Writing Tip Tuesday

The Four Deadly Sins of Children's Novel-Writing


(Deadly, but, like all sins, oh-so-easy to commit)

• Unnecessary scenes
• Too much backstory
• Unclear central question
• Undeveloped characters

To elaborate slightly:


Unnecessary scenes


Ask yourself the following questions:

1. What is the purpose of the scene?
2. Are there any other scenes that serve the same purpose?
3. If I take this scene out, will it affect the story a little or a lot (or worse yet, not at all)?

Too much backstory


Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Does the backstory affect the present story?
2. Why does the reader need to know this information?
3. If I take this backstory out, will it affect the story a little or a lot (or worse yet, not at all)?

Unclear central question


Ask yourself the following questions:

1. What the heck is my story about?
2. Does the reader know early on what the story is about?
3. Does all of the action revolve around this central question?

Undeveloped characters


Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Are my characters unique, definable, and likeable?
2. Are my characters active in moving the story forward?
3. Are all of my characters necessary to the story? (i.e., If I take a character out, will it affect the story a little, a lot or (worse yet) not at all?)