Writing for children and teens may seem easy. After all, the books are shorter, the plots simpler, and audience loves stupid jokes. But if you ask any authors in this category, they’ll tell you that writing for kids is just as difficult, if not more so, than writing for adults.
There’s a reason for this: when you write for adults, you have the freedom to choose the best word out of every one you know and the most appropriate sentence structure for the material. When writing for kids, you have to write so that the material is shown off, but also in an accessible way that your audience will understand and engage with. And for a writer of children’s books, middle grade (books for readers 9-13 years old) and YA (young adult book/ books for teens), you must also make the decision if you’re going to write for struggling readers.
A struggling reader is anyone who is reading below their grade level. Three out of four times, struggling readers are boys. Typically, they have short attention spans. They can be just starting to learn to read, or they could be teens. Oftentimes, they are ashamed or embarrassed that they aren’t able to understand the same books as their peers, but they like the same stories, and have the same interests as everyone else.
Writing a book for reluctant readers is actually a smart idea for an indie author, as a good one allows you to market to an expanded audience. Many of these books are enjoyed by at- and above-level readers, too!
In the book industry, books for struggling readers are often called “hi-lo”, which means that they are high interest (the subject matter is age-appropriate), but the vocabulary level is low (which makes it easy to understand).
But there’s more to writing for struggling readers than just using small words! Below are our rules for writing a great book that can be enjoyed by readers working on improving their proficiency, and readers who are already there!
- Reading level is not just about vocabulary: it’s also determined by the length of words and sentence structure. Adopt a short, punchy style so that short sentences and small words won’t seem out of place or too simplistic for the subject matter.
- Choose an age-appropriate story, not a reading-level appropriate story. Just because a middle schooler might have trouble reading does not mean they want to read the books their younger siblings read. Your job is to engage a reader, and reluctant readers definitely won’t want to practice reading if they’re too old for the plot!
- Make it fun to read aloud. If your audience still needs to sound out words or is being read to aloud, make sure it’s fun! Alliteration and flow are the keys to keep them engaged. Reading out loud takes much longer than reading in your head, so when you edit, read your book out loud to see what parts lag.
- Create a straightforward plot. Flashbacks, shifts in POV, and time jumps are all sophisticated storytelling devices that your reader might not understand or pick up on. Instead, make your book linear and reform any sort of flashback into a story told in dialogue.
- Use structure to create a fast-flowing book. Short attention spans means your audience is easy to bore. Keep your plot moving along by avoiding lots of world-building and detail, and break your writing up into short sections or chapters to make it easier to digest and speedy!
- Break up the text. Think about adding illustrations, or fun features like letters, documents, text messages, etc. into your text to make it visually appealing and less intimidating.
- Don’t be afraid to teach your reader something. Just because you’re writing for struggling readers doesn’t mean you have to stick to what they know and are comfortable with. Feel free to introduce new, hard words as long as you provide support for it. Use it multiple times, and make sure its meaning is able to be extrapolated easily from the surrounding text and context.
Remember, a good book for struggling readers won’t, at a first glance, appear to be any different than a book at level. Writing for reluctant readers is a practice in subtlety. Your audience shouldn’t be able to tell the difference, except for the fact that at-level readers will get through it faster, and below-level readers will be able to understand it, and be made all the more confident because of it.
As a writer of children’s books, mid-grade novels, and YA I found this helpful! I never heard of hi-lo. Love that phrase.
Great post.
Michelle