How To Write a GREAT Children's Book

Getting Ideas for Children's Stories

Every writer knows the question: where do get your ideas from? Now, you will know the answer too!

Engaging characters are the lifeblood of any story. Learn how to create characters that your reader will love and want to follow into their adventures. 

For new authors it's important to know where you are going before you start writing. Having a plot map or a plot template, even just a few notes about your story will help you complete the stories you begin. Professionals use plot templates all the time so you should too! 

In this lesson I stress the importance of having a plan. Too many new writers fall off the rails or become discouraged too easily because they don't make adequate plans for what they're about to do. When you set goals and specify how you're going to proceed, you're much more likely to succeed.

Basic Story Telling

Since time began there has been agreement - and argument - about how a fiction story should be constructed. In this lesson I present you with a couple of accepted conventions that will help you create stories that are compelling because you follow the formulas presented.  

Who is telling your story? To you the answer may be obvious. However, this question is fundamental to how stories work and whether readers love them or not. Getting your point of view character right is probably the most important aspect of any story telling issue! 

Along with discovering your best point of view character, there are certain other technical issues that need to be decided before you begin writing. These are things like getting your voice right for the age group, deciding how much description you need to employ against exposition, and whether you're going to be including subplots. Also, does you story need to be true?

For stories to work effectively they must have a beginning, a middle, and an end. That much is probably clear but what's important is the correct weight and significance that must be given to each part. In this lesson I explain how these elements are combined - how and why. 

Download These Resources

Contained within this section are valuable resources you should download, read and absorb. 

1. How to Write A GREAT Children's Book

2. Show Don't Tell: The Ultimate Writer's Guide

3. Articles on the Craft

4. Children's Publishers Market Listing  

Children's writing falls into many broad categories. Probably the most easily recognizable of these is the picture book, often large and bound with card, these books are usually meant to be read aloud to children. Many new writers are naturally drawn to writing picture books - thinking they might be easy to construct. However, there are many guidelines and particulars that need to be addressed - hence the need for three lessons on this topic!

After the introduction to writing picture books this second section gives extra advice and guidance to the writer, in order that he or she is aware of the numerous issues that surround picture book writing.

More advice and guidance on the writing of picture books. This lesson deals with the most common reasons why picture books are rejected by publishers or do badly when they are on sale. Learn from the mistakes so you don't have to make them yourself!

Easy Readers are designed to help young kids begin to read. This is achieved by presenting stories that compel a youngster to want to know what happens next. The age group for these stories is anywhere from six to sixteen, because children vary in their abilities and there is a demand for every type of book for every type of reader.

As the name suggest, transition books are designed to help get children from large type and pictures to more text based stories. Primarily aimed at around the ten to twelve age group, these books are sometimes lumped in with chapter books - see the next section.  

When it comes to getting new books published, the ambitious author could do far worse than attempt chapter books. They are the most frequently taken route for many new authors. Not only are they relatively short, they often use language that is easy to read and write. Plus the stories need only be simple.

The line between chapter books and junior novels is thin and blurry! They're often the same thing. In this lesson we look at some of the more distinguishing characteristics of a junior novel - and the kind of story you might consider writing for this genre age group.

Young Adults are classed as anyone from thirteen to nineteen and perhaps older, depending on the type of story. There's an old adage among writers that writing for children is the same as writing for adults - only harder! This is probably most true of young adult fiction where the genre requirements are many but often very flexible.

Once you have mastered basic storytelling within the various children's genres, it may be a good idea to hone your skills to improve your writing technique. The two most important skills a young writer can master are 1. the ability to create compelling dialogue and 2. the preference for showing instead of telling - see the next lesson. 

Probably the most crucial lesson any fiction writer can learn is the ability to show stories as opposed to tell them. This lesson gives you a complete overview of the issue and explains in depth exactly how to go about showing instead of telling. This skill is guaranteed to change your success rate as an author overnight. 

Thanks for taking this course. I very much appreciate you getting this far and being with me on this voyage of discovery. In this last lesson we recap on the crucial elements necessary to your success in this fun and rewarding genre of writing.

Rarely do authors let you into their home to answer any and all questions you may have. This exclusive interview was lovingly put together by me interviewing my wife with all the many questions she has received over the years. 

The interview continues with more fascinating insights into the life and thought process of a bestselling children's author!

The interview continues!