Case Study: Part 3, PLOT DEVELOPMENT

This is the third post about the children's book I am creating titled 'Catch that Fly.' I will be writing about every step of the process and all the resources I use along the way so you too can create your own book.

In my previous post I created a draft and sent it to a manuscript assessor. I have taken the constructive feedback on board and had another attempt at developing the story.

The first problem was that there was no real reason for mum wanting the dinner to be perfect. So I decided a good reason would be if someone is coming to dinner. I introduced another character 'Grandma.' There are plenty of reasons a mum gets stressed about a grandmother coming to dinner and she’s a great character that every child can relate to.

Next was figuring out a way to make the scenes more interesting and animated throughout the story. I have now created more descriptive text about each family member trying to catch the fly. I have also written more about the fly’s direction and objective.

The story was still feeling a little dull so I have tried a few more things to bring it to life. I have added rhyme which is not recommended for beginner writers however I had some help from a talented song writer. Here is a sample of one of the spreads.

The fly keeps buzzing against everyone’s wishes

Under the table and over the dishes

Into the lounge past the television

Avoiding everyone with great precision

After figuring out the problems with the narration I started to think of interesting visual ways of telling the story. One of the things I through would work well is if when the fly finally buzzes out the window we can see grandmas car pulling into the drive way.

I will continue working on the story development and post about my progress very soon. Feel free to give feedback and comments.

Best Selling Ideas and Concepts

The first part of creating a children's book is of course the idea. Coming up with an original, clever concept is one of the hardest parts of the process. With millions of children's books published throughout the world it is easy to end up with a similar concept than something that has been done before. In this post I will go over some different strategies for coming up with an original concept and how authors have been successful with these strategies.
The strategy a lot of successful authors use is taking inspiration from situations in their own lives. This can be anything from noticing something interesting while walking down the street to a funny incident or situation they find themselves in. The advantage of using a real life concept is that there is a sense of human truth which automatically relates to the reader. It is easy to make something believable if it has already happened. The problem that can arise from using real life inspiration is getting to attached to the real life version of the story and not experimenting with it and developing it into a stronger plot.

One of my favourite examples of this strategy is an author illustrator from Korea called Baek Heena. Heena now creates and publishes her own fantasy children's books which have been best sellers in Korea and some of them have been published into different languages. Her story 'Moon Sherbet' was inspired by looking out of her apartment at the moon on a boiling hot night. In the story the moon gets so hot it melts then a little old lady catches the drips in a pot and turns it into Popsicles and feeds it to everyone in the apartment building. I think the reason her stories work so well is she doesn't get to attached to reality but is able to keep enough human truth to draw you into the story. If you would like to read more about her work click here

Another strategy that seems to work quite well is taking a very human idea and applying it to another creature or species. For example if you are wanting to create a story around the theme of sucking your thumb. You don't have to have a human sucking their thumb. You could write a bout a baby bear who keep sucking is thumb. The advantage of this method is you automatically broaden you market. Now every little girl or boy can relate to the story as there are no cultural or social indications in the characters and setting. As with featuring humans you have to bear in mind the race and culture of the characters. If you were writing a book about a possum your potential market is limited to the places possums live. However some animals will be recognised and understood by children everywhere like an elephant or bear.

There was a best selling children's book in New Zealand in 2010 about dealing with a death. The book was written around a family of huhu grubs. The whole topic of death is a very tricky thing to write about for children however by changing the characters to huhu grubs it worked. The book is called 'The Old Hu-Hu.'

Another great example of this is  a book called Uncle Bobby's Wedding. It is about two male guinea pigs getting married. It is automatically more appealing to young readers because its written around animals not humans.

How to Write a Successful Children's Book

Writing a children's book is not as easy as it seems. Many people make the mistake of thinking because the language for young readers is so simple that anyone can do it. When I look back at my first attempt I am embarrassed to say I was one of these people. In fact I would say writing for children is harder than writing for adults as there is a lot more to consider.
Here are some key points I think improved my understanding of children's writing the most.

Firstly young readers are not only developing there understanding of reading and words but they are also developing there understanding of the world in general. There is a lot that goes over their heads. The age group you are writing for is very important. A lot of publishers have very narrow age groups or reading levels for each book. The development of learning to read is a very fast process so the books need to fit the exact market they are aimed at.

The things children are interested in are a lot different from what adults find captivating. If you have no children in your life it might be a good idea to spend some time with some before you start trying to write. A lot of the ideas you will have should be worked at a lot before you end up with the final story. Try not to get to attached to your story at the beginning, allow it to develop fully.

There are a lot of writing tools that are used to create an interesting story. The plot is the most important part of your story and it is something a lot of writers get wrong. There is an art to creating a successful plot and it is something worth getting right. I found going to libraries and book stores and reading as many children's books as possible helped me understand the importance of a strong plot.

My advice to anyone wanting to start writing for children would be to do your research. The reason so little people end up with a successfully published book is because most people are to lazy to do the appropriate research. A couple of books I read which I feel gave me a great starting base of knowledge were:

Writing Children's Books For Dummies
This book covers all the aspects of writing from the idea through to the finished manuscript. It was easy to read and I feel it gave me an overall view of the types of books out there.

How to Write a Children's Book and Get It Published
This book was quite helpful, I think it give a pretty thorough overview of the process and how to go about producing your own storybook.

Writing and Illustrating Children's Books for Publication (Writing & Illustrating Children's Books for Publication)
This book is a lot different than the other two, its a bit older and a completely different format. It is more like a story book with lots of coloured images and examples. I found it very easy to read but some of the advice might be a little outdated.

I hope this helps everyone get started and begin their journey wrting for children. Feel free to comment on this post with other usefull books you have found.