By Penny Reeve
For starters, picture books are short. In terms of word count the average Australian picture book is between 500 and 800 words long. (US picture books seem to be more wordy, but over here the trend is short and tight.) The obvious implication of such a small word count is that there is no space for waffle. Each and every word must be worth its place in your manuscript.
A picture book also relies heavily on illustrations. And this is more complicated than the seemingly obvious: ‘It’s a picture book, it has pictures!’ The very best picture books utilise the skill and storytelling abilities of the illustrator to compliment the text of an author. Because of this, a writer of picture books must keep their text sparse, allow for much description to be in the illustrations and even leave space for multiple storylines that will exist without written accompaniment. Writing picture books is about writing a strong story well, and then leaving scope for an illustrator to build on it.
Repetition, alliteration and other word play are all enjoyed by children and their accompanying adult reader. Many picture books are extremely poetic in the way they have been written, even if they do not use rhyme. It takes time to find just the right words to tell your story in just the right way.
When I write picture books, they take me a long time. Longer, often, than a middle grade novel because I need to give myself time for ideas to brew, characters to grow and just the right words to find themselves in my story. It’s a challenge, and sometimes it just feels like hard work. But when the story comes together and your publisher finds an illustrator who can bring it to life with their unique spin, you know it’s worth it.
Happy writing,
Penny.
I really enjoyed the GOD MADE SOMETHING... books for children. Well done Penny!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rita.
ReplyDeleteThey have been a really well received series - it's been exciting to have been part of something that helps young children wonder about God.
Great post Penny. I've been reading a lot more picture books in the last year because I'm a Pyjama Angel with the Pyjama Foundation and read to a 7-year-old girl each week. It's been fun learning what she responds to. Rhyming books are certainly fun, but you're right - they have to be done well. Good ones (like Hairy Maclary, Slinky Malinky, The Gruffalo) are so much fun to read, but I've also come across some shockers that have no sense of meter.
ReplyDeleteI also love it when the illustrations bring out other aspects of the story, especially if there is something that can provide some interaction with the child (e.g. things they have to find or little subplots going on behind the scenes).
Good on you for having so many children's publications. I'll look forward to the rest of the series.
Hi Nola,
DeleteYes, a good rhyming picture book is one you'll NEVER tire of - but a bady done one? Groan, groan!
As for illustrations, one of my favourite things about being a children's book author is working with amazing illustrators and watching what they can bring to the story.
Penny, fascinating post! I agree, writing short is an art in itself. I hadn't considered the complexities of the illustrator revealing the story threads in the pictures. Congrats on your children's book releases.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Narelle. Some publishers ask authors for 'illustration notes' to give illustrators the 'heads up' about what to include in the artwork. Some editors actually prefer there to be NO notes from the author to the illustrator and wait for the illustrator to make their own interpretations from the given text. It's a really fascinating creative process between two types of craft.
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