The Writer's Guide to Crafting Stories for Children - Softcover

Lamb, Nancy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1582970521 ISBN 13: 9781582970523

Publisher: Writer's Digest Books, 2001

Synopsis

Create Unforgettable Stories for Kids!

You dream of writing stories that children respond to–the kind they come back to again and again. Nancy Lamb can help you achieve that dream. She mixes insightful advice for mastering storytelling with dozens of examples that illustrate a variety of plot-building techniques.

Nancy's instruction covers everything from format and content to setting and characterization. She also draws from a range of children's classics, including Where the Wild Things Are, Charlotte's Web and Bridge to Tarabithia to explore and illuminate the unique nature of children's literature.

Nancy also shares writing tips and tricks accumulated through years of successful storytelling–invaluable advice for crafting fiction that resonates with children of all ages, from 4 to 14 and beyond.

About this title

About the Author

Nancy Lamb has published more than 40 books for children and adults, including the award-winning One April Morning: Children Remember the Oklahoma City Bombing. She is an editor as well as a writer and a faculty member of the Big Sur Writer's Workshop. Lamb lives in Venice, California.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

CHAPTER ONE IN THE BEGINNING: THE ART IN THE PROCESS Most people think writing for children is easier than writing for adults. Just take a good story, simplify the plot, round the sharp edges, throw in a moral and use plain language. Thousands of writers turn out stories using this recipe. But these writers don t sell their stories to publishers. Children are sophisticated, savvy readers. They reject sermons. They avoid condescension. And they resent a dumbed-down attitude. Story telling is an art. And like any other art, it has rules. Picasso was trained in classical art before he became a cubist. In the beginning he was taught to draw a bowl of grapes that looked like a bowl of grapes. Once he mastered perspective and line and shading, he could create any number of variations on that still life by juxtaposing the elements, turning around dimensions or stacking the third (unseen) dimension on top of the first. But even when he did so, he drew on the fundamentals of his classical training. The same principle applies to crafting stories for kids. Whether you re writing a traditional novel or an outasight, never-been-done, experimental book, the essence of story telling remains the same. A good story flows from a solid understanding of writing and structure, along with a confident grasp of character and plot and dialog. Once you ve mastered the fundamentals, you can follow the rules, break the rules, or create new ones. But whatever you do, you will always have a basic foundation to build on. This book deals with fundamentals. We ll look at story ideas and writing and structure. We ll explore what makes a character memorable and what it is about certain children s books that makes readers keep turning the pages. We ll talk about beginning, middle and end; about premise, theme and tone; about dialogue and point of view; conflict and structure; plot and subplot. We ll also talk about the importance of choosing a voice that enhances your story and the power of using the five senses to add texture and authenticity to that story. We ll examine how all these elements not only apply to children s literature, but how they can apply to the creation of a viable and memorable children s book a published book with your name on it. THAT WAS THEN Four thousand years ago the Epic of Gilgamesh mesmerized Babylonians. Almost three years ago, Homer created the stories we call the Illiad and the Odyssey, capturing the imaginations of Greeks with tales of the Trojan War. In early 8th Century England, the exploits of Beowulf captivated the hearts and minds of Anglo-Saxons. In fact, The New Verse Translation of the story by Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney has recently enchanted a 21st Century audience. The power of the oral tradition has given birth to the Arabian Nights and Hamlet and Cinderella. And it has celebrated the exploits of King Arthur and Captain Kidd, Pocahontas and Pancho Villa. Stories that began as tales passed from one generation to the next were eventually recorded on clay tablets and papyrus, on vellum and paper a priceless gift from our ancestors. Throughout history, story has honored our past, enlightened our present and envisioned our future. Our forebears communicated knowledge, accumulated wisdom and commemorated common experience through the magic of words. They created myths and educated children. They also entertained crowds. Story has given birth to wars and provided the building blocks of peace. Story has forecast dangers, vilified enemies, and celebrated heroes. Story has also illuminated our common humanity.

THIS IS NOW Not much has changed in twenty thousand years. We still look to story for excitement, wisdom, and comfort. And, I believe, we look to story for a connection to our past. Our ancient past. Story reaches beyond the written word to create an unconscious continuity with our earliest ancestors. And in doing so, we honor where we came from, who we are, and what we can become.

Helen Keller blind, deaf and mute from the age of sixteen months learned her first word when she was seven years old. Later, as an adult and noted educator, she described her wordless early world as "an unconscious but conscious time of nothingness . . . a dark, silent imprisonment. I did not know that I knew aught, or that I lived or acted or desired." It is a privilege to write books. And it is especially a privilege to write books for children. Don t let anyone ever tell you that writing for children is a lesser art. When you write a book for a child, you give him or her words give a voice to the voiceless. You open new worlds, you introduce new ways of thinking and you lift that child closer to the light. This is the power and purpose of story. And this is the gift the story teller can give.

Edition details

• Publisher: Writer's Digest Books
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1582970521
• ISBN 13: 9781582970523
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240