Writing a children's book.. Suggestions?

[StormChicken]

I'm writing a children's book in dedication to my little cousin who passed away from cancer last year mainly because she always loved my cartoon characters, but I'm stuck on ideas. Any suggestions? I don't want it to be cliche, and I also want it to be adventurous.

[Everywher3]

Im sorry to hear about your cousin, my feelings go out to you.

But as it so happens Im a bit of a writter myself thats also taking a child development class. While i dont have any ideas upfront, i can give you a few tips to get started:

1: The age group.
18 months - toddlers tend to have a somewhat short attention span and need a simple, straight forward story that keep their attention. 1st graders and up you can start adding a little depth to your stories.

2: The occation
Certin stories are more appropiate then others. Is it just a story before bed? Are you trying to teach them something? Cultural awarness? A holiday story? This is also something you need to think about.

Those are the only two real tips i can give you. But as a few extra suggesions, children love animals thats a no-brainer), especialy talking ones. Ryming is also a great tool to use. Its fun and tends to keep their attention.

Now by no means am i profesional writer or a expert on children. These are just a few things ive picked up here and there from working with them. And please forgive and misspellings as i typing this on my iPod and this tiny keyboard is a pain in the a**.

[StormChicken]

Everywher3

Im sorry to hear about your cousin, my feelings go out to you.

But as it so happens Im a bit of a writter myself thats also taking a child development class. While i dont have any ideas upfront, i can give you a few tips to get started:

1: The age group.
18 months - toddlers tend to have a somewhat short attention span and need a simple, straight forward story that keep their attention. 1st graders and up you can start adding a little depth to your stories.

2: The occation
Certin stories are more appropiate then others. Is it just a story before bed? Are you trying to teach them something? Cultural awarness? A holiday story? This is also something you need to think about.

Those are the only two real tips i can give you. But as a few extra suggesions, children love animals thats a no-brainer), especialy talking ones. Ryming is also a great tool to use. Its fun and tends to keep their attention.

Now by no means am i profesional writer or a expert on children. These are just a few things ive picked up here and there from working with them. And please forgive and misspellings as i typing this on my iPod and this tiny keyboard is a pain in the a**.

I think my audience is directed towards the age group of maybe 7-10. Ugh, this is so annoying! I've thought out different illustrations in my head yet I can't think about what to write!

[Everywher3]

Well if your really stupped, one of the best ways to get your thoughts going is to simply go out and read childrens books. Its not a bad thing to pull an idea or two from other authers. Youd be suprised how much that helps.

[Neutral0rgy]

I agree. It depends a lot on the age group you are writing for. If you are writing for a toddler, I would suggest writing simple sentences and including cute animals.na lot of animation.
For older kids make a more complex storyline so that they can understand it. It would help challenge what they've learned. If you include pictures make the animation more complex but not too much. Include paragraphs, the storyline , the resolution, the plot, etc etc. . If you have any more questions PM me.

[Della_M]

What do you want the child to get out of it? If your age group is kindergarten level, they will most likely be able to string together the moral of the story. I remember the teacher asking us what we thought of the story.

[Alberic of Krufton]

Do you know what kind of stories your cousin used to like?

If you're trying to write something in her memory, that may not be a bad place to start.

[RADI0 Mouse]

If you've got doodles, why not continue with them?

Doodle and doodle and see if a story naturally forms. If you find yourself drawing one character again and again, or a cast, then maybe you'll find you start thinking of scenes and of possibilities. Catch yourself thinking "maybe it'd be fun if they did this".