Sweating the Words: Quick Tips When Writing for Kids

So you’re a Christian and you want to write for kids. You have the perfect story in your head. There’s an important lesson from the Bible or a value you want to share. Now comes the hard part. You actually have to write down your story. Suddenly, you don’t know where to start. You find yourself writing more than what you thought you would. The story that was perfect in your head now looks flat, or worse, cliché, on paper. What should you do?

Know your message. What is the purpose of your story? Do you want to highlight an attribute of Jesus or a Christian value? Before you start writing, know your core message and stick to it. Avoid fillers. A story that has too many things going on becomes confusing and loses its main point.

Don’t preach. Yes, we want to share God’s love and truth through our stories. But this doesn’t mean we should force-feed our values to our readers. Kids are smart. They learn more from examples than from lectures. Our role as writers is to give them situations that will allow them to think, reflect, and learn on their own.

Sweat the words. Carl Laferton, editorial director of The Good Book Company, said that because children’s books have fewer words than books for adults, writers have to “sweat the words,” or make each word count. As an editor, I always encourage writers to reduce their word count, especially if the story is intended for younger readers. Remember that kids have short attention spans, so we need to drive our message home before we lose their interest.

Humor helps. Yes, we could be talking about a serious issue in our story. But I think that is all the more reason to inject humor in the right places. These little breaks will give our readers a breather, refreshing their minds (and hearts!) and preparing them to face our topic again.

As Christian writers, may our stories not only share God’s love to our young readers but also help them be good followers of Christ and responsible adults in the future. 

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Joshene Bersales is a writer, editor, and translator from the Philippines. She graduated from Ateneo de Manila University, majoring in Literature (English). She published four children’s books and two short story collections, and contributed to several short story anthologies and devotional books. She likes traveling, theater, and tea.