In case you missed you missed this week’s episode of the Serious Writer Podcast, here is a Cyle Young’s insight on Childrens Writing. As you read below and want to hear more on these topics and other topics, check out the Serious Writer Podcast (Available on Google Play, Apple Podcast, Spotify or wherever podcasts are available).
There’s a common misconception that every story needs to have some sort of moral lesson, but this isn’t true. This traditional takeaway has been something writers struggle with in order for their work to be seen as “good” or worth reading. There are no concrete answers when it comes down to how they should endow these characters.
But of course, you have to. The character needs some kind of journey that they embark on and demonstrate change throughout it all.
But kids are allowed to read a story just for fun!
There’s this idea in our society today where if we write stories geared towards children then those books have morals or teaching lessons at their end. You don’t necessarily need such heavy-handedness when writing something meant for entertainment.
It’s no secret that kids are hungry for entertainment. They can’t be bored, and they want to stay engaged in something interesting all day long. As a result, books must now provide more than just informational text; instead, authors should strive towards creating immersive worlds where young readers become fully immersed up until the very end! You’re competing against video games/phones etc., so stories need “something different.”
As a children’s author, one of the most important things you can do to keep your audience engaged and interested in what they’re reading is by making every word matter.
Kids have limited attention spans so it’s vital that when writing for this age group; instead of flowing into long sentences or paragraphs with an extensive vocabulary. Use simple words which will be easier on their brains!
I think it’s no surprise we’re seeing so much popularity in middle grades with the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. These books are great for kids who need constant stimulation and don’t have the attention span to sustain long novels, but still want something more than just cartoons or comics.
Timestamps:
1:26 10 Tips for children’s writing 1:42 Moral Dilemma 2:58 Entertainment 4:45 Hangout with kids (Know Your audience) 10:39 Short and Sweet
What if I told you there was no such thing as writer’s block? Here are 3 quick tips for beating writer’s block. The only time a person gets “writer’s block” is when they stop writing. And even then, it doesn’t exist because by not doing anything we create an idea in our head and make ourselves think about what comes next instead of just sitting around waiting for something to come along naturally like magic!
Do not be afraid to Fail
Your writing might not be perfect, but that’s the whole point. In fact, the more you do it the better! When you stop being afraid and allow yourself the freedom to just write, your words will come out more creatively and with a better tone of voice. And yes, I am going to edit later either way so…
Don’t set unreachable goals
Remember that writer who sat down and wrote a novel in one night? Yeah, I don’t either. Setting goals is an important part of any personal development journey, but it’s also something that can be challenging. The first step to goal-setting success should always involve setting achievable targets and not unrealistic objectives because if they are too high then you’re more likely just going to backslide instead of improving yourself in some form or fashion.
When you’re feeling stuck in a creative rut, it can be tempting to give up on all your projects. But the reality of life is that we will often only work on one thing at once–and if this doesn’t click for some reason or another-you just switch over until something does!
You are not blocked, you just got too much greatness going.
There are so many great ideas in your head but nothing that meets the criteria for greatness! The key here though is not to get discouraged when it feels like there isn’t anything worth writing about; instead focus on what inspires or interests YOU personally – because after all this will be something only made up by yourself anyway :). Also check out our article 6 Tips for Beginners.
When we think of our writing goals, we often focus on what we actually have no control over.
“I want to be a bestselling author.”
“I want to be published with Harper Collins.”
“I want to sign contracts with this agency.”
Those are great dreams and I hope they all come true for us, but honestly, we have no control over what someone else offers us in terms of representation or contracts. We also have no control over our readers purchasing our books. What we can do, however, is set goals based on what we can control:
“I’m going to do x, y, and z marketing strategies to sell a huge number of books.”
“I’m going to send a proposal to Harper Collins.” (Check submission guidelines — this is just an example!)
“I’m going to query this agent.”
Attack your Goals the SMART Way
The SMART method assures that your goals are actually things you can accomplish.
Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant, Realistic Time-based (deadline)
There needs to be room for WOW, so make sure to hold on to your hopes and dreams!
We had several guests pop in and share their writing projects and goals, and I know I found encouragement (and some great ideas) from what they said! Below the replay you’ll find our guests’ goals and some of the action items they’re using. Enjoy!
Our Awesome Guests
Randy
Goal:
Have a book published at the end of the year.
Action Steps:
Randy segments his day into four different ways: edit, write/rewrite, learn, and plot in a room with no electronics and transcribes them into snowflake. Also writes 1500 words every week to a mentor who critiques it and sends it back.
Jann
Goal:
(1) Working on a book launch with SCWI.
(2) Either start a new series or continue with her current one.
Action Steps:
Market to the parents. Homeschool groups. Maybe write some curriculum.
Vicki
Goals:
(1) finish writing devotions
(2) editing novel
(3) finish writing proposal
Action Steps:
Breaking her day down into 15 minutes and trying to get stuff done; continually editing
Gael
Goals:
Working on four different projects “Serial Launch Program;” Has been a paid writer for over 10 years. Get the writing done.
Action Steps:
Three different guest writing opportunities. Stop calling her work a “project” — spending an hour and a half working with seniors telling their stories. It will be a training program. Been approached by a geriatric center to implement throughout West Virginia. Scheduled out the implementation for individuals, putting it on Udemy, and finishing the system for the facility.
Matt
Goals:
(1) Protect time.
(2) Write a specific letter to a specific person a week.
(3) Main writing goal: have first drafts of book 3 and 4 in my series done.
Action Steps:
(1) Practice saying “no” and choose to do things that are in his gift-set and relying on his congregation to use their gift set. Through the end of the year, not pick up the stuff he’s let go of during the sabbatical. Have margin.
(2) From Lori Roeleveld’s class at Blue Ridge – Write letters of encouragement to younger people in your congregation – and let them be the best writing you do. It blesses someone directly.
(3) Book launch tonight to sign books. Indie publishing. Goal is four books, so will write the next two books together and publish within 4-6 weeks together.
