Who are you writing for?

Alana

A few months ago I started writing a children's book but due to sickness I lost interest in it. Now I am planning to work on it again whenever I am well. But the problem is that I don't know what age group I am aiming this for.
Have you ever written, not knowing who you really are writing for?

Jay Mandal

I've often started writing without knowing how the story will turn out. I don't write children's stuff, so readers' ages aren't particularly relevant. Hope you stay well, and best of luck with the book.

Phots Moll

[quote=Alana]Have you ever written, not knowing who you really are writing for? [/quote] No. If you intend the piece to be published then I think you need to keep the target readership in mind. You might not want to work my way though!

Perhaps you could do the first draft without a clear idea, then decide who to aim it at and do the rewrites and editing with them in mind.

Carol

I'm sure the children's writers on TB will be able to advice.

michellez

Hi Alana,

I hope you're feeling strong and well again soon, and able to enjoy your writing once again.

I’m working on a children’s book, and when I started was undecided which age range to go for. My story seemed to be falling between teenage/YA, or the 9 to 12 range. Each time I tried to decide I got my confused and bogged down. I felt very enthusiastic about both age ranges, and just could not make up my mind.

What worked for me, was to stop trying thinking too much about the age range, and to start writing and enjoying the process. I tried to focus on enjoying creating characters, developing plot etc, and feeling positive about it all. I found the more I could do this, the more I found myself naturally writing towards the younger age group. So in a way I let the decision make itself.

That said, if you’re aiming for publication and not just writing for pleasure you will obviously need to sell your story for a specific market. But I found worrying about this was stopping me getting on with the actual writing. As Phot's Moll says, you can always edit and re write once you have a first draft.

Does that help?

Lou Treleaven

I agree with michellez and phot - why not write it for yourself first to get the first draft finished, then look at what you've got and think about the age range. If there are any adult themes then it needs to be YA. YA tends to be very gritty at the moment.

I've had a similar problem recently, even rewriting books to change the age range. Now I feel like I'm starting to settle down in the YA area. My children are 9 and 12 so if I'm writing something and I feel it's not suitable for them to read I know it's YA!

Alana

Thank you to all! All your comments were positive for me and I definitely will follow your good advice!

michellez

Good luck! Feel positive, enjoy, and keep us posted!

sapphire

Hi everyone, I am new to this site found it by accident. I wrote some childrens stories a few years ago, never did anything with them put them in a box and forgot about them.I recently unearthed them, they are only short stories suitable for probably 6 to 7 years old but I was wondering if I could do anything with them,I would be so grateful for any advice from anyone, thanks

LadyRenate

I write for myself.

That being said, I also write for my family. They found my last book a bit dark so the one I started writing now will be lighter in tone so they can enjoy it as well. As my aunt said, this story is more ''us''.

Phots Moll

Hi Sapphire. Maybe they'd be suitable for competitions?

SilverLinings

Alana - How does your story pan out. Understanding how children think, what plot complexities they can deal with are important to "where" a story fits.
Knowing what they are interested in also pulls a story to an age group. Relationship orientated plots tend to hover around the teen areas for example.

Jennymf

I write children's stories as well. For me I write with the age in mind. Then when story finished I edit or re write to suit. It works for me but we all have different ways of doing things. I would say write how you feel most comfortable with you can always change things.

red-lucy

[quote=Jay Mandal]I've often started writing without knowing how the story will turn out. [/quote]

Me too-I rarely have more than a sketch in my head, which evolves as I write. I don't write for children either, never tried, but the end result is rarely anything like I thought it would be. The writing evolves, characters develop, twists present themselves and have to be followed. Every story is a journey, unfortunately at the moment I feel like I'm in a traffic jam, brain dead with no energy!! I'm sure it'll get better and lurking around here tends to motivate me somewhat so I'll keep trudging on :)

Daisy

I write for children. I always know which age range I'm aiming the story at - it really wouldn't work for me otherwise, but that's just me. It's also a good idea to take a look at the books that are already out there for the age you write for as this gives you a good idea of usual story lengths, vocab level, chapter length, complexity of plot etc. A writing tutor once told me that the age of your main character is a good guide to the age of readers to aim for - for example, if your main character is eleven years old then the book can be aimed at nine to elevens.
Good luck with writing your book.