Trial and Error
What I’m Learning While Writing a Children’s Book
If you’d told me a few years ago that I’d be writing a children’s book, I probably would’ve laughed. Not because I didn’t love stories I always have but because I lost touch with the part of myself that believed I could create them.
Starting this project has felt like rediscovering an old friend that curious, imaginative version of me I thought had disappeared under the weight of adulthood, stress, and doubt. Writing for children has reminded me what it means to see the world through fresh eyes to find magic in small things and meaning in the simplest moments.
But I’ll be honest: it hasn’t been easy.
Writing a children’s book sounds lighthearted, but it’s one of the most emotionally vulnerable things I’ve ever done. Kids don’t fake their reactions they either feel it or they don’t. That forces you to write with truth. To strip away pretense, ego, and overthinking, and just speak from the heart.
Here’s what I’m learning along the way:
1. Simplicity is powerful.
When I first started, I wanted every sentence to sound “literary.” But writing for children taught me that beauty doesn’t need complexity. The simplest words can carry the biggest emotions if they’re honest.
2. You have to heal your inner child to write to children.
Somewhere between drafting storylines and shaping characters, I realized I wasn’t just writing for kids I was writing for me. For the younger version of myself who needed reassurance, wonder, and hope. Each page feels like a conversation between who I was and who I’m becoming.
3. Imagination takes trust.
Adults spend so much time trying to make sense of everything. Kids? They just believe. Writing this story has forced me to loosen my grip on logic and let creativity lead the way to let a tree talk, a cloud dance, or a lonely character find comfort in something unexpected. And somehow, that freedom feels like breathing again.
4. Progress matters more than perfection.
There are days I stare at my draft and think, This isn’t good enough. But I’m learning that children’s stories aren’t about flawless prose they’re about heart. Every time I sit down to write, even if it’s just one paragraph, I’m showing up for that heart.
5. The child inside me still believes in magic.
And maybe that’s the biggest lesson of all. Writing this book has reminded me that creativity isn’t something you lose it’s something you reconnect with when you give yourself permission to dream again.