Totally clueless children's fiction newbie

[EauRouge]

Hello all,

I've become frustrated at not being able to find what I want for my eldest DD so I've decided to have a go at writing myself- maybe I'll never get published but I thought it might be fun.

I'm not sure how to get started though. I've had a quick google and found an awful lot of 'send us some money and we'll tell you how to do it' sites, which I would quite like to avoid. Does anyone know of any reputable sites or have any tips? I'm thinking of writing fiction for the age range 3-7 years-ish and I am most definitely not an illustrator!

The only experience I have is reading hundreds of books to DD1, who is very much a book worm.

Thanks for your help. :)

Reading hundreds of books is the best way to learn....you just have to sit down and get on with it.

You can put off putting finger to keyboard for ages by reading multiple "how-to" books when the only real way to learn is to DO.

Begin. Make a start.

One good book worthy of buying is The Writers and Artists Yearbook...there's another one too and someone will come soon and tell you the name of it...I have forgotten!

They are basically directories of publishers and agents. Each listing tells you who will accept which type of book and if they accept uninvited manuscripts...there are also some nice articles from published authors.

I'd narrow down your target age group. Picture books are usually for the under 5s, have a tight narrative and are usually under 850 words. The Writers and Artists year book have a children's edition, you can get this from Amazon. All of the age groups require different writing skills. Don't worry about illustrations if you can't draw, the publishers like to pick their own. As Chas says, reading a lot is the key. It's important to notice how they are written though, so you're not really reading it to enjoy the story but to see how it's constructed and how it flows.

Thank you both, that's great advice. I'll have a look at that book and have a sit down at the computer and see what comes out!

Thanks again.

That's OK. I write children's fiction (or rather I try to). If you need some help then let me know You do really need to look at the word count and styles of writing for each age group as they all differ. Best of luck.

There is a specialist Writers and Artists' Yearbook for Children's authors. The Writer's Handbook is good too.