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Write a Children's Book-5 Best Kept Secrets that you NEED to Know!

By Lisa Brunel

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 25Oct2009 Word count: 982 Viewed: 6 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Are you underway with writing a children's book? Have you thought about writing a lovely little story that children and their caregivers would like to read? Write a children's book, you never know what might happen if you do!

Writing for children is a fun and creative and the stories you can write can be filled with excitement and imagination. Once you know what you're doing; you could be asked to write books faster than you can come up with the ideas. Wouldn't that be nice. You could be busy for quite awhile or choose to write whenever you want!

Before you start or if you already have, have a look at the following 5 best-kept secrets that you need to know when you write a children's book! These guidelines will help you ensure your children's book is as great as it can be!

1. Research

Do your research. Research what you're writing about. If your story idea is based on something you're not exactly sure about or the story is unclear to you, your readers will probably pick up on this. When you write a children's book ensure you do your research so your writing is clear and valuable to the reader. It is important to do your research so you're knowledge of the situation is credible for the reader. The worst thing is leaving your reader thinking "What if...." Be specific and get to the point. Don't ramble into too much detail; again, you will lose the interest of the reader.

2. Characters.

Have you made the big mistake a lot of writers of children's books are making? Many beginner writers develop a wonderful story that they believe everyone will fall in love with then they try to fit the characters around this storyline. This can see you in a wee bit of trouble down the line. The best way to create realistic characters your readers will connect with and care about is to develop them first! Get to know everything about the characters you create. Know their physical characteristics, their personality traits, their background and emotions. The more you know about them the better off your story will be! This will show your readers you have passion toward them and will project through your writing. Therefore, your audience will want to find out what happens to them.

3. Mood of the story.

As most of us writers know, you rarely sit down and write a book cover to cover in one sitting right! Unless you don't fancy sleeping, then you are the minority. The rest of us will write in sections or little bits here and there. Try to make sure you are as close too or in the same mood you were in when you were last writing. Otherwise, you might have a situation where the readers emotions are up and down throughout the story. This can be quite upsetting for a young child. Another reason could be when the beginning is fulled of excitement, the middle is dull and the best is saved till last. You'll probably end up with an uncomfortable read for your audience. Try to split the drama up throughout and keep the tone and mood constant. You don't want to lose the reader before they get to the best part of the story.

4. The Plot

When you write a children's book, as it is with all books, the plot is another important aspect to consider. Especially when writing for children. Children are more likely to look to the characters as role models. Therefore, when you are creating the plot for your children's book, you need to keep your audience in mind. Every great book, being for children or adults, has one thing in common.It's plot will have some sort of conflict! There are two types of conflict, internal and external. Internal conflict is when the main character has to deal with a conflict from within. For example, fear, insecurities or a struggle of right and wrong. External conflict is when the main character has a conflict to deal with outside of their control. For example other people, animals, or a situation where they have no control. Add some sort of conflict to the characters journey and you have a great story!

5. "show, don't tell"

Have you heard about "show, don't tell"? All modern day writers are now using the "show, don't tell" way of writing. You can defiantly learn how to write in this style, and I strongly recommend that you do. But "show, don't tell" is where you become a 'storyshower' and not a storyteller. What I mean, is that even though writers are telling the story, you want to do it in a way that you are showing your readers what is happening. This can be done through description of how the character is feeling, actions, physical reactions, body language, where they are in the story, etc. Add description of the surroundings and the feel of what's happening around them so you reader feels like they are standing next to them. Show the reader through description as much as possible to add depth to the story. Imagine a movie; the director doesn't put words up on screen when a character is sad, happy or excited. He instructs the actors to act a certain way and show through their faces and actions how they are feeling. This is the same with an author. You must give enough description to show your readers how the characters are feeling and the situation they are facing.

I hope you have found these 5 best-kept secrets helpful when you are planning how you will write a children's book. Next comes editing, proofing and formatting. Remember to find out what individual publishers are looking for so you have the most success when submitting your manuscript. Don't forget to check for grammar and spelling mistakes so you finished result will look professional.

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