{"id":32378,"date":"2021-04-09T11:37:10","date_gmt":"2021-04-09T01:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allisontait.com\/?p=32378"},"modified":"2021-04-09T13:32:56","modified_gmt":"2021-04-09T03:32:56","slug":"five-tips-for-writing-verse-novels-for-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allisontait.com\/2021\/04\/five-tips-for-writing-verse-novels-for-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Five tips for writing verse novels for children"},"content":{"rendered":"

In case you missed it, verse novels for children are having a real moment in the sun.<\/p>\n

Last year’s CBCA Book of the Year for younger readers was a verse novel by Pip Harry called The Little Wave<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This year’s shortlist contains two verse novels: Bindi<\/a> by Kirli Saunders and Worse Things<\/a> by Sally Murphy (ill. Sarah Davis).<\/p>\n

A blend of poetry and prose, narrative and metaphor, plot and lyricism, verse novels can be enticing for reluctant readers because the text is not dense, but their very nature requires a precise use of language that is rich and compelling.<\/p>\n

Book Boy Jr, now 14, latched on to Kwame Alexander’s The Crossover<\/a> a few years ago, surprising me because I would never have thought to give him poetry.<\/p>\n

He loved it.<\/p>\n

I confess I’m somewhat in awe of the authors who create verse novels, which seem to me to be a blend of alchemy and super structure.<\/p>\n

So I challenged award-winning poet and author Lorraine Marwood<\/a>, whose latest verse novel ‘Footprints On The Moon’<\/a> was published by UQP earlier this year, to offer her five top tips for anyone thinking about writing a verse novel for children.<\/p>\n

Take it away Lorraine.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Five tips for writing verse novels for children<\/strong><\/h2>\n

For me as a poet and writer of verse novels, the magic of this style of writing is in the wonderful mix of poetic language, the ease of reading, and the tension of all the narrative devices.\u00a0 It\u2019s very powerful, and a real challenge to get right.<\/p>\n

Here are five tips to get you started.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tip #1: Choose strong words<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Focus on nouns and verbs to make the verse novel concrete and not \u2018flowery\u2019. This also allows the prose component to operate at top capacity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tip #2: Keep your lines short<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Try to stick to up to eight\/nine words per line. Sometimes you\u2019ll need just one word to draw out tension and draw the eye down to the next line.<\/p>\n

Every word counts. There is no room for padding in a verse novel.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tip #3: Don\u2019t underestimate the power of white space<\/strong><\/h5>\n

White space around the text is a feature. The scarcity of words allows what is written to be more powerfully received and savoured.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tip #4: Use all the attributes of poetry<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Yes, you\u2019re writing a story, but use all the attributes of poetry to pack a poetic punch and mesmerise your audience.<\/p>\n

These attributes are:<\/p>\n