Writing Children's Novels from Start to Finish

Writing Children's Novels from Start to Finish

“We have reached the end of the course. I hope that you have enjoyed this literary adventure that we have lived together as much as I have and that this is the first step to let your imagination fly and write memorable stories. Remember that, in addition to the recommendations to do the tasks and practices of the course, I have left you in Unit 3 a detailed explanation of the process of creating my book and also the book that I have written. I hope they serve as an example and inspiration. Anyway, try to make your own project, something that is personal and original. Before we say goodbye, let's review the key phases of the project. It would be great if you explained what you have done in each one and that you also accompany it with an image if you think it can help to understand it better. Story Idea The first step is to find the central theme of the book and lay the groundwork for the story. As I explained to you in Unit 3, I found my idea by answering questions about a character that occurred to me when I saw news about the environment, the global climate crisis we find ourselves in, which is a topic that interests me a lot. . The question that triggered this idea was the following: what would an alien think if he could see the way in which we human beings behave? From the answers that came from this question, I shaped the protagonists of the story: RCK-35, an alien sent to earth to exterminate us, and Fatima, a little girl. Obviously, being a children's book, the end of the story had to be one of reconciliation and teaching, taking advantage of the characteristics of the girl (benevolence, compassion and sensitivity to nature) and comedy, irreverence and exaggeration to remove iron and sweeten the alien's mission.

Structure From the main ideas of the story and the characters I created, I put together the structure of the narrative by defining a series of keys that would serve as the thread of the narrative. • RCK is an alien and wants to exterminate humans, since they are destroying the planet. • RCK loses control of his ship and falls uncontrollably in Cusco, Peru. Ship and weapons are destroyed. • After the accident, RCK is rescued by Fatima and wakes up at home. At this point I introduce the other protagonist of my story. RCK is injured and has to stay at home. *Important: RCK has taken on a human aspect. • RCK realizes, little by little, that Fatima is not bad and a bond of friendship is created between the protagonists. Fatima will show her plan to reforest the planet and then RCK will start to wonder if she should continue with her mission. • An unexpected twist in the story: when everything seems to be going well, things get complicated. RCK will receive a message from the intergalactic council; someone is going to rescue him and help him fulfill his original mission. Writing Following the keys of the structure that I created, it was time to write. The creation of the first chapter took me half the time of the total book, which ended up having 17 chapters. If the first bite we take of a new fruit displeases us, it is very likely that we will not continue eating it; the first chapter is key to catch the reader's attention. Subsequent chapters took less time and took shape driven by the ideas gathered in the preliminary stage, but also with new ideas and characters, which appeared intuitively. When you immerse yourself in the writing process, remember the advice I gave you in Unit 3 of the course to squeeze the juice out of the different parts of the story (beginning, middle and end) and make the most of its possibilities. I don't share my finished story here, but in Unit 3 I left it for you as an additional downloadable resource. Now share your final project with all of us by clicking on "Create your project". Share both the final result of your book and the steps that have led you to it. As you've seen me do here, explain your entire creative process, but also attach your finished story as a file (or as text, if you've written a short story). I am sure that all the members of the community will have a good time reading it. If at any time you have any questions or concerns, you can ask in the forum and I will answer you as soon as I can. Finally, I want to invite you to actively participate in the forum, not only sharing your progress, but also giving advice and trying to help the rest of the community. The idea is that we all grow together. Until next time! ”

Partial transcription of the video

“Final project We have reached the end of the literary adventure. I hope this course has cleared your doubts. and provided tools to awaken and let your imagination fly. Practice the exercises I taught you. With them you will form a routine and refine your technique to turn practice into trade. Remember that, like everything in life, you better face this challenge without fears and insecurities, take that blank sheet without thinking twice and start filling it. This course will serve as a foundation but remember that no one learns to ride a bike reading the instruction manual. We have to clim...”

This transcript is automatically generated, so it may contain mistakes.

Course summary for: Writing Children's Novels from Start to Finish

• Level: Beginner
• 100% positive reviews (28)
• 886 students
• 4 units
• 13 lessons (2h 8m)
• 8 downloads

• Category

  Writing

• Areas

  Children's Literature, Fiction Writing, Narrative, Storytelling, Writing