We all have favorite books that were read to us as children or that we read on our own. Children tend to read the most loved books over and over again. Young readers find something so appealing that they want to enjoy the story and the feeling it brings multiple times. It doesn't matter that they know the outcome. There is no surprise ending when it's the twentieth reading.
Travel back to your own favorite stories in your growing-up years. What were your favorites? We can all create a list. I loved the Nancy Drew mystery series and the many Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I read the Bobbsey Twins books again and again. As I got older, I didn't repeat the readings like I'd done as a fairly new reader. There were too many more books waiting to be read!
Take some time and think about what it was that kept you interested in the books you liked the best. What elements did they have that made you want to keep reading? Why did so many of the children's books stay popular over many decades?
Make a list of answers for the questions above. Add to the list as you ponder more on the questions. Make another of the themes of the stories, the kinds of characters and more.
Now, when you write a novel or short story for adults, you'll use the same general elements as you found in those great books for kids. Whatever made you love Alice In Wonderland will also make adult readers want to keep reading the book that you write. The basics are the same while the vocabulary, length and more intricate plotting are used in an adult book.
You'll have a protagonist--hero--who has a problem to solve and an outcome that should be satisfying to most readers. Simple? Perhaps. There is so much more to writing that good tale. Consider the use of description, a sense of place, sensory details, tension and more. When you pay attention to all these things and come up with a story that people will want to read, you should be very proud. This writing business can become very complicated and anyone who can do it successfully is to be admired.
So, if you've had any fiction published, no matter where, pat yourself on the back. You earned it. Remind yourself now and then of those books you loved long ago and aim for the same positives they had.
Now, when you write a novel or short story for adults, you'll use the same general elements as you found in those great books for kids. Whatever made you love Alice In Wonderland will also make adult readers want to keep reading the book that you write. The basics are the same while the vocabulary, length and more intricate plotting are used in an adult book.
You'll have a protagonist--hero--who has a problem to solve and an outcome that should be satisfying to most readers. Simple? Perhaps. There is so much more to writing that good tale. Consider the use of description, a sense of place, sensory details, tension and more. When you pay attention to all these things and come up with a story that people will want to read, you should be very proud. This writing business can become very complicated and anyone who can do it successfully is to be admired.
So, if you've had any fiction published, no matter where, pat yourself on the back. You earned it. Remind yourself now and then of those books you loved long ago and aim for the same positives they had.
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