal clear as a child’s imagination. Children are great at daydreaming, imagining and creating. Unfortunately, all too often, as children grow and are taught the mechanics of writing, much of the clarity seems to diminish. Sadly, children tend to lose confidence in their ability to write, and many become “reluctant writers”. If you are a parent or a teacher, there are ways that you can get your children’s creative writing juices flowing. You can create excitement about the writing process. Through my experiences as a teacher and an author, I have developed some enjoyable exercises that accomplish this goal and spark the imagination. Choose one exercise for each lesson and take the time to discuss the children’s answers before setting them to the task of writing.

1. “What if?” - Have the children look around, carefully eyeing each object in the room. Ask them the questions, “What if that stuffed animal were to come to life at night?” Or, “What if the fish in that tank is really a creature from another planet?” Or, “What if those musical instruments started to play by themselves?” Or, “What if your school bus could fly?”

2. “Start with a title” – Tell the children the title for a book. This can be a real or a made up title. The children are asked to come up with a story to go with the title. Some of the titles that spark the most excitement and creative ideas are “A Lizard Ate My Broccoli”, “My Goldfish Can’t Swim”, and “A Mouse is Living in my Locker.”

3. “Create a Fantasy ” – Read a short story about fairies, elves, or any fantasy character. Talk about the mysteries in the world of make-believe. (I usually read one of my books, The Knot Fairy who tangles your hair while you sleep, or The Sock Fairy who is responsible for missing socks.) Ask the children to create their own fairy or other fantasy character – one that could be responsible for missing items or unexplained mysteries in their lives.

4. “Build a story” – This one works well with groups of children. One child is selected to start by creating the first line of a new story. Each child, in turn, adds a line to the story. This also builds good listening skills.

5. “Character sketches” – Show the students various pictures of possible story characters. These can be pictures from books, magazines or even old photographs. Have the children create a description of each character. Based on the character’s appearance (expression, clothing, etc.), have them describe the character’s personality, occupation, likes and dislikes.

I hope you will try these activities with your children. I know you will enjoy it as much as they do.