Writing from a young kid's PoV

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Any tips for writing from a child's PoV? I want their age to be about eight, but it could be slightly younger or older depending on the tone I can pull off.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.




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Try simple thoughts, and they are pretty observant.
"We played Pin the Tail on the Reason My Life Feels So Insufficient, and nobody won." -Megan Moriarty




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Hmm, considering I have a nephew whose nine and a niece who is seven, I have difficulties making the young characters sound...young.

But I'll give you some hints--and hopefully I'm not rambling on about nothing:

Children are very curious and they ask a lot of questions. A lot. About anything and everything. They also get into things that they shouldn't. All the time.

Use simple words and thoughts like imapoemperson suggested. Children--because they're vocabulary isn't as large as ours--have a tendency to use small words and very bad grammar.

No great details. They may be curious and observant but they don't pay attention that much and they're easily distracted.

In the words of my sister--as I consulted her to help me answer this--

"Its the same as tellin a story from yer point of view. With a child its just smaller,basic words,no great details."

Hope I helped.

Meadow
Purple light in the canyon
that is where I long to be
With my three good companions
just my rifle, pony and me

--- "My Rifle My Pony and Me"




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Make really wise and powerful observations-but unintentionally, without realizing it.

Kids have sort of a natural instinct for things.
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"If I became a philosopher, if I have so keenly sought this fame for which I'm still waiting, it's all been to seduce women basically. "

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Poem- Thanks! I'll keep that in mind.

Meadow- Hehe, that quote from the kid helped me just as much as the advice you gave. It should come in handy! :D

Teu- Oh, I hadn't thought of that. Thanks!
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.




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If you have a brother or sister that is younger than you, keep a notebook. Write down the things he or she says and other things like how they walk. I do this. It's a great memory keeper!
Hope this helps!
-Bee1995
There's something delicious about writing those first few words of a story. Miss Potter




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That would be a good idea, but I'm an only child and all the little kids on the street are too young or I don't see them enough.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.




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It can depend on who the kid spends a lot of time with. If they spend a lot of time with older people who don't talk down to them, they can use quite mature words and phrases. Especially the phrases; it's quite funny sometimes.
"TV makes sense. It has logic, structure, rules, and likeable leading men. In life, we have this. We have you." -Abed Nadir




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Use similies and metaphors that relate to innocent things. A child so young has only a small amount of things he/she can comare life expeirences to. For example: Mom was yelling at dad as if he'd forgotten to brush his teeth AND fed the dog chocolate. I wouldn't want to have his punishment.

:? I hope I've helped adn good luck!

:D -Jessa T.




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I agree with Twit-- my 8-year-old cousin uses pretty mature phrases and thoughts, just she says 'I brung the music' and stuff like that. ;) They don't always know the technical stuff about grammar, but they aren't imbeciles-- I was eight not too long ago, lol. :P

As for grammar, I strongly encourage you not to purposefully use incorrect punctuation and spelling to get across an idea of youth. Really, this is one of my pet peeves-- if you want to make them seem young, use their actions and words to express that, and don't spell words in the narration wrong just to get across that effect. ;) There are better ways.

And yes, observant in a really careless way. Younger kids tend to notice really important things but not quite process their implications. Also, they can often see the simplest things that adults and older kids miss.

Good luck! :D
"Let's eat, Grandma!" as opposed to "Let's eat Grandma!": punctuation saves lives.



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