5 common mistakes in writing nonfiction for kids

For a couple of decades, I read entries in the children’s literature category of an international writing contest. Each year, I hoped to find well-written nonfiction articles and interesting book chapters excerpted from dynamic nonfiction. Sometimes I did, and sometimes manuscripts looked promising, but many suffered from these 5 common flaws:

1. In an obvious effort to be fresh and lively, writers often started their nonfiction for children with scenes straight out of a novel. For example, they might begin with dialogue, a problem, a child’s thoughts, or an amusing conversation that read like the opening of a sit-com. Often, a main character asked a grandparent about a subject soon to be addressed but, unfortunately, not nearly soon enough. These novel openings sounded good at first but quickly brought confusion, especially since readers did not know what the subject actually was unless they read an entire page or two or three.

2. Another problem arose with credibility and accuracy – or lack thereof. With no bibliography to cite sources at the end of a manuscript, I couldn't tell if the author had spent weeks searching, sorting, and sifting through reliable information or merely passed along opinions and assumptions as fact.

3. A more common flaw occurred in the quality of writing. For example, the use of passive voice seemed particularly prevalent with phrase after phrase stating, “It is” or “There was.” Such a passive voice seemed to speak for a passive writer, who did not take just a little more time to search for active verbs and strong nouns that readers could readily picture.

4. Speaking of pictures, young readers need to be able to envision what they’re reading whether the pages contain illustrations or not. For the writing to be clear, each sentence usually needs an easy-to-picture noun that brings to mind a person, place, or thing, but not a vague idea. An active verb can then put that noun into motion. If a nonfiction manuscript happened to be the text for a children’s picture book, the mental images on every page became vital or, voila, no picture book.

5. That seems obvious, but, fortunately, so do some solutions to each of the problems mentioned. Most writers have fine minds and can figure these things out for themselves once they recognize a problem or even know to look for one. Often, though, writers got caught up in stories they couldn't wait to share with their children or grandchildren, forgetting kids of all ages have their own interests and preferences, and are waiting for the next enticing subject to connect with and enjoy.

©2015, Mary Harwell Sayler
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Interview with Dana Cassell, the founder of Writers-Editors Network

Dana Cassell, the founder of Writers-Editors Network, has been a full-time freelancer for 35 years. In addition to writing and editing manuscripts for numerous business clients, she has traditionally published more than 2,000 articles and ghosted or authored nearly a dozen books for educational publishers and other secular markets.

Dana, what do you most want to say to writers in all genres who plan to make writing a career?

Recognize that it is a business, and treat it as such. Magazine editors need articles that will keep their readers renewing or buying newsstand issues, so the publisher can sell ads that keep the magazines in business. This means researching magazines' targeted audiences and coming up with ideas the editors need to reach those audiences.

It also means seeking out editorial calendars to see what topics they repeat every year and will be covering during the upcoming year. Said another way, writing (and suggesting) what the readers and editors want, not what the writer wants to write. (When the writer has a favorite topic and can find a paying magazine receptive to that topic and the writer's slant on it, that's a bonus. It happens once in a while but is usually not enough to build a career.)

This is ditto for websites that will pay for articles. Instead of subscriptions, they may be looking at visitors and "hits," but the premise is about the same. Also, the successful writer will learn how to reuse their research in multiple articles, books, and columns to make that research investment pay off.

Writers who want to write for the corporate market on a freelance basis would do well to become adept at and known for some editorial service that can directly affect a client's bottom line -- such as ad copy, direct mail packages, white papers, marketing e-letters.

Recognizing that writing is a business means regularly scheduling time for marketing, admin tasks, and study along with time for production.

What are some of the biggest changes you have seen in publishing over the last few years?

The obvious would be the Internet, which has changed the way writers can research and also adds the electronic publishing element. Magazines have always stopped publishing because of over-saturated markets or poor management, but now publishers have to figure out whether to be print or electronic or both -- and how to make that work, so the publishing business is even riskier. People are still trying to figure it all out. For writers, there are tons more potential places to get published, and they are easier to research because of Web information, but drilling down to those that pay a decent rate is more of a challenge.

Novels have changed because of the shorter attention span of readers who have grown up watching TV and reading Internet screens. Compare a novel published today with one a generation ago -- paragraphs are shorter; chapters are shorter. And that's what mainstream editors/publishers want -- because that's what sells.

In what ways can conferences and workshops help writers?

They mainly help through inspiration and motivation. Being around and talking to other poets and writers can help us realize that what we're up against (finding the time, dealing with writer's block, getting published, finding better paying markets) is not our challenge alone. Everyone faces the same problems at one time or another. It can help us to keep rowing when we know others are in the same boat with us. And talking to other attendees who do not appear to be any smarter or more creative than we are, but who are more successful, can send us home thinking, "I can do that, too!"

The information we absorb from the speakers can certainly be helpful, but we can get that from the hundreds of books and articles on writing for publication. I think that touching elbows with other writers and with the speakers has a more motivational aspect.

Thanks, Dana, for giving Christian writers a clearer picture of writing for markets in general. Thank you, too, for the level of professionalism you encourage and show as you address the needs of writers and editors on Writers-Editors.com.

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(c) 2011, Mary Harwell Sayler