Discover a simple 5 point "how to write child book" strategy for you to write great child books!

Hi, on this page, your friendly psychologist offers you a simple 5 point  "how to write child book" strategy for you to write fun child books that teach important life lessons and skills to your child.  Don't worry, I'll keep it simple!  Children don't ask for complicated stories so why should we make it harder than it has to be? 

"How to write child book" tip #1 : Read a lot of child books
That may be the best advice I can give you.  That and write a lot of child stories.  Choose great child stories and analyze them.  What makes them so great?  How do they begin?  How do they end?  How do they deliver their messages?  Compare great child stories to others you find less interesting.  What's the difference?  The more you read and write child stories, the better you become.  That's as simple as that.  But if you like child stories, reading a lot of them should not be a problem right? 
 

So now, let me tell you how I go about writing a child book. 

"How to write child book" tip #2 : Know where you're coming from
With the how to write child book tip#2, you know how your story begins.  For instance, it's a story about a little wolf who is angry and shouts a lot because he can't be as good a hunter he would like to be. 

Ok, to write a child book that delivers a message to your child, that touches him, makes him realize or learn something, the first part of your story is there to captivate your child, to get his attention.  So you will talk about him, but he must not know it!  How?  Follow me for the second how to write child book tip! 

The first thing you have to do is to describe your child as he is right now.  Thinking about what you would like him to learn may help you.  Is he impatient?  Does he jump up and down all the time?  Does he lie? Is he afraid of everything?  Does he get angry and hit you?

We could always tell a story about a little boy who hits when he's angry, but if your child does that, he will surely recognize himself.  We don't want that!  If your child sees you're talking about him cause you want him to stop behaving that way, he won't listen to your story, it won't be fun, it will be again "mommy or daddy telling him to stop doing what he does".  So we have to be a little less obvious.  Here's one way to do it. 

Once I have a nice little description of the child I want to write a story for, I ask myself what kind of animal is a bit like this child.  Why animals?  Because kids love animals!  They also love heroes (spider man, star war and others).

Think about different animals : lions, tigers, butterflies, horses, camels, rabbits, anything that has something in common with your child.  My child is a bit like this animal because he... what?    Or maybe you would prefer to compare your child with a mountain, a tree or his favorite hero. 

To help you with this, here is some characteristics of a few common animals: 

• Lion : strong, courageous 
• Parrot : talk a lot, repeat what others say 
• Butterfly : beautiful, can fly, was trapped in a cocoon before it could fly 
• Eagle : king or birds, strong 
• Mouse : little, can go where others can't 
• Monkey : jumps all around, laughs 

"How to write child book" tip #3 : Know where you want to go
If your child hits when he's angry, he will identify with the wolf but won't necessarily think you're talking about him.  That's exactly what we want!

Now, with how to write child book tip#3, you have to know where you want to go with this.  What do you want your child to learn?  Your answer to that question will be the end of your story.  For instance, you might want your child to better manage his anger. 

"How to write child book" tip #4 : Decide how your hero will go from point A to point B
Point A (tip #2) is what your child does right now.  For instance, he shouts and hits.  Point B (tip#3) is what you want him to do or to learn.  For instance, to better manage his anger.  In tip #4, you have to ask yourself how a little wolf could learn to better manage his anger when he doesn't have it his way.

How to write child book tip#4 is often the hard part!  Once again, don't try to find the best idea the first time, write everything you think of!  You will choose later.

For instance, in the story of the little wolf who is upset because he can't catch any pray, the wolf could realize that when he shouts at his pray, it makes it go away!  His farther, a great hunter, could teach him how to be patient and wait in silence.  He could teach him how to control his anger when he misses a catch.

"How to write child book" tip #5 : Read and polish!
Ok!  Now you have a pretty good idea of what your story is all about.  That's great!  But not quite over yet!  You have to read and polish! 

Here's what I try to look for when I "polish" a story : 

• Add some emotions : Your child must know what the hero feels, sees, hears.  It helps him identify with him.  Remember, we want the child to think the hero could be him, we don't want him to think the hero is him! 

• Don't use moral : We absolutely don't want the child to know we are trying to tell him what to do! 

• Make your story "believable" : In order for your child to think he too can do what the hero did - and that's what we want him to think - your child has to believe that what the hero did is possible.  Forget magicians, magic powders, spells and the rest.  That's for entertainment.  It's fun and children love it, but if you want them to do what the story tells, remember that your child doesn't have any magic powers! 

• Don't be too obvious.  We don't want the child to think we tried to manipulate him with a story!  We want him to think that he is the one who had this idea of doing just like the hero in the story! There you have it, my simple 5 point  "how to write child book" strategy!  I hope that like me you will discover a real passion in writing child books cause they really can do magic with kids! 

As a matter of fact,  I invite you to send me your child stories so I can publish them on this site with your name on it of course!  Just complete the form below.  I review all stories and those who satisfy my "psychologist appetite" are given a special place on this site!

Your friendly psychologist 
Daniel Lambert