Children’s Books (How to Write)

C is for Children's Books (How to Write)

Everyone wants to write a children’s book. Don’t they? If you are one of them, I am offering 10 ½ tips to help you write a children’s book.

1.    Capture a Spark!

First, you’ll need a story idea. Maybe you already have one. Maybe you like the thought of writing a children’s book someday, but you don’t have an idea yet. That’s okay! Once you get an idea, which can be as simple as a child going to school, you can begin writing your story.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, an idea for a story can come from anywhere. I’ve written a children’s story (not published) which was inspired by a fly. Yes, a fly. My mom has written a series of children stories and it all started with pea soup. Yes, pea soup. So be on the lookout for an idea. It could be anywhere! 

2. Read as many children’s books as you can get your hands on!

Reading children’s books can help you understand the language you need to use and popular themes.

3.    Know what age group you want to write for.

Children’s books range from one word on each page to chapter books, so do research to find out what age group your story idea and writing ability would better suit.

4. Create your characters.

Even a children’s book needs a main character and minor characters. The great thing about children’s books is that a character can be an animal or even a teddy bear.

See: Writing About: Children for more tips on this.

5.  Pick a setting.

This can be the child’s house, a classroom, or a magical realm.

6. Write out the plot.

Children’s stories don’t need to be complicated. You don’t need several plot events. All you need is the central conflict (a problem the boy/girl need to fix or a struggle he/she has to overcome), rising action which leads to the climax (the turning point) and finally the resolution (the end).

7.  Now write your story!

Beware that your sentence structure and length fit the age group you are writing for. For instance: for children five and younger, don’t use as many commas and keep the sentences shorter than you would while writing for older audiences. Simplicity is key for young children.

Tip #1: Cut out unnecessary adjectives and adverbs. Oh sure, they can still be in there, but you don’t want to clutter your sentences with them.   

While you’re writing, think like a kid. Add whacky bits you would never dream of including in your adult novels. You can get away with it here, so infuse humor into your story if you can. Children love nothing more than to laugh. Go ahead . . . you have permission to be silly!

Tip #2: Write in rhymes. Children adore rhymes even if you don’t. (I noticed all the finalists for the 2013 Cheerios Spoonful of Stories competition all rhymed.) But you definitely don’t have to write in rhymes. A story can be great without it. 

Tip #3: Try to include a positive message, if you can. In “Come Back Dear Sun” by Geena Bean she wrote about the importance of playing outside instead of staying hooked up to computers and video games all the time.

Tip #4: Teach them! You can share facts about the world, nature, and animals that they wouldn’t know otherwise.

8. The End

Make sure the end fits with the rest of your story and doesn’t end abruptly. I hate that in adult stories, so kids can hate it in their stories too!

9. Edit

Take a short break after you finish writing then edit your children’s book as you would edit a novel. Cut out extra words that don’t need to be there, fix grammar and spelling errors, and check for plot holes.

See: How to Edit a Book for more help on this.

10.     Test

Read your story to children you know and see how they react. Then give it to adults and ask what they would think about reading your story to their kids. Take what they say and see if you can apply it to your story, but remember . . . you can’t please everyone. Do what can improve your story and then give it a rest!

10  ½. Publish

This tip is 10 ½ because it’s not a tip on how to write a children’s book, but it is the next step you should take.

There are many options you can take when publishing a children’s book. You can self-publish, send to agents who can help you publish your story traditionally, or submit it to children’s magazines.


Good luck and have fun!


SHARE: Your tips for writing children’s books.


QUESTIONS: Have you written a children’s book? How did you do it? What is your favorite children's book?

Mine will always be Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman


A to Z Blogging Challenge: 
A: Author Photo Tips
B: Boost Your Writing Brain Power

On My Shelf: After The Night by Linda Howard

When I read “After the Night” by Linda Howard I was instantly captivated when she introduced the female protagonist, Faith, as a young girl. I identified with her to the core. This little girl felt like me, she felt like every girl in the world. Even when this little girl became an adult, I still related to her as a woman and being able to feel that as a reader is magical; it is what every writer strives (or should strive) toward.

The first five chapters where the protagonist is younger are written so well. They tell the background information that you need to know about the characters and their families, and reveals the beginning of the story. These chapters will suck you in and what happens in chapter five will leave you speechless, but in a very good way. You’ll want to plow forward to read what happens next and what happens next is juicy, even more shocking, and addicting!

I don’t want to give away the plot but there are some of the steamiest sexual encounters that I have ever read in a book. Okay, so I haven’t read 50 Shades of Grey, but the man in this story and the culprit of these scenes is named Gray. Need I say anymore? And if you like dirty little secrets, this is the book for you because this story is all about dirty little secrets.

The only pitfall I experienced while reading this book was at the end, after the climax. Due to circumstances that I will not reveal, Faith found herself in need of replenishing everything she ever owned (food, clothes, makeup, etc.) and Linda Howard thought it was necessary to tell us everything that Faith had to do to get these items, including shopping. For the first time while reading this book, I skipped paragraphs with a roll of my eyes.

TIP: You can easily tell a reader that your character went shopping for everything he/she lost in their household after a flood, tornado, fire, or break-in in just a sentence or two, but to write pages on this is far from necessary. If you do, your readers will do exactly what I did and that is roll their eyes and skip ahead.

Don’t write parts that a reader will find pointless! Unnecessary Writing

With that little hitch in my reading stride, “After the Night” is one of my favorite books now and just talking about it makes me want to read it all over again. I definitely recommend it to anyone (mostly women) who wants more passion and suspense in their life.

Cheers to a good book!

QUESTION: Have you read this book? What did you think?

Writing About: Children

Recently I told you how to write about babies. Well, now I am going to tell you how to write about children. Out of all the characters that you could create, children are the most fun to write about. 

First, you have to develop them just as you would any other character. Choose their gender, age, hair and eye color, but don’t stop there! Do they have freckles? Are they missing their two front teeth? If the child is a boy, does he have scabs on his knees and dirt on his clothes? If the child is a girl, does she have her hair in pigtails and is she wearing a princess dress?

Fictional children also need personalities. Children actually have the best personalities among us. Is the child in your book goofy, wild, a bookworm, artistic, or a daredevil? Pick one or two of these characteristics and you will quickly have a realistic child. 

Children are also very animated in real life and they should be in books too. We all know that kids can make the funniest faces, so describe their facial expressions whenever possible. And they really can say the dardest things too! The next time you are around children, whether they are your own or are your nieces and nephews, listen to everything they have to say. My nephews have said some pretty hilarious things that I have written down to use in the future.

This is a picture of me when I was little,
wearing my dad's military gloves.

If you need help developing a child for your book that seems realistic, you can use yourself as inspiration. Simply think about what you were like as a child. Or use children that are in your life for inspiration. Just look around, they are everywhere!

Once you know everything about your child character (Does he/she like peas? Have a puppy? Does he/she have a favorite toy?), you can then decide on their role in your book. Is the child going to be the son or daughter of one of your main characters? Then he/she should probably have a big part and come into the story more often (making at least one appearance in every chapter).

Or the child character can be used to diffuse the tension and bring a touch of happiness into a story that is normally suspenseful and action-packed. This method can especially work if the child has a smaller role, as your protagonists’ neighbor per say, that way they can make their appearance when they need to then skip away until they are needed again. I am using this method for a little man in my fourth book and it is often a relief when he shows his cute face.

Writing About: A New Baby

Characters Make A Book