On May 6, 2011, welliewalks wrote, How do you go about writing short stories or children’s books (children as in ages 7-9)? I like writing loooong stories and novellas because I can take a while to develop (and “solve” it) the plot and add more details. I feel like short stories can’t have a complicated plot because it would take longer to write them. Does anyone have advice on writing short stories and kid’s books?
And Emma wrote, I’m writing what I thought was a children’s book, and I’m realizing it may not be for the age I expected. It involves things like court trials, attacks from other nations, espionage, etc., granted the good guys always win. How much is too much for little kids? How much can the different age groups handle?
And more from Emma (or from a different Emma) two months later: I got a book about publishing with 30 pages of writing contests for amateur novelists, and it’s great, except for one thing; almost all of them must be short stories, and all of them have word limits, but I’m a very long-winded writer. How do you deal with word limits, and what details should you cut?
In answer to Emma’s second question, Charlotte wrote, I thought I’d weigh in on the word limits thing because I have had some experience in this. I’ve done several 500-word stories for the sake of writing contests, and I also had word limits on a lot of the scholarship essays I did the year I graduated high school. The thing about working with a limit is that every word and every sentence counts a lot more than in a longer piece. You’re free to get picky with your adjectives, because you want to get ones that give you a strong sense of the setting in place of a long description. I find that my words are a lot more vivid in my short stuff, probably because with something that small, you can easily go over it about 300 times before submitting it, combing out the unnecessary words, changing adjectives around and changing them back, etc., etc. Always keep in mind exactly how many words you’re at and how many you have left–Microsoft Word will tell you, and if you print your story off (I do a lot of my best editing manually), write the number at the top and keep track of what you take off and what you add on. Knowing what your budget is can help you decide what you can keep and what needs to go.
Along that same line, the plot itself obviously can’t be that long in a short story. Judging by a lot of the short stories I’ve read in school, etc., this is more of a genre that focuses on one event or emotion or aspect of life, rather than being a series of events like a novel is. There are a million and one different ways of writing a short story where all the action consists of the protagonist making herself a cup of coffee, or walking around her house, etc. It’s what’s going through her mind that makes it great. What I guess I’m trying to say is that short stories are more mood-driven than plot-driven–that’s why it’s a different genre–so the details that don’t contribute well to the mood and theme of the story are the ones to drop.
Excellent advice!
If you like inventing many scenes and building a story slowly, the short story may not be for you, but it’s worthwhile to try something new. As for detail, although you have fewer scenes, you still want richness so the reader can enter them fully, and you still want to portray rounded characters. You’ll need setting, but maybe not more than one or two, and dialogue, and thoughts, and action, all the facets of longer fiction. You can be long-winded in a short-winded way.
Along the same lines as Charlotte’s comment, trimming excess words, sentences, paragraphs, pages tightens the work. When I revise even a novel, I delete. And when I return to one of my books for one reason or another after it’s been published, I always find more I wish I had cut. When I go over the blog post before moving ahead with it, I use my knife. If writing short stories makes you a more concise writer of long stories, that’s a big benefit.
Although I don’t read many short stories, I’ve had a few published in anthologies for children anyway. In spite of my bad example, I’d suggest you read short stories, a bunch of them, to get a feel for their scope and economy. If you have a word limit, like 500 words, which is very short, I’d read a collection or two of short short stories (which there are). By reading you gain an intuitive sense of the genre, which will come through when you start writing.
My stories have ranged from ten to twenty-five pages, which is much more than 500 words. However, I’ve written narrative poems in fewer words, and in them, as in the short story, compression is key. One poem (not written for children) is about a modern-day Cassandra attempting and failing to warn a class of fourth graders about the troubles that lie ahead for each of them. The reader sees them listen and believe and then forget the moment they leave Cassandra’s tent at the state fair. That’s it, but the reader knows that each child will suffer as Cassandra said and that Cassandra suffers already from knowing she couldn’t help. The poem is 300 words long, and a short story could do the same thing, and so could a 600-page novel. In the novel we would see the dismal future played out for each child, but that isn’t necessary to convey the meaning.
My poem centers on an idea, but it could focus on a character, which many short stories do. There will be fewer characters in a short story than a novel, but they should still be well developed.
An important aspect of many novels (discussed in a long-ago blog) is character change or failure to change, a feature shared by many short stories. In the poem I described, the characters fail to change, which makes it sad. My novels focus outward on the world, usually a fantasy world. My short stories have a narrow field of vision, family or a few friends. In one, for example, the main character comes to understand and accept that her parents are more involved with her sister, who constantly creates problems. All that happens is that the main gets the lead in the class play and the sister threatens to change religions. In a single scene the reader sees the family in action.
An analogy might be an oven (the novel) versus a pressure cooker (the short story). In the oven the ingredients cook gradually while in the pressure cooker the boiling point is unnaturally high and comes fast. Another analogy might be a house versus a tree. In a house, many posts support the weight of the roof; with a tree, a single trunk holds up the canopy of leaves. In the novel, many incidents build to the climax; in the short story very few, and each one must bear a lot of weight.
On to writing for children. A reference book you may want to read is The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Children’s Books by Harold Underdown, which, alas, didn’t exist when I got started. The book I read and went back to again and again is How to Write a Children’s Book and Get It Published by Barbara Seuling. Both are excellent.
I also read tons of kids’ books, including the books in the Newbery bookcase at my library and the new novels that were generating a lot of buzz. Later, when my editor asked me to write The Princess Tales as chapter books she sent me sample chapter books to read and study. (My favorite was Is He a Girl? in the Marvin Redpost series by Louis Sachar of Holes fame.) If you want to write for seven-to-nine year olds, read the books they’re reading, which covers a lot of ground. Some seven-year-olds read Ella Enchanted and Harry Potter. Some nine-year-olds read Junie B. Jones.
My education as a children’s book writer also included taking classes, joining critique groups, attending conferences, and joining the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. It was a process that took nine years to earn me my first book acceptance.
Some people – no one reading this blog, I’m sure – think writing for kids is easy. These people, I believe, have forgotten what it was like to be a child, how complicated it was, maybe more complicated than being an adult. Kids have to negotiate at least two universes, the world of adults and the world of their peers and possibly a third, the world of school, and all the while learning at an incredible pace, learning not only school subjects but the everyday science of being human.
Because of this complexity, children can handle the kinds of topics Emma asks about, such as “court trials, attacks from other nations, espionage, etc.” In fact, many kids are drawn to high drama and like to watch stories played out on a grand stage. I think that’s why children enjoy fairy tales and fantasy, because the events are huge, involving royalty and kingdoms, love, jealousy, rage, death.
The biggest difference between children’s and adult literature is the age of the main character. In a kids’ book the main will be a child, usually a little older than the reader. Occasionally the main will be an animal. Of course the reason is that the child can more easily identify with a child than with an adult.
I don’t mean to minimize the differences between books for children and books for grownups. I’m teaching my summer workshop for kids now, and each week I’ve been reading a poem aloud to them. It’s been a challenge to find the right poem, not because of subject matter but because of tone and sophistication and sometimes language. If I say that children can’t handle sophistication, it wouldn’t be entirely true, but we have to develop an ear for what succeeds and what doesn’t, which we do by reading and by writing and trying what we’ve written out on writing buddies and friends. Not necessarily by trying our stuff out on kids, who may be too polite, who may not know what standards to apply, who may be too forgiving.
And there are differences between writing for teens and writing for younger children. You can go darker with teens and more psychological. I’m distinguishing between dark and sad. Sad works with the elementary school crowd, dark not so much. Young kids understand the death of Bambi’s mother in Bambi, while the meaning of Hamlet’s indecisiveness and eventual death might elude them.
As for psychological, I once asked my workshop students to write a self-portrait, not only of their looks but also of their inner qualities. Those over eleven loved the assignment; those under couldn’t do it, and I had them write a portrait of a best friend instead, and that they enjoyed. Older kids like to look within. Younger children focus out.
Sometimes the author herself doesn’t know who her proper audience is. When my friend Suzanne Fisher Staples wrote her first novel, the wonderful Shabanu, she thought she was writing for adults until her editor told her she wasn’t, and the book went on to win a Newbery honor in 1989. Suzanne isn’t the only writer to whom this has happened. I’ve heard similar stories, and the people at HarperCollins thinks my book of mean poems, Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It (out next March), may appeal to adults as well as to children, but I thought I was writing it strictly for kids. So we can be surprised.
These are the prompts I was given (and remember) for the short stories I’ve written. See what you do with them:
• A character on the edge (not specified what kind of edge).
• A brush with religion.
• A mystery or mysterious story.
• A wish.
• A grandmother story.
I was also asked to write a story about menstruation. I came up empty on that one, but you may have more success.
Have fun, and save what you write!
Keely*luv2write* says:
Thanks! That's a question I've been wondering about for a while.
gailcarsonlevine says:
From the website:
Thank you, thank you, thank you, that post answers both of my questions perfectly! I can't even begin to tell you how much that helps, and I will definitely try to get my hands on both of those books you recommended. I think I'm also going to try and see if I can write a short story, for the experience if not for a contest. As always, a terrific post!!!:-D
Emma
gailcarsonlevine says:
Also from the website:
Site just ate my comment… so here I am.
Short stories are actually the norm for me. It's a rarity (though becoming more common) that I write something over 30 pages.
Recently I've been enjoying working in the 200-1500 word range. Especially with the shortest, it's like writing a poem: every word counts, and you can fiddle with repetition and rhythm just like it _is_ a poem.
The way I've always explained short stories to my friends: "short stories are about _one thing_. One character, or one action, or one emotion, or one time period… pick one of something and make that the story."
Rina
gailcarsonlevine says:
From the website:
still can't post on the blog 🙁
ooh, menstruation. That actually reminds me of a question I've always had–how do you work in things like bodily functions in a story? If your tale lasts more than a few hours, someone's bound to need to use the bathroom. Should that kind of stuff be just glazed over, or should it be something you mention? Just what do fairies use for underwear, anyway?
I can think of one (well, really two) example(s) of when menstruation got included really well in a story, and that's in Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness and Protector of the Small series. (Serieses?) Both of them are about girls training to be knights, in a completely male atmosphere, so their transition into womanhood (eg. getting their first periods, getting breasts, etc) is something significant because it sets them apart from everyone else. But if I'm writing a book where the emphasis is not necessarily on my MC's gender, do I need to mention what she does about her time of the month when it comes around? If nothing groundbreaking is going to happen when the travellers pull over for a bathroom break and then hop back on their motorcycle or spaceship or dragon and keep going, then does the break need to be mentioned at all? Or can the reader just infer that yes, these are human beings (or at least living creatures, anyway), and therefore yes, we can assume that they go to the bathroom and eat and sleep like everyone else?
Just something I've been thinking about. Great post, by the way. I'm always uber-flattered when my comments make it on a post, and I really want to read your Cassandra poem now. 🙂
Charlotte
gailcarsonlevine says:
Charlotte–I think readers assume that human characters have human bodily functions. But if there's a plot reason to include a trip to the bathroom (I have a bathroom scene in THE WISH) or something to do with a character's period, I wouldn't shy away.
The Cassandra poem was published in the Spring 2011 edition of THE LOUISVILLE REVIEW. It's called "The River Lethe."
Kayla H. says:
Gail I have a question for you, and I would really appreciate it if you answered. Is your book The Princess Test in past or present tense? I always have trouble trying to figure out myself,so I usually ask someone else, but no one else around me knows either I need to know because I have to do a report in school on a book written in past tense and I wanted to use yours. Please reply I would be so grateful if you do. Thanks!
Rina says:
Charlotte: The only time I notice it is when it seems like the writer is precluding things like that, for ex. "They did not stop to get off their horses for the next 10 hours." And even that, if I'm into the story enough, will not bother me. (not to mention, didn't the horses get tired? But that's another question)
Jenna Royal says:
Okay, this post brings up two questions of mine. The first is, how exactly do you go about determining what age your story is appropriate for? I was asking my friend about the content of my story, and she suggested thinking about what age I'm aiming for and what is appropriate for that. I was stumped. I was thinking it would be for young adults, but I honestly wasn't sure. How do you make that judgment?
My other question: I've rewritten the beginning in my current novel multiple times. I love the beginning I have right now, but I realized that it was almost like a short story in itself. If I took out a few details and a little dialogue, I could probably get away with it as a short story. I don't want it to be a short story – I want it to be an interesting and exciting beginning. Does anyone have any advice on how to fix it?
gailcarsonlevine says:
Kayla H.–Past tense. Good luck with the report!
Jenna Royal–I thought I did answer your first question, but I guess not fully. Do you mean appropriate in terms of subject matter, like sex, profanity, and violence, or language, as in level of difficulty? Or are you asking what age reader a story will appeal to?
Kayla H. says:
Thanks Gail,you're a life saver!( or at least a report saver! 😀 ) Thanks for answering! Have a nice week!
welliewalks says:
First of all, thank you so much for answering my question!! It really helps! Thank you! 🙂 I really like the whole 'every word counts' thing- that's really great and totally applies to all writing!
I'm totally going to look up those books.
Thanks for answering Charlotte's question! I think about that too. I was wondering on that same note, should I include things that just happen, like sneezing, a mix up of words (sometimes I do that when I talk and other people do to), a 'never mind' or a 'I forgot what I was going to say'? Or should a writer leave it our if it doesn't do anything for the story?
gailcarsonlevine says:
From the website–
To welliewalks, I think the little things, like a character pausing to to brush back a lock of hair or sniffle adds to the scene and helps to liven it up and help us see it better. As for characters mixing up words or saying "I forgot" I think it depends on the character who's saying it. In one book I read, there was one character who was so precise about everything that he could never forget what he was going to say. There was another who was a complete ditz who never thought before speaking and mixed up her speech all the time. I think it just depends on the particular character. If it doesn't do anything for the story but it shows the reader more about the character, than I think you should go for it.
Emma
bluekiwii says:
I've been thinking the last few days about the difference between adult's and children's books so this post was a bit of a godsend. Thank you so much for addressing this.
A few quotes I found really helpful are…"many kids are drawn to high drama and like to watch stories played out on a grand stage" and that "Older kids like to look within. Younger children focus out."
I've always felt that there were two kinds of books. The first kind is dramatic, deals with adventures in the grand scale (good against evil), and doesn't really focus on the psychological mindset of the characters. The second kind delves in character's mind, exploring motivations, and character interactions (genres like romance or literary fiction tend to fit in this category).
The idea that children tend to like high-action, high-drama stories is…a really interesting thought. Even though I'm not sure if I want to write for children…I feel that this post helped me identify the different things I can focus on in the story. I usually like introspective stories that delve in a character's mindset…so to see a story in a different perspective was great.
It also occurs to me that stories that have both–high action and dramatic yet have an underscore of deeper material to work with tend to popular with a wide range of age groups. Phillip Pullman's Dark Materials comes to mind as a story that can be viewed from both these genre.
Thank you for an enlightening post.
bluekiwii says:
@ Jenny Royal,
(addressing second paragraph's question):
I don't think it matters if the beginning of your story resembles a short story. In the end, every scene of a book has a beginning, middle, and end, so a scene or chapter can be considered as a mini-story inside a bigger one.
Also, I read before a story where the first chapter is extremely like a short-story and I found that those kinds of beginnings are the most riveting ones. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, for example, the first chapter really resembles a short story of it's own; the caretaker of an abandoned mansion sees a light in the Riddle mansion and goes to investigate, overhears a strange conversation, and then dies for his curiosity; since there is a conclusion, the reader feels satisfied when they end the chapter. However, the satisfaction can be a trap–what if the reader closes the book right then? This is how Rowling did it: her last line was this–"Two hundred miles away, the boy called Harry Potter woke with a start." This means that there should be a hook, something that can motivate the chapter to read on…that even when the first chapter ends…the bigger story hasn't ended.
I hope this helps.
welliewalks says:
@bluekiwii- I totally agree on the 'Older kids like to look within. Younger children focus out.'. Younger kids don't really care about what the character is thinking- it' all action. But I (I'm a teen) always wonder 'What's the character thinking?'. It's a good and helpful point! 🙂
@Jenna Royal- I don't think it's an issue either (the second paragraph). I've read books that have short stories as the first chapter! Those are about someone else besides the MC, usually, and has something to do with what will happen, so it's totally okay, from my point of view. 🙂
Jenna Royal says:
@Ms. Levine – I meant in terms of appropriate content. Do you just use your own judgment, and if so, are there any general guidelines for it? My story does focus within the characters, with details about how they ended up te way they did, so I suppose it would be for older readers. I'm not sure what the exact age range would be, though.
@Welliewalks and Bluekiwii – Thanks! The "short story" is about one of the MCs. It's not like an event happening at a different place or time or anything, but I felt like it had a defined beginning, middle an end, though, and I wasn't sure f that seemed too final? Because it's supposed to be the beginning of a series of events.
@Charlotte – your question reminds me of a scene in a Beezus & Ramona book by Beverly Cleary. It's set in a kindergarten classroom, and they're discussing Mike Mulligan an his Steam Shovel. One of the kids asks "didn't he ever stop to go to the bathroom?" The teacher says probably, but it's not important. It's not a big part of the story. Important in real life, yes, but not in the story.
In a book I recently read (Alphabet of Dreams by Susan Fletcher) the MC is disguised as a boy. She always has to be careful to keep her gender a secret. It gets harder as she starts filling out and gets her period, especially since it's set in ancient Persia and the Persians believed it was unlucky for men to have any contact with menstruating women.
gailcarsonlevine says:
From the website:
This is crazy! My computer still won't let me post on the blog! Sorry!
I've got an idea for a story with a character who's a traitor, but she starts to befriend the people she's supposed to be a traitor to (I know, that's a really wierd way of wording that, but it's the only way I can think of at the moment). She has lots of conflicting emotions in choosing whether or not to follow through with her scheme until the middle, when she would finally be revealed. Do you or the bloggers have advice? Should I tell it in her first person to show her emotions or tell it in the other MC's first person to keep it a surprise? I just don't know:-O
Ella
welliewalks says:
@Jenna Royal and others- I've read books like that too- Nobody's Prize and Nobody's Princess by Esther M. Friesner are two really great books about a girl in ancient Sparta who pertends to be aboy and the secret gets out by period and curves. It's a great book.
@Ella- You may find reading Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. It's one of my favorite books (for highschoolers and older middle school) and Mara deals with the same thing that your character does.
gailcarsonlevine says:
Jenna Royal–I don't know of any guidelines. I think you can use your judgment, and when you get to that point, an editor will know who your audience is likely to be.
Ella–Either choice seems valid, and you can try both or write from two POVs.
gailcarsonlevine says:
From the website:
Thanks, Gail and Welliewalks! Both good ideas!
Ella
gailcarsonlevine says:
From the website:
This question isn't exactly about writing, so if you don't have an answer, that's fine. I’m an artist and I've illustrated my children’s book, but I’ve read that it’s a big mistake to illustrate your own story because it makes you look like an amateur and publishers don’t like it. Do you know anything about it? I’ve also heard of just becoming an illustrator, but I can’t really find any information on that. Is getting published as an illustrator just like being published as an author?
Emma
gailcarsonlevine says:
Emma–I don't think it's true that you shouldn't illustrate your own story. Again, let me recommend THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO PUBLISHING CHILDREN'S BOOKS by Harold Underdown. There may be other books that go into more detail on this subject, which a bookseller or librarian may be able to steer you to. Getting published as an illustrator is similar to being published as an author, but there are differences. For one thing, you work with an art director more than with an editor, but I'm not an authority on the subject.
melissajm says:
I'm really liking all the great advice on this blog. Thank you!