{"id":17909,"date":"2016-02-09T06:00:21","date_gmt":"2016-02-09T11:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/?p=17909"},"modified":"2016-02-09T06:00:21","modified_gmt":"2016-02-09T11:00:21","slug":"favorite-picture-book-revision-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/?p=17909","title":{"rendered":"Favorite Picture Book Revision Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

The picture book writing class I teach annually through the Wind Ridge Books Writer’s Barn starts up again this week, and I have a mix of new and returning students. Because the picture book realm encompasses so many different kinds of forms, not just\u00a0narrative\u00a0storytelling, it’s always an interesting challenge to shape the class. I send out a questionnaire before the workshop begins, asking the writers to share their goals for the class and to articulate their primary challenges with writing. This year, I’ve heard a lot about frustrations with the revision process, completing projects, and accountability\u00a0between classes.
\nBelow, you’ll read many wonderful tips on the picture book writing process that several very generous\u00a0published authors and illustrators shared with me a few years ago. I’d like to invite you author and artist colleagues to chime in with any tidbits\u00a0you have found particularly helpful, especially on the topics of\u00a0revision, staying focused, and knowing when a manuscript is ready to be pried out of your ever-editing hands.
\nWRITING TIPS FROM PUBLISHED AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS
\nA few years ago, I invited my writer friends and colleagues to share their favorite picture-book tips for new and young writers. Here’s what they said:
\nTHINK OF A PICTURE BOOK AS A CIRCLE rather than as a linear progression. A story starts with a problem \/ relationship \/ mystery \/ whatever…. and no matter what happens between the beginning and the ending, the story must circle back to the beginning problem, etc. but of course with the problem solved, the mystery cleared up, the relationship resolved. \u2014 Marguerite Davol, The Paper Dragon<\/em>
\nONE WAY TO START is with the art: draw the same character three times \u2014 sad, happy, and perplexed\u2014and think about why s\/he might be feeling that way. Or draw a setting and imagine the story that would take place there. Or draw an object and imagine the story it holds. My notebooks are full of such drawings and they sometimes grow into published work. \u2014 Laura Kvasnosky, Zelda and Ivy<\/em>
\nALWAYS BEGIN with a storyboard. It\u2019s the only way to see the visual movement of the book. \u2014 Claudia Rueda, My Little Polar Bear; Here Comes Valentine Cat<\/em>
\nWRITING POETRY is good practice for creating picture books. Economy of language is essential. Just like in a poem, every single word in a picture book must carry worlds of meaning. \u2014 Jacqueline Jules, Benjamin and the Silver Goblet; Sofia Martinez: My Family Adventure<\/em>
\nFOR RHYMING BOOKS: Sound, sense, rhythm \u2014 these cannot be strained in order for a poem to work. \u2014Joan AIken, in The Way to Write for Children<\/em>
\nIF YOU\u2019RE STUCK on a line or a rhyme or an idea, talk a walk, preferably with dogs. Move in the rhythm of the text, say it out loud as you go, and you\u2019ll be surprised how many writing problems solve themselves. Showers are good for this, too\u2014but don\u2019t walk in them; too slippery. \u2014 Elizabeth Bluemle, How Do You Wokka-Wokka?<\/em>
\nUSE REPETITION, BUT SPARINGLY\u2014a little bit creates a fun, effective pattern, but too much becomes… repetitive. \u2014 Chris Barton,\u00a0Shark Vs. Train; That’s Not Bunny<\/em>
\nWORDS DON\u2019T NEED to repeat what the pictures already show. And pictures can tell a different story from the one told by the words. \u2014 Sergio Ruzzier, Hey, Rabbit!; Two Mice<\/em>
\nYOU DON\u2019T NEED [ONLY] WORDS to tell the story. It\u2019s great to use them and have FUN with them (and INVENT new ones whenever you can), but make sure your book leaves some space for pictures without words attached. \u2014 Alexis O\u2019Neill, Loud Emily; The Kite That Bridged\u00a0<\/em>Two Nations<\/i>
\nSOME OF THE THINGS I share with kids are: the importance of leaving room in the text for the illustrations to tell their own part of the story. Also, something I was taught in art school: never show an apple and say \u201capple\u201d\u2014rather show an apple and say something that adds to the communication like: \u201cdelicious\u201d or \u201cjuicy\u201d.) Another good thing to remember is that the adult or parent in the story should never solve the problem for the child protagonist\u2014sort of obvious but so many beginners let the adults \u2018save the day.\u2019 Another obvious one: read it aloud to yourself and others to hear awkward phrasing and unwanted repetition. \u2014 Laya Steinberg,\u00a0Thesaurus Rex<\/em>
\nIF IT IS A CHARACTER-DRIVEN book, it really helps to fully know who the character is before getting into the story. If you look at people you know and use their personality quirks in your own characters…, they will be more fun and believable. Of course, you could also find yourself with fewer friends…. \u2014 Sarah Dillard,\u00a0Mouse Scouts<\/em>
\nDON\u2019T FORGET to play ALL the parts\/roles in the story. That way, all of your characters will feel three-dimensional and real. \u2014Susan Fletcher, Dadblamed Union Army Cow<\/em>
\nWRITE VISUALLY: What picture opportunities does the text invoke? \u2022 FOCUS ON THE CONCRETE instead of abstract: Abstract is difficult to illustrate. \u2022 CONSIDER PAGE-TURNING \u2018HOOKS\u2019: What compels young readers to turn the page? Can be traditional hook but also a phrase \/ rhythm that guides the hand to turn the page. \u2022 ILLUSTRATIONS AREN\u2019T DECORATION: Illustrations partner with words to convey meaning \u2022 WRITE FAST to get the story down; THEN cut cut cut until you find the essence of story: Add only what\u2019s necessary. \u2022 AVOID using an adult \/ authoritative voice: Say it using words\/tone\/style natural to the reader. \u2014 Marcia Thornton-Jones, The Bailey School Kids;\u00a0Woodford Brave<\/em>
\nSEED THE RESOLUTION in the beginning of the book. It makes the ending so much more satisfying. Example: In my picture book, Maggie and the Monster<\/em>, Maggie tells her mother early on in the story that besides the little noisy monster who comes into her room every night, there\u2019s also a monster who lives upstairs in the closet behind the brooms. Later, when the little monster admits to Maggie that she\u2019s looking for her mother, Maggie knows just where to find that mother. Upstairs in the closet behind the brooms. The resolution was \u201cseeded\u201d early on… \u2014 Elizabeth Winthrop, Dumpy LaRue; Lucy and Henry Are Friends\u00a0<\/em>
\nSURPRISE \u2018EM at the end. Don\u2019t be predictable. Just when readers think they know what will happen, give the story a twist. That\u2019s what makes it fun. \u2014 Patricia Thomas,\u00a0Red Sled; Green Bean<\/em>
\nWRITE the kind of book you love and a story you love because you will be spending a lot of time with it \u2014 revising and revising and revising some more. \u2014Martha Peaslee Levine, Stop That Nose!; The Twelve Days of Christmas in Pennsylvania<\/em>
\nTHIS IS A REVISION SUGGESTION\u2014Ask someone who is not familiar with the story to read it out loud to you. Don\u2019t let them preview it! You want them to be dealing with the words on the page for the first time. You\u2019ll hear the rough spots. Sit with another copy of the ms. so you can take notes. \u2014 Harold Underdown, editor
\nREAD EACH SENTENCE, each paragraph, out loud and eventually the whole manuscript. Listen for the sounds, the rhythm, the \u201cmusic\u201d and emotion that are created. See the images. Imagine a [reader] reaching for the book to touch, taste and even feel the words. \u2014 Nancy Bo Flood, The Hogan That Great-Grandfather Built; Cowboy Up! Ride the Navajo Rodeo<\/em>
\n[THE BEST STORIES GIVE YOU] … one belly laugh, one gasp of surprise, one tear (from the rightness of things). \u2014 Bruce Coville, Amber Brown Horses Around; Moongobble & Me<\/em>
\nDON\u2019T EAT THE GLUE. It\u2019s for the binding, kids. \u2014 Ann Angel, Adopted Like Me<\/em>
\n****
\nAren’t those fabulous?
\nAgain, I’d like to invite you author and artist colleagues to chime in with any tidbits you have found particularly helpful, especially on the topics of revision, staying focused, and knowing when a manuscript is\u00a0done.
\nThanks so much! My students will be grateful, too.
\nBONUS TIP: Recently, I was on a walk\u00a0with my friends Chris Tebbetts (Public School Superhero<\/em>; Middle School 7: Just My Rotten Luck<\/em>) and Liza Woodruff (Emerson Barks<\/em>; and illustrator of If It’s Snowy and You Know It, Clap Your Paws!<\/em>), and they shared a great tip they’d picked up at a recent writing retreat. When a discussion there turned to writing discipline, one writer told the group\u00a0that she pays herself $15\/hour to write, and those funds go into a separate bank account that she then uses for retreats and trips throughout the year. Now, that’s a kind of motivation I’d never thought of!
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Authors and illustrators share some of their best advice for picture-book writing and revision.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17909\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}