Writing for Children: The fully fluent reader

 

 

 

The reader

The reader is aged roughly 9-11 and often in the second two years of junior school. They are no longer dependent on the reading scheme and want to choose books that look like the ones adults and older children read.  They are firmly in Piaget's concrete operational stage; they can measure and calculate. However, they are not yet into abstract thought. They recognise make-believe for what it is. They understand and expect the normal patterns of story.  

What the books look like

They will usually have a thick spine and on average contain 45,000 – 60,000 words though there are many exceptions outside of this range. The text is usually blocked. The font is usually seriffed, with difficult 'a's and 'g's. There are few pictures though some may have decorative icons at the beginnings of chapters. Occasionally the font and the line-spacing may be a little larger than in books for adults and older children. The books certainly look like "proper" books for these readers.     

What to think about when producing the text for the fully fluent young reader

As these children know what to expect from a story you need to make sure your story has a firm structure.  

Sub-plots

Also for the first time we are likely to have a story with several sub-plots. The relationship between the main plot and the sub-plot is important.

We can see this in Palacio's Wonder(https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wonder-R-J-Palacio-ebook/dp/B00755MHXG ) :  

Main plot: August gains acceptance

Sub-plot 1 – circle of friends

Sub-plot 2 – friendship with Jack

Sub-plot 3 – attitude of family

Sub-plot 4 – Amanda

Sub-plot 5 – hearing-aids   

Have a go

Now have a go at planning a story. You will find now that you will devote several chapters to each of

Inciting incident:

Growing complexities:

Crisis point:

Climax:

Also similar arcs will be making their way through the sub-plots.

How will you set your plan out?

Suggestions:

·         Mindmap

·         Spreadsheet

·         Filing cards

·         Writing software such as Scrivener.

If you really are a "panster" and can't be bothered with this amount of detailed planning, try analysing a book for a fluent reader instead.

Some books to study

Leila and the Blue Fox by Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Tom de Freston  (2022)

The House of Serendipity: Sequins and Secrets by Lucy Ivison and Catharine Collingridge   (2021)

How Do You Live? by Genzaburo Yoshino (2020)

Five Children on the Western Front by Kate Saunders (2014)

Inkspell  by Cornelia Funke (2005)  

Five Children on the Western Front by Kate Saunders (2014)

Christopher Booker’s Quest- Odyssey

 

Christopher Booker spent a big chunk of his life writing his book about the seven basic plots and it is well worth a read.  There are many theories about story and they complement rather than contradict each other. Here you have details of several types of story.

The cover of Booker’s book reminds us of what the seven plots are.

He also recognises an overall story arc but he adjusts this for each one of his story types.

Here is just one of them. Can you create a short story or a short script according to this template?

 

Christopher Booker’s Quest- Odyssey

Problems encountered:

Monsters – maybe these can be metaphors?  Could the monster be problems at work or difficult people with whom you are forced to have relationships?  Perhaps they are politicians or someone who has power and abuses it? You are not likely to have any control over this.

Temptations – these can be all sorts of things: Affairs, chocolate cakes, taking something that isn’t yours where the pathway to that has been too easy.   

Deadly opposites – don’t they get to attract in fact. Are the enemy and the hero different aspects of one person?  Often we despise our enemy because they show traits that we fear in ourselves.   

Journey to the underworld – this may not be a literal underworld. We may suspect an unseen pattern lies beneath what happens in life. What if you confronted that pattern and began to understand it?   

Story arc:

Call – you might slip in here as well a refusal for the call. This is a story trait that really works and readers have come to expect.  

Journey – and on this journey your hero will encounter those monsters, temptations and even their deadly opposite.

Arrival and frustration – yes, getting there can be frustrating; it’s never quite what you expected. The journey after all is often more rewarding than arriving at your destination. Does this come from looking for what you want rather than recognising what you need?  

Final ordeals – and yet there is more to come.  

Goal – perhaps this is about fulfilling a need.

Have fun writing and why not submit some if it here for an online critique?

 Find your copy of  Christopher Booker’s book here.  

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