#4: Dos and Donts of writing for children
1. Don't try to recreate the books you loved as a kid.
2. Do read lots of current books from the library or your local bookstore.
3. A child must be at the centre of the story, and must solve their own problems.
4. Rhyming children's books are hard to do well... and the worst thing you can do is try to replicate Dr. Seuss!
5. Your reader is likely to be a little older than your main character. So if you're writing for ten year-olds, your protagonist needs to be 11 - 13.
6. If you're writinig a picture book story, try to keep it under 800 words.
7. Unless you're a professional artist, don't submit artwork with picture book story submissions.
#3: Show vs. Tell
One way to shift from Telling to Showing - which has more impact on the reader, involving them more intimtately in the story and its outcome - is to change descriptions of cerebral (internal) activity (he thought, hoped, wished, was afraid, longed, resented') to external activity - showing how the character acted/reacted/moved/beahved in a way that conveys the feeling, without you needing to 'name' it.
#2: Point of View
Point of view in fiction is a tricky thing. Many writers start a piece withoug considering which character to use as the POV character, and whether to use 1st person, third, or omniscient. It can make a difference.
Take one of the most significant scenes in your piece - one with the most conflict, drama or tension. Rewrite the scene from the same character's POV, but shifiting from first person to third, third to omniscient, omnisicent to third... then decide which works best.
And/or you can rewrite the scene using a different POV character in the same POV, or a different one.
#1 Writing Tip : The Verb's the Thing