Learning Craft From Children’s Authors

Sarah Dyer suggests steps to support new scholars in efficiently writing a practice-informed essay and to support them in unlocking a way to learn from children’s authors.

Abstract

When researching and writing my first MA Writing for Young People essay, I made two observations: my peers and I were overwhelmed with how to go about it and, through the process, I learned more specific and applicable techniques for the craft of children’s writing than I had from craft manuals. To write my essay, I utilised my knowledge of teaching essay structure to teens. I share the process I took to create my Writing for Young People essay in order to illustrate how a scholar can apply the same steps to their own interests. Steps that I discuss include developing a focus question, reading and researching, collating observations and making conclusions, and outlining, drafting, and polishing. Though some of the steps I offer seem obvious, I collect them to support new scholars in efficiently writing an essay and to support them in unlocking a way to learn from children’s authors. Throughout I model from my own essay, sharing the strategies I learned about using animal companions to develop the protagonist in Middle Grade novels. I end with one example of how I have applied what I learned to my current manuscript.