I never set out to write for children, it just happened that way.
My first book length story A Load of Rubbish still sits idle in my drawer at home. It’s about a lone shoe, named Seamus, who has lost his other half and finds himself abandoned in the world of the dump. I started it in my twenties when I was backpacking Australia after a long writing break, it all feels like a lifetime ago.
You see I had always written stories in primary school where imagination is cherished, but in secondary things got serious. My love for the story was washed away in bad grammar and missed spellings, both of which I still haven’t mastered. I make a point of telling children this during school visits in the hope that another would be writer won’t get swept away on the current, and lose their love of words for years.
And so forward to Australia. There my sister bought me a cow print notebook and ordered that I write again. Though I don’t usually take orders kindly from my sister, I bowed down this time. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I was writing in that notebook for anyone but myself and so what came out was purely what I enjoyed. I later came to learn that in publishing terms it’s classified as children’s fiction.
And it makes sense. I was a bookworm growing up. Some of my earliest loves were stories by Roald Dahl and he’s still with me, his short stories currently sit on my bedside table, his wit and genius all over those too.
As I got a little older, I found Harry Potter and was addicted. After the launch of each book, I would wait a week for the frenzy to settle before going to the shop to see if there were any copies left. Then I’d take them home to devour, sometimes even hiding the covers in embarrassment, as in my head I wasn’t a child anymore. When the last book was released, I was travelling the east coast of Australia and I itched to find a bookshop in Byron Bay. The book was thick and heavy, a definite no for backpacking, but that didn’t deter me. I took it to every hostel on my return to Sydney and, because I was a stranger in a strange land, I didn’t even hide the cover.
Other favourites of mine are Neil Gaimen and Terry Pratchett both of whom also seem to straddle the divide of what is and isn’t children’s fiction. Though all these authors books are overflowing with imagination there is a logic and depth to them that resonates with old and young. Put simply, they don’t talk down to children.
Children are much cleverer than we give them credit for. I know I could slip a lot under an adult’s nose that would never pass beneath a child’s.
I remember a debate I once had with my editor over the title of book two in the Perfect series. I wanted to call it The Outskirts of Town and my publishers wanted to keep the Perfect connection. For marketing purposes my publisher was right. Book one was successful and to tap into that the second needed to be immediately recognisable as part of the same series. My problem though was how readers would react. The new title didn’t make sense to the story – the town wasn’t called Perfect anymore. The publisher won and, with my adult hat on I’m glad they did, but I still blush a little when a child points out the flaw.
And children are not just quick with continuity, they are eagle eyed, spotting the tiniest plot hole from a million paces. And if a character acts out of character, they’ll swipe on that too. As a plotter, I sweat hard to ensure all threads are sewn correctly and in the right order.
And I tremble over first reviews.
Good reviews are hard earned. Adults are often polite when a story isn’t up to scratch, in person at least if not online. Kids on the other hand have no filter, even head on. A child will proudly put their hand in the air to tell you how the beginning was a little slow or how the ending could have been stronger. There is never any offence meant and never any taken. It’s humbling and brilliant in its truth and anytime it happens I can’t help but smile.
Children laugh louder and love harder than us adults. A year feels like a lifetime to them because they are not living in their heads, instead they chose their hearts. They are the best teachers. Writing for children may be demanding but it is forever rewarding.
(c) Helena Duggan
The Light Thieves by Helena Duggan is published by Usborne.
About The Light Thieves:
Clever, quirky and hugely imaginative, discover the eagerly anticipated new eco-adventure series from the bestselling author of A Place Called Perfect.
Who would you trust to save the world…a boy or a billionaire?
The earth has shifted on its axis and a mysterious dark mark has appeared on the sun – the whole world is in peril! But billionaire tech genius Howard Hansom has a plan…
When Grian’s sister goes missing he’s convinced she has run off to Hansom’s new city to help save the world. But when Grian and his two friends Jeffrey and Shelli track her there they find that nothing is quite as it seems.
Why is everything so secret? Where is the mysterious Area 13? What does Howard Hansom want with all the people he has enticed to live in his city?
The days are getting darker but what’s really happening to the sun?
Order your copy online here.
