There are a lot of misconceptions about writing for children, some amusing and some surprising. In order to create appealing works for both young readers and editors, writers need to be able to separate truth from fiction. Here's a top ten list of some of the most prevalent myths: 

1. Children's literature must be cutesy, and you shouldn't use hard words.  

This is the most widespread misconception and also the worst one. Stop and think about the child-you-- that urbane and discriminating young reader who thrilled your school librarian, exasperated your parents, or most likely did both simultaneously and interchangeably. That's who you're writing for. Children today are just as clever, discerning, and shrewd as we were, and with the addition of computers and the Internet, they're also worldly and sophisticated to an unprecedented degree.  

Steer clear from twee language and baby talk, and never write down to children. Kids won't tolerate being patronized or condescended to any more than any self-respecting adult. 

Moreover, writers should never underestimate the amazing and marvelous ability kids have to learn new words. Children are developmentally primed to acquire words with greater speed and efficiency than our poor, mature brains could ever hope to match. By age six, children have a vocabulary of around 14,000 words¹, having acquired an average of nine words a day during their preschool years². During those formative years up through young adulthood, school-aged children will double that number³.  

So don't "dumb down" your writing. The best way for kids to expand their vocabularies is by encountering new words in an engaging context. It does a disservice to young readers, and to yourself as a writer, if you balk at challenging them. 

2. All stories for children should have a moral or teach a lesson. 

No one likes a soap box preacher; no one enjoys being lectured to-- and kids get subjected to it all the time from well-meaning parents and teachers. They're not going to enjoy reading a preachy story, much less seek one out.  

As a writer, your first duty is to craft a good tale, one that's exciting and entertaining. If you must incorporate a moral, deliver it subtly, with a magician's slight-of-hand, not a sledgehammer. As with adult fiction, theme should arise via story progression and character conflict.

3. A kid's story can't have serious, weighty, or controversial subject matter; children have delicate sensibilities and must be protected from the scary world.

Unless they've been raised hooded and blinkered in a television-, computer-, and peer-free bubble, by the time they reach high school, children will have been inundated by sensationalized tragedy in the television shows they watch, extremes of violence in the video games they play, and blatant sexuality in the websites they surf. This wondrous age of fast-as-light communication and instant information has also banished the pastoral childhood of yore (if it ever truly existed) when children were brought up in ignorant bliss, shielded from the world's harsh realities.  

Savvy publishers know this. Kids' books addressing once-taboo topics-- death and dying, physical illness and dementia, alternative lifestyles, divorce, drug use, and assorted -isms-- are popping up in bookstores, libraries, and schoolrooms. Contemporary editors are looking for manuscripts that handle difficult subject matter in realistic, sensitive, and affirming ways, stories that will help children cope with and understand the realities of the world they live in.  

4. When things get too hairy, it's okay for my main character to get rescued by their parents/teachers/other adult. 

While it's fine to have grown-up characters in your children's stories, don't be tempted to commit a parentis ex machina. Young protagonists, just like their older counterparts, must protag. They must succeed or fail as a result of their own efforts, without the interference or safety net of a godlike adult.  

The best children's literature empowers young readers. By empathizing with heroes and heroines in conflict-- young people like themselves who confront and conquer obstacles-- kids come to understand that they too are capable individuals who can resolve real-life problems of their own.  

5. Kids, editors, and the publishing industry love cute, talking animals.

Actually, they're pretty sick of them. Talking animals are the oldest hat in the old hat bin.  

In general, writers should avoid chatty, anthropomorphized beasties. The notable exception is with folktales, which traditionally have speaking critters as protagonists. But even in this established talking-animal trope, the characters still need to be vividly three-dimensional. 

Novice writers often don't realize that fuzzy and cute is not an excuse for flat and clichéd. For readers (and editors) to empathize with animal characters, they must be as fully-realized as human ones, incorporating quirks, foibles, and genuine motivations.  

See next week's issue for myths number six through ten about writing for kids!

REFERENCES 

¹Whitehurst, G. J. (1982). Language development. In B. B. Wolman (Ed.), Handbook of developmental psychology (pp. 367-386). New York: Wiley. 

²Clark, E. V. (1983). Meanings and concepts. In P. H. Mussen (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3. Cognitive development (pp. 787-840). New York: Wiley. 

³Berk, L. E. (1994). Child Development (3rd ed., pp. 363-368). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
 

Eugie Foster calls home a mildly haunted, fey-infested house in Metro Atlanta that she shares with her husband, Matthew, and her pet skunk, Hobkin. Her fiction has been translated into Greek, Hungarian, Polish, and French, received the Phobos Award, and been nominated for the British Fantasy, Bram Stoker, and Pushcart awards. She has sold a dozen stories to the Cricket Magazine Group, including Spider, Cricket, and Cicada, as well as to an assortment of other publications for young readers including Story Station, Shiny, and the young adult anthology Magic in the Mirrorstone (Mirrorstone Books). She holds an M.A. in developmental psychology, has co-authored a textbook on child development, and is a frequent speaker at Dragon*Con's Young Adult Literature Track. She also pens a monthly column, Writing for Young Readers, and is the managing editor of Tangent. Visit her online at www.eugiefoster.com.

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