Janet Councilman is an author who writes stories that truly touch the hearts of the young readers. Her books such as Pettie the Penguin and the Electric Igloo and Rocky the Respectful Raccoon and His Red Sunglasses all have heartwarming and valuable storylines that capture the interest of children and adults alike. Her latest children’s book, Sammie the Shark and the Return of the Lost Gift is one of Janet Councilman’s best works so far, as it contains the many elements that are necessary in a good story for children. To give you some ideas on what these elements are about, this article lists down below some of the secrets to creating an effective storyline for children.
Your ideas should be unique
Creating an effective storyline is quite complicated, a bit more so than usual when your target audience is children. There are many things that you have to consider. One is on how your story can be appropriate for the age range of your target audience, and another is on how your story can capture the interest of both young and adult readers. To respond to the second question, the answer ultimately lies in the uniqueness of your story. Your story should contain very unique ideas organized in unique ways. Generally, when your story merely replicates the ideas of others, it tends to lose its meaning and quality. To be brutally honest, redundant stories are not creative at all. Especially when writing a story for children, it is important that you let your creative ideas flow freely.
Now, how can you possibly start an idea that is different from the others? One way to find out is by reading the works of other authors! You should read books that you believe are similar to what you have in mind. Take some inspirations from these books, but do not, in any way, copy them. Reading the works of others simply equips you with the knowledge that you will need to write your own unique story. The works of Janet Councilman like Sammie the Shark and Rocky the Respectful Raccoon can be great sources of inspirations in writing heartwarming stories for children.
Your dialogues should be convincing
Once you have already prepared your ideas for your story, set yourself into motion. Write these ideas down and begin the first draft of your story. Since you have already passed your first hurdle, which is to come up with some unique ideas, you can now move on to your second hurdle – to write convincing dialogues.
Dialogues are very much important in a story. They are what moves the story forward, and they make many things clear such as the intentions or reactions of the characters. To write a convincing dialogue in a story for children, you should be able to come up with lines that are understandable and relatable to your target readers. Generally, a story has a greater chance of having an impact if it reflects the real life. Children should be able to see themselves in your characters, and to relate and agree to your dialogues. To do this effectively, you can reminisce about your past as a child, and get some ideas from your experiences. Search for the things in your past that you believe are useful in making a story for children.
Your opening lines should hook the readers
As you begin to write your story, you should always bear in mind the importance of the first few lines that you write. The first few lines should make a good impression on your readers. It would be much better if your opening lines are something fascinating – lines that will surely hook the readers!
Your opening lines give your readers some ideas on what to expect from your book. To wrap them around your story, your opening lines should be written in suspense or mystery. Do the best that you can to write lines that will provide your readers with the element of surprise, and make them formulate questions and theories as to how your story progresses. The more questions they have to ponder on, the greater the chance that they will be hooked in reading your story until they find the answers to what piques their interests. In Sammie the Shark and the Return of the Lost Gift, for example, the opening lines of the book already stir some questions in the minds of the readers. Questions such as “What kind of shiny object did Sammie find?”, “Who could this shiny object belong?”, and “Who is this special someone that Sammie loves very much?” are all effective lines that can certainly hooks the young readers!
