Creative Ways to Use Your Inner Child to Brainstorm Children’s Story Ideas
⌛ By Kaylin R. Staten ⌛
Since I was a child, I have loved the art of storytelling.
I would stay up late (unbeknownst to my parents), with a flashlight and a favorite book. I crafted stories for my dynasties of Barbies, creating real-life high-school dramas based on “Saved By The Bell” episodes and even stuffing tissues underneath my Barbies’ dresses to signify they were pregnant. When I was introduced to “Star Wars” at a very young age, I watched the VHS tapes of the original trilogy VERY frequently while playing with my “Star Wars” figures. My bookshelf was Echo Base, by the way.
And I don’t need to tell you that I watched “The Wizard of Oz” three times a day as a kid. Little did I know that I would grow up and name my own company after The Wicked Witch of the West’s hourglass.
Honestly, the below photo fits me to a T -- then and now. Who doesn’t enjoy some snacks and a good book before taking a nap? Just saying.
I used that passion for stories as a main driver toward a career in writing. I’ve written everything from hundreds upon hundreds of press releases to poetry that will hopefully never see the light of publishing day. When I decided I wanted to write children’s books, I will admit that I struggled at first. I had been writing for adults so long that I forgot what it was like to consume children’s stories.
As Master Yoda says, “You must unlearn what you have learned.”
Before the soft launch of my first children’s book, Plastic Cupcakes, I took a free online course through my local library titled, “Writing For Children.” I’m going to share a few things I learned during this course if you are interested in writing your own children’s story or find yourself in a communications position marketing to children.
Here are some ways you can use your inner child to craft stories for your own children’s story:
Do your research.
This may seem like a no-brainer, but a good way to inundate yourself with children’s written words, visuals, and book layouts is to read all of the children’s books that you can. Go to your local library (if they are open, that is!) or use your library’s app for eBooks. You can also go to a local bookstore (again, if open right now) and peruse the children’s book titles. See what is popular. Goodreads and Amazon are also good places for inspiration as you start your research journey.
Assess what you loved as a child.
While your interests may obviously vary from the children of today, you can still ruminate about what you enjoyed as a child. This can be anything from your favorite books and movies to experiences you had as a child. Use those nuggets of inspiration to begin to form your story. Start with questions like: What was your favorite color? Did you have an imaginary friend? What were some of your favorite activities? What scared you? What was your favorite food, animal, TV show, movie, book, toy, etc?
Just start writing.
This is often the most challenging part, as many writers get hung up on writing the “perfect” story when the “perfect” moment hits them. Just start writing! If it’s crap, then keep writing until you write something you like. Do a brain dump of words and concepts based on any journal prompts or stream-of-consciousness lists. You can also do some web diagrams or a storyboard to flesh out the narrative, but I always recommend that you just start writing. You can always formulate the plan after that once you know the shell of your story.
Make time for play.
I’m not saying that you have to sit down and play with children’s toys (unless that is something you want to do). If you have your own child, a niece/nephew, a godchild, a friend’s child, etc., take some time and play with him or her. See which toys resonate with the child and play around with some wording from your up-and-coming works. I can’t tell you how many times I read Plastic Cupcakes to my niece as I was trying to figure out the flow, storyline, and more.
Kaylin R. Staten, APR, is an award-winning, accredited public relations practitioner and writer based in Huntington, WV with 18 years of professional communications experience. As CEO and founder of Hourglass Media, she uses her compassionate spirit and expertise to delve into the heart of clients’ stories. She is a recovering perfectionist, mental health advocate, wife, Luke’s mom, cat mom, and Leia Organa aficionado. Connect with Kaylin on LinkedIn.