When it comes to writing for magazines, it’s easy to think the more the better. The more background, the more details, the more insight a writer provides, the better a reader can follow a story.

With children’s articles, however, simplicity is key.

That’s what Marilyn Kratz, a seasoned children’s writer, shared recently. Marilyn is a South Dakota native who’s sold more than 700 non-fiction articles, poems, and stories to various publications over the past 50 years. In addition to writing for Highlights for Children, High Five, Hello, Cricket group and others, Marilyn is also the author of three children’s books, a pictorial history, and two collections of her newspaper columns. She says writing for children’s magazines has its own unique rules and, when followed properly, the experience can be quite rewarding.

She suggests that writers new to the genre first think about a single problem a child might have or a single concept to present when generating story ideas.

If someone wanted to write a story about how rabbits stay warm during the winter, for example, that’s all the information they should provide. Don’t write about what they eat or how their fur changes color. Just write about how they stay warm during the winter. Stay on a singular track.

Marilyn says non-fiction is big in the children’s magazine world and is a good place for writers to start. Non-fiction articles are also easier to get published than fiction stories and can give a writer confidence to branch out.

Also, keep it brief. Check each magazine’s guidelines for maximum word lengths.

“You have to really be careful and write about something that interests a specific age,” Marilyn says. “Most magazines now are targeted to specific age groups.”

Birth-2, 2-6, and 6-12 are common age categories, and choosing the right topic is almost as important as the writing itself. The youngest children like stories about cuddly toys, tub toys, kitties, and puppies. Older children like sports stories, mysteries, and learning about relationships with other children.

Marilyn often dreams up story ideas while working around the house. Busying herself with routine chores gives her invaluable time to think. When nothing comes to mind right away, she’ll turn to holidays and seasons of the year. What problems could a child have around Thanksgiving? She might muse. Thanksgiving is a popular holiday for children’s articles, as are seasonal stories about winter and spring.

Before sitting down to write, however, Marilyn always makes sure she has the names of her characters and the first sentence in mind. Then, when she sits down to write, the rest keeps coming.

In regard to fiction, Marilyn believes children should feel as though they are the main character when they read a story. “Everyone really wants to read about themselves,” she explains.

When developing a story, Marilyn suggests writers consider:

She says writers should also pay special attention to how the child grows, accomplishes something, and changes during the story.

“Think about real-life events when writing fiction,” Marilyn says, “and look to nature for inspiration.” Once you have an idea, write about that. She says writers should always consider interesting things that happened during their own childhoods. A memorable situation or occurrence could be the “seed” for a wonderful story.

Another important aspect to writing for children is to actually read children’s publications regularly. Marilyn says she’s been subscribing to Highlights and other periodicals for years and reads each issue cover to cover. By doing this, she feels she can better understand the needs of the magazines, as well as the kind of work that interests them.

She finds it’s good to have several articles under submission at any given time. Personally, she strives for 15. Many publications make the submission process easy through websites like Submittable.com. Marilyn says writers should never wait to hear back from a publication before sending out the next piece. She stresses how important it is to keep working and submitting new things.

As far as the latest trends, Marilyn says, “Fantasy is getting bigger all the time.” While most of her work centers on fiction for little ones, she admits there’s not a genre she wouldn’t write. “I love it all!”

Marilyn will present the intensive session Writing the Stories Only You Can Write as part of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators’ annual conference for the Dakota region. The program will be on Friday, June 10, from 1-4 p.m., at the Holiday Inn City Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Cost is $49 per person, plus conference registration. For more information, please visit dakotas.scbwi.org.