How to Write Children's Short Stories

If you've ever told a story to your child, you may have wondered if you could go ahead and put it down on paper to save for him or her and for future generations. Perhaps you would like to write the story down and sell it to a publisher. Writing children's stories can be fun and profitable. For each genre of writing, there are specific rules you'll want to follow.

Instructions

Getting Started

1

Brainstorm for ideas that you might want to turn into a children's short story. The best ideas typically come from things that kids deal with every day. For example, younger kids might enjoy a story on potty training, pets or bugs. Older kids will enjoy things such as losing your tooth, a trip to the dentist or a story about a vacation.

2

Create a cluster to help narrow down your idea and main points. Start with a large circle that has your main ideas, such as the word vacation. Use lines to connect smaller circles to that bigger circle and just begin to brainstorm ideas that go with the main idea. You should write down the first thing that comes to mind, you will not use them all. So, you might have circles off of vacation that read "beach," "mountains" or "museum." Next, you will create smaller clusters off of each of the secondary clusters. For example, for museum, you might have circles that read "dinosaurs," "mummies" or "lost in the museum."

3

Look for the idea that interests you most. You may wind up with several story ideas from a single cluster exercise. Try not to cover too much material in one story. For example, if you plan to write about being lost in the museum, don't focus on the dinosaur exhibit for too long.

Characters and Conflict

4

Create characters that are likable and believable and your reader will love your stories. Probably one of the best ways to easily create interesting characters is by basing them upon people you know. Just don't make the description too recognizable or you may risk making a friend or family member angry.

5

Add conflict to your story to keep it interesting. Conflict is the problem your character faces and has to solve by the end of the story. Using the example above, the boy that is lost in a museum must figure out how to find his mother (or whomever he was with).

6

Use specific steps to reach the end of the story. There are specific steps a character must take to reach the end of a short story. These will include attempts to solve the problem (conflict), setbacks and triumphs. The character will meet helpers along the way that will help him find his way out of the museum. However, this task should not be too easy for the character.

Format

7

Format your manuscript correctly, if you are planning to send to an editor. Correct formatting includes one inch margins all the way around; a 12 point Times New Roman font; double spaced body; title on the first page; on the first page in the upper left, your name, address, telephone and email. Many editors also want an estimated word count on the upper right of the first page.

8

Include a header on every page after your first page. Programs, such as MS Word, offer the ability to create a header that will appear on every page but the first. Go to File/Page Setup. Under "Layout" check the box next to "Different First Page". Click the "OK" button. Next, open "View" then click on "Headers and Footers." On the second page of your manuscript, inside the header box, you should add the title of the story, your last name and the page number. You may want to use the Insert/Page Number feature so that Word will automate this process for you. Otherwise, you create a lot of additional work for yourself.

9

Check carefully for any typos, add a cover letter that briefly explains what the story is about and insert a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE), so the editor can reply to your submission.