How to Write a Nonfiction Article for Children

There is a large market for nonfiction, and it's more likely that a freelance writer will get nonfiction published before fiction. Nonfiction articles for children enable the writer to be creative and have a higher chance of getting published.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Thesaurus
• Sample children’s magazines

How to Write a Nonfiction Article for Children

1. Research your market. Determine what age group you are most comfortable writing for and what topics this readership is interested in.
2. Purchase a few children’s magazines. Examine and analyze the nonfiction articles that have been published. How are they organized? How are they written? Also you can use these articles as inspiration to help you choose a topic.
3. Develop an outline for your article. Keep in mind your readership. How will you have to limit your article? What subtopics will you focus on and what subtopics will you decide not to elaborate on?
4. Use description and realistic examples when writing your article. Try to connect to your readership as well as keep them entertained and interested in your topic. Think of things your readership will relate to and understand.
5. Read your article for clarity and appropriateness. What level of vocabulary do you use? If you have written your article in Microsoft Word, you can check the readability of your writing. To show the readability statistics, click on Tools and select Options. Go to the Spelling & Grammar tab and check the Show Readability Statistics option. Now when you perform spell check, it will grade your document’s readability.
6. If you don’t use Word, read through your article while having a thesaurus on hand. Consider substituting more difficult or challenging words depending on the age range of your readership.
7. Read through your article a second time and see if your article is well organized. Is it step by step and logical? Does it have a clear and cohesive beginning, middle and end?
8. If you are fortunate enough to have a child who is willing to read your article, let them. See what they think of the article. A child would be your most valuable critic for a piece such as this.

Tips & Warnings

• Don’t forget to proofread.
• When you are ready to publish your article, consult the magazine’s submission guidelines and make sure your work meets the magazine’s needs.

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