1. Be sure you understand why you want to write for children.a

Before you start writing, ask yourself why you want to write for children. You will probably come up with quite a long list, including such things as: because you have children of your own and you know what kids like; you are good at telling children stories, so you should be able to write them, too; you believe you know what kids like to read and you have a good imagination.

But are the reasons you come up with good enough to make you a compelling children’s author? Remember, writing for children is not the same as writing about children. You must always write your stories from the child’s point of view, so they can relate to the characters, the situations, the language and the feelings. Children are always curious and want to know everything, so you need to cater for this trait in your readers as well.

Perhaps the best answer is that you want to write stories for children that will also satisfy the child that is still inside you, a story that bursts out from your mind as if it can’t be contained, a story that satisfies eager, questioning young minds, a story that just cannot seem to be held back. If you write like that, your enthusiasm will become embedded in the words you write and will be recognized and appreciated by your young readers.

2. Understanding what children want to read.

In the early years of development, children naturally explore, discover and interpret everything around them. Fairy stories, legends and fables cater to their curious minds and at this age, children enjoy what appears to adults to be frightening or violent situations. Up to the age of eight or ten, they sometimes seem to delight in seeing the wicked character winning out over the hero of the story and sometimes appear to be disappointed when the hero is rescued.

This is mainly because kids of that age are not relating the suffering in the story with their own real life, with their own bodies or those of their parents or siblings. The ability to differentiate fact from fiction develops later when children learn to relate the world around them to their own personal life.

Usually children’s stories end ‘happily ever after’ or at least with the hero (and often the villain) hanging in there at the end, ready for the next book in the series. So even tales that contain an element of what adults call horror, are useful in teaching kids that dangers and difficulties can be overcome and can also teach them valuable lessons about making decisions about what to do and the consequences of those decisions while at the same time giving them an exciting story to read.

An older child, who can relate the reality of life to his own personal situation, wants his stories to be more like real life, but still with lots of action, thrills and laughs, all at a very fast pace! Both boys and girls long for adventure in their lives but they want it to be believable enough so that they can see themselves in the hero or heroine role. Your stories must be credible to children in this older age group or they won’t grab your reader’s attention.

3. Where to get story ideas.

Young children’s questions or favorite bed-time tales can be the starting point for stories that will interest them. You can also make up tales about much-loved toys, pets, friends or family members.

Visiting a new place, such as another town, a zoo or circus, a sports match, museum, cultural event or even dinner out can all be the basis for a fun story that also delivers some learning or moral. Kids love to identify with a main character who helps someone less fortunate, stands up to a bully or acts in another situation which they themselves may have some fear of in real life. Reading about such exploits can give a child courage to act more that way himself.

A popular theme for older children is searching for hidden treasure; computer games using this idea are well-liked and continue to sell well, too. The treasure doesn’t have to be jewels or gold bars, but can be anything highly valued.

Searching for people who are lost or misplaced can be made into a gripping tale. Children like order in their lives and this order extends to family members being together, so a plot that includes a lost child or parent and the main character being instrumental in reuniting the the lost soul with the family are always appreciated if there is enough believable adventure and action during the hunt.

Recall your own memories and write about adventures you would have liked to have read back then, read stories from successful authors for ideas, attend writing workshops, ask some children what they would like to read about!

4. Format and presentation

To get your story or book published so that children will get to read it, you need to consider the length – the number of words you use. This will depend on the publication you are targeting and it is a good idea to contact editors requesting this information before you start to write, or at least make yourself familiar with other published works to see what has been accepted in the past.

Different publishers cater for different age groups, so you need to target what you write with places to sell your work. Booksellers need to be able to classify their stock so that when a buyer comes in for say “a book for teenagers”, they can confidently make a recommendation, so keep this idea in mind, too.

Next you have to decide on the viewpoint of your story. If there are several child characters, they cannot all tell the story from their individual viewpoint, so the writer can adopt what is called “God’s Eye View” to recount all that happens.

When the main character is a single child, the story can be told in the first person, for example, “I felt really lonely until I got Jet, my new dog”. This style is easily understood by even young children and it makes it very easy for the reader to imagine him or herself in the main character role. When this style is used, there should be no variation, you must stick to it all the way through.

5. Final thoughts

Use colorful descriptive language when describing situations, the brighter the better. Children like to see scenes in their mind’s eye, so using everyday objects in an exaggerated way adds a bit of the ridiculous, humor or excitement. Children relate to food easily, so using descriptive language such as, “the toffee-nosed lady was wearing a hat that reminded Eddy of the cream cake he sat on and squashed by mistake when they were going to his cousin’s birthday party” strikes most kids as being very funny.

We use food and color all the time in our everyday language; think of red as a beetroot, white as a sheet, blue with cold etc. Join in with youngsters you know and play a game thinking up some new associations; this will give you novel ideas to use in your writing. Including an element of nonsense and humor adds another dimension children always appreciate.

So, keep these ideas in mind when you plan stories and when you are writing. Remember it is usually adults who buy books for children and not the kids themselves, so make sure your story will not cause offense or seem prejudiced about any section of the community. Ideally, a good children’s story will also appeal to an adult as an easy read, so in finding favor with buyers, your writing will reach the children you so want to entertain.

The United Nations (U.N.) had examined property rights on the Moon before the Americans landing in 1968. Besides property rights, sovereignty was hotly debated in the U.N. resulting in the ratification of the Moon Treaty of 1967. The 1967 treaty states, among other things, the following:

- No military bases can be placed on the Moon, and
- No one Nation has sovereign right to the Moon.

The 1967 treaty was strengthened in 1979 adding number of additional tenets which include:

- Declaring that all States have an equal right to conduct research on celestial bodies; and
- Declaring that any countries obtaining samples during research activities on celestial bodies, must make the resulting findings available to all countries and scientific communities.

Despite the above, several companies sell land on the Moon and provide “Titles” or “Deeds” to their clients. One such company claims that ownership is derived based on ownership to extraterrestrial land is legal if one is the first to claim it. For $19.95 you can buy an acre of land on the Moon even in the face of the treaties ratified by the U.N. which shed doubt on these claims. Some of the companies have made significant sums of money from the sale of land on the Moon which has created numerous debates regarding the legality and ethical use of the funds collected. Scandals abound; the most prominent of which is one of the Owners found gambling the funds obtained through his company sales of Moon property. This company has banned in many countries but continues to operate.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is a company who ensures that 95% of the funds received are contributed to Lunar Exploration Projects such as the Kennedy II Lunar Exploration Project. While you are still issued a deed, you can be contorted in knowing that your funds are being donated to support Moon exploration colonization projects. Funding real projects are a much better way to use the funds and makes the ownership of a “Deed” to the Moon, while in the eyes of some, not legal, but more fun and enjoyable.

While there are “Treaties” in place with attempt to provide legal guidance to property rights on the Moon, no one can say with any certainty what legal bearing these “Deeds” have. However, the day will come when these legal challenges will play out in the World (maybe Universal) Courts. The question is will a “Deed” confirm ownership or will actual ownership be considered legal by those who land on and actually colonize the Moon. Unfortunately only time, probably much, much time will determine who has property rights on the Moon. The bottom line regarding the purchase of an acre of land on the Moon for $19.95 is just too soon to tell.

I believe there are other living beings and we have yet developed the capabilities to truly master space. Until such time we invent a method of traveling at the speed of light (Warp speed to you Trekkies out there!) we will remain close to home. We have sent numerous satellites throughout our solar system, but our greatest achievement continues to be landing on the moon. While we have the International Space Station (ISS) which is to propel us to Mars and beyond, and going to Mars is being planned as of this writing, migration to the Moon seem to be a more sensible alternative.

While is may be a long time off (not so long for oil), our planetary resources are becoming scarce. In addition, we have, in less than 100 years, created more imbalances and extinction that in the last 10,000 years. While we continue to try to reverse our actions, we need to consider life elsewhere. Making migration to the Moon a reality is a large undertaking and any farther (Mars for example) has engineering challenges that have yet to be overcome.

The first challenge is adequate rockets and ships that will enable traveling between Earth and the Moon. The equipment developed also needs to be capable of being reprocessed and used again like todays shuttles. However. payloads will be much greater and require sufficient rocket power to battle Earth’s gravity. Planning for these adventures included use of the ISS for docking and collection of gear for shipment to the Moon. Transporting equipment and people from the IS can be done in greater quantities due to the lack of gravity in space. The ISS would be used for staging and temporary living quarters for space personnel traveling back and forth to Earth. One of the biggest challenges is overcoming the ability of running flights much more often that the Shuttle. If we are to have daily or weekly flights, the technology, and turn around times must be improved significantly. The need for additional flights will also require more durable equipment as well.

The next challenge is once we arrive on the Moon, we need to be able to exist, and exist for long periods of time. While the challenges abound, housing and offsetting the effects of minimal gravity are two of the biggest problems we face in space travel and migration. Life support systems will be required and while some ideas appear realistic (such as dome technology), redundancy to respond to failures and general maintenance are challenges yet to be mastered. However, we have overcome both these challenges through our current space program, and ramping up for larger application, we hope, will be an easier task that the technicalities that must be mastered for a three year trip to Mars!

Some examples of the technologies being examined and developed are recycling and filtering air, converting CO@ to oxygen (similar to photosynthesis as is done by plants). Extensive research is being done to counteract the effects of weightlessness including numerous studies on exercising. Artificial gravity is also being examined and which is becoming more of a reality in space where continuous circular movement of a craft can create gravity through centrifugal force. Artificial gravity on the ground of the Moon is a bigger challenge. A method to overcome weightlessness on a planet surface are tables which spin and create the force of gravity on the bones and muscles of the body.

I believe that man is capable of overcoming the challenges of living on other planets. I also believe that human kind will bring forth the talent and willing explorers to make a trip to the Moon (or Mars!) just like taking a flight to LA today. The only variable is time and when it will all come together and be a reality.

Lyrics:Now I’ve told you this once before
You can’t control me
If you try to take me down you’re gonna break
Now I feel your every nothing that you’re doing for me
I’m picking you outta me
you run away
I stand alone
Inside
I stand alone
You’re always hiding behind your so called goddess
So what you don’t think that we can see your face
Resurrected back before the final fallen
I’ll never rest until I can make my own way
I’m not afraid of fading
I stand alone
Feeling your sting down inside of me
I’m not dying for it
I stand alone
Everything that I believe is fading
I stand alone
Inside
I stand alone
And now its my time (now its my time)
It’s my time to dream (my time to dream)
Dream of the sky (dream of the sky)
Make me believe that this place isn’t plagued
By the poison in me
Help me decide if my fire will burn out
Before you can breathe
Breathe into me
I stand alone
Inside
I stand alone
Feeling your sting down inside of me
I’m not dying for it
I stand alone
Everything that I believe is fading
I stand alone
Inside
I stand alone
Inside
I stand alone
Inside
I stand alone
Inside

Lyrics:

I could be mean
I could be angry
You know I could be just like you

I could be fake
I could be stupid
You know I could be just like you

You thought you were standing beside me
You were only in my way
You’re wrong if you think that I’ll be just like you

You thought you were there to guide me
You were only in my way
You’re wrong if you think that I’ll be just like you
You thought you were there to guide me
You were only in my way
You’re wrong if you think that I’ll be just like you

I could be cold
I could be ruthless
You know I could be just like you

I could be weak
I could be senseless
You know I could be just like you

You thought you were standing beside me
You were only in my way
You’re wrong if you think that I’ll be just like you

You thought you were there to guide me
You were only in my way
You’re wrong if you think that I’ll be just like you
You thought you were there to guide me
You were only in my way
You’re wrong if you think that I’ll be just like you

On my own, cause I can’t take liven with you
I’m alone, so I won’t turn out like you
Want me to

You thought you were standing beside me
You were only in my way
You’re wrong if you think that I’ll be just like you

You thought you were there to guide me
You were only in my way
You’re wrong if you think that I’ll be just like you
You thought you were there to guide me
You were only in my way
You’re wrong if you think that I’ll be just like you

I could be mean
I could be angry
You know I could be just like you