Some have a heart for children- others a heart for writing. Marry the two and the world will change.
I had the pleasure of meeting with Clubhouse Magazine’s editor, Jesse Florea, at Write-to-Publish in Wheaton, IL. He was at the conference looking for great stories for Focus on the Family and he presented a session on how to write for children. He’s also the author of several books for kids and their parents.
Who Is Generation Z, The Homeland Generation?
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Generation Z was born between 1995 and 2005. They’re known as the “Silent Generation”, “Homeland Generation,” or the “Net Generation” because they’ve grown up with the Internet. They were born after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks when many felt safer staying at home. William Strauss and Neil Howe describe this group as “highly connected” and media technology savvy because they are “digital natives.” During a naming contest sponsored by Neil Howe’s company website, Homeland Generation was the name chosen by the site’s voters to represent this generation.
Florea says,
“They’re self-directed. Parents no longer over-schedule their children like they did five years ago. There’s a little more free time for this generation, which is good because they have time to be creative, but the bad part is that they have this technology and when you have technology and time, they can get into trouble with the technology rather easily.”
According to NC State University:
“Such connectedness has a dark side, however, contributing to a sedentary lifestyle and skyrocketing rates of obesity. This generation may live shorter, less healthy lives than their parents despite the medical advances of the last twenty years. Of 100 Generation Z kids, 47 will be obese by the time they reach adulthood.”
Florea says,
“Basically, that’s because they don’t have to go outside to be entertained. All the entertainment they need is at their fingertips with a gaming console or they can talk to their friends through any different type of social media. They don’t need to get outside to get together.”
In 2011, Grail Research provided a fascinating look into this next generation by comparing the relationship of Boomer parents to their children verses Generation X parents to their Generation Z children. Fundamentally the differences lie in the comfort with technology that Generation X shares with its children. There is an increasing overlap between Generations X, Y, and Z and their channels of entertainment, technology, brand experiences, and family values.
“Generation X is raising Generation Z with a high involvement parenting style. Generation X saw a social trend of divorces and is expected to instill stronger family values, along with ‘old’ notions such as work ethic, etiquette, and resilience. This, along with better education, will make Generation Z more tolerant, respectf
ul, and responsible.”
The Homeland Generation might be more financially conservative, too. Florea says,
“Generation Z is saving their money.” Also, “This generation identifies itself more as individuals, than as a team…Sort of like Generation X…They believe in their own character and they believe they have their own persona. Generation Z doesn’t believe in getting agreement or living by social norms. Their society exists on the Internet where they speak out their minds and express their opinions.”
15 Dos and Don’ts When Writing for Kids
To kick off his session, Florea asked, “How would you describe children?” Words like “rambunctious”, “messy”, “innocent”, and “smart” quickly filled the room from the audience.
Florea mentioned, “We want all of that in your writing. I’ve been at Focus on the Family for twenty-one years. You know of Dr. Dobson. He wrote a lot of books. A lot of dos and don’ts. Having boundaries, having parameters can really help, so that’s how this workshop started. I’m going to share about 15 or 16 dos and don’ts” when writing for kids.
- Don’t underestimate your audience.
“Kids are thinking, feeling and smart human beings. They just lack life experience and the wisdom we can share with them as writers. Don’t doubt a child’s ability to understand concepts and accomplish great things. Generation Z is a smart generation because they have at their fingertips, all the information in the world.”
Clubhouse Magazine particularly likes to feature ordinary kids performing extraordinary feats. Challenge kids with your writing. Kids know that things aren’t always perfect. You can’t shelter these kids, there’s just too much readily accessible information. Don’t shy away from writing stories about kids in single parent homes, with special needs, or whose families are in financial duress.
- Challenge kids spiritually. Years ago, Clubhouse Magazine received a letter saying that it was “boring.” Florea took the letter, published it, and asked, “Okay, readers are we boring?” He received close to 500 responses. One of the common threads through all of them was that kids want to be spiritually challenged. They don’t just want to hear a Bible story. They want to see its application.
- Do get into a child’s mind. Know their interests. What makes them tick? What do their parents want them to learn? This is important because parents are the ones buying the magazines. Spend time with kids and know what they’re studying in school.
- Do work on a gripping opening. Capture their attention within the first three sentences. You have to have a good hook.
- Do use vibrant, active verbs. Kids need action. The story needs to move. Show the action, don’t tell it. A Wheaton professor of Florea’s used to say, “There’s always a better way to start a story than with ‘it’ or ‘there’.” As soon as you start with it or there, you’re using passive voice. When editing copy, Florea seeks out and circles it, there, was, is, and were and reconsiders what these words add to each sentence.
- Don’t go adjective crazy. “One well-chosen adjective is better than three adjectives strung together. Adjectives slow down your writing, while verbs keep up the pacing and make everything go faster.” Also, when using dialogue, just use said. “Said” is an invisible word that people read through. If you go for fancier words like “chortle” or “mused”, you’ll stop the narrative. The person reading will stop and think, “Oh, why are they using that word?”
- Do use interesting and realistic dialogue. Don’t try to use the cute catch phrases that the kids are using today because those words may be out of style by the time the article or book is published. Florea looks for stories with active verbs, compelling dialogue, and believable characters.
- Show the action.
- Do use humor. People retain 80% more when they’re laughing. To achieve humor you can use repetition, switches, exaggeration, extremes, and word plays.
- Don’t wrap up your story in a nice, little bow. Kids know that’s not how the world works. Be honest. Former IU professor, Peter Jacobi, once said “The ending should leave the reader with satisfaction tinged with dissatisfaction.” Do leave readers with a nugget of truth. From age five on, children are able to relate to stories in characters just like adults. A value development specialist, who once visited Focus on the Family, said that “by age ten, right and wrong are locked in for a child.”
- Edit your copy. Some professional writers work through up to thirty revisions before sending in a story. Cut the fat. Stay away from clichés.
- Do be creative. Don’t copy the world.
- Know industry trends. Go for “edu-tainment” (educate and entertain), which is like writing a chocolate bar packed with a vitamin. Watch movie trailers to see what will be big when each movie comes out the next year.
- Do write compelling characters. Write characters that are going through a lot of things. Also, don’t have the adults solve the problems. Let the kids solve the issues without preaching from the adult characters.
- Do be yourself. Kids can spot a phony a mile away.
Next June, make a point of visiting the Write-to-Publish conference in Wheaton. The people are welcoming and you may soon find that you’ve developed relationships with mentors and fellow writers who will guide you throughout your career. Meet one-on-one with acquisition editors and publishers, while also absorbing valuable insights and industry trends. We especially thank Jesse Florea for sharing his expertise in children’s publishing with My Web Writers’ readers!
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