COURSE STRUCTURE

There are 10 lessons in this course, as follows:

1. Introduction - Understanding Children - their thoughts, needs, development.
2. Overview of Children’s Writing Categories (fiction & non-fiction) - Understanding the marketplace; analyse and understand what is needed for the different categories, etc.
3. Conceptualisation - Conceiving a concept - where and how to find inspiration/influence.  Developing a concept - how to plan.
4. Children’s Writing for Periodicals - Children’s pages in magazines, newspapers, etc.
5. Short Stories
6. Non-Fiction Texts - writing to satisfy curriculum. Other - nature, history, biography, hobbies.
7. Fiction Settings, Characterisation, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adventure.
8. Picture Books and Story Books
9. Editing Your Work Grammar, spelling & punctuation. Improving clarity. Cleaning out clutter; expansions.
10. Project Write a short story, picture book or kids page for a (hypothetical) periodical.

AIMS

• Describe children’s cognitive development and target writing so it is appropriate to various developmental stages.
• Explain the nature and scope of writing for children.
• Describe the process of planning a written manuscript.
• Describe the planning and processes involved in writing articles for children’s magazines.
• Develop a short story for children to read.
• Discuss the specific requirements associated with writing children’s non-fiction.
• Describe the various categories of children’s fiction and the writing processes involved.
• Explain the scope and nature of literature aimed at young children.
• Explain the scope and significance of editing skills and processes for children’s writing.
• Plan, evaluate, edit and present a piece of writing for children.

WHAT YOU WILL DO IN THIS COURSE

Here are just some of the things you will do:

• Develop lists of imaginary titles and brief descriptions (synopsis) of stories that would be appropriate in your society (or country) for children of different age groups.
• Analyse the page(s) in a text aimed at children in terms of language, complexity and style, conciseness of the writing, content, graphic layout, etc.
• Determine concepts for children’s writing.
• Develop outlines that would help you to write about each concept.
• Develop a set of guidelines (or a plan) that a writer should follow in regular preparation of a children’s page in a newspaper, and consider what, in your opinion, is the purpose of a children’s page in a daily newspaper.
• Discuss how you would approach writing a comic, and why you think this would be the best approach for you?
• Write short articles or stories, suitable for situations such as an educational magazine, a preschooler or infant school age magazine or a teenage boy or girl magazine
• Write a short story.
• Identify a non-fiction book for children which you would consider yourself to be suited to author.
• Write an outline for a proposed non-fiction book. In your outline, you would include a list of major subject areas (or chapters) that the book would cover and a brief description of the content of each chapter. Include a brief description of how the book would be illustrated (i.e. are photos appropriate, or line drawings, paintings, etc?). You would then write one or two pages for your non-fiction book.
• Write a fantasy, adventure or science fiction short story for a 7–8-year-old, which fits specified criteria.
• Write a story for a 5–6-year-old child.
• Edit some sample short articles.
• Plan, then write, a children’s short story, a picture book or children’s pages for a newspaper.  

SCOPE OF THE COURSE

This course is relevant to anything that a child might read; and at any age; including:

• Picture books – 6 months to 5 years. Picture books for babies and toddlers are hardcover board books with a few basic words and lots of colourful illustrations. Usually designed to teach the child basic concepts, e.g. farm animals, opposites, numbers. Picture books for older children are longer, more complex and written to entertain, as well as educate.
• Story books – Short fiction stories for younger children. Colourful pictures are still important, but plot and characters are also important features.
• Novels – Longer fiction stories for older primary and high school children.
• Short Stories – Published in children’s magazines, or in books (either as short story collections by one author or several authors).
• Activity books – Magazine-style publications with interactive activities, such as puzzles, colouring in, stickers, short stories. Highly visual, sometimes based on an educational theme (e.g. wildlife) or on popular TV characters.
• School/textbooks – Either written specifically to fulfil a pre-determined school curriculum or as a supplementary text. Generally requires that the author has expert knowledge on the subject (and possibly, but it is not an essential prerequisite, a teaching background).
• Comics – Sometimes written for educational purposes (e.g. to explain traffic safety to a young reader) but usually written solely for entertainment. Highly visual, may require that the author is a skilled cartoonist and can write in a very concise, often humorous, manner.
• Poetry – Poetry written for children is published in children’s magazines, or in anthologies (collections of poems by different authors).
• Children’s Pages (in newspapers or magazines) – These are a mix of things, including activities (such as a crosswords), poetry, colouring-in competitions, letters from children, etc.

What Are the Advantages of Studying Writing with ACS Distance Education?

• You can start at any time to suit you.
• The courses are self-paced.
• You can study when and where suits you. They are flexible to fit in around you and your lifestyle.
• Keep up to date on your learning.
• Update your CV.
• It is not just a course, it is a package of learning that includes – course notes, tutor feedback, self-assessment tests, research tasks and assignments.
• Our tutors are all experts in their field, with years of experience in writing.
• They are also keen and enthusiastic about their subject and enjoy working with students to improve their knowledge and skills.
• Courses are also updated regularly to meet the demands of the changing needs for knowledge and to keep our courses up to date.

Comment from a Student

"I found the course to be extremely helpful. It has given me the confidence and skills to present my work to publishers."
- Dilys

As you work through this course, you will

• Study children’s texts and explore how children think.
• Create your own children’s work.
• Do you remember the books you read as a child? 
• Did they make you feel like the world held a thousand possibilities? 
• Do you want to re-create that feeling? 

Welcome the magic of childhood back into your world! Enrol today.

What Next?

You can enrol today by clicking the “Enrol Now” button above.

Or

Click here to contact a writing tutor.

Or Request a Prospectus Here.