Jan 20, 2013

So You Want to Write Children's Books

If you're a writer, you're probably no different than the rest of us and have thought about taking your keyboard off into different directions.  Article writing might pay the bills, but perhaps you've always thought about delving into fiction, or if you're already a fiction writer, you might have wanted to switch gears and try a different genre.  Have any of us NOT thought we'd be great at writing children's books?

Sounds easy, right?  Kid's books are generally shorter than adult novels, and they don't need big words, so those things alone should have us pumping out children's lit at lightning speed, no?

No.

I'm finding out that there's a lot more to writing books for kids than I ever would have thought.



I'm the type that gets an idea in my head to do something and then I want to do it.  Now.  Little research or forethought, just jump right in with both feet and make it happen.  As you can imagine, I rarely have any amount of success when I take on a project in that manner.  So ... I thought I'd like to try my hand (fingers?) at writing some form of children's fiction, and since I honestly know nothing about where to start, I'm doing a little homework.  There's hope for me yet!

In one quick search this morning, I've already found a valuable tool that I think will help me along this path, or perhaps make me realize that this isn't the road I really want to take after all.  That site is Children's Book Insider at writeforkids.com.

I'm not getting paid to plug Children's Book Insider, but after just a short time poking around this morning, I can see where I'll be spending much more time there, and thought others might benefit from taking a peek too.  Everything I've seen so far is free, but I can't say for certain that there aren't things that they'll encourage you to purchase down the road, but I haven't found that to be the case yet.  Already I've downloaded an incredible eBook filled with information on how to get started, with links to videos that are just as helpful as the text.  I'm tickled that within the first seconds of my researching, I landed on something that has it all.

If you've ever thought about writing children's books, or even if you've already started out on your own, you WILL learn something at CBI ... guaranteed.

Happy writing!

~ Marie Anne




4 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this resource! Happy writing!

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  2. I used to make up little stories to tell my grand daughter. Several people have told me that I should publish them. I might just have to poke around on this site. Thanks for the research!

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  3. Thanks for the link. I have thought that writing stories for children might be a good direction, but coming up with a good storyline has me stumped for starters. Even if I do manage to write a good story, the problem then is getting it to the attention of the right audience. Writing for adults, they can search for things and find your story, but writing for children you need to gain the attention of parents, teachers and publishers. Your stories of course also need to be illustrated, especially if they are for younger readers.

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  4. Thanks for the ideas! I've always wanted to venture into fiction and admire those that do. It's not easy!!! Good luck! ~Angela

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