Have you considered writing a story for your child? It doesn’t matter if you’re an expert writer or not, your child will love to hear a story that you’ve written just for him or her.
I know what you’re thinking – “Ron, it’s easy for you to say. You’re a talented writer with such an amazing gift for the written word.” No? You weren’t thinking anything like that? Well, this is awkward.
Anyway, there are two things that I’ve noticed about children’s books on the market. They’re not very long and, for the most part, they’re not very good. If your child enjoys listening to you read these off-the-shelf stories (you are reading to your child, right?) then think how much more they will love to hear you read your own story, with a main character who just so happens to be the same age and have the same name as your son or daughter.
A typical children’s picture book is only about 800 words. That’s only a little more than double the size of this short article. Every one of us has a story inside. It won’t take you very long to pour it out on paper if you just think about what your child enjoys and let the story flow.
Even if it’s awful, your child will love it. And want to expand on it. The first story is yours, but the sequel will be a collaboration. Writing a short story for your child will doubly be a bonding experience. First, your child will feel special and cherished because you made a story just for him or her. Next, you and your child will have a wonderful time working together on the next chapter.
As soon as I finished reading LexLightning to my son, Lex, he was abuzz with ideas for a follow up story. He invented new heroes, new adventures, and a new villain, The Guard of the Very Black Scary Night, who “has an axe that he can throw like a boomerang so it comes back to him but even if it doesn’t it doesn’t matter because he has a million of them.” Now that’s a villain. And that’s a memory that will last a lifetime.