Monday, January 21, 2013

A Publisher's Dream

Writing a blog isn't always easy - at least if your goal is to write entries that some human being may find reasonably interesting more often than not.  It certainly is easier than writing a book, or so I imagine.  Putting together a story that spans several hundred pages exceeds anything I can imagine being within the confines of my limited attention span.  However, as I look back on my childhood I can't help but think the easiest book to write must surely be a Children's book.

In some ways writing a book for kids must be tough - you have to use a limited vocabulary and sentence structures.  On the other hand, there's no need for deep character development, plot twists or lengthy narrative.  Of course a good artist is a must, but I assume a publishing company would provide that.  So I am tempted to try my hand at writing a Children's book.  How hard could it be?

The key to a good book for small children, besides strong paper that is tear and water resistant, and a talented artist to populate the pages with your imaginary world, is friendly characters that tend to be animal based.  No three year old wants to hear a story about a bunch of kids in a daycare.  They want to hear about bears in the woods, or a puppy that gets a new home.  Of course the characters generally walk and talk like humans, oftentimes even wearing clothing.  This allows a tale to be told that is distinctly human, while more stimulating to the imagination.  Or maybe book illustrators just prefer drawing animals.  Either way, animal characters are the way to go.

I'm thinking my story will revolve around two typical garden creatures, perhaps a slug and a ladybug, aptly named "Slug" and "Bug".  It will be filled with action-packed lines like "Slug was not happy today" and "Bug yelled 'hurry up Slug, we don't want to be late!'"  Unlike other authors, I will not try to totally humanize my characters to the point where they lose all connection to their place in the real world though.  This will lead to a story more compelling and realistic.  At least that's how I envision it.  But not until next week.  I'm spent.