From Script to Picture Books: Ellie Irving’s Tips on Writing and Publishing Children’s Books I’m thrilled to share an insightful interview with children’s author Ellie Irving. Ellie has written everything from middle-grade novels to picture books. In our chat, Ellie reveals her journey from aspiring screenwriter to published author. She offers a glimpse into the challenges and…
All posts in Writing for Children
Am I Writing a One-Off or a Series?
Question: I’ve written a story and I’d like to know, is it a one-off or could it be a series? I want to share a recent question that came up in a call with one of my clients. It relates to writing a series or a one-off. Children’s animation and picture books will be the focus…
How to Decide the Target Audience of your Cartoon Series
Reader Question Colin got in touch to ask “I have ideas around a children’s cartoon TV series. My question is: how do you work out the target age? I.e. 2-3 years or 4-5 years etc or can you write a generic script sample that covers 2-6 years?” Thanks for getting in touch, that’s a…
Even More Tips from the London Book Fair [Part 2]
Key takeaways from 2 talks at the London Book Fair 2023 – Writing & Resilience and Spotlight on Children’s: How to Get Noticed in a Crowded Market As I said in my last article, I had the pleasure of attending the London Book Fair this year. I sat in on some great panel discussions on…
Developing a Kids’ Animation Series for TV [PART FIVE]
Our First Commission Followed by a Pandemic The last of a 5-part series where I take you behind the scenes of the most fulfilling experience of my writing life: developing a kids’ animation series for TV. In this installment, I’ll talk about how we nabbed our first TV commission for an animated Christmas Special. I’ll also…
Developing a Kids’ Animation Series for TV [PART FOUR]
Getting a Book Deal The fourth of a 5-part series where I take you behind the scenes of the most fulfilling experience of my writing life: developing a kids’ animation series for TV. In this instalment, I’ll tell you about writing a picture book, based on our series, meeting publishers at the London Book Fair, getting…
Developing a Kids’ Animation Series for TV [PART THREE]
Pitching at Cartoon Forum The third of a 5-part series where I take you behind the scenes of the most fulfilling experience of my writing life: developing a kids’ animated TV series. In this instalment, I’ll tell you all about preparing for and pitching at Cartoon Forum – one of the biggest cartoon networking events in…
Developing a Kids’ Animation Series for TV [PART TWO]
Applying for Funding The second of a 5-part series where I take you behind the scenes of the most fulfilling experience of my writing life: developing a kids’ animated TV series. As I said in Part One this 6-year rollercoaster was filled with both success and failure. I hope my journey will be both interesting and…
Developing a Kids’ Animation Series for TV [PART ONE]
A Writer’s Journey This is the first of a 5-part series where I’ll share the ins and outs of one of the most fulfilling experiences of my writing life: developing a pre-school kids’ animation series for TV. This 6-year rollercoaster ultimately ended in failure, but there were some amazing successes along the way. So, after grappling…
The Art of Adaptation: from Picture Book to Animated Film
The most fun and fulfilling writing experience of my life was adapting my children’s picture book into an animation. Here I’m going to divulge some tips about the art of adaptation and share my journey of taking ‘Hopscotch and the Christmas Tree’, from book to screen. If you’re considering writing an adaptation yourself, I hope…