| I've been asked many times if writers can be | | | | romance because they see it as easy and |
| taught. So have my writer friends, especially | | | | lucrative. Both are far harder than you might |
| those who teach writing. Quite a few people | | | | think. |
| come down heavily on one side or the other of | | | | Let's take a closer look at writing for children. |
| this question. Yes, you can teach people to write. | | | | First, you have to decide the age of child you are |
| No, you can't teach people to write. Sometimes, | | | | writing for. It is vastly different targeting 2 year |
| people come down in the middle. I believe you | | | | olds to 10 year olds. Are you targeting stories at |
| can, but with reservations. | | | | girls, boys or both? What is appropriate language |
| First, let's look at ten advantages. | | | | to suit their developmental stage? What are they |
| 1. Writing is both a profession and a skill. There | | | | interested in? Should you include a moral? How do |
| are techniques, trends, methods, fundamentals. All | | | | you avoid talking down to them? Might your story |
| can be taught. | | | | overwhelm - or underwhelm them? Will your book |
| 2. Writing is not a mysterious, muse-inspired art, it | | | | include pictures? If so, what type of pictures,? |
| is work, slog, tedious and takes determination. | | | | Cartoons, paintings, photographs? Who will do |
| 3. Writing has to confirm to conventions, especially | | | | them? How much of the royalties must you |
| if the writer hopes to publish or earn an income. | | | | share with a book illustrator? Every book for |
| 4. There are basics such as grammar and | | | | children has been written, how do you go about |
| construction. Rules - which can be broken, but | | | | making your book the one they want to have? |
| only if you know what they are in the first place. | | | | Or that the adult wants to buy for them? |
| 5. Just because you learned at primary school the | | | | With romance, are you writing to the Mills & Boon |
| execution of putting letters on a page to form | | | | format? If so, what is the Mills & Boon format? |
| words and sentences, or learned to type them | | | | How do you achieve a suitable story that meets |
| into a computer, does not mean you are now a | | | | the word count, the page requirements, the |
| writer. | | | | chapter numbers, the story imperatives? If you |
| 6. Often, you need to unlearn things you had to | | | | get the structure right, how do you avoid robbing |
| accomplish at school in order to pass. | | | | the story of interest? Develop the characters? |
| 7. You will be challenged and led into writing you | | | | Ensure the plot and style and voice all meet the |
| might not otherwise attempt yet could turn out | | | | publishers demands as well as what it is you want |
| to be your niche. | | | | to write? Do you know you must write under a |
| 8. The feedback and creativity of your fellow | | | | pseudonym which belongs to the company? If |
| writers and teachers will feed your own creativity. | | | | you leave, someone else can write under your |
| 9. You are not in a vacuum, you can discover | | | | pseudonym. Do you believe in romance? Many |
| how others handle similar problems, ask questions, | | | | who want to write it don't. |
| get answers. | | | | I've met student writers who have come into |
| 10. It's a wonderful opportunity to learn how to | | | | courses with just these intentions, believing both |
| expose your writing to others, to read it aloud to | | | | will be easy and lucrative. Neither is true. It's |
| an audience, and hear what they have to say; | | | | harder to write for children than adults. For |
| why they like or don't like something; how they | | | | example, you must understand what a child |
| think it might work better. | | | | probably knows or doesn't know, whereas with |
| Now, let's look at ten disadvantages. | | | | an adult, there are many givens in what they |
| 1. You will have to focus on more than your own | | | | know or will understand. It is also very easy to |
| writing. | | | | talk down to children, to patronize them or just |
| 2. What you write might be unfairly criticized and | | | | make a fool of yourself trying to use their lingo |
| even fair criticism is hard to take. | | | | when you don't really know it. |
| 3. There will be exposure to bad writing and you | | | | One final point in favor of learning to write is |
| will have to find a way of critiquing it, not just say | | | | dialogue. Whether it is for children, romance or an |
| it stinks (even if it does). | | | | adult novel, dialogue must reflect the character |
| 4. You want to write short stories but you have | | | | even when you don't put an attribution. When a |
| to learn how to write novels. | | | | character opens their mouth, the reader needs to |
| 5. There's a qualification at the end, but what | | | | know who is speaking as much by what they say |
| does that matter to a fiction writer? | | | | and how they say it as by you putting she/he |
| 6. It's a waste of time, money and energy that | | | | said. How do you do this without getting |
| could be put into writing my great novel that will | | | | ridiculous? Especially with dialect. How do you |
| make me rich and famous. | | | | accomplish broken syntax, which is how people |
| 7. I know how to write. I don't want to be led | | | | talk, whilst still getting across what (you) the |
| down false paths. | | | | character wants/needs to say? How do you |
| 8. I have a good imagination and I can spell. What | | | | ensure all your characters don't sound the same? |
| more is there to know? | | | | There are many, many aspects, tricks, |
| 9. The teacher will make me read and write | | | | techniques, tried and true methods of writing |
| things I'm just not interested in. | | | | which can be taught. |
| 10. I always got As on my English essays, so I | | | | However, a final word for the negative. If you |
| am already a writer. | | | | aren't creative on any level, prepared for the fact |
| Of course, there are more advantages and | | | | that writing is hard work, and understand that all |
| disadvantages of learning to write than I have | | | | writing needs to be worked and reworked before |
| included here, but overall, depending on what you | | | | it is ready, then you aren't meant to be a writer |
| want from the experience, I believe there is | | | | and no writing teacher can teach you or turn you |
| much to learn from being taught how to write, | | | | into the next feted novelist. Writing can be taught, |
| one of which is discipline. It takes discipline to | | | | but if you aren't destined for fame, you aren't |
| achieve writing. | | | | destined for fame. |
| Many writers want to write for children or write | | | | |