“Making up stories for children seems
very easy for many people. But getting a
children’s book published by a sizeable,
recognised international publisher is
very, very difficult,” says Nury Vittachi.
“The reason is that children’s books look
simple on top, but have a rich, complex
structure underneath.”
Determined to see their books in
print, some hopefuls go down the
self-publishing route. Tracey Starr, this
magazine’s editor-in-chief, receives, on
average, one self-published children’s
book from a Hong Kong-based author
per month. Few, however, make it onto
Playtimes
’ Bookshelf page.
“Kids begin to learn to read and
write by reading storybooks, so I think
it’s crucial for these books to serve as
good examples,” she says. “I have seen
books filled with grammar and spelling
mistakes; characters that haven’t
been developed; and complete gaps
in the logical progression of stories…
A particular pet peeve of mine is
inaccurate rhyming: ‘long’ and ‘song’
rhyme; ‘long’ and ‘son’ do not. In far too
many cases, it appears that the time
and effort have all gone into illustrating,
producing and marketing the books, and
not into writing or editing.”
If you want to write a children’s book,
you need to do lots and lots of reading,
Mio Debnam advises. She encourages
aspiring writers to read lots of books of
the genre and age range they intend
to write for and to analyse award-
winning books. They should begin by
asking themselves – and members of
the audience they hope to reach – the
following questions: What makes these
stories great? Is there tension? Is there
humour? Are the characters well-
rounded? Is the story arc well rounded?
Does the story make you empathise with
the characters and make you want the
main character to succeed?
“All these sorts of things make for
a good story, and should be present
in every good story whether they are
picture books, middle-grade reads,
young adult or adult books. They should
all be present in your story, too!” says Mio,
who encourages writers to join a nurturing
critique group like the SCBWI because
“your adoring family may not give you
the specific feedback you require.”
Once you’ve written what you
believe to be the perfect story, you
can then research and pitch to editors,
says Virginie Zurcher, who believes the
support and input of her editor made
her book “50 times better” than her
original manuscript.
Whilst great storytelling and
fabulous art are vital elements in
children’s literature, “magic” is the
most important thing of all, concludes
Nury. “There’s a certain transcendent
element that is vital. You could call it
magic, or charm, or imaginativeness. It
includes all those things and more. It is
the ability to draw readers into a rich,
immersive story and make the unreal
real. That’s all too rare!”
If you’re thinking of writing your own children’s book, here’s some advice.
So, you think you can write?
October 2014
53
