Many adults who would like to write for children come to websites such as this one. Below, some thoughts and encouragement just for them.

Getting Started: One Word at a Time

Before you write you must decide you are going to write. Sounds obvious? Maybe. But your attempts to create a finished product, a real story with a beginning, a middle and an end will fail if your mind is not made up; if you have not made a decision and a commitment. To put it another way you must give yourself permission to write. 'To invent. To leap. To fly. To fall.'

Too many aspiring writers, those who have a genuine calling, put it off until they have time or inspiration strikes or they've done one more class or the dog has mastered the vacuum cleaner. This is creative suicide. It is the spoilt (often frightened) child within who urges you to wait, encourages you to put it off; who wants everything to be easy and convenient and mentally perfected before you even begin. That child cares nothing for the urges of your soul and if you give into it that child will lead you astray. Without a decision to make time for your writing and to see it through, you will quickly run out of steam (and inspiration). You may even deny your creative urges entirely and in so doing retreat into the 'tick-tock' zone of everyday survival; that dreary 'safe' zone that for the thwarted creative is fraught with inner conflict and frustration. A gloomy prospect.

You want to write? Please write. Let there be no further discussion…

Keep going

Creative writing takes stamina. You're not writing a shopping list. You're not dashing something off the top of your head. You're going much deeper than that and it's going to be taxing. By going 'deep' I do not mean you will be plumbing the depths of your soul—although depending on your project you may be called upon to do that. No, what I mean is that you will need to go deep into your imagination and that takes stamina. In fact, most beginners are surprised at just how taxing it is. But take heart. You're not frazzled and drained because you lack talent or you're deluded. You feel this way because you're doing the 'grunt' work. Good for you! Whether you are writing comedy for ten year olds, grisly crime, genre fantasy or obscure feminist poetry, in order to be authentic you will have to go deep. There is no other way.

Also, beware anyone who tells you that creative writing is 'fun'. This can be misleading and can leave struggling beginners feeling inadequate and confused. You're slaving over your first novel or short story, full of angst, appalled at how feeble the words on the page are as opposed to the masterpiece that's in your head and you're supposed to be having fun? Forget it. The day-to-day business of writing is not fun, particularly in the beginning when you're entirely alone, with no publisher or editor and your inner critic is raging and your doubts are so powerful they restrict your breathing. Creative writing can be pleasurable. But much of it is just plain old hard work. However don't despair. It's hard work that is rewarded in the most unexpected ways; with the burst of glee that comes with a perfect a sentence, with the unexpected arrival of a character you know is going to thrill you, or with the surprise of a quirky insight. Eventually you will also be rewarded with the immense satisfaction of a completed narrative. But only if you persevere.

 Finishing

As you near the end of your piece you may feel the urge to hurry. The end is in sight and the sense of relief is so intense you think no-one will notice if you hurry things a little and get it over with. Wrong. Like the final note in a symphony endings are crucial. A clumsy, rushed or otherwise ill-conceived ending will break your contract with your reader and leave him or her feeling at best disgruntled, at worst cheated. If you are feeling the urge to rush, now might be the time to take a break. A few days off or a week. A change of scenery if you can manage it. Don't be afraid to leave your work for a short time. It can be hugely therapeutic. But of course do not leave it too long. You'll know when rejuvenation is sliding into procrastination. You'll sense it. You'll start to feel guilty maybe even fractious. Draw on your inner discipline again; the discipline that has carried you this far. Go back to your writing and finish your piece with renewed vigour and passion.

There are other ways of dealing (or not dealing) with 'finishing fatigue'. Some writers chose this time to bundle up their manuscript and send it off to publishers and agents. Please don't send unfinished manuscripts out into the world. It's like a racehorse deciding halfway around the track that it's proven it can run, now it will just wander off and wait for the golden cup. Prove to yourself that you can finish a manuscript and prove it to your prospective publisher, too. That's the professional way. It's also the courageous way.

On the other hand, if you're halfway through and really floundering consider having a professional manuscript assessment. A fresh eye, an articulate, page-by-page response to your work may be just the thing you need to urge you on and help you keep the faith. Other writers suggest trialling manuscripts on prospective readers, family and friends. I'm not convinced by this approach. In my experience you just end up with more opinions (many of them ill-defined if not downright bewildering) and more confusion. Get professional feedback. That's the best idea.

Seamus Heaney, most esteemed Irish poet, likens creative writing to digging for potatoes.

Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests.
I'll dig with it. 

Some must-have accoutrement for your writer's briefcase:

A copy of Stephen King's, On Writing, Hodder and Stoughton, London. One of the best books on writing I have read. Honest, insightful, erudite. I love this book.

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamont, Knopf Doubleday. Equal first with Stephen King's gem. This book is spirited, compassionate and very funny. Essential reading.

The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing, Meg Leder, Jack Hefferon, and the editors of Writer's Digest. Writer's Digest Books, Cincinnati, Ohio. A terrific compilation of interviews and articles by luminaries such as Margaret Atwood, Terry Brooks and Sue Grafton. Good for dipping into when you're feeling stuck.

How To Write Damn Good Fiction: Advanced Techniques for Dramatic Storytelling, James N. Frey, Macmillan. This is another of my favourites but be warned, James N. Frey won't take your hand and gently guide you. He'll grab your elbow and wrench you along.

Every aspiring and working children's author should watch Elephant's and Hens. It's in series three of the television series, Black Books. This is the episode in which Bernard and Manny set out to write a children's classic (no less). Brilliantly funny and painfully accurate in its portrayal of attitudes toward the art of children's writing. If you don't want to buy it most video shops stock Black Books in their TV section.