Childrens story writing8/12/2023 ![]() Sally Green, author of the Half Life trilogy Photograph: Mark Allan/PR Ben Horslen, editor of Half Bad by Sally Green: It’s that spark in someone’s mind that will really bring a novel alive for them. Good writing doesn’t rely on just telling readers what’s happening or stating how a character feels, instead you should draw on the imagination by creating scenes that people can feel and see and smell. Lots of editors will state this as a pitfall for authors. Of course you should never lose sight of your reader, but don’t overthink because all too often that shows through in the writing, what’s important is that the voice is genuine and the plot keeps you turning those pages. This is especially true in children’s books, where authors write what they think children want to read rather than focusing on the story they want to tell. Thinking too much about your readership and not enough about your story. ![]() I’ll often ask a question about a particular scene that isn’t clear or a character’s reaction that I don’t understand and the author will know the answer without hesitation – they’ve just forgotten to put it actually on the page so the reader knows too. This isn’t just a first-time author trap, but first novels tend to be manuscripts that authors spend months (or years in fact, as that germ of an idea becomes something more) carefully crafting, becoming so in-tune with their characters and world that they forget readers don’t have the same knowledge. Read more Jane Griffiths, editor of The Year of the Rat by Clare Furniss and The Dark Inside by Rupert Wallis:įorgetting that readers don’t know the world and characters you’ve created as well as you do. And if you don’t then you need to look for another one.” You have to like them, respect them and trust them. We’re like a strange breed of midwife who come and live with you and are often there at the conception, the delivery and through a lot of the nurture. But just like becoming a parent, being an author can also feel like a wonderful achievement, and bring you a sense of purpose and achievement with flashes of joy and pride along the way. And no one really warns you about the hard work involved in being an author: the rewrites, the self-promotion, the disappointment and relentlessness. If you weren’t happy before you had a book published then you won’t automatically be happy after. It’s something people say they want, and often think will make them happy and their lives better. I always think that having a first book published is a little like having your first child. First-time authors need to understand that. Editing the book is when the hard work usually starts – and writing a second novel is quite often more difficult than writing a first. ![]() Lots of first-time authors think getting a book deal is the hard part. Leaving it open-ended in the hope that a sequel will answer the questions isn’t a solution. They’ve got a brilliant, original idea, a wonderful voice and a great main character - which have got them a book deal - but sometimes they’ve never properly thought through how to give the story a satisfying ending that ties everything up. New authors often need to work on the endings of their books. New authors often need to work on their endings Plot needs to come from characterisation rather than the other way round. Motivation has to be clear, honest and woven through the story. Why does a character behave or act in a certain way – it mustn’t be simply because the author needs them to do so in order to solve a plot problem. Motivation is something I spend a lot of time looking at with new authors.
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