“Stop it, Ally!” screamed her older sister, Abby.
Still,
the taunting continued in the backseat.
“Abby is
a stupid head!” Ally shouted in a sing-songy manner.
“That’s
enough,” I interjected, glaring at my two preschoolers in the rearview mirror.
After a
few moments of quiet bliss, Abby leaned forward and very seriously asked,
“Mommy, can we just sell Ally?”
“No, I
think we better keep her,” I answered, trying to stifle my giggles.
As Abby
sank back into the car seat, I made a mental note: “Write a picture book about
wanting to sell a little sister.”
Out of
that encounter with my bickering babes, Sister For Sale was birthed—a picture book released in March 2002 by Zonderkidz, and
since released in a paperback version (2004) and a special I CAN READ format
(2007).
In fact,
most of my ideas for children’s stories have come from observing Abby and Ally
going about their everyday kid life; listening to their delightful dialogue;
and eavesdropping on them and their friends. But, what happens now that they
are both teenagers? I’m not about to
have more babies just so I can stay “in touch” with today’s kiddos. (Hey, I’m
dedicated to my craft, but that’s pushing it!) So, how can we write for little
children when we no longer have young kiddos living in our homes? We have to
embrace the three important “R’s” – Rent, Research and Remember.
1. Rent a Child for
the Day: If you don’t have any children, you need to hang out with children
so that you’ll understand kid lingo, children’s likes and dislikes, current
trends, etc.
*Offer
to babysit for the neighbors’ children or your relatives’ children.
*Take
your turn working the nursery at church.
*Work
with Girl Scouts; Boy Scouts; other children’s groups.
2. Research: hang
out where kiddos hang out; read what they are reading; watch what they are watching; get into their
world! You’ll want to observe children at
play. Watch how they interact. Listen to how they talk. Observe how they move and what they wear, etc.
*Go to
the Park.
*Go to
Chuck E. Cheese.
*Go to
the zoo.
*See the
latest animated movie and tune into the Nickelodeon and Disney channels on TV.
*Read
the Newbery and Caldecott winning picture books each year. (http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberyhonors/newberymedal)
3. Remember: think
back to when you were a kid: Times may have changed but the raw emotion of a story never goes
out of style.
*Draw
from your own childhood experiences.
*Tap
into memories of your proudest, saddest, most embarrassing or disappointing moments. Slang, toys,
and fashions come and go, but feelings are universal and timeless.
*Childhood memories may be the story buds for numerous future
articles and books. The key is to
remember with all of your senses—what you saw, how it felt, how it smelled, etc. Become that child
again…
The old
writer’s cliché, “Write what you know,” is still as true as the first time some
wise person said it. So, get to know the children you’re writing for, and enjoy
becoming a kid again. Now, don’t bother me. “Big Time Rush” is about to come on
Nickelodeon…
Michelle Medlock
Adams is an award-winning author of more than 35 children’s titles and 58 books
in all. When not writing, she enjoys hanging out with her daughters, Abby and
Ally, and cheering on the Indiana University Basketball team (Go Hoosiers!) The
Adams family resides in Bedford, IN. www.michellemedlockadams.com
No comments:
Post a Comment