Kids Stories Mistakes to Avoid - Professional Guide
Kids Stories Mistakes to Avoid: A Professional Guide
Creating engaging and meaningful stories for children is both an art and a science. Many aspiring children's authors make common mistakes that can undermine their stories' effectiveness. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore the most frequent pitfalls in kids' storytelling and how to avoid them.
1. Overcomplicating the Plot
The Mistake:
Many new children's authors try to include too many plot twists, characters, or subplots in their stories. While complexity might work in adult fiction, children's stories need clear, straightforward narratives that young minds can easily follow.
The Solution:
Focus on one main storyline with a simple structure: introduction, challenge, resolution. Limit your main characters to 2-4 and keep subplots minimal. Remember that repetition can be powerful in children's stories.
2. Talking Down to Children
The Mistake:
Some authors use overly simplistic language or adopt a condescending tone, believing they need to "dumb down" their writing for children. Kids are remarkably perceptive and can
The Solution:
Write with respect for your young audience. Use age-appropriate vocabulary but don't shy away from introducing new words in context. Children enjoy learning new things when it's done naturally within the story.
Pro Tip: Read your story aloud to children in your target age group. Their reactions will tell you if you've hit the right tone.
3. Forgetting the Visual Elements
The Mistake:
In children's literature, especially picture books, the visual component is crucial. Some authors focus solely on the text without considering how it will work with illustrations or how the page turns will affect the storytelling rhythm.
The Solution:
Even if you're not the illustrator, think visually as you write. Leave room for the illustrator's imagination. Consider how your words will translate into images and how page turns can create suspense or surprise.
4. Heavy-Handed Moralizing
The Mistake:
Many well-intentioned authors create stories that are essentially morality lessons disguised as narratives. While children's stories often contain lessons, overt preaching can turn young readers off.
The Solution:
Let the moral emerge naturally from the story. Show rather than tell. Children are more likely to absorb values when they're presented through engaging characters and situations rather than direct lectures.
5. Inconsistent Pacing
The Mistake:
Some children's stories start strong but then drag in the middle, or rush through important moments. Children have shorter attention spans, so pacing is especially crucial.
The Solution:
Maintain a steady rhythm with a mix of action, dialogue, and description. Vary sentence length to control pace. Read your story aloud to test the flow—if you find yourself getting bored or breathless, adjust accordingly.
6. Unrealistic Dialogue
The Mistake:
Children's dialogue that sounds like miniature adults or that's overly cutesy can break the reader's immersion. Similarly, making characters sound too young or too old for their age can be jarring.
The Solution:
Spend time listening to children of your target age group. Note how they speak, what concerns them, and how they express themselves. Your dialogue should sound authentic while still being clear and grammatically correct.
7. Lack of Child Agency
The Mistake:
Many children's stories feature young protagonists who are passive observers rather than active participants in their own stories. They wait for adults to solve problems or make decisions for them.
The Solution:
Give your child protagonist agency—the ability to make decisions and take actions that affect the story's outcome. Children love reading about characters who face challenges and find their own solutions.
Pro Tip: Even in stories where adults play significant roles, find ways for the child character to contribute meaningfully to the resolution.
8. Ignoring the Emotional Core
The Mistake:
Some children's stories focus so much on action or plot that they neglect emotional depth. Children experience complex emotions and appreciate stories that acknowledge this.
The Solution:
Identify the emotional journey of your main character. What do they feel at the beginning? How do their emotions change through the story? Even simple stories can have emotional resonance.
9. Inconsistent Tone
The Mistake:
Starting with a light, humorous tone and suddenly shifting to something dark or serious can confuse young readers. Similarly, mixing realistic and fantastical elements without clear rules can be disorienting.
The Solution:
Establish your story's tone early and maintain consistency. If you need to introduce serious elements in a mostly lighthearted story, do so gradually and with care.
10. Underestimating Your Audience
The Mistake:
Assuming children won't notice plot holes, inconsistencies, or lazy writing is a common error. Children may be less experienced readers, but they're often more attentive to details than adults.
The Solution:
Apply the same standards of quality to children's writing as you would to adult literature. Respect your audience by crafting well-structured, polished stories that stand up to repeated readings.
Final Thoughts
Writing for children is a privilege and a responsibility. By avoiding these common mistakes, you can create stories that entertain, inspire, and resonate with young readers. Remember that the best children's stories appeal to both children and the adults who read with them, creating shared moments of wonder and connection.
Whether you're writing picture books, chapter books, or middle-grade novels, keeping these principles in mind will help you craft stories that children will cherish. The world always needs more great children's literature—your unique voice and perspective could be just what a young reader needs.
