 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Easy! I would write books.
My mind churned. Stories tumbled over and around each other in
an effort to be the first to reach the page. Stories of humour and
adventure, courage and sadness. I wrote, printed and stacked
my work neatly in a drawer.
As the drawer grew full, I decided that it was time to share my
works of genius with the children of the world. I fired off a story to
a publisher and waited for a response. I'd heard about rejection
slips, but that wouldn't happen to me. My work was good.
After racing to mailbox each day for two weeks with no response,
I sent another story out to another publisher. Another fortnight
went by, then another. I sent more and more of my work away
until …
my drawer was empty.
Still I waited.
And then they came.
Dear Author,
Thank you for considering us for your work. Unfortunately it does
not meet our current needs.
Sincerely,
Ima Publisher
I placed my rejections in my drawer. With each negative
response, my daily race to the mailbox grew slower. By the time
my last rejection was due, I was crawling.
My drawer was, once again, full.
After a respectable episode of self-pity and deprecation, I
decided that my aim was still the same. It was just going to take
a bit more work than I had first thought.
I enrolled in a writing course, completed it and took another and
then a third. I pored over Internet sites and enrolled in on-line
critique groups and forums.
I wrote, I practiced, I read.
I learned.
There is a major fallacy associated with writing for kids:
Writing for children is easier than writing for adults.
It's not. Trust me.
There are two main reasons that this is untrue:
1. When writing for children, you must learn to convey the same
emotion, setting and action as you would when writing for an
adult. The difference is that your vocabulary is limited as well as
your word count. You must find exactly the right words to express
your meaning.
2. The second reason makes writing for kids even tougher.
Before you can reach the children, you have to get through the
adults. They're the people who will buy your books and
encourage their children/students to read them. You are basically
writing with two audiences in mind. This means that you need to
write on two levels.
Not easy.
The desire to write for children poses a rewarding challenge.
Once you decide to accept it, you will have taken the first step in
a journey of learning, imagination and fulfilment.
I hope these articles can help you. I have written them with the
aspiring children's writer in mind and have included everything I
wish I had known in the infancy of my career. I have included
many references to further reading and links to websites that are
packed with information.
I hope you find some of this information helpful.
My mind churned. Stories tumbled over and around each other in
an effort to be the first to reach the page. Stories of humour and
adventure, courage and sadness. I wrote, printed and stacked
my work neatly in a drawer.
As the drawer grew full, I decided that it was time to share my
works of genius with the children of the world. I fired off a story to
a publisher and waited for a response. I'd heard about rejection
slips, but that wouldn't happen to me. My work was good.
After racing to mailbox each day for two weeks with no response,
I sent another story out to another publisher. Another fortnight
went by, then another. I sent more and more of my work away
until …
my drawer was empty.
Still I waited.
And then they came.
Dear Author,
Thank you for considering us for your work. Unfortunately it does
not meet our current needs.
Sincerely,
Ima Publisher
I placed my rejections in my drawer. With each negative
response, my daily race to the mailbox grew slower. By the time
my last rejection was due, I was crawling.
My drawer was, once again, full.
After a respectable episode of self-pity and deprecation, I
decided that my aim was still the same. It was just going to take
a bit more work than I had first thought.
I enrolled in a writing course, completed it and took another and
then a third. I pored over Internet sites and enrolled in on-line
critique groups and forums.
I wrote, I practiced, I read.
I learned.
There is a major fallacy associated with writing for kids:
Writing for children is easier than writing for adults.
It's not. Trust me.
There are two main reasons that this is untrue:
1. When writing for children, you must learn to convey the same
emotion, setting and action as you would when writing for an
adult. The difference is that your vocabulary is limited as well as
your word count. You must find exactly the right words to express
your meaning.
2. The second reason makes writing for kids even tougher.
Before you can reach the children, you have to get through the
adults. They're the people who will buy your books and
encourage their children/students to read them. You are basically
writing with two audiences in mind. This means that you need to
write on two levels.
Not easy.
The desire to write for children poses a rewarding challenge.
Once you decide to accept it, you will have taken the first step in
a journey of learning, imagination and fulfilment.
I hope these articles can help you. I have written them with the
aspiring children's writer in mind and have included everything I
wish I had known in the infancy of my career. I have included
many references to further reading and links to websites that are
packed with information.
I hope you find some of this information helpful.
How would I reach children all over the world?