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To be fair, it’s more of a middle-grade book.
…
I still don’t know what to do.
*sighs and sits back in mercifully unmelted chair* So, here’s the thing, I was just chasing an innocent-looking plot bunny the other day (which is okay bc I’m on a break from my main story. Please don’t arrest me. 😛 ) and suddenly that bunny turned around and said, “I’m a children’s story!” and hopped away. I was foolish enough to keep chasing it.
*tries to wrap my mind around why I would do that* *fails*
See what I’ve gotten myself into? I’ve got it fixed in my head that this story absolutely must be for kids. But the history is getting complicated and feels like I’m writing LOTR, not a bedtime story. How dark is too dark? Will kids be able to relate to a mostly adult, non-human cast? *pretending not to notice that most of Pixar’s MCs aren’t human* How do I not be boring? And a million other questions.
Still, in an attempt not to be too heavy, I don’t want to turn it all fluff-and-rainbows-and-hairless-guinea-pigs. (No, hairless guinea pigs have nothing to do with the plot, but I just learned they exist and I’m still processing it. Give me a moment.)
*gives self a moment*
I’m thinking the target audience will be 9-13, but I’d love this to be one of those books you enjoyed when you were a kid, and that went back and read later and still enjoyed it, and saw something new in it. Because books like that are awesome, y’all. No one wants to see their childhood memories trodden upon by bad storytelling. 😉
So please, shower me with wisdom, Kapeefers! Any insights at all would help tremendously.
@princessfoo @rochelaine @dragon-snapper @dekreel @epicaddie2 @notawriter @mnvalentineBlog: https://weridasusual.home.blog/
@daughteroftheking I am chasing the same bunny…😂 And let me tell you it is VERY hard to catch! I recently started my own children/middle-grade story that I want to be cute, but also meaningful. But, how to go about it? I need some advice as well!
Now, my story is different from yours because it is about children…but I’ve found that writing in third person helps. Instead of being inside the person/animal/thing’s mind, you are painting a picture with your writing (not that you shouldn’t do this while writing in first person, but you get the idea). Kids are visual. Give them a movie to watch inside their heads.
Here are some tips (that aren’t really that creative and are mostly just common sense because I am really tired today lol):
1. Try to refrain from using huge words. I know that when I was a little kid, if I heard some words I didn’t understand, I immediately zoned out. I stopped trying to understand. SO make sure it is clear and well-written, while staying simple.
2. Like I said before, paint pictures with your writing. Use vivid words. Enough said there.
3. Others might have different opinions about this, but please *puppy eyes* make it a happy ending. Don’t break the poor little children’s hearts! And I don’t mean make it cheesy, I just mean that it shouldn’t be completely tragic. 🙂
Anyway, I’m still working on this topic myself, but this is what I’ve found helpful from my
limitedexperience in writing children’s stories and reading them!A dreamer who believes in the impossible...and dragons. (INFJ-T)
Okay so I’ve never written a book, let alone a children’s one! (Even though I have a concept I’d love to be a children’s book.. but ehem)
So if it sounds like I’m spirting nonsense please disregard it and move on to the advice of other wiser kapeefers!Firstly I like what Ingrid said about kids being visual. (Though i’m not sure how to take advantage of that in your case?)
Nextly (shh that is so a word)
Maybe have the theme and message be something that would be meaningful to kids? If your message/theme is more suited to an older audience .. maybe it shouldn’t be a children’s story?I don’t want to plant seeds of doubt in your mind but I’m curious why you feel this needs to be a children’s story? In just about every children’s story or middle grade even (though I admit I haven’t read THAT much) I can’t remember a single one where the protag is more then 5 years older then the oldest of their target audience.. I’m guessing its easier to get kids to relate to them that way. So .. I guess what I’m thinking is would it work to tell the same story with the POV character being younger? If not.. Why do you feel it’s meant to be a children’s story? (Like I’m sure it can be done. I’m just curious! 🙂 )
(yikes this could have been organized better)
Gonna tag my big sister @introvert_girl because shes one of those wiser kapeefers I was talking about. 😉
and I was so confused
First of all, thank you all for coming to the aid of a stuck Kapeefer. ;P Secondly, I feel I should give you a little bit about my story. I’m really hesitant to do this, because it’s just a bunch of ideas at this point, and not great ideas at that. But here goes… *squints eyes shut*
The MC is a 12 year old named Katie, who lives in the land of Unmagik (a land with no magic. Go figure), but there’s a bridge on her little farm that leads into a magical land. She isn’t allowed to cross it, but fairies and brownies and friendly goblins and the like cross over all the time. She enjoys living with magical creatures, even if they tend to make a mess and she has to keep them secret for the outside world… for some reason. But lately, bigger, scarier creatures have started coming across the bridge, and her dad says they’re refugees. So, he goes across to find what could scare a troll so badly. He doesn’t came back. Katie must go to find him, and rescue him if necessary. Her mother sends a fairy (Called Brand for now, although I’m on the hunt for a better name), to help her. Brand’s a really grumpy dude. They find out there’s a witch who’s trying to take over the land.
Except that isn’t the witch’s real plan, but they’ll find that out later. But the point is that most everything ties in with fairytales. Katie’s little red riding hood, and she (even if she doesn’t notice), is being pursued by big, bad wolves. Brand’s Jack Frost, and they meet a guy who’s basically Rumpelstiltskin.
So, it all sounds cliché and uncreative at the moment, but it’ll get better. Someday.
@ingridrd A fellow bunny chaser! xD Good idea, about using vivid descriptions. And I’ll watch myself on the big words. 🙂 Yes, a happy ending! *claps hands* “And they all lived happily ever after” is a great way to end a book.
@notawriter I think I have to focus better on my theme being meaningful to kinds. Thanks for helping me notice that! Anyway, I’m not exactly sure why this needs to be a kid’s story, but I keep thinking how much I would have loved a story like this when I was a young’un. 😉 And even if you’re “not a writer,” your advice and the time you took to give it to me means a lot.Blog: https://weridasusual.home.blog/
@daughteroftheking 9-13 as a target audience, you shouldn’t have to dumb it down much. Unless I just had odd reading habits, but The Hobbit was something I would have read 9-10, and Percy Jackson/Eragon at 11-13.
I do think it might be hard for kids to connect to an adult cast, but not undoable. As a kid, I used to like to latch onto protagonists who felt relaatable and reminded me of real kids, but adults could work, too. (Bilbo is kinda an adult, and I liked him)
One thing you can do, because it’s meant for younger audiences, is make it a little more dramatic. Adults can act a little more like caricatures, I think, to make them simpler and more accessible to children. For example, a lenient teacher can be lenient, in a funny way, to a point where in realistic fiction, it wouldn’t be plausible. Roald Dahl is someone who is really good at that.
The story can still be intricate, but try not to have too many twisting plot points or things to keep track of. keep things simple. Rereadability isn’t going to come from the story being complex enough for older readers, it’ll come from a strong sense of heart in the story.*Giarstanornarak tries to melt chair*
Also, Daeus has 22 turtles in his signature.@daughteroftheking Ohh 12 years old isn’t bad! (especially if it ends up being middle grade) For some reason I was thinking the POV character was an adult.
I think it’s cute! I like the idea of her being a ‘little red riding hood’ type of character. *nods* 😀and I was so confused
@daughteroftheking 😀 That sounds like something I would haved loved as a kid. Twevle years as a protagonist is easily doable, too. For some reason I was imagining you were going to try businessmen as MCs or something, when you said mostly adult. I totally think, especially with a fantasy world like that, you can fill it with wonder and children will latch onto it
*Giarstanornarak tries to melt chair*
Also, Daeus has 22 turtles in his signature.@daughteroftheking That sounds like a totally and completely awesome story!!! 🙂
A dreamer who believes in the impossible...and dragons. (INFJ-T)
@daughteroftheking I totally agree with the others. I think we tend to forget how mature 9-13 year olds can be as we get older ourselves (at least, I know I do). Since you have a young MC, I think it’s great for you to have older important cast members. I think someone already mentioned Pixar? You can see they do an excellent job of telling stories with cast members ranging in various ages (Up being the first thing that comes to mind.) I think having adult and child characters will help it be enjoyed by a wider audience, and personally, I find stories where the population seems to be mostly children to be tough on my suspension of disbelief.
A few tips on writing child characters:
While capable of doing things for others, and being “innocent” and “sweet” I also think children can be extremely selfish, because they get caught up in what seems important now.
Related to the first, they don’t always think about the consequence of their actions, and may make decisions without foresight.
There is a lot of wiggle room in how “mature” the character is. I think varying life experience can cause variances in maturity level. Take into account the level of responsibility they’re accustomed to, when thinking about how they react to the conflicts they face.I love fairy tales, and your idea sounds like a lot of fun! My advice is go for it!
@NotAWriter *waves*And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.
@daughteroftheking I’m just gonna randomly jump in here to say:
“I love your story idea and it sounds super cool!”
The Kingdom has been torn asunder...
http://www.encircledbygrace.com/@daughteroftheking Don’t take this the wrong way, but I have always thought of your stories as aimed for slightly younger audiences. In the snippets of your stories that I’ve read (about Tess, and Georgia Payne, I think), the tone has always been bordering on playful and silly. Those are my favorite kinds of stories, I wish there were more like those, but you don’t often find them in the YA section. Nowadays it is all doom and gloom and met-you-last-week romances. Does that all make sense?
So I don’t think you have to worry about. Just be yourself. If you REALLY wanted advice, I’d say don’t give all your characters horrible tragic backstory. If that’s possible for you. 😉
*Proceeds to give a (slightly exaggerated) retelling of what happens when I go to N.C. for writing advice.*
Me: So, I’m thinking of giving my character a stubbed toe…
N.C: Do it! And give them the plague! Kill all their loved ones! Stab them in the back! Here, you can use my knife!
@daughteroftheking I really like your idea! I think it sounds like a great story for that age range. Honestly I think what you should do is read some good children’s fiction. I know a lot of good children’s books because I still mainly read from the children’s section at our library (I’ve probably read every book in there). I was going to recommend some but my mind just went blank, so I’ll give them to you when I’ve had time to restock my brain with recommendations… 😀
Good luck, too!! Children’s stories are the hardest to write and some of the most needed 🙂
Silence! Silence everyone, for the king's speech!
I’m thinking the target audience will be 9-13, but I’d love this to be one of those books you enjoyed when you were a kid, and that went back and read later and still enjoyed it, and saw something new in it.
@daughteroftheking This line stood out to me, and I suppose one way you could do this would be to have the theme be simple, meaningful, and classic (think A Little Princess, Bridge to Terebithia, Because of Winn-Dixie, etc). Those are children’s stories but in a sense they are also classics, and the story can mean something to even adults. So I suppose that’s something you could imitate, if you wanted.It's g-h, 2-4-6-8 twice, three 9's
literatureforthelight.wordpress.comMy inbox is exploding. Which a good thing!
@sam-kowal Good point, I was reading the Hobbit at about that age too. As for dramatic, I think I can achieve that. *cough*not saying I have the tendency to be overdramatic. not saying that at all*cough* 😉
@notawriter Thank you muchly!
@ingridrd Why thank you!
@introvert_girl *scribbling down notes* Good points, all of them! I need to figure out how mature my MC is at the onset of the story.
@kaya-young Thanks for randomly jumping in! <3
@princessfoo Not… give all my characters… tragic backstories…? *totally confused* I’ve never done that before. 😛 *turns to characters* You get off easy today. Princessfoo says I have to be nice. And you have a point. I’m a lot perkier than the books I find in the YA section. Not that I don’t give my characters tragic backstories. *maniacal laughter*
@mnvalentine Oh, yes! That’s a good idea! I need to go back and re-read all those books I devoured as a kid. Ironically, I’ve just been re-reading the Secret Garden, which was my favorite. I think I need to start taking notes. *wields note-taking pencil*
@gh24682468999 Theme, theme, theme-y theme theme… *stares off into space for a moment* You bring up an excellent point! I realize how just… complicated my theme is at times. I need to work on that. THANK YOU!Blog: https://weridasusual.home.blog/
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