Do Good Oral Stories Make Good Written Ones?
A new wrote sent me with this: “I have been writing children’s stories for the church story hour for a few years now. When I am up front telling a story, sometimes I ad-lib, other times, it’s written in brief notes. Even the adults are on the edge of their seats, smiling and enjoying the story. My question: is it possible to create a children’s story without any previous education and actually publish the book and perhaps have some success?”Previous education, although certainly always as asset, is not a requirement for a good writer. There are lots of examples of authors who have done very well with no formal education in the craft of writing.However, although oral stories and written stories have much in common, they also differ in many ways; they require separate and distinct skills. A good orator can often express as much or more through facial expressions and vocal tones as through the words spoken. A well written story will allow readers to “hear” in their minds various tones and implications. The words must be crafted to hint, imply and pull up emotional responses to words, not just the definitions of the words.
Oral stories can become good reading—however they usually require adjustments and changes to make this transition successfully. One more thing you should know is that writing a children’s story is the toughest of all fiction genres (categories of fiction writing). Children will not tolerate anything but the tightest, sharpest, most alive of stories. They bore easily. Adult readers are much more forgiving. And children’s book publishers are swamped (even more than adult publishers) with manuscripts looking to be published. The reason is that new writers assume writing a children’s book will be simple or easy. It isn’t. But … that doesn’t mean you should give up without even trying! Writing in itself is a joy and sharing that joy with others is stimulating beyond description. I just like writers to be aware of the competition they will face in the marketplace.
For more facts and tips on writing for children, click to my page on that subject at my web site:
http://www.bristolservicesintl.com/children_stories.html