How to Write a Children’s Story

Writing stories for children requires you to have vivid imagination and the ability to put yourself in the way of thinking of children. Are you writing children’s stories for your class or want to create your own? Start by brainstorming ideas that will appeal to children, then start writing stories with an impressive opening, good plot, and a moral lesson. When you’re done writing, remember to sharpen your work so that it can captivate younger readers.

Table of Contents

Prepare

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Determine the age group of your target audience. Children’s stories are often aimed at specific age groups. Do you want to write stories for toddlers or older children? Determine if you want to write for children ages 2-4, 4-7 or 8-10. The language, tone, and style of the story will vary depending on the age group you’re targeting. ^{[1] X Research Source}

For example, if you want to write stories for children ages 2-4 or 4-7, you should use simple language and write very short sentences.
If your audience is 8-10 years old, you can use slightly more complex language and sentences longer than four or five words.

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Bring back childhood memories for inspiration. You can think of interesting, strange, or magical childhood memories as the basis for your story.

For example, maybe you had a strange day in third grade, so you can turn it into an interesting story. Or perhaps you went abroad as a kid and have a story from the trip that the kids might enjoy.

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Turn the ordinary into the magical. Pick an ordinary activity or event and add some extravagance. Make things weird by adding an element of absurdity. Use your imagination to try to see the story through the eyes of a child. ^{[2] X Research Source}

For example, you can take an ordinary event like going to the dentist for a dental check-up and turn it into a strange story by giving life to the healing machine. You can also turn a child’s first beach trip into a fantasy world by taking him deep into the ocean.

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Choose a theme or idea for the story. A main theme of the story will help you generate ideas. Focus on a topic like love, loss, individuality, or friendship from a children’s perspective. Think about how a child would embrace and explore the topic. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

For example, you could explore the topic of friendship by describing a little girl’s feelings for her pet turtle.

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Create a unique character. Sometimes children’s stories revolve around a unique protagonist and evoke empathy in the reader. Think of the types of characters that don’t appear often in children’s stories. Separate the story by using real-life child and adult personalities that you find interesting. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

For example, you may have noticed that few children’s stories feature an ethnic girl as the main character. Then you can create a protagonist to fill that gap.

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Think of one or two traits for the main character. Describe the main character with distinctive physical features such as a different hairstyle, clothing, or gait to impress the reader. You can also give the main character personality traits such as kindness, adventure or always getting caught up in trouble. ^{[5] X Trusted Source Read Write Think Go to Source}

For example, your main character always wears long braids and is very passionate about turtles. Or that little girl has a special scar on her hand from a fall from a tree.

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Create context. Divide the plot into six parts, starting with the introduction, aka the prologue. In the opening part, you will describe the setting, the main characters, and the conflict. First the name of the main character, then a description of the specific place or place. Next, you can sketch out the character’s wishes or goals and the obstacles or problems the character is facing. ^{[6] X Research Source}

For example, you could start like this: There was a little girl who always wished she had a pet to keep her company. One day she found a turtle in the lake next to her house.

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Create an initiation event. This will be an event or a decision that changes or challenges the protagonist. This event or decision may come from another person or an organization such as a school or workplace. This event can also come from nature, such as a hurricane or tornado.

For example, you could create an initiating event like: Na’s mother says that Na can’t have a pet because it requires too much responsibility.

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Conflict development. This is the part where you need to develop the main character and explore the main character’s relationship with the other characters in the story. Place their life in the middle of the initiating event and describe their response or adaptation to the event.

For example, you might develop a conflict such as: Na catches the turtle and hides it in her backpack, taking it everywhere she goes so her mother won’t find out.

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Create a climax. The climax is the climax of the story, when the protagonist must make a decision or have a choice. The climax must be dramatic and the most suspenseful moment in the story.

For example, you could create a climax like this: Na’s mother discovers the turtle in her backpack and tells Na not to keep it.

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Next comes the descending conflict section. This is where the protagonist deals with what happens to his choices. Maybe they make amends or make decisions. The protagonist can also bond with another character during this part of the plot.

For example, the descending part of the conflict might look like this: Na and her mother start arguing, while the turtle sneaks away. Both mother and daughter looked for it, but could not find it.

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Finally the ending. The ending closes the story. It tells the reader whether the protagonist succeeds or fails with his purpose. Maybe your characters get what they want, or they have to give in.

For example, you might write the ending like this: Na and her mother found a turtle in the lake. The two mothers also watched him swim away.

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Read stories written for children. You can learn more about this genre by reading popular children’s stories. Try to read stories for the audience or age group you want to target. You can read stories like:

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Charlotte’s Web (Charlotte’s Web) by EB White
The Gruffalo (The Tale of the Little Mouse) by Julia Donaldson
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Write a manuscript

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Write a compelling opening. Start with a catchphrase to draw readers into your story. Use a strange image of the main character for the opening. Show the reader the character’s actions. The opening will set the tone of the story and reveal to the reader what to expect. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

For example, the first line of Brunei Darussalam’s “The Beginning of Smoke” is: “Once upon a time, smoke was also a person. There was an orphan boy named Si Lasap who was always bullied by the children in the village…”
This opening introduces the characters, the tone of the story, and the magical element of “smoke”.

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Use descriptive and detailed words. Describe characters vividly by focusing on what they see, hear, smell, taste, touch, and feel. Use words that describe the senses to keep the reader interested. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

For example, you might describe the setting of the story as “head-splitting” or “sizzling hot.”
You can also use onomatopoeias like “clack,” “boom,” “bang,” or “shhh” to keep the reader interested.

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Add rhyme to the story. Engaging the little ones by using rhyming words in the story. Try writing pairs of rhymes or using words that rhyme together in the same sentence, such as “he is loud and gossipy” or “she is pretty and smart.” ^{[9] X Research Source}

You can use words that completely rhyme, such as “sunny” and “white” which rhyme completely.
You can also use incomplete rhyming words, such as “star” and “color” which are two incomplete rhymes.

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Use repeating words. Make the language of your story stand out by repeating certain key words or phrases throughout the story. Repetition can help maintain attention and stay in the reader’s mind. ^{[10] X Trusted Source Read Write Think Go to Source}

For example, you can repeat questions like “Where did the turtle go?” from the beginning to the end of the story. Or you can also repeat phrases like, “Oh my god, don’t!” or “It’s time!” to keep pace and keep the story alive.

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Use rhetorical devices such as repetition, metaphors, and similes. Repeating the first sound is using words that have the same initial consonant together, for example “the ant is more scowling” or “the forest turtle is creeping”. This is a great way to add rhyme to your writing and keep children interested in the story. ^{[11] X Trusted Source Read Write Think Go to Source}

A metaphor is a way of comparing by naming one thing to another. For example, you could use a metaphor like, “A turtle is a green shell floating on the surface of a lake.”
A simile is when you compare two things with the word “like”. For example, you could write a comparative sentence like “The turtle is as big as her hand”.

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Let the main character deal with the conflict. The key element of a good story is conflict, when the protagonist must overcome an obstacle, problem or problem in order to succeed. Limit your story to a specific and clear conflict with the reader. You can have the main character trying to find acceptance in others, dealing with family problems, or struggling with physical growth. ^{[12] X Trusted Source Read Write Think Go to Source}

A common conflict in children’s stories is fear of the unknown, such as learning a new skill, going to a new place, or getting lost.
For example, you might have your main character having a hard time adjusting to a new school, so she considers the turtle her best friend. Or your main character is always afraid of the basement and must learn to overcome fear.

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Give a moral lesson, but don’t preach it. Most children’s stories have happy, happy endings and a moral lesson. You should avoid writing heavily in this section. A subtle lesson will be more effective and gentler for the reader. ^{[13] X Research Source}

Try to give moral lessons through the actions of the characters. For example, you could describe a little girl and her mother hugging by the lakeside as the turtle swims away. This detail hints at a lesson in finding family support but doesn’t need to be made explicit to the reader.

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Illustration for the book. Most children’s books often have illustrations to add vibrancy. You can try hiring an illustrator or draw your own if you can. ^{[14] X Trusted Source Read Write Think Go to Source}

For many children’s books, illustrations contribute half of the success of the work to readers. You can draw character details such as clothes, hairstyles, facial expressions and colors in your illustrations.
Often illustrations for children’s books are drawn after the story is written. Thus, the painter can rely on the content in each scene or the progression in the story to illustrate the story.

Sharpen the story

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Read the story out loud. When you have finished the draft of the story, read it out loud. Listen to the story and see if it works. Note if there are expressions that are too complicated or too advanced for your audience. Edit the story to make it easy to read and follow.

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Introduce children to reading stories. Collect responses from your target age group. Ask siblings, younger family members or kids at school to read your stories and give comments. Adjust the story so that it is more attractive and relatable to children. ^{[15] X Research Source}

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Edit so that the story is the right length and the wording is clear. Re-read the draft and make sure the story isn’t too long. Usually, children’s stories are most effective if they are short and to the point. Most children’s stories have very few paragraphs, and if they are, they must be useful.

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Consider publishing the story. If you like your story, you can submit it to publishers for their review. Write a letter of recommendation to editors and publishers.

You can also self-publish your own children’s stories and sell them to readers online.

Steps

Prepare

Write a manuscript

Sharpen the story

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