Applying Picture Book Wisdom to Longer Fiction
Posted by annastan on September 7th, 2012. Filed under: Craft, Picture Books, Resources.I’m rereading Ann Whitford Paul’s great craft resource, Writing Picture Books, and nodding my head along the way.
One bit of advice she gives for creating texts with lots of possibilities for illustrations struck me as good overall advice for any type of fiction:
1. Write scenes with action.
2. Introduce new characters into the story.
3. Move characters into different settings.
4. Change the emotional intensity of a scene.
If you follow this advice when writing a picture book, you’ll give your illustrator a lot to work with, but you’ll also make the story dynamic and interesting. And really, don’t we want those qualities in any kind of story? I’ll certainly be chanting these four “rules” to myself as I start drafting my next project.
She also talks about the importance of page turns in picture books that I thought translated well to chapter endings in longer stories:
We motivate the reader to turn the page with an unanswered question, the placement of the main character in an uncomfortable situation, having the character take action so the outcome is in doubt, or simply a curiosity about what will happen next.
What’s your favorite bit of advice for writing picture books?
September 7th, 2012 at 11:21 am
No advice, as so far my PBs have ended up being short stories.
But the above sure is great advice!
September 7th, 2012 at 11:55 am
Think pictorially. Every page.
Oh, and keep it short^
September 7th, 2012 at 2:20 pm
I love writing picture books. My advice is to not give up. I’ve been making changes to one of my picture books that I wrote a while back. It is so much better and I actually think it now has a chance. I put a page turner on each page. The kids can guess what is coming next, then turn the page and see if they were right. You have few words, but you have to make each one fantastic!
September 8th, 2012 at 3:43 am
I love writing picture books. It’s a really difficult market to get into though and I’ve had far more rejections than acceptances. Some great points here to bear in mind. My advice would be to not use words where a picture could tell instead.
September 10th, 2012 at 10:05 am
I’ve always wondered how to write pbs effectively. It never occurred to me to check out a craft book. LMAO. Sometimes I’m a little dense.