Creativity is Intelligence having Fun Children's books are deceptively hard to write. Every word carries weight, every character needs to earn their place, and the story structure has to land perfectly in a compressed format. Arc Forge's Short Story structure template is ideal for picture books and early readers. Draft each scene with the tone slider set to light and whimsical, then use the Plot Challenger to identify pacing issues: a critical concern when your audience has a short attention span.