If I went to writing school is it easy for me to write children's books?

Question

I want to learn how to write childrens books by going to writing school and I am already 29 yrs. old . Is it easier for me to write childrens novels rather than writing adult and teen books. I can be a writer at any age right? Where do the writers get their characters and how they make up their names?

Answer 1

Any person at any age can be a writer... And I think children are harder to write for... Children are very aware and pay very close attention...

Writing school might help you trigger your imagination. Imagination is where names and characters and plots come from.

Answer 2

A writer may wish to deliberately use bad grammar. For the sake of clarity though, they need to understand good sentence structure. People a lot older than you, -- are excellent writers. Before you go to writing school, you need to take some courses in English grammar and composition at the high school level. This can be found at a community college. You are not ready to be a professional but with patience and effort you might be. Your paragraph is very poorly written.

Answer 3

Writing school will give you an advantage in marketing your book to publishers and will help you avoid some of the beginning mistakes. You can also do a self-study course at home with Writers Digest Books (formally through their school or informally through the books they market).

If you DO decide to go to a school or take a correspondence course, check carefully to see how many published writers are actually teaching for them and how many are published in the field you are interested in. You don't want to take a class in novel writing taught by a journalist and, if you are going to be doing picture books, you don't want to be taught by someone who has only published young adult fiction.

I prefer self-study myself since it is cheaper and I can buy texts published by authors who have actually published in the areas I'm interested in.

Answer 4

I know it is, too but you don't have to go to writing school to learn to write children's books just think about what the children want to hear in the books. just don't make the books too easy to read.

Answer 5

Children's books aren't any easier than adult books, in fact I would say the are harder both to write and sell. When you write a short work of fiction, you have less words to get your point across. When you write for an older audience you have time to develop your characters and build suspense. Plus, at this point the children's market is oversaturated with writers. Between celebrities and established writers, a very small percentage of books come from break-out authors.

Really consider why you want to be a writer, and keep in mind that less than 5% of all writers make a living at it. If you're dissatisfied with your day job and imagine yourself at home in front of the computer all day, know that you most likely will never be able to make that happen.

I don't think that writing school is necessary. It can be nice to take a class or two but what you have to do is read and write as much as you can. So much of writing can be learned on your own, or with the help of a trusted critique group.

Characters come from a writers imagination, nothing more. They can be inspired by people that the writer knows or characters in other works, or they just sort of appear. Every writer has a different process for getting to know their characters. Start by deciding who your main characters are. Learn as much about them as you can (there are tons of character worksheets out there, if you google for them). Give them names and backgrounds. Make them well-rounded.

I would suggest taking a look at some baby names sites. You can search for the most popular names in a given year, which is really helpful for finding people of different generations. You can say "teen girl" for example, but the name would be different if you were talking about a teen girl today versus thirty years ago. Make sure to consider whether they grew up in an urban or rural setting, cultural and religious backgrounds, and personality! Here are some good places to start:
http://www.babynamesworld.com/
http://www.geocities.com/phillipriley/ngmain.html

Then I would work on an outline of your story. I don't tend to have very detailed outlines when I begin (I have a one or two page plot synopsis, though), but for many writers they benefit immensely from doing a thorough outline first. It really depends on how your brain works, but give it a shot and see if it helps!

As for a title, you should write that LAST. What are the important themes and messages? Who are the key characters? Why is this story important? First write it, and then the title will come to you.

I would recommend reading as many books as possible in genres that you like to write, plus books about the craft of writing. When you are reading fiction books, pay attention to how the authors structure their work.

Here are some of my favorites about writing (your local library should have most of them). I would pay special attention to the ones that focus on grammar, because your question shows that your skills may not be up to par:
1) "Writing Down The Bones" by Natalie Goldberg
2) "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott
3) "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser
4) "How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy" by Orson Scott Card
5) "On Writing" by Stephen King
6) "No Plot? No Problem!" by Chris Baty
7) "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" by Lynne Truss
8) "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White

Also, take a look at a few websites where authors gather. Some of them have very helpful articles and forums. Holly Lisle has a fantastic website that has articles on both the business and writing aspects:
http://hollylisle.com/fm/

Forward Motion is a wonderful, helpful community:
http://www.fmwriters.com/

Absolute Write is one of my favorite author communities, with a vast pool of resources and helpful people:
http://www.absolutewrite.com

Write every single day. Set a target for yourself. For instance, my goal right now is to write 1,000 words a day. I get this done before I go on the internet, read, watch TV, or goof around. To begin, maybe set an easier goal for yourself-- try 250 words each day. Write in a journal as well, if you feel so inclined!

When you get ideas, find a way to record them as well. I have a spiral notebook that I keep just for that purpose. This way, when I want to begin a new project I can read through my notes and find just the right idea!

Also, never forget how important it is to edit and rewrite! When you finish a short story or novel, I suggest setting it aside for a month. Don't look at it or think about it (if you can help it). Work on another project. Once that time has passed, go back and read what you wrote. Try to be objective-- are there parts that need to be expanded? Cut out? Rewritten? How is the grammar and spelling? Editing could (and should) take more time than the original draft!

Good luck!

Answer 6

It is hard to make up names, and ideas. but for writers, it just comes to them.

Answer 7

Everything comes from your head & if you actually have talent then you do if you don't pick up a new hobby.