In a
previous article on writing for children, I
explained the ideas behind some of my children's
books. Over time, I've trained my brain to be on
"alert" for ideas and I discover a lot
more ideas than I have time to put pen to paper
or fingers to laptop.
Not all ideas are equal.
Some ideas work well and become books. Some ideas
fail to develop.
So how do we take an idea and develop it into a
plot for a children’s book? How do we work
out what to write once we have the initial idea?
Here’s a basic plot outline:
A main character is
introduced.
The main
character’s problem is revealed.
Obstacles stand
between the main character and their
goal.
The main character
reacts and new obstacles arise.
The main character
reacts again and new obstacles arise. The
tension is mounting.
All seems lost. But
wait!
All is resolved as
the story is brought to a satisfactory
conclusion.
It’s
important to remember that a plot is supposed to
help the writer and reader. Don’t adhere too
closely to the above plot outline if it hinders
your writing.
Some writers prefer to work with a plot outline.
Some writers don’t give plot a thought until
they’ve finished the first draft. Do what
works for you.
Let’s look at some important elements of
plot in regards to writing for children.
The best plots come from characters. It's a
character's personality, background and
experiences that determine how he or she will
react to certain situations, events or people.
As a writer, you can come up with an idea. Where
your idea goes - the plot - depends on your
characters. Every idea can go off in many
directions. More on this in a minute.
A plot needs conflict or a problem to be
interesting and entertaining. Sure, I can sit
here and tell you the "plot" of my day.
Ho hum! No one cares, other than me, and possibly
my dogs.
However, if I go outside and find a lion in my
backyard, you'd probably become interested in my
day. My day has a conflict or problem. What am I
going to do? How am I doing to solve this
problem? Can I solve this problem? Or will I
become lion lunch?
Okay, back to the character. Me. Imagine I've
been abusing my dogs… Huh! They're asleep on
my bed. Anyway, imagine that I'm abusive to
animals. You'd probably be rooting for the lion,
hoping that I get my just desserts. Or hoping
that the lion gets its just desserts. Me!
Now imagine that I'm a little old lady who takes
in poor orphaned children and cats. Er small,
domestic cats. You'd probably be rooting for me
(and my brood), hoping that the nasty lion goes
away hungry.
The direction this plot takes depends on the main
character - their personality, background and
experiences. Animal abuser or little old lady
with orphans? The animal abuser might feed her
dogs to the lions then try to escape. The little
old lady would probably feed herself to the lions
to save the orphans – as a last resort.
Every character has motivation – a reason to
be in the story. The main character has
motivation that the reader cares about i.e. the
little old lady saving herself and her poor
orphans from being lion lunch.
Sometimes it’s the motivation of other
characters that become obstacles to the main
character reaching his or her goal i.e. the
next-door neighbour wants the old lady and
orphans to move out and therefore tries to assist
the lion. He probably put the lion there in the
first place.
The best plots have tension. It’s the
tension that keeps a reader involved in a story,
that keeps them turning the pages. Most of us
have had the feeling “I need to know what
happens next”.
The little old lady is about to be eaten. No,
she’s not. Yes, she is. No, she's not.
The tension is building. The main character has a
problem. He/she tries to fix the problem. But the
problem gets worse. He/she tries to fix the
problem. But the problem gets worse. He/she tries
to fix the problem. Yay! They finally solve their
problem.
As you can see, every scene in a plotted story
follows logically from the previous one. Plot
makes the scenes appear connected.
A picture book has simpler plots. The above
illustration of a plot may not suit a picture
book.
My plot "map" shows you how I started
with a basic idea. "Tom is afraid of
water" then took that idea off in many
directions. The plot of this children's story
comes from the character - Tom.
How Tom will react to being afraid of water
depends on Tom's personality, background and
experiences. Other characters can become part of
his problem or obstacles to resolving the
problem.
I thought about water and related topics. Then I
asked myself questions.
I used my plot “map” to follow each of
these ideas to see what could happen next.
Hopefully, one of these possibilities will appeal
to me and I’ll choose that one to work on. I
can use the plot “map” structure to
outline the plot of my chosen idea.
Remember a plot is about a character with a
problem. Make that problem BIG. And if your story
begins to snooze, then give your character more
problems.
My plot “map” is a visual of where an
idea can go. As I mentioned earlier, one idea can
go off in many directions. You may prefer to work
with a list. This happens. Then this happens.
Then this happens. You may prefer to work without
a plot. Give your character obstacles, not
yourself. Do what works for you.
CLICK
HEREto
download my plot “map”.
(This is a PDF file - to download, right-click
your mouse over the link and select "save
target as" - then save the file to your
preferred destination before opening!)
Click
here to learn more about this
comprehensive guide on how
to write a great children's book
by Robyn Opie. Click
here to learn more about this
comprehensive guide on how
to write a great picture book
by Robyn Opie.
Robyn Opie, Copyright 1999-2008.
Old Teddy illustration by Donna Gynell.
