Writing a Values Based Children's Story

How to Write a Simple Short Story for Kids that Teaches a Moral

Aug 15, 2008 Helen Brain

Writing a values based short story for children is harder than it seems. This article, the first of two, outlines some pitfalls to avoid.

• Don’t make your story moralistic, didactic or preachy. Children dislike being spoken down to, and they don’t enjoy being told to behave in certain ways and to ‘be good.’ They will switch off and your message, which may be worthwhile, will be wasted.
• Don’t think up a moral or value that you want a child to learn and then tack a storyline and characters onto it. The result will always be preachy, flat and unengaging.
• Don't make the storyline simplistic – a problem is solved by an angel sent by God, a dream discloses an answer, and in the morning the problem is solved, or a kind human helps the child and solves the dilemma instantly. Life doesn’t work so simply, even though we’d like it to. And children are discerning enough to know when they are being fobbed off with easy answers when in fact their own experience is that life is more complicated.
• Don't make the story unnecessarily involved with twists and turns and unexpected plot devices. Keep a simple story arc – a problem situation, the main character works at solving it, and finally gets it right.
• Don't make the solution external - let the main character be the agent of change or of good.
• Don’t overload the story with unnecessary characters. Keep the storyline simple and the characters at a minimum to carry the plot.
• Don't make the characters cute animals, particularly if it’s for children older than seven. Older children don’t easily relate to animal stories, as they can seem babyish. A well-characterised story about a child or children that the reader can relate to is far better than another story about Harry the Hippo or any other random animal. In fact, many publishers will decide to discard your story on the basis of a title like Harry the Hippo or Sticky the Stick Insect. 'Anthropomorphising' is, with good reason, unpopular among many publishing houses.
• Don't think that one story will suit all children of all ages from 3 to 13. Children are highly complicated with precise needs emotionally and developmentally, and a story has to be exactly suited to the age group intended.
• Don’t think that just because your child or Sunday school class loved your story that a publisher will snap it up. The child who hears the story straight from your lips is enjoying the sense of connection with you. It may not stand the test of a different culture, age group, race or country.
• Don’t use stereotyped characters – Dad and son go out and do something exciting while Mom and daughter stay home and clean the house.
• Don’t give the characters the first names that come to mind. Chances are these will be the names you heard in your childhood, and many will be out of date for children now. Choose names that are common among the age group children you are writing for and children will find the stories easier to relate to.

The copyright of the article Writing a Values Based Children's Story in Writing for Children is owned by Helen Brain. Permission to republish Writing a Values Based Children's Story in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Oliver Reading