If you’ve ever tried to write children’s literature, you probably found that it’s just as hard as writing for adults, even if the work is typically shorter. Plus there’s the added challenge of understanding and writing about the challenges faced by kids today, which can be different than those you faced twenty, thirty, or forty more years ago. (For those curious about writing for youth, here’s a great post on YA writing.)
But what if you want to write from a child’s perspective for adults? In the latest Glimmer Train bulletin, novelist Sophie Chen Keller offers an incisive look at what’s different about it:
Theme played an important role. I explored topical social issues, like gentrification, homelessness, immigration and alternative family structures, and raised questions around losing, searching and finding—on being human, on living. I relied on symbolism and imagery to imbue simple or childlike elements with depth of meaning. And finally, while the narrator is a child, he is surrounded by adults who are dealing with adult problems and situations; their stories of loss and longing are the beating heart of the book. Their stories are the anchor to this world as we set sail for the golden days of childhood we lost.
Read Keller’s entire insightful essay.
For more writing advice, check out other essays in Glimmer Train:
- The Long First Draft by Andrew Porter
- Cutting out the Bad Bits by Will Boast
- The Political Lives of Characters by Siamak Vossoughi
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
This post poses an interesting question. In my recent memoir, Called Along the Way (see link) I wrote about my childhood based on my memories as a child without really thinking through implications posed by using my own child’s voice. These sections of the book evoked a particularly positive reader response. The question accordingly arises: what other situations arise when a child’s voice can or should be used?
[…] How to Write From a Child’s Perspective—But for Adult Readers […]