3 ELEMENTS EVERY CHI LDREN’S STORY

MUST HAVE
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If you are writing for children, the possibility of topics and styles with which to write are endless. However, all
stories for children, no matter how different they may be, have these 3 common important elements.

When writing a book for children, it’s important that you really take into consideration your target audience.
While children of course are your primary audience when writing, it is important to remember that you are
writing for a dual audience when writing children’s fiction.

Not only do you need to appeal to the kids – you need to draw in the parents as well! It is a unique challenge
when writing and selling books for children. If you ensure your story has these three main elements, you will
increase your likelihood for crafting a story both kids and grown-ups will enjoy alike.
H E R E AR E 3 E L E M E N T S O F A C H I L D R E N ’ S S T O R Y T O
M AK E S U R E Y O U I N C L U D E W H E N W R I T I N G F O R K I D S :
While there are many different options for ways you can be creative with the type of children’s story you write, it
is very important to make sure your story has 3 vital elements to ensure its success with your young audience.

CHILDREN’S STORY ELEMENT #1: YOU NEED A HOOK

Don’t you just hate it when you pick up a novel, get a hundred pages into it and think, ‘Wow, when is this story
going to start getting good? Then you have to sit there and argue with yourself about how maybe you just need
to give the author a few more chapters to really get into it, and how you have already invested several hours
reading so you feel obligated to finish the book, and how you spent 7.99 to buy it and it would be a waste of
money if you did not finish it – so you continue reading.

Maybe the book does finally get good. Or maybe it doesn’t. But you finish it anyways.

Children are not nearly as concerned with things such as time, money or potentia l of a book to “get good.”

When writing for children it is important to keep in mind that you have about 2 and a half seconds to capture
their interest enough that they will be willing to invest the next ten minutes to see how the story turns out.

But, how do you do that? It is simple! All you need to do is create a hook. As you are probably already aware, the
hook is what grabs your reader’s attention and compels them to keep reading. Without a hook it will be very
difficult to hold the interest of a child (or editor!) but with a strong hook you will be sure to craft a story that
children won’t want to put down once the reading begins!

YOU NEED CONFLICT

All children face challenges, solve problems, work through fears, overcome barriers and make tough decisi ons,
and the characters in their stories need to do these things as well. Just as all great stories contain strong
characters, they also contain some type of conflict that those characters must resolve.

It is in between the presentation of the conflict and the resolution of it that children fall in love with the
characters in stories. Internally they cry with them, root for them, think of their own possible solutions to the
problem presented and in the end are overcome with joy for the character as the conf lict is resolved. Without
conflict children have no reason to become emotionally invested in a story. And without emotional investment,
it is unlikely that the story will leave a lasting impression or make any real impact on the child’s life. And if we
are honest, as writers for children, one of our greatest hopes for our stories is that they will become a child’s
favorite, next to the bed, with a tattered cover as the child begs the parent to read it “one more time.”

Y O U N E E D A M E S S AG E
Great stories for children contain strong messages for that inspire them, uplift them, motivate them and delight
them. Other times messages may be more somber and correct children, convince them, or help them identify
with a problem they are facing in their own lives such as parents divorcing or a grandparent dying.

The list of possible messages writers can impart to children are endless, as is the ways to get the message across.
Also, it is important to note that the message of a story is different from a story containing a s pecific lesson or
moral that was written for the sole purpose of teaching that lesson or moral to the child. Now, there is a time
and place for such stories and they are usually reserved for Sunday school or as a consequence to bad behavior.
Just as we adults like to relax and read for entertainment and enjoyment, so do children!
If all the books we wrote only had one mission, to instruct children, teach them, convince them and lecture them,
how often would children want to read? If you said not that often, you’re close. If you said “Never” you’re
correct! However, if we as writers craft entertaining and exciting tales full of wonderful characters and present
conflicts that are meaningful to the age group of children we are intending the stories for a messag e is sure to
emerge.

If you have a finished, or near finished manuscript, go back through it and check of these 3 elements as you
come across them in your story. If any of the elements are missing be sure to find a way to weave it in.

If you do not have a manuscript but are planning on writing a children’s story, it may be a good idea to read
through several children’s stories and identify these elements within each story. Doing this, you can see how
other writers have utilized these elements to create strong stories children will love.

What are your thoughts? Comments are always welcome below!

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Ewa.Britt Nilson
 Hi… Interesting to read what you wrote I also had Hook, Conflict, Message … I have had the story in my mind, for some years.
Rewritten it in my brain several times during my sickness, but soon I´m ready to begin to write the first chapter… It will b e a book to
learn from but also lots of good laughs… Unexpected adventures with animals I told a part of the story for a friend who works with
small children, then I had told it she said: THAT BOOK WILL SHE SURE READ FOR THE CHILDREN… And I´ll have a
manuscript… Read more »
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3 years ago

Guest

Taylor Bishop
Thanks for explaining what should be in a children’s story I’m glad you mentioned to have some kind of message in the story t hat will
uplift them or delight them. This seems important for making sure that the child feels good about themselves and maybe even
wanting to read the story again.
0 Reply

9 months ago

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