Saving Time and Effort
Some time ago, a friend asked if I wanted to work with her in putting together a children's book (she would illustrate it, I would write it). My immediate reaction was, "Sure, I can do that!" That response, of course, was based on a couple of assumptions that most of us "non-children's book writers" share: (1) we've read some children's books and they didn't seem that difficult to write, and (2) we were all children once, so surely we can write for them.
Well, it's true that we each spent a part of our life as a child, and it's also true that there probably have been a few books published that many of us feel that we might have been able to equal or surpass. However, there is more to it than that and this is what Sally Odgers' course: "Writing a Children's Book" is about - the common sense AND the technical aspects of writing a book for children.
The course is arranged in a way that ensures a natural progression from one part of the outline to the next and from one necessary lesson step to another. If you actually happen to be writing a book at the time of taking the course, you can compare how you've already approached the writing with the course's recommended approach. This is a good "tweaking" and "troubleshooting" feature. If you haven't begun writing yet, but are considering it, the information presented can help you gain a better understanding of the way to approach the writing process...and it is just that...a process.
There are eight lessons in the course, each broken down into sections that explain and reinforce what is being taught within that lesson.
What are themes related to? How many characters should be in your book? Why? How does syntax fit in with writing a children's book? How do you troubleshoot your initial plan? This course answers those questions and more. It also offers a "do and don't" list, how to write for the various ages and genres, an excellent formula, and a graphing way of finding problems and weaknesses within the story, all of which make a great reference to keep in mind throughout the entire writing process.
The examples that Sally highlights make each lesson even easier to grasp and remember, especially the brief chapter-by-chapter summaries of several books that she uses as examples. In analyzing these, the student learns the "threads" necessary to weave a good story.
Some time ago, a friend asked if I wanted to work with her in putting together a children's book (she would illustrate it, I would write it). My immediate reaction was, "Sure, I can do that!" That response, of course, was based on a couple of assumptions that most of us "non-children's book writers" share: (1) we've read some children's books and they didn't seem that difficult to write, and (2) we were all children once, so surely we can write for them.
Well, it's true that we each spent a part of our life as a child, and it's also true that there probably have been a few books published that many of us feel that we might have been able to equal or surpass. However, there is more to it than that and this is what Sally Odgers' course: "Writing a Children's Book" is about - the common sense AND the technical aspects of writing a book for children.
The course is arranged in a way that ensures a natural progression from one part of the outline to the next and from one necessary lesson step to another. If you actually happen to be writing a book at the time of taking the course, you can compare how you've already approached the writing with the course's recommended approach. This is a good "tweaking" and "troubleshooting" feature. If you haven't begun writing yet, but are considering it, the information presented can help you gain a better understanding of the way to approach the writing process...and it is just that...a process.
There are eight lessons in the course, each broken down into sections that explain and reinforce what is being taught within that lesson.
What are themes related to? How many characters should be in your book? Why? How does syntax fit in with writing a children's book? How do you troubleshoot your initial plan? This course answers those questions and more. It also offers a "do and don't" list, how to write for the various ages and genres, an excellent formula, and a graphing way of finding problems and weaknesses within the story, all of which make a great reference to keep in mind throughout the entire writing process.
The examples that Sally highlights make each lesson even easier to grasp and remember, especially the brief chapter-by-chapter summaries of several books that she uses as examples. In analyzing these, the student learns the "threads" necessary to weave a good story.
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