No matter what kind of writer you are, exploring childhood memories can be a rich source of material. Exploring these memories is especially important for children’s writers because they put you in touch with emotions that you had as a child. Remembering how you felt about certain events or situations as a child is important because children’s books are not about how adults feel about their childhood, they are about how kids feel about the things that are happening to them.
This the second post in a series dedicated to picture books and children’s writing which I’m writing in honor of my debut book Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters (Atheneum) (Yay!). In a previous post, we talked about Ann Whitford Paul’s great primer Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide From Story Creation to Publication (Writer’s Digest Books 2009).
While seasoned writers might find it a bit basic, as an introduction, it can’t be beat. It covers everything from idea generation to selling your manuscript. Having said that, even after selling three picture books, I still find it a useful source when I’m in need of inspiration and direction.
Great Prompts for Exploring Childhood Memories
I particularly love the prompts she gives for tapping into your childhood memories as a source for possible stories and themes. Here’s a sample of the fragments she offers for exploration:
- The first thing I ever remember is…
- The things that made me mad as a child were…
- I hated it when my mother…
- I loved it when my mother…
- I hated it when my father…
- I loved it when my father…
- My best friend made me mad when…
- At recess time, I loved…
- The most fun thing I did with my grandparents…
- When I was young, I loved playing…
- My favorite books were…
Questions like these are great because they help you explore the emotional palette of a child, which is what you will also be exploring in any children’s book you write.
It is very hard as an adult to not slip into the mistake of exploring your adult feelings about childhood; this is not what kidlit does. Rather, good children’s literature explores a child’s feelings about childhood, not an adult’s. Exercises like these can help you access that point-of-view.
Let’s have fun with this and answer one or two of them. Try to explore the memory if you can and be as specific as possible. Also, try to reflect on and write about the why of your answer. Leave your answers in the comments and I’ll do the same!
