问答题 To begin with, let us try to pin down exactly what publishers mean when they talk about "good writing" for children. A useful starting point would be to take a look at some of the children's books which won literary prizes last year. Reading these books is one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways of: (a) finding out what individual publishers are publishing at the moment, and (b) learning a few tricks of the trade from well-established professionals. 61) It goes without saying, of course, that slavishly copying the style and subject matter of a successful author is usually a recipe for disaster. Nor should you become downhearted after reading a particularly brilliant piece of work, and miserably think you will never be able to match up to those standards. 62) Remember, overnight success is rare — most successful children's authors will have struggled long and hard to learn their trade. Read these books as a critic; note down the things you enjoyed or admired, as well as areas where you feel there was possibly room for improvement. After all, nobody is perfect, not even a successful, prize-winning author.
Possibly the toughest challenge is right at the youngest end of the age range — the picture book. 63) The would-be author/illustrator is attempting to create an exciting story out of the narrow, limited, everyday world of a young child's experience — not easy at all. The whole storyline has to be strong enough to keep the reader turning the pages, yet simple enough to fit into a few pages. 64) Another problem for the new picture-book author is that it can seem that every subject and every approach has been done to death, with nothing new left to say. Added to this, printing costs are high because of full color illustrations, which means that the publisher will probably want a text that suits the international market to increase sales, and a novel for ten-year olds, with hardly any pictures at all, starts to look much more inviting.
So, to return to the question asked at the beginning: What exactly is "good writing" for children? 65) The answer is that it is writing which is fresh, exciting and unpredictable, and which gives a new and original angle on what might be a well- worn subject. But do not be put off if you feel that you simply cannot match up to all these requirements. While there is obviously no substitute for talent, and the ability to come up with suitable ideas, many of the techniques for improving and polishing your manuscript can be learned.