Write a Children's Story

Writing a children's story requires a vivid imagination, good speech, enthusiastic creativity and the ability to put yourself in the mind of a child. To write a children’s story, follow these helpful guidelines.

Steps

Sample Children's Stories

Doc:Bedtime Story,Nursery Rhyme,Fairy Tale

Writing Your Own Children's Story

  1. Brainstorm story ideas. The story is perhaps the most important aspect of any good book. Consult some of your favorite books (children's or otherwise) for inspiration, but do what is right for you. Choose a story that fits your interests and talents, such as action, fantasy, or mystery.
    • If you have children, involve them in the brainstorming session. Say something like, "What if you had to make your brother/sister go to bed and she didn't want to, what would you say?" Or, "What would a dog do to avoid eating his vegetables?" What their minds will come up with may send you into fits of laughter, or even a whole new direction and level of creativity!
    • Part of the great fun of a children's story is that it doesn't need to be realistic. With fabulous exceptions like the Lord of The Rings, etc., this is the biggest difference between children's and adult books. Of course you can write about a talking mongoose! Sure you can write about a human with a dog's head and 3 legs! Children will appreciate such absurdities.
  2. Develop your characters. To have a good story, you need some interesting Create-a-Convincing-Character-For-Your-Story Who is the main character of the story? Is there more than one? Are the characters human, animal or fantasy, or do they include elements of all 3? Before you begin, make an outline of the characters and how they fit into the story.
    • You can also take a cue from J.R.R. Tolkien or J.K. Rowling, and create an entire world that your characters inhabit. Even if a lot of that does not appear in your story, it will inform your characters and help their actions make sense overall (even if it's nonsense—as long as it fits in the framework of the world you've created).
  3. Make sure your writing is age appropriate. For example, smaller children enjoy stories with simple (or nonexistent) plots and plays on words (for example, a repeated phrase like, "No, no fat cat. Scat! Scat! Scat!"). On the other hand, older children will want a more intricate plot and a tone that treats them like they're not children. Since it’s harder to put oneself in the mind of a very young child, consider some of these guidelines and example story themes for very young readers:
    • Ages 3 to 5 years: Use sentences with a low level of complexity that explain the motivation behind actions shown on the page. Themes include: adventures; getting lost and finding your way home; going to bed; fighting; being brave; sharing; telling the truth; thinking of others before yourself; explaining how you feel; learning to spell; learning to add; telling parents if someone hurts you or makes you feel bad; how to resolve arguments; disappointment; or dealing with the loss of a parent, brother, or sister.
    • Ages 5 to 7 years: Use bigger words but be careful to explain them so as not to frustrate new readers. At this point, books can be long enough to read over two or three nights. Themes that you can use might include overcoming challenges; learning new skills; understanding good reasons to do something and bad reasons to do something; magic; or confusion. You can also tickle their nascent rebellious streak, with stories about running away from home and joining the circus; flying an airplane, or sneaking a popsicle.
  4. Make a story outline if necessary. Unless you’re writing for a very young age level where it’s appropriate not to have a traditional plot (ex. Goodnight Moon), it’s wise to carefully plan the story structure in advance. Use note cards, draw it in picture form, or write a standard outline. The important thing is to have a general understanding of the beginning, middle and end of the story, and of how the characters will interact and evolve. A good story usually has some sort of conflict or obstacle that the main character has to resolve, after which everyone lives "happily ever after." Here's the breakdown:
    • Introduce your characters with descriptions of physical and personality traits, their surroundings, and those with whom they come in contact.
    • Create a problem or conflict. This could be between two people, an internal conflict, or one in which the main character overcomes an obstacle in the outside world.
    • Write the climax of the story, which will include the main character(s) coming face to face with the conflict.
    • Show how your character(s) resolves the problem and what happens next.
  5. Make sure your writing has flair. Use humor when possible. For young children, focus on the silly things that will have both the child and the adult reader laughing together; use made-up words and simple rhyming schemes. Dr. Seuss knew that this made it much easier and more fun to read aloud—for children and parents. Fox in Sox, anyone?
    • Whenever possible, show the character's personality through speech and actions, not bland statements like "Sally is selfish." Say instead, "Sally took the bucket from Tommy. 'It's mine now,' she said."
    • Try to differentiate between different characters by having them react differently to the same situation. Draw your inspiration by watching children in action.
  6. Consider whether or not to add pictures. If you’re a professional illustrator, adding your own artwork can add to the interest level of the story and make it easier to follow. However, if you’re not a professional, publishers most likely won’t be interested in your design ideas and will replace them with images created by another illustrator that are famous for the happy and sallow emotions they produce.



Tips

  • Describe characters or places as well as you can so the young reader may picture it the way you want him to. However, do not lose yourself in complicated descriptions: it may confuse a child and distract her from the story itself. For example, you can say "She walked bravely into the stinky green woods, and sneezed loudly." You probably don't want to say, "She walked bravely into the sun-dappled, verdant sylvan growth, redolent of old rotting bark and decaying leaves. Her sternutation shook the very foundations of the forest."
  • Have a happy ending! If the parents read it before bedtime, and it doesn't have a happy ending, it may give the kid nightmares.
  • Most stories for young children should have a happy end; children don't like when their favorite characters end up badly. They usually feel sorry for them and are disappointed with the story as a whole. But reality is, not all endings are happy, and a lovingly-crafted sad ending can gently help children cope with some of life's harder lessons. One word: Bambi.
  • The realm depicted in most children’s stories is bright, colorful and optimistic; the personality of the main character should have mostly positive traits, such as bravery, intelligence, humor, beauty and so on. However, note that classic children’s books like Where the Wild Things Are, the Goosebumps series, and most traditional fairy tales have distinctly dark attributes. And the Brothers Grimm? Decidedly grim. Don't automatically dismiss dark stories, but do decide whether you can pull this off for the age level of your readers.
  • For many writers, writing children's books successfully will require some effort to step back into the shoes of the very young and to see the world from a very fresh and curious perspective. For those who are always young-at-heart, writing children's stories can be a very satisfying craft. If you are a young writer reading this article—many young authors have published stories—these characteristics will be second nature to you, but you will still benefit from the steps on how to write a children's story well.
  • For younger readers, feel free to use rhyme, which makes the story more interesting, or use anthropomorphism to make animals more human-like.
  • You don't need to have a lesson! Whether or not you have one depends mostly on your real audience. Do you want to please the kid? It's harder with a lesson. Are you really aiming for the parents loving it? You definitely want a lesson there!
  • Give your story to an older child to read. They can give you feedback, don't just count on your own resources. Make sure everything is happy, funny, and there might be a pinch of sadness, but don't be too dramatic. Be sure to put something educational, if that is your goal.

Warnings

  • War may not be a good topic for a children's story. The readers may become worried that what happens in a war might happen to them. Even too much violence shall be avoided. Sexual content definitely doesn't belong to a children's story.
  • Scary stories, even if they have a happy ending, may not be good for very young children. Avoid scary overtones when writing for children 3 to 7 years old, but if you take that path, consider giving the hero, or whoever the children are most likely to associate with, courage and the ability to solve the problem.
  • Avoid using slang words or inappropriate language or situations for younger readers. The writing should be of the best quality, to encourage young readers to love their language and to want to read more.
  • Try not to give the characters long names, unless it's funny and memorable, like Rumpelstiltskin. Also, do not give them similar names or even names starting with the same letter. This may confuse the child and make the story harder to follow.

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