Okay. So I’m not David Letterman. But I doubt if he’d know much about
the top 10 mistakes made by new children’s writers anyway. I, on the
other hand, read from 10 to 20 manuscripts for children every week (I'm
not bragging - I’m just an instructor with the Institute of Children’s
Literature). While many of the stories I read are destined for publication,
I find that 10 common mistakes crop up again and again in the other
manuscripts I edit each week.
I’ll start with number 10 (just like Letterman) and work my way up to the
number one writing mistake made by new children’s writers (and, just so
you know - I’ve been guilty of making some of these mistakes myself, so
don’t beat yourself up if you realize you’re guilty of some of these, too):
10) No Clear POV Character – Children tend to relate to the POV
character in a story. This is the person they will root for. Make it clear
right from the start whose story is being told. Even if you have two main
characters (twins, for example), you need to pick just one of these kids to
be your POV character. And, it should go without saying, when writing
for children, make sure your POV character IS a kid - even if Grandma
has a big part in your story.
9) Multiple Points of View – Unlike stories for adults, stories for children
are generally told from only one POV. It isn’t difficult to maintain a single
point of view once you get the hang of it. Just remember - if you are
“showing” everything from your main character’s point of view, then he
or she has to be present for everything that happens. I see stories all the
time where the POV character suddenly leaves the room. Yikes! If your
POV character wasn’t there to see or hear what went on, then we can’t
see or hear it either.
8) Telling instead of Showing – Read a good story and chances are
there is a lot of action and dialogue (showing) with minimal stretches of
straight narrative (telling). Too much narrative and the story sounds like
a summary. Readers don’t want a summary. They want scenes with
action and dialogue that make them feel they are actually experiencing
what is going on. So “show” as much as possible of your story through
action and dialogue.
7) Overuse of Adjectives, Adverbs, and Other Unnecessary Words –
Do you really need to say someone “whispered quietly” Or “shouted
loudly” Or, my favorite - she “nodded her head”? What else could she
nod? Or, she “shrugged her shoulders” - she certainly wouldn’t shrug
her foot!
6) Dialogue That is Not Punctuated Properly – Get a grammar book to
learn how to punctuate dialogue properly. But, most importantly,
remember to change paragraphs each time the speaker changes. I read
manuscripts all the time where three or four characters are speaking, yet
the paragraph never changes. Just imagine how confusing that is to the
reader!
5) Long Timeframes – I know Harry Potter takes place over several
years. But, the story also takes place through several books. Most
children’s writers start out writing stories for children’s magazines or
they want to write picture books for very young children. Either way, the
timeframe in these stories should be rather short - a couple of hours or a
day or two. If your story takes place over a couple of weeks or (gulp!) a
couple of years, then you need to shorten the timeframe.
4) No Narrative “Hook” for the Reader – I know what you’re asking -
“What is a narrative hook?” Well, that’s simple. It’s just an opening
sentence or two that “hooks” the reader and makes him or her want to
continue reading to find out what happens.
3) Dialogue That Doesn’t Sound Real – Listen to any child or teenager
and you’ll find out that much of what kids and teens say (at least to each
other) tends to sound like a series of grunts. So don’t have the child or
teen in your story use words like “shall,” or never use contractions. If you
do, the dialogue will sound too formal and your work will not have a
child’s or teen’s voice.
2) Adults Who Step In to Save the Day for the Child – I know what you’re
thinking. Parents and other well-meaning adults DO step in all the time
to save the day for kids. So why can’t they do it in stories for children?
The answer to that is - because children don’t want to read stories like
that. Stories for children have strong children (or children who
eventually become strong throughout the course of the story) as
characters. This empowers the children who read these stories. They
figure, if the POV character can solve his own problems then maybe
they can too.
Now. Drum roll here.
The number one mistake new writers make in their stories for children is
1) No real conflict - There’s no story problem. Your POV character needs
to face some big problem right at the start of the story. Then, he or she
needs to struggle and struggle with this problem as he/she tries to solve
it. That is, things need to keep getting worse and worse until finally the
POV character is able to solve the problem (or at least resolve it) and
change or grow somehow in the process. Without a story problem you
have what editors like to call “an incident,” and editors don’t publish
incidents. They publish stories.
So that's my list of top 10 mistakes new children's writers make. Use this
article as a checklist when you're writing for children. Avoid these
mistakes and you’ll be well on your way to publication.
See you in print!
Suzanne Lieurance is a freelance writer and she teaches children’s
writing for the Institute of Children’s Literature. Lieurance also owns the
Three Angels Gourmet Co. which produces a unique line of "heavenly
gourmet mixes" for sale at http://www.threeangelsgourmet.com and through
gift shops, Christian bookstores, gourmet food stores, and gift basket
companies across the country.
For daily food tips and other food information, visit the Three Angels
Gourmet Co. blog at http://www.threeangelsgourmet.blogspot.com
For information about children’s writing, visit Lieurance’s writing website
at http://www.suzannelieurance.com
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