Picture Books
Writing Picture Books: What IS a Picture Book?
Today is Picture Book Wednesday and since I’m teaching a class tonight on writing for children, it made me think about the differences in children’s books. Writers who are new to the world of writing for children usually think of picture books when they hear “children’s book.” But if you’ve been around for awhile, you … Continue reading
Writing Picture Books: A glance at the bestsellers
Today is Picture Book Wednesday and I wanted to take a quick peek at some of the bestseller lists and make some observations. They may or may not mean anything, but sometimes I like to check them out just for fun. The New York Times bestseller list. With the release of her new book, Steam … Continue reading
Writer’s Studio: Using Scrivener to Storyboard Your Picture Book
When I was on faculty at the Big Sur in the Rockies Workshop in May, I happened to mention that I started using Scrivener to write my latest novel and how much it has helped keep me organized. One of the writer’s asked if I used it for writing picture books and I said no. … Continue reading
Writing Picture Books: Choosing the right word
Today is Picture Book Wednesday and we’ve all heard that “every word counts” in a picture book; though it’s true in books of all lengths, it’s most apparent in picture books because they’re so short. Here are a few tips for choosing just the right word for your story. Identify your purpose. Is the line … Continue reading
Writing Picture Books: Question and Answer Format
Today is Picture Book Wednesday and we’ll be looking at a format that is used to great effect in a lot of picture books, using the delightful and funny Do Princesses Have Best Friends Forever? by Carmela LaVigna Coyle, illustrated by Mike Gordon and Carl Gordon. The rhythmic give and take of a question and … Continue reading
