When thinking about the writing process of my book, i feel it is important for myself to really research into the target audience i am looking at and what kind of style of book they best suit. Now my target audience is 7+. I have chosen this age range as i feel it is an age where you are able to start picking up an understanding within what is going on around you, yet still might need some support to further explain and come to terms with the diagnosis.
When researching online from ‘ReedsyBlog’ it explained the different age groups and how their age should affect the books they are reading. From this blog I can see I'm towards the end of the category of early reader and pushing towards more chapter books such as the magic treehouse or diary of wimpy kid. Now i do not intend to create a chapter book as i feel the content is far too heavy for the reader to read in large amounts. The purpose of my book is for them to take key information to help support them and therefore not overload them with big scary words. This is why I want to create a book that is more illustration based with blogger paragraphs and more complicated words choices then say for a young reader style book. I feel this will best work for my topic due to the reasons explained previously.
As for actually writing the book itself, a tip that was clear from the outset was to not talk down to the reader and be careful picking the tone of voice depending on your age group. It is important not to talk down to the child with the words chosen as it may make them feel small, and instead distance themselves away from the book. That is why when i write my book it is important to think about a healthy balance of facts and understanding, and not overfilling them with big words that may feel meaningless. That is why is says that repetition of these important words is great. Especially in my case the use of repetition will help the child learn and recognise some of the medical terms mentioned such as chemo, or blood count, something that they will begin hearing regularly.
I feel the tone of voice within my genre of book is also very important, in terms of getting the point across yet not creating fear and negativity. This is hard as it is best to be as honest with the child as possible, otherwise this may cause trust issues within what they are being told. However, with this information you also don’t want them to feel overly negative of what is to come. That is why when writing my book i intend to pick my language carefully and also rely on my illustrations to not creating this gloomy feeling. That is why i will focus on a brighter colours and patterns creating that feel of a regular children’s book that the child will recognise and feel more at ease with.
Something else that i feel is important is about thinking about the tense i intend to write with. It is most common for children’s books to be written in third of first tense. In my case i feel i want to write in first, to really help create a connection towards this character, making the while feel this is a real person that can understand what they are going through and begin guiding them through the treatment ahead.
Moving forward for my story i feel it is important to look at a base plan, considering the exact themes I want to discuss as well as perhaps the order and other elements such as page count.
Sources; https://blog.reedsy.com/how-to-write-a-childrens-book/
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