The fourth mistake is one that many seasoned writers still make today.

Confusion over Point of View

Misconception – What on earth does point of view have to do with a children’s book?

So many people, including old hands at writing, just can’t grasp how the point of view relates to fictional writing. The thing is, when you write for children, regardless of age, you have to understand how the different point of view choices work. If you can place yourself firmly inside your character, either in a first-person or third-person point of view, when you can let your readers see through your character’s eyes, their heart and mind, you are a good distance along the road towards capturing their attention and holding it.

At one time, most books including kid’s books, used to be written in a voice that was totally outside the story, separate from the major players and, while picture books still tend to be told in this way, books written for older kids need to be told in first or third-person point of view.

Writing from the first-person point of view means telling your story from the point of view of the main character. Going back to our previous example of Karen, our 13-year-old girl; if you were to write in first-person from her point of view you would write things like “I left school not knowing what I would have to face at home.” If you write in third-person, you would write, “When Karen left school, she had no idea what she would have to face at home.” In both of these cases, we can see the world through the eyes of the main character, providing an instant connection.

One of the biggest advantages of writing in both of these ways is that you can create a real sense of connection to the person telling the story and that leads to a direct connection, a more intimate one between the writer and the reader. Readers, more specifically the older children and the young adult readers, can easily connect and identify with the main character and will care what happens to them, will feel the emotions that the character goes through.

Many writers opt to tell their stories from several points of view but, if you choose to do that, you must make sure that the transition between each of the viewpoints is clearly separated and this tends to be done using separate chapters or larger bits of the story. This eliminates sudden changes which can cause confusion and serious headaches for readers.

Some authors do still choose to write in that original voice, outside of the characters, but these are authors who have created a very strong voice that is pretty much a character in its own right. Point of view is incredibly important to all readers, especially children so don’t get into the habit of thinking that it really doesn’t matter.

In the final part, we’ll look at the last mistake and some tips for writing children’s books.