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Children’s Books - How to Add More Style to Your Writing - Part 2
By richpat1 | October 31, 2007
In part one of how to make your creative writing more stylish, I looked at a number of ways to a children?s author could make their writing fresher. In Part two I look at more ways to make your writing, especially for children?s books, more enjoyable to read.
Stuffy words create a resistance in the reader. Avoid the use of grandiose words in your creative writing - ?use? is preferable to ?utilize?. If you are writing a children?s book, you can be sure that if a child has to consult a dictionary too often, they will soon lose interest in your book.
Avoid using excessive words. After you?ve written a scene, go back over it and ruthlessly chop out words that do not add anything to the action. Think carefully if what you?ve written really enhances your story or detracts from it.
Know who your readers are and the words in everyday life. Be careful of using jargon not appropriate for your readers. When writing for children, know the language of your readers. Expressions can quickly lose fashion, and expressions that were in vogue when you were young are quite likely ‘out? now. Words can date your writing e.g. authoress, air hostess are now author and flight attendant. If you use cool words to be right up to date, you risk dating your work so that in ten years time it sounds old-fashioned. If we were to read the word groovy in a book today, we would know that it comes from the 1960s era.
On the other hand, children quickly spot a fraud. If you do not feel comfortable using the jargon of the day, then do not! It is no use throwing in the expression ‘fully sick’ if the rest of your writing does not have the same tone.
Beware of dangling clauses.
For example: After eating all over America, that restaurant is my favorite.
In this example it reads as if the restaurant has been eating all over America. In every scene there should only be one witness. Beware of head hopping. It makes for very untidy writing to have more than one person per scene giving their observations.
For example: James wondered if Martha would really eat the strange fruit. He watched as she picked it off the branch and as she studied it intently. She took a big bite. Purple juices ran down her chin. James was astonished to see that her face was changing shape.
In the above example we see the scene through the eyes of James.
The use of active voice makes your work more dramatic. Active voice has more authority than passive voice because the verb becomes stronger.
Example of Passive - I was hit on the head by a giant pod.
Example of Active - A giant pod hit me on the head.
The use of onomatopoeia in children?s books is always well received. Children love words like sizzle, boom, bang and splatter - hence the success of the cartoon series Batman and Robin.
The above ideas are just some of the ways you can spice up your creative writing. However remember, in children?s books less is always more.
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Roslyn J. Motter is a Sydney, Australia based author. She is also a registered acupuncturist and CPA (Certified Public Accountant). She commenced writing her Doofuzz Dudes series late in life at the age of fifty. Now, three years later, she has already written eighteen books. She has recently published the first three books, The Doofuzz Dudes Rescue Moondar; The Doofuzz Dudes and the Princess Detector; and the Doofuzz Dudes and the Babbling Bottles. The series are fantasy adventure stories and are most suitable for children aged 7 - 12 years. Woven into the adventures is a subtle theme of caring for the environment. The books can be purchased at http://www.doodlesbookshop.com.au and excerpts and illustrations from the books are available for viewing on http://www.childrens-books.com.au and children can play games and win prizes on http://www.doofuzzdudesclub.com |
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