The Basics of Writing for Children: One; Start With your Main Character
Friday, September 7, 2007
There is a huge variety of ways in which, so they tell us, writers start a work of fiction. Some say that they don’t write a single word until they’ve worked out the complete story in their head. Others will have a indistinct idea of the outlines of their story and will “discover” its complexities and finer details as they write. Still other writers start with a character and allow the storyline to grow around that character’s development. Others will begin with an incident and then find that other events follow naturally; or they may have found a pattern which may be repeated, with variations, to produce a book of short stories.
Often, by looking at the end product, we can guess which of these different methods was applied by a certain author; but often we have to rely on direct information from the writer themselves. It is probable that Richmal Crompton embarking upon her first story about “William”, A A Milne with Christopher Robin and Pooh and Dorothy Edwards with her “Naughty Little Sister” stories realised that they had hit on a recipe for enjoyable tales which when varied, could be used over and over with enormous success.
The successful formula or recipe in all of these examples depends upon a central character whose main characteristics dominate any scenario in which the author chooses to place him or her. William is the naughty schoolboy, manipulating his environment, when possible, to his own advantage; Pooh is a bear of very little brain, with a fat stomach and a large heart; and the little sister’s behaviour goes against the expectations of polite society. An extra bonus is that in Richmal Crompton’s and Dorothy Edwards’ tales the disruptive behaviour with which the child reader can easily identify, is presented as amusing rather than unacceptable.
Sometimes the idea of a clearly defined character can bring about not repetitive incidents but in a long narrative with a beginning, a middle and an end. Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote: “One day I had an idea. I will write a story about him, I said, I will put him in a world quite new to him and see what he will do.” It was a inspired idea and, because she was already an experienced storyteller, Cedric Errol, the character based on her charming small son, accumulates around him the other characters and events that make Little Lord Fauntleroy a fascinating, if now unfashionable read.
The above passage from Frances Burnett’s autobiography leads us to think that she was one of those authors who begin with a vague idea of the plot, but who have an idea of a situation which demands development. Without being aware of exactly how the narrative ends, the author must have thought of Sara Crewe, the generous little rich girl who is suddenly reduced to extreme poverty, but behaves throughout like “A Little Princess” or, in her best book, “The Secret Garden” of plain spoiled little girl Mary Lennox, transported from her luxurious existence in India to silence and a harsher reality in cold Yorkshire.
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About Author
Ellie Dixon lives in deepest rural Devon, England with her husband and two very large Newfoundland dogs. She is passionate about vintage illustrated children’s books and loves to restore and edit them for today’s kids to rediscover. Visit Scruffy’s” target=”_blank”>www.scruffysbookshop.com”>Scruffy’s Bookshop, Ellie’s main website for some great books, and Ellie also recommends How to Write a Great Children’s Book! for aspiring authors.
September 7th, 2007 at 10:48 am
it’s almost like a photo
great painting 
September 7th, 2007 at 10:53 am
dude, you own! this looks identical to a photograph
September 7th, 2007 at 10:58 am
How about weekly trips to your local library. Get a new pile of stories every week. It's a great outing that kids love.
September 7th, 2007 at 11:33 am
- A math or science book (not a workbook) geared for young preschool / Kindergarten aged girls or girls and boys. I'm looking for practical and simple, non-technical writing that my daughter could understand. She enjoys learning about volcanoes, plants and animals, the human body, physical science, basic math, word problems, etc. The books I find are usually too technical or geared for gradeschool or they seem geared for boys (i.e. getting dirty and gross with slime). I'm interested in finding something that is not so gender-specific either. For example, not looking for princess stuff. Just something that a preschooler/Kindergartener can grasp and remember. I think kids around this age ask a lot of "why" questions. My daughter can get pretty technical and can grasp things if I use simple language. Typical questions might be: "Why do hot things make steam?" and "Why are owls awake at night?" Today she told her grandma what nocturnal meant: Nocturnal means when animals are awake at night because that's when they hunt for their food and they sleep in the morning. Sorry if I'm going on and on, just trying to give you some ideas here.
I'd also like to see more Learn-To-Read series of books, something like the Biscuit dog series. I'd like to see basic sight words worked into an engaging story, more modern pictures. I don't mean abstract, I just mean something newer and more updated. The illustrations and basic story line play a big role in how much my daughter wants to read the series. The story line can be kept pretty simple with the holidays, basic play, manners, etc.
-Illustrations should have a simple, colorful but entertaining style. I see a lot of stuff that's either too stylized, too CG or animated looking, dated, or cluttered.
-Really enjoy books that have lift-up flaps and things to pull but they often get stuck or torn. Wish there was a way to make this work better and also that there were more books with these features that were not just meant for toddlers. One set of books that were terrific that were age appropriate were In The Country and At School by Francesco Pittau and Bernadette Gervais
You can actually see inside this book if you click on the picture of the cover here:
http://www.amazon.com/Country-Lift-Flap-Learning-Book/dp/2020694182/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241033751&sr=1-1#
Just some suggestions, hope this helps.
September 8th, 2007 at 6:14 am
i use photoshop
September 8th, 2007 at 7:21 am
awesome stuff man,….ama practice hard to get to yo level!
September 8th, 2007 at 1:44 am
There's a book called How to Raise a Gentleman, it was actually published a few years ago by Brooks Brothers if you can believe that! As far as kids books I would check with the local Christian book store I bet they would have some.
September 8th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
I think there are lots of them, but it's a little hard to identify them because they don't always state that they're "gifted."
Here are some I can think of that may apply:
Roxaboxen / Alice McLerran: A hill covered with rocks and wooden boxes becomes an imaginary town for Marian, her sisters, and their friends. Marian called it Roxaboxen. (She always knew the name of everything.) There across the road, it looked like any rocky hill — nothing but sand and rocks, some old wooden boxes, cactus and greasewood and thorny ocotillo — but it was a special place: a sparkling world of jeweled homes, streets edged with the whitest stones, and two ice cream shops….
Christina Katerina and the Box / Patricia Lee Gauch: Christina finds many uses for the large box that housed the new refrigerator.
The Big orange splot / Daniel Manus Pinkwater: When a seagull drops a can of orange paint on his neat house, Mr. Plumbean gets an idea that affects his entire neighborhood.
Meggie Moon / Elizabeth Baguley: Normally, no one dares to play in the yard where Digger and Tiger spend all their time, but when a girl invades, they soon realize that she has some brilliant ideas for playing with the junk found there.
The legend of the Indian paintbrush / Tomie De Paola: Little Gopher follows his destiny, as revealed in a Dream-Vision, of becoming an artist for his people and eventually is able to bring the colors of the sunset down to the earth.
The fossil girl : Mary Anning's dinosaur discovery / Catherine Brighton: In simple cartoon style, tells the story of a twelve-year-old English girl's discovery in 1811 of an ichthyosaurus skeleton.
Emma's rug / Allen Say: A young artist finds that her creativity comes from within when the rug that she had always relied upon for inspiration is destroyed.
Benny : an adventure story / Bob Graham: When Benny the dog steals the show from Brillo the magician, he is forced to look for a new home where his rare talents such as juggling and tap dancing will be appreciated.
My family plays music / Judy Cox: A musical family with talents for playing a variety of instruments enjoys getting together to celebrate.
Granite baby / Lynne Bertrand: Five talented New Hampshire sisters try to care for a baby that one of them has carved out of granite.
Looking for Daniela : a romantic adventure / Steven Kroll: Antonio, a street performer who admires a rich merchant's daughter, must use his talents in juggling, tightrope walking, and guitar playing when he rescues her from bandits and tries to get her home again.
The seven Chinese sisters / Kathy Tucker: When a dragon snatches the youngest of seven talented Chinese sisters, the other six come to her rescue. (And of course the Five Chinese Brothers by Clare Huchet Bishop, or the Seven Chinese Brothers by Margaret Mahy)
213 valentines / Barbara Cohen: Wade has trouble adjusting when he is transferred to a special fourth grade class for the gifted and talented, so he plans to send himself 213 valentines signed by celebrities.
Amanda Bean's amazing dream : a mathematical story / Cindy Neuschwander: Amanda loves to count everything, but not until she has an amazing dream does she finally realize that being able to multiply will help her count things faster.
Frosted glass / Denys Cazet: Gregory the dog's vivid imagination gets him in trouble at school, leading him to draw cities and spaceships when he should be doing something else, but his artistic ability does not go unrecognized.
Painted dreams / Karen Lynn Williams: Because her Haitian family is too poor to be able to buy paints for her, eight-year-old Ti Marie finds her own way to create pictures that make the heart sing. Ti Marie dreams of being an artist. Whenever she gets some time away from watching her little sisters and helping Mama in their market stall, she finds a cement wall or a scrap of waste paper and lets her imagination soar….
Alistair and the alien invasion / Marilyn Sadler: When aliens invade from outer space, boy genius Alistair is the only person able to save the Earth.
This is the story of Archibald Frisby : who was as crazy for science as any kid could be / Michael Chesworth: Archibald Frisby, mad about science and wise beyond his years, is sent to camp to have fun and ends up broadening the horizons of his fellow campers.
Herbert Binns & the flying tricycle / Caroline Castle: Herbert Binns is such a clever mouse that some of the other animals are jealous of his talents and plot to sabotage his new invention, a flying tricycle.
Baby Brains superstar / Simon James: A musically gifted baby is invited to play the electric guitar at a star-studded rock concert.
Alphabet soup / Kate Banks: A boy's ability to spell words with his alphabet soup comes in handy during the magical journey he takes in his mind with a friendly bear.
Porkenstein / Kathryn Lasky: Lonely after his two brothers are eaten by the Big Bad Wolf, Dr. Smart Pig invents a wolf-proof friend to keep him company on Halloween.
M & M and the super child afternoon / Pat Ross: When best friends, Mimi and Mandy, turn out to be more talented at each other's special choice in a "Super Child" class, they decide to go their separate ways after school.
First graders from Mars. Episode 4, Tera, star student / Shana Corey: Although she is smart, Tera must learn the importance of working together on a group project. Tera is a star student. So when Pod 1 is assigned a group project to build the solar system, Tera is sure she has all the answers. But with her overzealous nature and her know-it-all ways, Tera ruffles a few tentacles. Why does being right sometimes feel so wrong?…
Regards to the man in the moon / Ezra Jack Keats: With the help of his imagination, his parents, and a few scraps of junk, Louie and his friends travel through space.
September 9th, 2007 at 1:19 am
Doctor Dan the Bandage Man- sexist and stereotypical. In my opinion he behaves in a condescending manner while interacting with his female playmate and treats her like she is inferior just because she is a girl.
September 9th, 2007 at 9:42 am
A-W-E-S-O-M-E your works is very awesome! cool!!!! very good
September 9th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
HOLY CRAP! Comparing this to the original picture, they’re identical!
September 10th, 2007 at 10:19 am
Awesome work Williamsshamir
Great video.
Much love Kat
September 10th, 2007 at 10:50 am
That long? I'd be willing to bet that it come up around 2010, just in time for the next election.
September 10th, 2007 at 11:21 am
Try amazon they have some good ones:
http://www.amazon.com/tag/pagan%20childrens%20book
September 10th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
wich program he is for doing this ? beside a tablet ofc
September 10th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
véiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, que difuu
September 10th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Well I prefer to donate them to a public library because then everyone gets to read them but on the other hand I like a school because they have less books…I would do a public library because a school would only have 1-2 grades that are interested and a public library more people would read them and I think you get some money off of your taxes…ask for some tax form thingy.
September 10th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
The Curious George collection is good, Dr Suess of course, Where the Wild Things Are is classic, and don't be afraid to challenge them. Our eight year old read Harry Potter to our five year old. It was a wonderful experience for both.