Writing Books For Teenagers - Some Tips

There is a divide with teenagers as their minds develop and follow paths of preference. While it can be said that interest in fantasy and science fiction comes to the fore during the transition from childhood to adult, such can also be said about a teenagers development in romance and indeed fear. These topics are covered well by JK Rowling as her books begin with a very simple story line and as the series progresses, although the boooks become more complex in fantasy, the plots and trails also feed out to other aspects that will relate to the reader. By the final book, Rowling is tackling love, hate, fear, fantasy and loss whilst tidying up any loose plots that have been seeded in earlier books.

By instilling a 'rite of passage' throughout the series, Rowling successfully forms a transition from childhood to adult status.

When writing for teenagers, it is unlikely that a writer will be considering a seven part series of such epic nature, but the theme and approach should remain the same. Stories set in the present time often include an element of the difficulties of coping with this transition - some are about an adolescent upheaval, others have it running as a sub-plot, while others just cope with it as part of the background.

A writer should consider social issues that every growing boy or girl can relate to - as detailed so well in The Secret Diaries of Adrian Mole (Aged 13 3/14) by Sue Townsend

UK sales of her books were immense and went on to be adapted for television and radio.

Apart from choosing an inviting title, pre-planning is extremely important. Consider both the plot and the development of the character, but keep in mind that a teenage reader relates more to the development of the character than specific events that occur. The key to writing books for teenagers is to marry the character and the difficulties they face with those same difficulties that a teenager reading your book is familiar with. By doing so, your planning stage becomes easier as the obstacles that relate to teenagers can be used to map the passage of the book.

Your readers should be able to work it out for themselves or at least be familiar with some of the pitfalls that your characters face, but you don't want them to give everything away, your journey should introduce an increasing number of obstacles with increasing complications. This is the skill of writing this type of fiction.

Writing a Children's Book and Pitching Your Story

Once you have finished writing a children's book - whatever medium you’ve written for, you’ll want to sell it. Anybody you mention your book to will want to know what your story is about before they read one word of your completed work. If what you tell them is not compelling, then assume your book is headed for the trash can.

Publishers simply do not have time to wade through dozens of pages of thousands of manuscripts. If you have spent the time writing a childrens book and your friends and family seem uninterested, then more than likely, a publisher will not be interested either.

Here are some bad pitches for well known children's books:

Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone: “An instant classic that makes the Wizard of Oz look like a beginner"

The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe: “This book is a delightful, warm and exciting journey created with the power of the imagination.” 

Some good pitches for recent children's books:

Kiss of Death: A school trip turns into a nightmare when Kim and Wes leave the plague-village of Eyam with more than they bargained for, and a stolen artifact wreaks revenge.

The Last Book in The Universe: In a land dominated by vicious gangs, Spaz is alone. His foster sister is the only good thing in his life and she is dying. Determined to save her, Spaz bravely sets out into dangerous and forbidden territory, accompanied only by an old man, with his philosophies and memories of what the world once was. 

Written pitches for selling to the public are usually longer than verbal pitches you use to tell marketing people what your story is about. Both of the above book examples were written to attract sales from the buying public. When writing children's books, it is important to keep the story line simple. By doing so, your pitch becomes clear and understandable. 

Pitching is described in detail in this 10 part course available at write-for-children.com

Check the blog regularly for more insider tips! 

Writing For Children Hot Tip Number 1

Published authors who have written childrens books without any planning are seldom found.  Writers should never simply allow a story to unfold as they write. The complete map of a story needs to be put to paper first. As much as many writers fret and argue that free-flow writing is the best way when writing books for children, they will indeed fall into the 99-100 authors that find their stories in the waste paper basket. If anything, the book will start to ramble and lose clarity. Furthermore, it will be over detailed in parts and under detailed in others. This is NOT the way to become a successful author!

Writing children's books may seem simple, but it still needs a 'map' to keep the pace of the journey interesting. Begin with a synopsis and plan the readers journey in advance. Even writing a synopsis can save heartache. It is quite possible for publishers to read these to see the plots, twists and turns that you have planned to pen, which can lead to a publication. But first, to get your foot in the door, you need to be able to tell your story in a very short brief summary. A whole chapter of Writing Books For Children is devoted to this subject. If anyone has any hints or tips about mapping out a story, please comment.

Become a Children's Author

The name J.K. Rowling, author of the incredibly popular Harry Potter series is a recognised childrens writer the world over. Her Harry Potter novel - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was written in her spare time, with The Scottish Arts Council giving her a grant so that she could finish it. Getting it published proved difficult, but since publication in 1997, over 325 million copies of Harry Potter books have sold. Rowling made her success by refusing to quit. However, it would be fair to say that for every successful children's writer, many do not succeed. That said, children's authors are very memorable names. When one can only think of a handful of fiction writers, children's authors crop up by the bucket load and are by far the most successful. Take Hans Christian Anderson, Lewis Carroll, Dr Seuss, the brothers Grimm, C.S Lewis, Roald Dahl and Beatrix Potter as typical examples - all well known worldwide. You can read more about these famous childrens writers on this great teachers website. Better still, you too could become a successful childrens author. Now is a better time than any do find some free time, immerse into the fantasy world of fiction and start writing books for children. If you are keen to get started, start thinking of simple fresh plot lines and characters that have not been tried before. Look out for hints and tips coming to this blog and learn how to write children's books with ease!