Writing for Children
Over 35 years of working with children – I was an elementary school teacher until I retired three years ago – I developed a love of children’s books. I’ve also developed a desire to write books for children.
I’ve written several picture book texts as well as several novels for older children; all remained unpublished (but my day will come). I’ve had six books published; two were teachers’ curriculum guides and the others were children’s workbooks linked to the curriculum. I’ve also written many children’s poems, mostly unpublished too.
Many would-be authors think they will start by writing children’s books “because they are easier to write.” WRONG. Writing for children is a very demanding and difficult genre. As with many artistic endeavours, the easier it looks, the harder it is to do well.
Eugie Foster is a published author who has written a short guide called Writing for Young Readers on the Writing World website. She outlines the things to remember and things to avoid when writing for children.
Market Guide for Children’s Writers
The Writers’ Digest produces the very popular Writer’s Market Guides every year. They also publish several other market guides, including the Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market Guides. The editor of this particular market guide now has her own blog about the guide and markets for writers and illustrators of children’s books.
Check it out here:
- Alice’s CWIM Blog (CWIM stands for Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Markets)
Writing Hint #23: Take a Nap
I am gradually changing the way I write. Over the last six months or so I am waking up quite early each morning. When I was teaching full time during the day and writing in the evening I struggled to arise in time for the start of the school day. By the time I arrived home my creative juices had often been drained completely by the demands of the day. The tank was empty. There was little, if any, left for writing.
Now that I am writing more or less full time there has been a transformation in my working day. Many days I am so eager to get on with my writing that I start in my PJs, sometimes neglecting even to shave and shower until well into the morning. (Oh, the joys of working at home).
There is, however, a payback time. By mid-afternoon the eyelids are getting droopy and the concentration levels plummet dangerously. Time for a “Grandpa nap” I often say jokingly. I can easily go to sleep in my favourite chair – sometimes within a minute – and sleep for about twenty minutes. I am then as fresh as in the morning and can get on with more writing or other tasks.
Backed up by research
What I didn’t realise is that my work pattern is supported by recent research.
A nap a day will keep lost productivity at bay, says the author of a new book, who says sleeping can change your life.
Research on the benefits of napping should serve as a wake-up call for employers as the drain on businesses is staggering, says Harvard-trained research scientist Sara Mednick.
Goodness – she didn’t have to do the research. I could have told her the facts. It is a habit I inherited from my father and two older brothers, all believers in the short nap. Intermittently over the years I have done this too, but not on a regular, consistent basis. I’ve even been known to have a nap in a noisy staff room, or under my desk in my classroom at lunch time.
Sleep deprivation can also lead to a whole host of health problems such as increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, decreased libido and obesity, said Mednick, author of the book “Take a Nap! Change your life.”
“What I found with napping research is actually that naps can actually help solve a lot of these problems,” she said.
I think I’ll just go and have a short nap.
To read the whole article click here.