Articles , Writing Tips

How to write realistic child characters

We are all familiar with the common child characters as portrayed in media. They are either ten going on forty, who speak and think like miniature adults, or perpetually stuck in toddlerhood, the stereotypical caricature of a helpless (and often annoying) baby. Well-written children in books are like a unicorn. Hard to find, but an amazing experience when you do. The most common advice that authors receive when writing children is to “not make them wise beyond their years” and to “not write their lisp into the story, even if that is how they speak”. While this is great advice...