Writing Thoughts: Children · 6:44pm Apr 25th, 2013
It's no secret that I am a fan of stories that have children as protagonists, and heck they make darned good protagonists.
However children characters can be a hard thing to write. All too often I've seen children characters lose what makes them children. They start seeming too grown up, and use language that a child just wouldn't use. Sometimes I hear arguments that X-character is just 'grown up' for his age, to which I normally roll my eyes, but sure I guess I can go along with that in some cases. That said, writing children is also a very useful tool, especially when writing something that could be considered 'children's literature'.
Children, as characters provide a unique point of view and some neat functions.
First off, children are curious, in that they don't know too much about the world, yet they want to figure it out. As a writer, you can use this to great effect. Whether it's using that curiosity as an excuse to have the character get pulled into an unusual situation. Or if ever there is a point where you think your readers might not understand what's going on, you can have the child ask the question in place of the reader. When you have a protagonist who is a child, they can be a very useful vehicle to explain situations to the reader that an adult in the story already knows about, yet both the reader and child don't have a good understanding. This will allow for world-building without breaking immersion if done properly.
For example, if your story is about a child learning the first steps of playing an instrument, you can assume that some of the readers are going to be quite unaware of how to play an instrument. As such an adult character, probably a music teacher in this case, can serve the point of learning basics for both the child and the reader. Same goes for world history, magic instruction, or anything else.
Secondly, there's a disconnect between child logic and adult logic. This will allow for some unique situations where the adult readers will be able to know what the outcome of a more complex event is before the child does. Or the child might ask a question that even adults will struggle to find an answer for. This disconnect can show just how smart children really are. They can use unexpected analogies as a way of understanding situations.
For example: A child could ask why there is a war going on, what death is, why we fall toward the ground, or how magic works. Often the answer will be a white lie as a way of sparing the child's innocence, or an analogy to a simple thing, such as: 'Death is like going on a long journey you can't come back from'. Or sometimes they can't find an answer and will leave the adult stumped, and say something like: 'I don't know why there is war, but it happens because folks are angry at each other.' To which a child might respond: 'Oh, like that time mom and dad yelled at each other? So they'll hug each other after, and apologize?'
Thirdly: Adults and children alike draw from experience in every decision they make. This is very important with child characters because their pool of experience is relatively shallow, and as such, the events in a story are going to have a larger impact on them and their future decisions. So, when writing a longer story (especially adventure stories) that have a child (or children) encountering obstacles and overcoming them, keep those accomplishments firmly in mind as you continue on from that point.
Any other neat aspects of writing children characters anyone want to share?
~SilentBelle
They're also insanely adorable
One of the things that can make a nasty situation hit harder or feel even worse is to show it through a veil of innocence. One of the most effective uses of that use of a child protagonist I've ever run across is actually on this site, Gold Star by Mindblower. The innocence of the narrator turns a war story into something profound and heartbreaking...
1033606 Yes that too. I find their curiosity to be perhaps the most adorable trait, though I suppose their physical cuteness just adds to it.
And I thought of two more side notes: Dark as well as Sad stories can do a good job by preying upon a child's assumed innocence. Such as a child dying just seems so much more sad than an older fellow, just on principle. And terrifying things that a child can't readily comprehend does wonders to amplify the terror in certain stories. Explaining a really dark scene through a child's perspective can be entirely disturbing and effective, if that's what you want your story to convey.
I think children are great protags for adventures because they don't really have any preconceptions. They could walk into a village of chair people and get used to them in under three hours. They'd let a gang member or ex-con or arachnapony join their adventuring party if it suited them!
There are as many reasons to use child characters as any character, really. They can be defined by being sweet and innocent, or contrast that by losing it in the face of harsh reality. They can inject a sense of wonder into an adventure, or innocently touch on philosophical questions that adults are practiced in ignoring. In general, a lot of stories are stories of growth, change, learning and new experiences, so children and young adults are ideally suited to them—yet defying that convention can be equally as meaningful.
That and their innocence and ignorance can be used to make hilarious jokes, not to mention all the little moments of reflection that can be made towards an older reader. For example jumping off a (seemingly high) surface with a grocery or trash bag as a parachute.....well at least for some of us
Absolutely, child characters can at once be some of the greatest and most interesting characters or the most frustrating, primarily as you said, just with how well people write them into stories. Child characters that don't act right, that don't act as children completely break my immersion in a story, and frustrate me to no end as a reader. There is nothing wrong with a child character being mature or grown up for their age, but there is a big difference between that and a child not being written well. No matter how mature they are, they still see the world through the eyes of a child, and while they may not be like other children, they shouldn't be adults shoved inside a younger body.... although considering fanfiction and the things we often see in this fandom, that has probably happened before...
My only comment would be Curiosity. As an adult I'm wary of spiders, they may or may not be poisonus, so I keep back, yet a child might see one and think 'Why does it have so many legs?' it's not quite the logic difference discussed but I can't say I'm curious as to whether or not a spider likes being patted or not, yet a child, lacking any experience otherwise, might find themselves curious to that effect.
Interesting points, Loving the writing and looking forward to updates as they occour :)
I try to strike a good balance with my stories. So far I have not written one fimfiction story where my OC or main character is not a child
A few have made them just a bit over mature for what they are, but that is mostly because of the unique situations I place them in.
For example living in the Everfree Forest your whole life (even as a child and still a child) you might adopt some shy tendencies when it comes to social situations. But you would also focus primarily on your own survival, which would make you slightly more mature than the average child. Real children (at least the one's in Ponyville) are not worried about surviving from day to day, but a dragon child just might be
At least i hope I'm portraying kids right. There is always that chance that my characters are acting way out of character for their age, but I've only been called on it once so far