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Targeting the Young
To target young readers effectively, writers must understand their specific age group, create authentic and relatable characters, address relevant themes, and use an immediate, engaging voice.
Define Your Audience Precisely
“Young people” is a broad category. You must target a specific age range to tailor your writing style and themes:
- Picture Books (ages 3–7): Simple sentences, accessible vocabulary, and a strong reliance on visuals (around 500-800 words total).
- Middle Grade (ages 8–12): More complex plots, deeper themes like friendship and self-discovery, and generally 20,000–50,000 words. Protagonists are typically middle-school-aged.
- Young Adult (ages 13–18): Can tackle serious and complex issues (mental health, social justice, identity, relationships). The writing can be as sophisticated as adult fiction, but the perspective remains immediately in the character’s teenage life.
Create Authentic and Relatable Characters
Young readers need protagonists they can identify with, root for, and aspire to be.
- Character Age: The main character should generally be the same age as or slightly older than the target reader.
- Flaws and Growth: Characters should have depth and flaws, and actively grow and change during the story.
- Emotional Authenticity: Tap into the core emotions of growing up: vulnerability, insecurity, hope, and confusion. Avoid an adult-looking-back perspective with a preachy or condescending tone.
Focus on Relevant Themes
- Integrate themes that resonate with the experiences and challenges young people face today, such as:
- Identity and self-discovery
- Relationships (friendships, family, romance)
- Social issues (climate change, diversity, mental health)
Master the Writing Style and Voice
- Immediate Point of View: Use a close point of view (often first-person) to create an intimate, immediate connection with the character’s thoughts and feelings.
- Authentic Dialogue: Pay attention to how young people speak, but avoid using short-lived or outdated slang. The dialogue should feel natural and true to the character, not a forced attempt to sound “with it”.
- Pacing and Engagement: Young readers often prefer faster-paced narratives. Use compelling hooks and ensure plot points move the story forward.
- Hopeful Endings: While stories can explore dark themes, most young adult and middle grade novels should offer a sense of hope or possibility by the end.
Research and Engagement
- Read recent bestsellers and popular books in your target age group and genre to understand current trends and reader expectations.
- If possible, spend time with people in your target age range, listen to their conversations, and observe their interests.
- Use Beta Readers: Get feedback from appropriately aged readers to ensure your writing is authentic and engaging.
Tip Sheets on Inclusion for Children
6 Paula Kluth Tip Sheets on Inclusion Free-Printable-Today we’ve got a great free resource for you: a set of six practical inclusion tip sheets, adapted from the work of Brookes author and inclusion rock star Paula Kluth. Check them out below for some how-to tips on including and teaching all students. And at the end of this post, you can download the complete package of tip sheets as a ready-to-print PDF,
What Are Your Chances of Getting Published?
Laura Backes
Most beginning children’s writers are curious about their chances of ever seeing their work in print. Editors have told me that a mid- to large-sized publishing house gets upwards of 5000 unsolicited submissions a year. About 95% are rejected right off the bat (most get form letters, a few promising authors get personalized notes stating why the manuscript was rejected). Of the 5% left, some are queries for which the editors request entire manuscripts. Others are manuscripts submitted in their entirety, and these go on to the next stage of the acquisitions process.
Plan for Success
by Mary Anne Hahn
Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood — Make big plans, aim high in hope and in work. –Daniel H. Burnham,Architect Before you post your first web site, print your first business card or hang that shingle on your door, you can lay a foundation for your writing business that might make all the difference in the world between total success and dismal failure.
Youth Writing Markets
A list of organizations for young adult authors and young writers. This list includes information about writing for children, writing young adult and where children and young adults can enter competitions.
How to Write a Children’s Book and Submit It to Publishers
No easy task, but it CAN be done. Publishing a children’s book in today’s extremely competitive market can be tough. And because most such books require four-color illustrations, they are also the most expensive to print — though most publishers have this done overseas. You might think it’s easier to write children’s books because they’re shorter than adult novels. Well, they might not take quite as long to write, but they’re no easier.
Why Children Like to Write Fiction Stories
Writing is an excellent form of communication, which is why so many schools and institutions prioritize it. Writing is considered an art, and for good reason. There is something special about how mere words written on a piece of paper can bring so much to life in the form of stories. Written stories that gain popularity are often adapted into movies and series on the big screens. In short, written stories provide great entertainment for us in various ways, and the great thing about it is that anyone can write it, even children.
To Specialize, or Not to Specialize?
Mary Anne Hahn
Okay, so you’ve decided that you want to write for fun and profit, and not necessarily in that order. Perhaps you’ve already abandoned your day job to pursue your dream of the full-time writing life, or maybe you just want to test the waters part-time until you have the guts (and money) to jump in with both feet. In any event, you’ve decided that you want to start your own writing business.
Mud Pies
Teraisa J. Goldman
There is something magical about writing fiction stories for children. When you write, you are transformed into a child again, and you hear your own words as if for the first time — as a child would.
The 8 Habits of Highly Successful Young-Adult Fiction Authors
Best-selling writers including John Green and Veronica Roth share their strategies for crafting authentic, relatable teen characters — even in fantasy worlds.
You Can Write A Short Story: Part 1 The Story Idea
Linda S. Dupie
So, you want to write a short story. There is more to writing it, than just telling a story. Have you heard the phrase “Show, don’t tell?” If you haven’t, then remember it. Show; don’t tell means to use your characters to convey the story through their actions and dialogue.
You Can Write A Short Story: Part 2 The Meat of the Story
Linda S. Dupie
Many writers call the middle the meat of the story, but I like to think of it as an OREO cookie. The creme filling is what holds the ends together, just as the middle of your story should bring the beginning and ending of your story together.
You Can Write A Short Story: Part 3 The Climax
Linda S. Dupie
You’ve worked hard on your story, now it’s time to round out the story with your ending. This is the time to exit your story gracefully.
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