Top 5 Tips: Screenwriting for Children
There’s a common assumption that writing for children is easier than adults, and it couldn’t be further from the truth! Engaging the bright, discerning minds of our younger audience can seem impossible when you’re at draft 17 with no green light in sight. Deep breaths, grab a coffee and read my top five tips, learned over 20years of writing for children’s television.
Underestimate your audience at your peril!
Kids are savvier than ever before. With visual metaphors and cultural influences layered into their lives from day one and an answer to every possible question they could have at the end of their fingertips, kids spot anything patronising from a mile off. They’re also quick to vote with their attention span; engage them and they’ll binge watch as long as their screentime allows. Bore them once and you’ve probably lost them forever. That doesn’t mean writing scene after scene of chase action and slapstick humour, it means writing in a way that respects what your audience already knows and stretches them at the same time.
There’s a huge difference between the daily lives and emotional intelligence of a 4 year old, a 7 year old and a 10 year old. A 4 year old is still spending the majority of their time at play, probably with a primary caregiver. A 7 year old has started school and has a taste of navigating the world on their own. A 10 year old is approaching puberty and the balance of influence is tipping away from their parents and towards their peers. Rather than trying to write for everyone, pick your audience and write your content with them in mind.
Research, research, research
About 50% of the time I allocate to writing is taken up with research, most of which never sees the light of a TV screen. Library books, documentaries, mother help at school, art galleries, toy shops, children’s books, museum visits, playground visits, there is literally a world out there waiting to inform your writing. I have notebooks full with ideas, facts and lines of dialogue.
Not only does research give your scripts meaning and depth it helps alleviate writer’s block. If I’m stuck on a scene, a quick flick through one of my notebooks will usually get things moving again.
Entertain before anything else
I’ve lost count of the number of people who have told me they want to write for children to ‘make a difference’. While it’s a noble intention that underpins my own writing, it’s also a slippery slope to alienating your audience. Outside of the school grounds, even the most beautifully made educational content will be turned off in favour of a less worthy show that gets a laugh or a gasp of wonder.
Kids want entertainment that shines light on their world and their experiences. Ideally, you the writer will layer (invisible) tools into the story to empower them going forward as well. Want to teach kids about empathy and resilience? Show their favourite character losing the most precious thing they own and figuring out what to do next. Want to teach them about science? Have your character build a fizzy drink bottler from scratch, making hilarious mistakes along the way. The best stories pique kids’ curiosity, then allow them to disappear into the show and emerge out the other side with their world expanded and a smile on their face.
Write from a kid’s perspective
One of the most popular episodes of Maia the Brave is called Strange Dogs. While writing the script, I spent a lot of time on my knees around big dogs, experiencing those slobbery jaws at eye level. My key learning was that even the kindest dog will probably chase you if you run, and that’s terrifying.
Strange Dogs is the story of a boy who encounters a scary dog at the local playground and it’s a visceral episode with just the right balance of risk and reassurance for young viewers. The most important element in the story was what to do in that split second moment, which was reinforced with the strong visual metaphor of a tree. If a strange dog approaches you, stand still like a tree until the dog moves away. Simple, visual, memorable.
If writing for kids, put yourself in their world, literally. Get down at their eye level. Swing on the playground. Get out the Lego. Learn to ride a scooter. Try cutting out shapes or writing a sentence with your wrong hand. You will remember what it’s like to be a kid, discover what it’s like to be a kid today, and enrich your writing with authenticity.
Borrow some kids for the day
If I’m developing a new idea, the quickest way to know I’m on the right track is to test it on real live kids. If they’re not immediately engaged and bouncing around positive feedback, it needs a rethink.
I’m lucky to have three of my own bright young minds and love spending time with their friends, their cousins and their schoolmates. What do they sound like? What do they wear? How do they play? What are they watching, reading, eating, talking about? Spending time with kids helps layer your writing with details they will recognise.
Writing for children’s television has been one of the most financially and professionally rewarding parts of my career. I still get a kick out of seeing little faces light up with delight when they talk about one of my shows.
It’s not easy but with practise and perseverance, you can do it too. Keep writing, always. We need your voice.