In a guest post on Jane Friedman’s blog,
“Some of the worst dialogue ever written, in both film and fiction, has been dialogue for kids,” Hoffman writes. “Writers…place words in the mouths of child characters that real kids never would say.”
Very young children have a limited vocabulary and rarely – if ever – speak in abstractions. Instead, they use simple sentences or small sentence fragments. “To understand what kids are capable of thinking and saying at different ages, familiarize yourself with the four stages of cognitive development described by renowned child psychologist Jean Piaget,” Hoffman advises. “And if you’re writing a story with a child character, take time to really listen to how kids of that age talk. Make listening part of your research, and be as diligent about that as you are about researching any factual material you will include in your story.”
