Jan. 1-31 is #STORYSTORM with Tara Lazar. Formerly known as #PiBoIdMo, the challenge is to come up with one new story idea each day of the month. To meet this challenge, it might help to think about what makes a story.The following is excerpt from You Can Write for Children: How to Write Great Stories, Articles, and Books for Kids and Teenagers.
A Story in Four Parts
If “beginning, middle, and end”
doesn’t really help you, here’s another way to think of story structure. A
story has four main parts: situation,
complications, climax, and
resolution. You need all of them to make your story work. (This is really
the same as beginning, middle, and end, with the end broken into two parts.)
The situation should involve an interesting main character with a
challenging problem or goal. Even this takes development. Maybe you have a
great challenge, but aren’t sure why a character would have that goal. Or maybe
your situation is interesting, but doesn’t actually involve a problem.
Tips:
· Make sure your idea is specific and narrow. Focus on an individual person and situation, not a universal concept. For example, don’t try to write about “racism.” Instead, write about one character facing racism in a particular situation.
· Ask why the goal is important to the character. The longer the story, the higher the stakes needed to sustain it. A short story character might want to win a contest; a novel character might need to save the world.
· Ask why this goal is difficult. If reaching the goal is too easy, there is little tension and the story is too short. The goal should be possible, but just barely. It might even seem impossible. The reader should believe that the main character could fail. (I go into more detail on this in a chapter on Characters in the book.)
 |
| Is your character just sitting there? |
· Even if your main problem is external, give the character an internal flaw that contributes to the difficulty. This adds complications and also makes your character seem more real. For some internal flaws, see the seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride.
· Test the idea. Change the character’s age, gender, or looks. Change the point of view, setting, external conflict, or internal conflict. Choose the combination that has the most dramatic potential.
Remember the magic of bedtime
stories? When you write for children, you have the most appreciative audience
in the world. But to reach that audience, you need to write fresh, dynamic
stories, whether you’re writing rhymed picture books, middle grade mysteries,
edgy teen novels, nonfiction, or something else.
In this book, you will learn:
How to explore the wide variety of
age ranges, genres, and styles in writing stories, articles and books for young
people.
How to find ideas.
How to develop an idea into a
story, article, or book.
The basics of character
development, plot, setting, and theme.
How to use point of view,
dialogue, and thoughts.
How to edit your work and get
critiques.
Where to learn more on various
subjects.
Order for Kindle, in paperback,
or in Large
Print paperback.
I have tried to write for children a couple/few times, as you know, Chris. I hope, with your new book, I'll be re-inspired! I have downloaded it to my device and hope to get to it soon.
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