#Writing kids

[your-absent-father]

Children in writing: my personal pet peeves

Okay, some might know that I work as an elementary school aid, done it on and off since I was 19, so I have the credits lol. Last december I even got my trade school papers for it. I preface this this way bwcause I have worked with shitton of kids, and will in a future. My background also means that I am very quick to notice when people don't interact with kids that much.

Even the savant syndrome kid is still a kid

One thing that annoys the hell out of me is when the 8 year old smart kid character acts like a 32 year old with all the emotional cababilities it entails. Yes, some kids have an higher intelligence, emotional or otherwise, but in the core of them, they are a kid. They get temper tantrums, they are in awe of new discoveries, they love to play in their own way.

For example, the class I'm in now, we have a kid I will call James. James is raised by his grandparents and it shows in everything he does. He is an old soul, always getting striaght As and almost helping the adults in conflicts. James also giggles as I race with him during recess, he sulks like a kid after not getting what he wanted and laughs really hard at fart jokes. He is 8 even if he has an emotional intelligence of an older kid.

Children are sponges, in bad and good

Speaking of James, he is a great example of children being sponges. This 8 year old, he uses terms like "gosh darn it" or "welp, it is what it is", terms I could see his farmer grandpa using. When he is stressed, he poses like a 73 year old looking at a broken tracktor. You can see his grandpa in him clearly.

I want to say it because a lot of people only write like "I am bad because my dad was bad" characters, even though it isn't that simple moat of the time, and children being sponges could be used in so many different ways, and not just bad.

Kids knowing big words doesn't always mean they are smart

This adds into the "kids are sponges" segment. Lot of kids, especially now, pick up different words, some very difficult, but they themselves don't know what they mean. Just today I had to explain what a dictator meant to a kid talking about North Korea. (That is an other thing too I like to add: kids try to explain with their own understandkng of the world what things they don't understand are)

Children's are adults in progress

Thus is a thing that peeves me the most of all, because a lot of people think children are thing entire different entity than adults. I like to explain it in videogame logic, like as a kid you are doing the first levels and progressing trough. You still the same character at the core of it, you just leveled up and got new tricks up your sleeve. Children are humans, they aren't that difficult to comprehend.

kids with disabilities have presonalities

Omg I am such a passionate person towards this, especially because I am specialized in special ed. It annoys me in no end when a special ed kid's presonality is "ehh they are disabled?". Every single special ed kid I have been with have different personalities and likes and dislikes, if they can't show it to you themselves. I don't think I have met two disabled kids (nor adults) with same personalities, even if they have exact same disability.

In the class I am in now, James's best friend is this kid named Jackie. I don't know Jackie's diagnosis but she can't walk straight, and uses multiple walking aids when her legs hurt too bad. She can't talk very well, struggling with her speak. Still, those things weren't the first thing I'd use to describe her. I'd describe her as a dramaqueen, always ready to complain about something, i'd describe her as a sporty, always running after her friends, even if she is much slower than others. I'd describe her as kindhearted, and clingy as she is always ready for a hug. Her disability is n intergal part of her but not everything.

I could complain about this all day. I have worked with kids and adults with disabilities and they have all been do different from each other (like able bodied people). Maybe another post lol.

Okay rant over.

Tldr: Chldren are humans too. Lol

[pygmi-cygni]

writing tip - children

kiddos, ninas, ninos, kinder, whatever you like to call em, they're everywhere. especially in writing! children can be a fun, innocent way to lighten up your story or add opportunities for immeasurable angst.

But i have noticed a propensity for miswriting them. I briefly touched on this in my character continuity post, but I'll go in depth about it rn.

Kids are fascinating. Their little brains work just as hard as adults, but the way they think is way different. I think there's an equal balance of overestimating and underestimating child capabilities in stories, so I'll explain examples of both.

When writing dialogue for children, it's important to note the way that certain milestones are met.

Kids under the age of five are not going to be conjugating verbs, using tense or proper structure. They have just passed the telegraphic/multiword stage of speech, which basically means being able to string words into a sentence. The vocabulary is low, but the comprehension is high. They'll be able to describe things but with a lot of abstract thought and physical description.

Example: John (5 y.o) watches a blue tow truck carry a red car down the road. He runs to tell his father.

Overestimating: "Papa, look! There's a blue tow truck with a car!" (too specific)

Underestimating: "Papa, lookit! A blue thing had another red thing on top of it an' it was goin real fast!" (John knows what cars are at this age; he has passed the 'thingy' stage of description)

Accurate: "Papa, look! A blue truck with a hook on it was with a red car on the road and the red car was on top going fast!"

John is at the age where he can identify nouns and actions, but he can't really put them in the correct order. He might not know exactly what a tow truck is, but he can see the blue truck has a hook, so he says that instead.

Kids at this age are good at descriptions and big picture concepts. If you want to use a kid as a witness in a mystery, this age would be helpful for describing the perp's looks, but nothing specific about what happenened.

Also, kids are remarkably efficient. After the age of two, toddlers/young children can feed themselves and keep themselves entertained. Obviously an adult/caregiver would need to organize and resource the food and toys, but the kids no longer need another person for every movement.

First words.

Not gonna be anything with plosives or hard palate sounds. no -ing, no consonant blends (spider, brick) no k or ck.

Soft vowels, bilabials (m, p, s, l) are all that's really gonna be a thing. (mama, papa, wa-wa, moo, baby, that kinda stuff.) it's used a lot because it's correct.

Toddlers are not busting out complicated words like stegosaurus, ok.

Obviously there are exceptions but by and large, it's pretty simple. Use this as a reference or not, but just some tips for keeping it realistic.

xox bye

[phoebepheebsphibs]

Other people: wow you really write kids accurately

Me: thanks i was one once

[karizard-ao3]

Did you base your writing kids on your own experience as a mom? Mason and Adri feel very natural as do their conversations with Eren and Mikasa

It's partially based on my experiences as a parent and on my time working with kids! I was a nanny for a while and also worked at a preschool for several years, besides being the oldest of four siblings. I don't work with kids anymore but my life has been pretty saturated with them. Mason is loosely based on my son, though! That hand holding thing is a real trick he used to try to pull on me and his dad. And Adri's speech impediment is because my son, his dad, and my younger siblings all had speech impediments as kids, so I wanted to represent that. I fear it might come off like baby talk, but I wasn't willing to change it, so 🤷. I think it helps that her speech errors are pretty consistent. Hopefully? I tried to give them rules so it would feel more accurate. Idk.

[zenaidamacrouras1]

Noping out of another fic because of distressingly inaccurate baby portrayal. PSA: you can not sit a 2 month old human baby on your knee and bounce them while holding only their hands. They will not giggle adorably; they will get a traumatic brain injury.

Also: 8 week old babies don't eat solid foods.

Here is an offer: If you want to write a kid fic and don't know anyone who knows what sounds cute but might accidentally kill the infant or what age kids learn to talk (typically before age 6 believe it or not) slide on into my dms.

(Seriously! I find child development interesting and enjoy tiny chaotic tornado humans much more than the fully grown variety.)

[twowhoodles]

Reference for anyone writing children - when my daughter was 20 months old (just over a year and a half), here were her words. Kids usually have a language jump around 20 months. I compiled the list over a few days.

She didn’t really make sentences beyond “I want X/I see X” and generally a lot of pointing was involved.

Book

Bead

Bag

Whee

Challah

Hi, hello

Bye

See ya

Ball

Awoooooo (wolf)

Owl

Qua-qua (duck)

Elpha (elephant)

Wa-wa (water)

My-my (milk)

Boob

Mine

Dada

Mama

Owie

Sister

Anna

AHDDA (any Disney princess)

Bella

Hat

Shoes

Boots

Grrr

Sipsy (Itsy Bitsy spider)

Ish (fish)

Up

UP (down)

Uppie (carry me)

Uh-huh, mm-hm (yes)

Uh-uh (no)

Chair

Sit

Me (aka follow me)

Elma (Elmo)

I see X

I want X

Yeah

Shpsh (super girl flying sfx)

Hi-ya (sword fighting sfx)

Baby

Please

Just one year later - at 2.5yo - she was trying to explain what snack she wanted. She described it as "the food I want to put in my mouth that is in that cabinet that is a circle with a strawberry on it.”

It was Strawberry Pocky.

[the-badger-mole]

if you're still doing the fanfic asks: #20 and #21 please!

20. favorite character to write

A toss up between Zuko and Katara. Zuko's a little easier to write, but I think they're wonderfully complex in ways that didn't get explored enough in canon.

21. least favorite character to write

Children. Young children. I have a hard time writing them accurately. I'd love to have them in more stories, but despite the fact that there are a lot of kids in my family, I have a hard time with kids' voices in my stories. Sesi in Hallmarks of the Season came out alright, but I only used her a few times.

Keep the asks coming!

[suzyq31]

Hi , I have a request for you since you've written fics with harry and Hermione as parents for iris,teddy, jane and ellie, and you have read all harry Potter books so take a quote from any books and describe the characteristics the kids share with harry and Hermione

Hi anon, this is a very interesting ask. I’ve thought of it all day and still feel a bit stumped! I’ve read all the books multiple times, but very few quotes come to mind in terms of how I came up with my characterization of the children. It’s been a few years since I’ve read most of the books , and fanfic has probably been more influential on my interpretation of Harry and Hermione. Along with my own Headcanons I’ve developed over the twenty plus years I’ve been in the fandom. 

While Harry and Hermione’s traits influenced how I wrote the children in my stories, what was of even greater influence was the children in my own life. Particularly with Iris, Jane and Ellie, they share a lot of traits from two of them who I spent the most time with, and whom I love deeply. 

Funny enough I was nannying two boys at the time that I wrote Maybe Tomorrow, and originally planned for Ellie and Jane to be boys. But when I sat down to write, little girls took form instead. Although, Ellie shares a certain amount in common with my 3 year old boy H in terms of intensity 😂. Also Iris’s line ‘real life life’ is a direct quote from my other boy J. 

I also go a lot by the age of the character. Three year old's are quite different then six year old's, hence some of the behaviors you see in Jane versus Ellie. Or young Teddy versus teen Teddy. Same with Iris.

I have a degree that focuses on child development and it’s a huge part of my role at work, so there was no way that wouldn’t influence how I thought of the characters. 

Okay now getting into spoilers for specific fics.

For Iris, I wanted her to take after Harry more strongly in personality. Yet being raised with Hermione she would have developed some of her traits like a love for reading. I wanted her to be funny, strong willed, curious and kind hearted. She is heavily influenced by another child I know who was wise beyond her years, and always asking questions.

In the story ‘Iris’ she’s younger, more confident, outgoing when comfortable. I’ll also say that I’ve been reading a lot of James and Lily/Marauders fanfic. I wanted her to have a bit of his parents in her too (in all their children really). I also think Harry would have been more outgoing and confident if he’d been raised by them. I also think she has a similar dry humor like her father.

When Iris gets older, she’s in those hard growing up years where you aren’t quite as confident in yourself, and anxiety usually flares up more. Hence why she makes some of the choices she makes in Found. She can be impulsive while also is often an overthinker like her Mum, which can make for a messy combination. See any event in canon when the kids should tell an adult and don’t. 

For Teddy, I’ve written him twice now. Or well three times (He’s around 9 in It Had To Be You). His age and circumstances have always influenced how I write him. In Maybe Tomorrow, he’s been an orphan, lost his grandmother and is raised by Harry and Hermione from a young age. He’s also a big brother and he’s the oldest I’ve written him at nearly 14. This all plays a huge part in his maturity level and how he reacts to circumstances. I think he is a mix of all five of his “parents.” He’s got that mischievous streak from Tonks, compassion from Remus, humor, boldness and some mannerisms from Harry, curiosity from Hermione, kindness from Andromeda. In Found and Iris he’s raised by his dad and grandmother, has had different life experiences, and has always been an only child which influences some of his jealousy of Iris (and reminder he’s younger too!)

Now for Jane and Ellie. A quote I loved writing was this one: “What are you talking about?” he asked, his eyebrows shooting up. “They're like your clones, Hermione. Have you heard Jane explain anything, or Ellie’s laugh?”

I think both girls, while looking a lot like Hermione, are a mix of both parents and also just themselves. 

Jane, ah I have such a soft spot for her. I wanted her to feel different then Iris even though they share some of the same qualities and physical characteristics. I also think her personality is affected by the events that happened prior to H/Hr arriving in that scenario. I wanted more of her personality to match Hermione with some of her eagerness to do well. She’s also a character I wanted to connect more to Lily Potter. So I passed on some of my Headcanons about her, to Jane. 

Like all their children she has a stubborn streak, but she’s a bit more eager to please then Iris or Ellie. I think of Hermione in third year being scared of failing at school. She is probably the most sensitive of their kids, which is why the events in the fic have such a profound influence. I’ve worked with a few kiddos dealing with separation anxiety and trauma, which also influence my portrayal of her. 

This was my favorite back and forth about Jane, and highlights the core ways she’s like Harry. 

“Janie. She does look like me a bit but there’s so much of you in her. Her eyes of course, but that’s not it. I—I think it’s in how she is at her core. She sees people—really sees them. There’s a kindness to her that reminds me of you.” 

He didn’t know what to say as she paused before smiling wider. “Also her knees.”

“Her knees?”

Hermione nodded. “Yes, I remember when I met you. You had such thin legs and knobby knees. You were small but with these long, graceful and skinny limbs. Jane’s built like you. Also the colour of your skin—like cream.”

“It sounds much better when you describe it. Not scrawny, pale child, with strangely long limbs.”

Ellie is just fully a three year old. Maddening, but adorable. She does what she wants, when she wants. I think a lot of kids that age do this. She is a force, like many in her family. Also, her silliness and giddiness, I see her getting from the Marauders DNA. She’s also a bit of a mirror for Hermione, who was likely also an intense kid, part of why she adores her, but also makes her the most batty (something I've had experience with myself). She is also the youngest (for now), which I think influences some of her behavior. And now my favorite quote about Ellie:

“Yes, but she’s got your smile. It pulls up at the side like yours does,” she countered. “Also rather fearless as well, and she’s quite strong willed.”

He shook his head. “That’s on you.” At her incredulous look, he relented. “Fine. Both of us.”

She fought with her smile. “Quite cheeky too. I think it’s a tie between her and Teddy for the lead on that—which is all your doing.”

Which I think is the most important thing of all, I can’t imagine any child of Harry’s not being at least the littlest bit cheeky! Also all of their children would have wild hair and be strong forces.

Alright, I’ve rambled enough. If you read through all of this nonsense, you are the best!

[catmask]

when u go to write a mentally ill person in ur story you are presented two options. the first option is to write your mental illness realistically as you actually experience it with all the ups and downs and people who are like you will resonate with it and feel seen. except every person who reads instagram infographics on mental health that uses the phrase narcicisst for anyone who does anything that crosses them and unironically call themself a dark empath will call you scary and tell you that youre demonizing mentally ill people

the second option is to lie and write inspiration porn for those people to get hard to

[acorviart]

not to sound like a boomer, but I need some people to learn how to write emails in a semi-professional (at the very least) format so you're not cold emailing a business/potential employer/any other stranger about formal matters in the exact same way you'd DM a close friend on instagram

the formality/language can loosen up in the email chain once you've established a rapport and you match the other person if they're being less formal, but please don't have the very first email you send a stranger be written in all lowercase ultra-casual sms slang with no greeting or signature and a billion emojis

[unchartedthelostlegacy]

i love graffiti. "comics and jazz are the only american art forms" you forgot graffiti. did you remember graffiti? That art form birthed in Philly and NYC in the early 70s by poor Black kids. that art form that spread all over the world and influenced so many. that's used without irony in commercials when they're trying to appeal to a "young urban" customer.

did you forget graffiti? that racism broken windows theory victim? that reach the establishment takes claiming that it's exclusively violent gang members throwing up those full-color pieces and wildstyle tags in the middle of the night outsmarting fifty security cameras because the billboard was ugly anyway. as if, even if it was, it wouldn't be impressive as all hell. risking brutality and fall damage so your art can occupy the space a gentrified condo named something like "Coluumna" took away from you. proving that despite only assholes affording to live here anymore there's still a soul beneath it. an animal with dripping stripes and teeth that go clack-clack tsssss

[foldingfittedsheets]

Did you know guinea pigs are born just like. Tiny adults? They’re fully cooked. They come out, eyes open, fully furred, ready to do the whole array of guinea pig activities.

I learned this as a child. I was perhaps ten when this story took place. Our female guinea pig was pregnant, but she’d gotten mites and needed a bath. She was wildly pregnant. Bulging at the seams with babies. Ready to burst at any moment because all the babies needed to stay in there long enough to be full pigs. But we wanted to avoid the babies all getting mites and needing baths. We failed, they all needed baths. Mites are a bitch.

We knew she had three babies cooking in there. How did we know? We could feel each individual bulge in her belly. My mom was overseeing the pig bath but I was pretty much just doing my own thing, scrubbing her gently, rinsing the soap carefully.

After the bath our mother pig was not in the best mood. I was carrying her back to her freshly made mite free bedding when she’d had enough.

I was acutely aware that I was holding four lives in my childish grip, and I bore her along as if she were made of precious jewels and spun glass. Balanced in my hands I could feel the bulge of each of her babies slithering wetly around under her skin.

Which is why when she hauled off and sank her teeth into the meat of my hand I didn’t flinch. I didn’t drop her. I bore her as carefully and steadily as if I weren’t now bleeding freely, and I set her gently into her pig palace.

As I drew my hands away I screamed:

“FUCK!!!”

I then turned to look at my mother, who’d been watching the process intently.

I was fully aware that I had just done the worst possible swear directly in front of an authority figure and was very probably going to be punished. My mom was looking at me with a blank expression that I was waiting to turn stormy or disappointed.

“That must have hurt a lot,” was all she said.

She helped me throughly clean and bandage the bite. All the babies were born healthy and sound, looking like someone had used a shrink ray on trio of a guinea pigs.

Years later my mother confided in me that contrary to my belief that she’d be angry for swearing what she’d felt for me in that moment was overwhelming pride that in the face of pain and shock I had refused to let harm befall my little charges.

[easternpine]

Write what you know?

Putting myself back in the headspace of being an eight-year-old girl is giving me mild nausea

[phoebepheebsphibs]

STUPENDOUS new Hide and Seek chapter as always! I adore all the little references and I absolutely love the way you write the characters

I hope you have a wonderful day, and that every response you get to your fantastic chapter brings you joy!

Thank you

[yeehawpim]

[edains]

Rick Riordan constantly trashing the movies for not sticking to his books then releasing a show in which he rewrites everything and loses the spirit of the books entirely