Learn To Write: Main Characters For A Children’s Book!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Good children’s books are stories that are purposely written for children and have main characters who are also children. That’s why children love them and can relate to them. But authors need to learn to write effectively to create story characters that are believable, authentic, and lovable. You want to create characters children can relate to and understand. These characters must seem real or at least as real as they are intended to be. Children are very smart and amazingly observant, and they won’t be fooled or entertained-by a poorly developed character, mainly the main character. To improve you chances of writing main characters that children will love, learn to write specifically for children.
There are several different subcategories of children’s books, so it’s somewhat difficult to tell you how to write about perfect characters for all these subcategories in just a line or two. For instance, picture books and children’s easy readers and chapter books for beginning readers generally have few words and lots of illustrations. Character development in children’s stories are not just about what the characters do and say, but also about what they look like.
However, the illustrations used for your stories like this may be totally out of your control because they are created by an illustrator who is not necessarily collaborating with you, but may simply be taking direction from an editor. Unless you are both the story’s writer and illustrator, you may have very little to say about the illustrations that will accompany your text. As a rule, the fewer words in a children’s book, the fewer words you should use to provide description. You just don’t have that many words to spare! So you’re going to have to rely on the illustrator’s good judgment to decide if the character will have red, black, blonde, or brown hair, for instance, unless it is critical to the storyline. In situations where a physical detail describing the character’s appearance must be verbalized-for instance, if the story is about a child who is teased because she has a large birthmark on her face-somewhere you will need to include enough of a description that the readers know this fact about the character and her appearance. Beyond that, you should simply limit physical descriptions altogether.
You see, with just a few words at your disposal with which to tell your story, you simply can’t afford to waste them giving nonessential physical descriptions. And in reality, you need to learn to write a lot more about a person’s character than physical attributes or description. So that is where you want to concentrate your writing. You want to show the reader the main character’s character rather than telling them about it. And the best way to do this is to apportion the majority of the words you are allotted for your children’s story to dialogue and action.
Written descriptions are often unnecessary to the creation and development of a believable character. Story characters are about much more than just the color of their skin or hair or their height or weight or any other physical characteristic that can be described. Learn to write good dialogue and a story based on action, this is the key to developing good main characters. That’s because so much of our character becomes evident and is showcased through our words, our thoughts, and our actions. There is no-need to tell a child that the main character in a story is mean when that child says mean things to other kids, thinks mean things about other kids, and acts mean to them, too. The character’s personality shines through loud and clear by showing, not telling.
“Show, don’t tell” is the spirit of great writing-and this applies to stories for readers of all ages, not just children’s books. However, in children’s books where the author must learn to write a story and develop the main character with so few words to work with, it becomes even more critical.
Watch the video related to books for children
Freeman talks at Brave New Books about the coming space war propelled by the fear of the coming asteroid, Apophis. Recorded May 16th 2009 at Brave New Books in Austin Texas USA *Freeman* Oracle Broadcasting – The FreeZone www.oraclebroadcasting.com Website www.freemantv.com Blog http Myspace www.myspace.com YouTube www.youtube.com … Barakhenaten Barry Soetoro Dunham Barack Hussein Obama Space War President Clone TheFreemanPerspective Akhenaten Echnaton Mason Freemason World Ratzinger Pope …
Help answer the question about books for children
What are some neat activity/crafts books for children?I want some books that have neat craft ideas for me to use with children I nanny for. Something that maybe a teacher would have to use for craft projects. The children I nanny for are 4 and 7.
Thanks
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November 26th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Joel Olsteen seems to have good intentions, but his problem is that he teaches only the good, never the bad; a Christian needs to learn both about God’s mercy, as well as God’s judgment, they go hand-in-hand. You can’t understand God’s mercy, if you don’t understand the judgment that you are being spared from. It’s not good to be a “hellfire” preacher, but it’s not good to ignore the consequences of sin either.
November 26th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
wow i cant wait until it get a chance to but this game. ive already found a site that you can download tons of game add-ons and pc versions for free at 101gamer. org
November 26th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Sorry, no idea. Try reposting your question. You might get better luck next time.
November 26th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Hmm, I don't use Google books and don't know what it is. Try wikipedia to see if you can find the names of some children's books authors. The Brother's Grim wrote so-called children's stories, but you might want to read them to make sure they're appropriate for your children. Also, look up the author of Alice in Wonderland, which is in the public domain, and that's by Lewis Carrol (not 100% sure), I think the Carrol title is Through the Looking Glass. Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Cinderella, Hansel and Grettel. Whatever book or story you can remember from childhood might be in the public domain and I know these titles are. Look up some of these titles on Wikipedia and it might lead you to other childrens books and children's books authors.
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page and http://www.classicbookshelf.com/ are two sites where you can read or download for free books that are in the public domain.
November 26th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
How the Blood of Jesus was caught in a basin. Now every thing that was done to Jesus broke every curse God said was on man out of the Torah. (The curses in the Torah were what Man did to himself not what God put on him.) Adam sinned and because of his sin he was cursed, he lost the most precious gift God gave him. That was that God could no longer be Adonai-Jireh (Jehovah-Jireh) which is God, your provider.
November 26th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
There are two types of publishing, traditional and self-publishing. If you choose to go with self-pubbing, I would recommend http://www.lulu.com as a great site. They don't pretend to be anything they are not, and have excellent service. All the decisions will be in your hands. However, going with a company like this is a difficult road and it is not considered a publishing credential if you look to go traditional down the road. Here is some other information about the downside of self-publishers (also known as vanity presses):
http://www.sfwa.org/beware/vanitypublishers.html
As far as novels go, different publishers specialize in different things, and fiction is a broad world. You have to try and sell your material to companies that produce similar works (ie, don't try and sell a fantasy novel to a romance publisher). So do your homework. Take a look at the most recent "Writer's Market"… or even better, try the "Guide to Literary Agents".
I absolutely suggest getting an agent instead of approaching publishers directly. I'm assuming you are not a contract attorney, so you will need someone to look over any offers and to guide you through the publishing world.
No publisher or agent should charge you any money up front! That is the sign of a scam! They make money by selling your book. Agents work on a commission (generally 15% of the amount of money the publishers pay you).
Make sure that you follow their exact submission specifications. You can't send them your book, but you should be sending them a query letter (Nicholas Sparks has a good example on his website). Don't copyright your book first, it looks amatuer and would cause them trouble down the line when you do the revisions they ask for.
Publishers will choose their own illustrators, so don't bother trying to find someone yourself. The artwork, cover, and title are things that the author has very little control over (unless he or she is very famous, of course).
New writers will never have all the publicity taken care of. Publishers will do some, but you will have to have a web presence and do book signings, among other things. No one is going to push your book if you don't push it yourself!
Here are some websites that can help. Read them thoroughly and research, research, research! Pay special attention to Miss Snark, because her archives can answer any question you ever have about publishing:
http://www.nicholassparks.com/WritersCorner/Index.html
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com
http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/
http://www.agentquery.com
http://www.misssnark.blogspot.com
And be warned of the people on this list:
http://www.sfwa.org/beware/twentyworst.html
Good luck!
November 27th, 2008 at 12:18 am
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.
November 27th, 2008 at 10:25 am
He lost the spiritual connection with God, Jesus dieing and reservation from death allowed man to have the spiritual connection again. So God could be Adonai-Jireh for his people again. But now instead of Abraham or Moses being the high-priest going before God for our sins, Jesus is our intercessor, our High-priest.
you asked.
November 27th, 2008 at 7:59 am
Try amazon they have some good ones:
http://www.amazon.com/tag/pagan%20childrens%20book
November 27th, 2008 at 10:23 am
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.
November 27th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Agreed keb, the OT does prophesize the coming of Christ the first time to fulfilled the scriptures and it also prophesized of His second coming, too. The whole basis of the Bible is quite simple, faith and the foundation of Christianity is the Resurrection of Christ, which tells us (in short) that we have a soul. To be with Christ we must follow His teachings.Why do so many today neglect His teachings? It’s the apostasy of the Bible, now a book for those long ago and that is sad.
November 28th, 2008 at 4:38 am
Now for why Christ was sent. If you look what the Torah said, God required a lamb, ram or calf that was perfect, not scuff marks on its hooves, clean, perfect. God required the sacrifice to be prepared EXACTLY as it was written in the Torah. Now if you read the NT, and you understand what was written in the Torah, you can plainly see how Jesus being crucified follows EXACTLY what God required in the Torah.
November 27th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
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.
November 29th, 2008 at 7:04 am
jews are the wayward sect of hebrews. The other sects of hebrews are not nearly as wicked. All the other sects hate the jews also.
November 29th, 2008 at 10:15 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.
November 29th, 2008 at 10:16 am
I know of a book that is about sort of 'kidnapped' kids who get adopted.
It's called Found by Margaret Haddix.
November 29th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Bravo keb, but you said it yourself, “people looking at Jesus if he was God”. So, if these people believe that Jesus was Son of God, would they be wrong? Some did and some didn’t. With that, the verse is telling you to a make sound judgment of people not because he has tattered clothing or a nice suit. Know the substance behind the flesh. Is he a good or bad person and if so what is your basis that you draw your conclusion, as expected in John 7:24.
November 29th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
So tell me silas232003, what advice would you give tiger?