by Carrie Monroe

Created on: July 28, 2009   Last Updated: July 30, 2009

Writing for children is one of the most competitive markets to write for. Not all stories written with children in mind will make a good children's book. There are certain elements a children's book needs to succeed.

The first thing a children's story needs is a strong character. Think of a beloved children's book and most likely it is the character that people remember. The character should be a child or someone a child can relate to. The character doesn't have to be perfect. Many times this imperfection will lead to plot.

The next thing a story needs is a plot. This is what is going to happen in the story. Often the character makes decisions that keep the plot going. Try to make plot something fun and exciting. Today's books are competing with TV, video games and movies for a child's attention. The more exciting the book the more likely a child will read it.

The story will need conflict. This is a problem that the character must face. The conflict can be anything from an escaped dog to the first day of kindergarten to moving to a new place. By the end of the story the conflict should be resolved.
The child should solve the problem. It is easy to have a parent or teacher in the story fix things for the character but then the child doesn't get to be the star of the story. The reader also doesn't get to see ways in which they can solve problems.

Children's stories should be written for children and not just about children. Many writers want to write a story about a child or grandchild. While this story may be wonderful to share with other grown ups it may not make a good story for children.

There are many different age levels in writing for children starting with board books, picture books, early readers, beginning chapter books, middle grade fiction and young adult fiction. Aspiring authors should get to know different categories and find the one that best fits their story.
In addition to things that a story needs there are things that a children's story does not need.

A children's story does not need a moral. Many beginning writers believe that children's stories have a moral attached to them. Just like books for adults can be read for fun without having a moral or lesson at the end the same is true for children's books. They should first be fun and engaging for the child to read.

Children's books do not need to rhyme. Although there have been authors who used rhyme successfully many beginning writers are not good at this. For this reason many editors of children's books read many manuscript for poor rhyme. If the story is good tell it without rhyme.

Children's books do not have to be series. Many writers think of a character and then write a series of stories with that character in mind. Focus on writing one story with a good character and plot.

These are just some of the elements that are important to a story. Focusing on these elements and making sure a story has these can be the first steps of success.

Learn more about this author, Carrie Monroe.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.