This post is all about how to write child characters.
So, you’re writing a story with characters who are children. You might even assume that it’ll be easier to write child characters because well, they’re simple. Right?
Not quite. Child characters can be some of the most nuanced characters.
There are so many different stages of development, and on top of that, every child has their own personality and struggles. So, putting your adult brain aside to write realistic child characters might be harder than you think.
Even though you were once a six-year-old, it’s hard to now put yourself in the shoes of a six-year-old and remember all the intricacies.
The influence of your own perspectives is always at risk of impacting any of your characters, but this is especially true when writing kids!
So, here are some tips for writing authentic child characters.
How do you accurately write child characters?
There are so many things to think about when it comes to writing child characters. The novel I’ve been writing has a couple child characters, and I’ve found myself needing to stop and re-evaluate how realistic my dialogue is or my descriptions of their actions.
We’ll go more in-depth in this post, but here’s an overview of the main things you need to think about when writing child characters:
- Treat them as individuals with personalities, interests, motivations, and flaws
- Research child development
- Know their worldview
- Don’t overlook backstory (even though they’ve lived less life than adults, kids have backstories, too!)
- Think about body language
- Reconsider dialogue: what would age-appropriate speech and vocabulary look like?
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HOW TO WRITE CHILD CHARACTERS:
1. Treat them as individuals
This sounds obvious, but I think it’s something writers overlook without realizing it.
Child characters are individuals. So, you need to understand all their motivations, fears, interests, quirks, flaws, and backstories.
Yes, children are different from adults, and a 4-year-old is different from an 11-year-old. But every child is also a unique being, different from other children their own age.
My workbook Real Characters walks you through the foundations of developing strong individual characters.
2. Research child development
Don’t just guess what kind of language they would be using at their age, how they think, or how they behave.
Do a little research into what is a common level of development for the age of your character.
This will help give you insight into their language, vocabulary, thought process, and capabilities.
3. Know their worldview
As humans, our worldview is ever-evolving. Especially as we age!
Think about the way you viewed things like family, friends, education, society, and world issues at different points in your life. It has probably changed over time.
When you went through something difficult or traumatic, the things you focus on and notice are different than what you might focus on as an adult.
Understanding your child character’s worldview will help them feel grounded in reality and offer stronger character development.
4. Don't overlook backstory
The backstory for a child character will obviously be shorter, but it’s still hugely significant.
Think about it…as a five-year-old, whatever has happened in the first five years of your life is ALL that is shaping you.
The more experiences you have, the more perspective you gain. A child will have much less experience to draw from, meaning that every experience that makes up their backstory will be all the more significant.
5. Think about body language
Describing a character’s body language has a huge impact on how the reader will perceive them. A child will have very distinct body language from an adult.
Brainstorm what your child character’s body language might look like. Get specific! This may seem irrelevant, but including small details like this in description will give your reader lots of information about the character, their maturity level, and their emotions.
6. Consider speech
When you’re writing a child character, it’s important to put intention behind every word they speak.
Here are some examples of how a character might relay the same information at different ages:
- Adult: “He backstabbed me. I was only ever a loyal friend and he turned on me anyways.”
- Age 13: “I can’t believe him, I was always on his side, and then he just ditched me like I didn’t matter.”
- Age 10: “That’s not fair! I was always nice to him and then he just turned on me. He’s not my friend anymore.”
- Age 3: “He’s not my friend anymore!”
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