Do you write children’s books? Picture books, early readers, chapter books, middle grade or young adult. If your writing falls anywhere within these age ranges the answer to my original question is a resounding, YOU DO.
As the writer of a children’s book you do in fact need children in your life. This isn’t to say you need to be a parent or grandparent per se, but at some level children should be involved in your process. Just as someone who writes historical fiction wouldn’t dream of writing without researching, writers of children’s books should be “researching” as well. From reading books within the age range you are writing for to spending time with the very children you hope will one day read what you write, your time spent “researching” is an investment you can’t afford to cut corners on.
When my own children were very little I introduced them to an icon of current children’s literature, Mo Willems. His book I Love My New Toy! was read in our home over a dozen times that first day alone. If you are a picture book or early reader writer Willems’ work is an invaluable source of research because of his ability to capture so accurately that stage of life. If you don’t believe me try reading any one of his books to a room full of kindergartners and you will see the proof on their faces. In that same vein, once you’ve finished your book try reading it aloud to its intended audience, gauge their reactions and make changes as needed.
Perhaps your access to toddlers and/or grade school age children is limited? Take as a great example author and illustrator David Shannon who has written dozens of picture books including A Bad Case of the Stripes, Too Many Toys and the much-loved No, David! series. From the time David took a pencil in his hand and drew his first picture his mother saved every piece of art he ever created. Every piece. As an adult he’s used that artwork and his No, David! series is based off an actual character he created around the age of six or seven. Do you have art or writing of your own from your youth? Dig it out! Research it, breath it in and use it as a source of inspiration for your writing today.
What are writers, if not readers? Many writers, if not all of them, were once inspired to write because of the books they read in their youth. Don’t forget that. Pick up that favorite book from your childhood, laugh and cry over past memories of the experiences you had while reading it then and now. The book that captured my heart and created a reader out of me was Socks by Beverly Cleary. Reading Socks as an adult though was much different from what I remembered as a child, but the memories were still as vivid as if they happened yesterday. By all means pick up a book or two that’s out currently in the age you’re writing for as well. Get a feel for the language of the age, the emotions, experiences and vulnerabilities then use them to shape your own story ideas.
I’ve always said that the writers and illustrators of children’s books have the best jobs in the world because of the people they work for, the children. Whether they are two or sixteen, the books they read shape the way they see the world. You have a potentially life changing experience before you not to mention the opportunity to take your writing to another level when you involve them by reading your own drafts to them, connecting with your own past or by simply reading the books they’re interested in today.
So, children’s writers, how do you involve children in your writing process?
