What is good writing for children?T

What is good writing for children?

The children’s publishers will tell you they look for ‘good writing’. What exactly do they mean?

Before you send a story you have written to any publisher at all, your severest critic ought to be you yourself. To have a chance of succeed­ing in the competitive market of children's fic­tion, you should constantly be aware, every single time you sit down at your word-processor, of the need to produce 'good, original writing'. A diffi­cult task, maybe, but one which hopefully we will help you to achieve.

To begin with, let us try to pin down exactly what publishers mean when they talk about 'good writing' for children. A useful starting point would be to take a look at some of the children’s books which won literary prizes last year. Reading these books is one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways of: (a) finding out what indi­vidual publishers are publishing at the moment, and (b) learning a few tricks of the trade from well-established professionals. It goes without saying, of course, that slavishly copying the style and subject matter of a successful author is usual­ly a recipe for disaster. Nor should you become downhearted after reading a particularly brilliant piece of work, and miserably think you will never be able to match up to those standards. Remember, overnight success is rare - most suc­cessful children's authors will have struggled long and hard to learn their trade. Read these books as a critic; note down the things you enjoyed or admired, as well as areas where you feel there was possibly room for improvement. After all, nobody is perfect, not even a successful, prize-winning author.

Possibly the toughest challenge is right at the youngest end of the age range – the picture book. The would-be author/illustrator is attempting to create an exciting story out of the narrow, limited, everyday world of a young child's experience – not easy at all. The whole storyline has to be strong enough to keep the reader turning the pages, yet simple enough to fit into a few pages. Another problem for the new picture-book author is that it can seem that every subject and every approach has been done to death, with nothing new left to say. Add to this the fact that printing costs are high because of full colour illustrations, which means that the publisher will probably want a text that suits the international market to increase sales, and a novel for ten-year olds, with hardly any pictures at all, starts to look much more inviting.

You would be forgiven for wondering if there are any truly original plots left to impress publish­ers with. But remember that, in many ways, it is the writer's own personal style, and intelligent handling of a subject that can change a familiar, overworked plot into something original and fresh. To illustrate this, read The Enchanted Horse by Magdalen Nabb. A young girl called Irina finds an old wooden horse in a junk shop, takes it home and treats it as if it was real. Soon it magically starts to come to life ... Sounds familiar? The magic object that comes alive is a story­line that has been used in hundreds of other children's stories. So why does it succeed here? The answer is that Magdalen Nabb has created a strong, believable character in the lonely, unhappy heroine Irina, and the descriptions of her rela­tionship with the wooden horse are poetic and touching.

So, to return to the question asked at the begin­ning: What exactly is 'good writing' for children? The answer is that it is writing which is fresh, exciting and unpredictable, and which gives a new and original angle on what might be a well-worn subject. But do not be put off if you feel that you simply cannot match up to all these requirements. While there is obviously no substitute for talent, and the ability to come up with suitable ideas, many of the techniques for improving and polishing your manuscript can be learned.

Kết quả (Việt) 1:

Những gì là tốt bằng văn bản cho trẻ em?Nhà xuất bản của trẻ em sẽ cho bạn biết họ tìm kiếm 'tốt bằng văn bản'. Chính xác họ có ý gì?Trước khi bạn gửi một câu chuyện mà bạn đã viết cho bất kỳ nhà xuất bản ở tất cả, nhà phê bình severest của bạn nên là bạn mình. Để có một cơ hội thành công trong thị trường cạnh tranh nhi viễn tưởng, bạn liên tục nên biết, mỗi lần duy nhất bạn ngồi ở chương của bạn, về sự cần thiết để sản xuất 'tốt, ban đầu bằng văn bản'. Một nhiệm vụ khó khăn, có lẽ, nhưng một trong đó hy vọng chúng tôi sẽ giúp bạn để đạt được.Để bắt đầu với, hãy cho chúng tôi cố gắng để pin xuống chính xác những gì các nhà xuất bản có nghĩa là khi họ nói về 'tốt bằng văn bản' cho trẻ em. Một điểm khởi đầu hữu ích sẽ là để có một cái nhìn tại một số sách của trẻ em mà chiến thắng giải thưởng văn học cuối năm nay. Đọc những cuốn sách này là một trong những cách dễ nhất và thú vị nhất của: (a) việc tìm hiểu những gì cá nhân các nhà xuất bản xuất bản tại thời điểm này, và (b) việc học một vài thủ thuật của thương mại từ các chuyên gia cũng thành lập. Nó đi mà không nói, tất nhiên, rằng slavishly sao chép phong cách và chủ đề của một tác giả thành công thường là một công thức cho thiên tai. Cũng không nên bạn trở thành downhearted sau khi đọc một mảnh rực rỡ đặc biệt của công việc, và miserably nghĩ rằng bạn sẽ không bao giờ có thể phù hợp với những tiêu chuẩn. Hãy nhớ rằng, thành công qua đêm là hiếm - tác giả trẻ em thành công nhất sẽ có đấu tranh lâu dài và khó để tìm hiểu thương mại của họ. Đọc những cuốn sách này như là một nhà phê bình; lưu ý xuống những điều bạn rất thích hoặc ngưỡng mộ, cũng như khu vực nơi bạn cảm thấy là có thể có chỗ cho cải tiến. Sau khi tất cả, không ai là hoàn hảo, thậm chí không một tác giả thành công, đoạt giải.Possibly the toughest challenge is right at the youngest end of the age range – the picture book. The would-be author/illustrator is attempting to create an exciting story out of the narrow, limited, everyday world of a young child's experience – not easy at all. The whole storyline has to be strong enough to keep the reader turning the pages, yet simple enough to fit into a few pages. Another problem for the new picture-book author is that it can seem that every subject and every approach has been done to death, with nothing new left to say. Add to this the fact that printing costs are high because of full colour illustrations, which means that the publisher will probably want a text that suits the international market to increase sales, and a novel for ten-year olds, with hardly any pictures at all, starts to look much more inviting.You would be forgiven for wondering if there are any truly original plots left to impress publish­ers with. But remember that, in many ways, it is the writer's own personal style, and intelligent handling of a subject that can change a familiar, overworked plot into something original and fresh. To illustrate this, read The Enchanted Horse by Magdalen Nabb. A young girl called Irina finds an old wooden horse in a junk shop, takes it home and treats it as if it was real. Soon it magically starts to come to life ... Sounds familiar? The magic object that comes alive is a story­line that has been used in hundreds of other children's stories. So why does it succeed here? The answer is that Magdalen Nabb has created a strong, believable character in the lonely, unhappy heroine Irina, and the descriptions of her rela­tionship with the wooden horse are poetic and touching.So, to return to the question asked at the begin­ning: What exactly is 'good writing' for children? The answer is that it is writing which is fresh, exciting and unpredictable, and which gives a new and original angle on what might be a well-worn subject. But do not be put off if you feel that you simply cannot match up to all these requirements. While there is obviously no substitute for talent, and the ability to come up with suitable ideas, many of the techniques for improving and polishing your manuscript can be learned.