Writing a Children's Book

Lesson 1: Writing for Children

Age Groups and Genres 2.

Romance is always YA. A YA romance deals with love between young (usually teenaged) protagonists. YA romance departs from the general romance in that the goal is not usually permanent commitment, let alone marriage. The books that do deal with teen marriage are usually not romances.

YA romance has quite a lot in common with family stories, because the focus is usually on the attainment and maintenance of a steady relationship. In books for younger teens, the romantic element will be slighter and less physical, and the focus might be on what used to be known as girl-boy friendship.

Generally, the more realistically the relationship is depicted, the less likely the book is to be pure romance. "Trinity Street" has elements of YA romance in the relationship Tell suspects between Gerhardt and Camena, and in the relationship that does develop between Gerhardt and Tell.

Mystery can appear at any level, although it’s rare in PB. Mysteries deal with mysterious happenings that the protagonist(s) will eventually solve. There is some mystery in most adventure and much science fiction. Both "Trinity Street" and "Alien Dawn" have touches of mystery. "The Orange Outlaw" is definitely a mystery.

Fantasy occurs at all levels, and in most sub genres. PB and JCB fantasies are usually domestic fantasy, often with strong family story connections. Fantasy at SCB and YA level can include quest fantasy, fantasy romance, and virtually everything else you might find in general fantasy titles – except erotic fantasy.

Science Fiction appears at almost all levels, except perhaps PB. Pure sf is more common in SCB and YA, but domestic sf (i.e. alien friends, humorous robots) is quite common in JCB. Both "Trinity Street" and "Alien Dawn" are science fiction. "Trinity Street" has time travel, genetic engineering, and telepathy while "Alien Dawn" has aliens and telepathy.

Horror exists in SCB and YA, but not generally in the other levels. It almost never touches RS (reading scheme). Every kind of horror appears at the higher levels except erotic horror and the more extreme “slasher” horror.

Historical Novels used to be common in all levels, but are now quite rare. There is a bit of what’s known as Nostalgia Fiction in general fiction, but when this (or the true historical) does appear in children’s books it’s usually there to showcase some social injustice of the past.

Humorous historicals like the “Pagan” series by Catherine Jinks are about, and there are a few historical romances, but 1920s and Regency historical don’t seem to exist.

Issues Books used to be known as “Problem Novels” in the 1960s and ‘70s. The overtly issues-based book is probably a bit less common now than it was thirty years ago, but it certainly still exists. It tends to occur at the SCB and YA levels, but has been known to surface at JCB and PB. It even occurs in a mild form in RS.

Animal Stories are similar to family stories, but always involve an animal as a major character. The animal story exists in PB, ECB and OCB but very rarely at YA. "The Orange Outlaw" and "Alien Dawn", despite the presence of the orang utan, the pony and the dolphins, don’t qualify.

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