Conflict, the type that motivates and moves a plot, comes from four sources.

Yesterday, an editor asked for revisions on a very short piece which was meant for a kindergarten or first grade audience. The editor didn’t like the competitiveness between siblings. But when she contemplated taking out that conflict, she correctly understood that the story lacked something. Could I fix it, she asked.

Of course, my first reaction was, “Don’t edit out that conflict!”

But it’s always unhelpful to try to protect your words and ideas from the collaboration of an editor who knows her audience. So, I sat and thought about the story. Sometimes, you just need to apply what you already know, and I know that there are four types of conflict in a story:

1. Conflict with Society. This is a quiet story and it simply didn’t have elements that would allow this option.
2. Conflict with Someone Else. That conflict had been ruled out by the editor. I might could have found some other way to include conflict, but my feeling was they wanted a gentle but fun story, without that kind of interpersonal conflict.
3. Conflict with Self. I already had the character trying something very difficult and sticking with it.
4. Conflict with Nature. Ah, maybe I could add in just the briefest touch of this type conflict. The main character’s task could be considered as a struggle against nature.

In the end, I added a line near the beginning that hinted at conflict with nature, then a line at the end which resolved it.

In the meantime, I tried to add a touch of humor in a couple other exchanges.

Revise with confidence.

Take a Reading Day

Standard advice: read what you want to write.
If you want to write a novel, then read mysteries or thrillers or teen or easy readers or whatever genre you want to write.

Last week, I took a reading day and had great fun. I often advise people to read 100 picture books (published within the last 5 years) in preparation for writing picture books. One way I accomplish this is to visit my local bookstore and read new books from their Picture Book Wall. However, this only gets the books that this large chain bookstore chooses to put on said wall. So, last week, I had a library day. I only read ten books, but it was interesting.

Picture Book Illustrations:

I liked 8 out of the ten illustrations. The two I disliked were watercolor that had turned muddy. They had nice details, good characterization, but the muddy watercolors made it a dark, uninviting book.

Picture Book Texts I Didn’t Like

I didn’t like four of the texts. A couple of these were from author/illustrators and the illustrations carried the book; of these, the poetry had ineffective rhyme just there to rhyme and the meaning was lost; another had text that would have been rejected if from an author as “too slight.” (It’s that maddening double-standard applied to texts from picture book authors and picture book author/illustrators.)

One text had a typo on the second page – it was a popular author, good company, someone just slipped up. Another had text WAY too long, lots of purple prose and lapses in the storyline. One nonfiction surprised me because the author’s note explained that she had created some of the dialogue; from another publisher, I might not have noticed, but I was shocked to see this from this author/publisher.

Picture Book Texts I Liked

Simple, yet effective was one of my notes on a text. Some texts were generally good, but some of the double-page spreads were less effective because of long-winded text on a particular page. The best texts were funny, age appropriate, simple-yet-effective.

These were just books that were in my library that day, set upright to entice readers. No attempt to be random or scientific, just “found” books. Here’s a different breakdown.

• 1 rhymed text
• 3 historical fiction
• 2 broken or twisted fairy tale
• 3 celebrations of art from author/illustrator
• 1 contemporary/multicultural set in Asia

Lessons from a Reading Day

What did I learn? I was reminded what I love and what I dislike about picture books. I still like short, but effective texts. I like bright, clear illustrations. I still like reading and writing picture book texts.
Plan for the week: Write a new picture book.

If you go to the library or bookstore for a reading day, give us a report!

Revise with confidence.

Narrative Arc in Less Than 100 Words: Example 2

Very simple picture books still have a narrative arc, even though the word count is extremely small. Yesterday, we looked at an example of a great simple narrative in My Friend, Rabbit. Today, here’s a look at a narrative arc in 80 words (with the help of some illustrations), as it appears in A Splendid Friend, Indeed by Suzanne Bloom. This book was named a Theodor Seuss Geisel Beginning Reader Award Honor Book in 2006.

Narrative Arc in 32 pages, 98 words

Here’s a great example of a narrative arc in only 98 words.
p. 1 Title
2-3 copyright/dedication
4-5 Characters established: Polar Bear and Goose
6-7 1st repetition: Goose wants to be part of what Bear is doing: he is attempting to be a friend.
8-9 Bear says he likes to read.
10-11 Goose attempts friendship by taking over the book.
12-13 2nd repetition: Goose wants to be part of what Bear is doing.
14-15 Bear says he likes to write.
16-17 Goose friendship by saying he likes writing, too.
18-19 3rd repetition: Goose wants to be part of what Bear is doing.
20-21 Goose decides to take it’s own action – get a snack
22-23 Goose brings back a snack
24-25 Goose has a note for Bear
26-27 Goose’s note says Bear is “my splendid friend.”
28-29 Touched, Bear says I like you, too.
30-31 Bear & Goose hug: they are splendid friends.
32 Friends share a snack

Narrative Arc analyzed

98 words
P. 1-3 Front matter
4-5 Characters established
6-11 1st attempt at friendship – tries to take over
12-17 2nd attempt at friendship – tries to fit in
18-19 3rd attempt at friendship – failure
20-27 Goose attempts friendship by offering something, instead of trying to fit in
28-32 Goose & Bear are friends.

Narrative Arc Written as a Synopsis

This is the story about Goose, who wants to be friends with Bear. Goose tries to be friends by taking over Bear’s book, by trying to write like bear and by trying to figure out what Bear is thinking. Finally, Goose decides to BE a friend. He gets a snack, comes back, and shares a letter of friendship. Bear and Goose, now friends, eat a snack together.

A complete story in less than 100 words is hard. In yesterday’s example of a great simple narrative, My Friend, Rabbit, there were lots of wordless pages, where the images carried the story. Here, there are fewer wordless pages, but still some. In both cases, though, the characters are established, the problem presented, three attempts at resolving the problem, before the climax. These are nice examples of how to do it and do it well.

Revise with confidence.

Narrative Arc in Less Than 100 Words: Example 1

Very simple picture books still have a narrative arc, even though the word count is extremely small. Here’s a look at a narrative arc in 80 words (with the help of some illustrations), as it appears in My Friend, Rabbit, by Eric Rohmann, winner of the 2003 Caldecott Award for Best Illustrations in a children’s book for the year.

Narrative Arc in 32 pages, 80 words

Here’s a great example of a narrative arc in only 80 words.

1st person POV from Mouse’s POV, talking about his friend
p 1. Title page
2–3 Introduce Mouse and Rabbit
4-5 Problem establish: Rabbit always gets into trouble
6-7 Rabbit has confidence he can get out of trouble (Characterization_
8-9 Rabbit’s idea begins to unfold (pulling a large beast onto page)
10-11 Elephant is in place
12-13 Rhino pushed forward
14-15 We now see Rhino on Top of Elephant, while Rabbit brings in Hippo.
(start to understand that he’s stacking animals to reach the plane stuck in a tree)
16-17 More animals to stack up, each smaller than the previous
18-19 The stack has failed. But Rabbit is still confident and has a final idea
20-21 Rabbit gets Mouse involved in the idea.
It succeeds – mouse reaches the plane! But there’s also disaster . . .
22-23 . . . and the disaster is going to be bad because everyone is running out of the way. . .
24-25 . . . as animals –big and small–fall everywhere.
26-27 Animals are all mad at Rabbit
28-29 Mouse swoops in with the plane to rescue Rabbit (Rabbit’s friendship–because he means well–endears him to Mouse.)
30-31 Rabbit accidently covers Mouse’s eyes, so he can’t see to fly. . .
32 And they are stuck in the tree again, but this time, they are in the plane and Rabbit confidently says, I have an idea.

Narrative Arc analyzed

Word count: 80 (plus 10 words of dialogue on p. 30-31)
Characteristics of Rabbit: Means well, Trouble follows him, Supremely confident, an adventurer.
Characteristics of Mouse: Loyal to friend, an adventurer.

p. 1-3 Characters introduced
p. 4-5 Problem established
p. 6-19 Attempt to solve problem
p. 20-21 Attempt to solve problem fails, but there’s one last heroic effort. Success. Followed immediately by Disaster.
p. 21-28 Disaster threatens to overwhelm Rabbit
p. 28-29 Mouse saves his friend, Rabbit
p. 30-32 Circular ending: similar problem established again.

Narrative Arc Written as a Synopsis

I realized that this story is written in first person POV from the Mouse’s POV. That makes him the main character! I thought at first that Rabbit was the main character. But the POV, combined with the dramatic rescue by Mouse, makes this Mouse’s story. So, from the POV of Mouse, here’s the narrative arc written as a synopsis. (Of course, there are several ways to look at this, but this version makes sense to me.)

This is a story about Mouse, who more than anything wants to remain loyal to his friend, Rabbit, even though Rabbit gets in trouble. When Rabbit gets Mouse’s plane stuck in a tree (first test of loyalty) Rabbit tries to get it out by building a tower of animals. Mouse, (2nd test of loyalty) joins in by being the final link in the tower and finally he reaches his plane. However, the animal tower falls and Rabbit is in trouble, so Mouse (3rd and final test of loyalty and resolution) flies down to rescue him. But in the rescue, they wind up back in the tree (loyalty tests begin again).

See another example tomorrow of a simple narrative arc, as we look at My Splendid Friend, Indeed, by Suzanne Bloom.

Revise with confidence.

Ebook: How to Write a Children’s Picture Book

It started out as 30 Days to a Stronger Picture Book. But now, (drum roll, please), it’s an Ebook. Expanded from it’s original format, it now includes new sections on writing rhymed verse for a picture book, and many examples of different types of texts.

How to Write a Children’s Picture Book includes 36 self-paced lessons on every aspect of writing, editing and selling your children’s picture book.

Basics of Writing a Children’s Picture Book

Start your journey toward publishing by studying the basics of children’s picture books: number of pages, word count, audience, setting, characters, words, messages, morals, themes, voice and more.

The Unique Writing Process for a Children’s Picture Book

Once you understand the basic structure of a children’s picture book, it’s time to choose a topic and write your first draft. Learn topics to avoid and perennial topics. Special techniques for editing your picture book manuscript are also covered.

Typical Picture Book Genres

If you want to write a specific type of children’s picture book, you’ll find tips here for humor, rhyming text, poetry collections, picture book mystery, picture book biography, creative non-fiction picture book, and the ABC picture book.

How to Submit Your Children’s Picture Book

Your story is done? Learn the biggest mistake people make when submitting to a children’s book publisher and how you can avoid it. How do you find the name of an editor? What about self-publishing?

Download your pdf immediately.
Order NOW!

Revise with confidence.

I am researching competition for a picture book idea. I know there are topics with very stiff competition and I want to avoid anything similar to what has already been done.

But this time, I am also researching how this particular publisher approaches certain types of books. I want to know if they do double page spreads, spot illustrations or full illustrations, and what kind of language is used. So, I’ve ordered a couple books to study.

When I get the books, I plan to read them quickly for an overall impression. Then, I’ll read aloud to see how the language flows. I’ll study the illustrations to see how much liberty the illustrator has taken with the text; in other words, how much do I have to provide for the illustrator and how much will they interpret.

I’ll also try to think about how I can add something new to the collection of books on a topic. If this topic is covered 20 times in current children’s books, I”ll need to be bolder in order to “stand out in today’s crowded market.” If it’s only covered once, I’ve more leeway, and won’t have to push quite so hard.

Tools for Researching Competition

1. Search. Search both Amazon (or Powells or your favorite online bookstore) and Google (or your favorite general purpose search engine) for books on your topic.
2. Specialized search. Be sure to also search GoogleBooks and any other specialized search engines you know about.
3. Library. Search the catalog of your favorite library to see if they have it available for checking out. Also search WorldCat.org to see what other books are available. (Hint: You can download a WorldCat plugin to put this search on your Firebox browser; there’s also a plug-in for your Facebook page.)

Revise with confidence.

The 33 page picture book

No, there are no 33-page picture books. Not yet.

At a recent conference, though, I had a discussion about why picture books are usually 32 pages. One person suggested that some famous picture book author should come out with a 33-page picture book, and then the industry would print it.

Uh, no. It really does have to do with the way paper folds and how much can be printed on existing printing presses.

So, the response was that when picture books go digital it won’t matter. That’s right: online, page counts can be anything you want.

But I argued that the 32-page picture book has developed into a certain literary form, much like the 14 line sonnet form for poetry. Yes, of course, writers of digital picture books can choose to write free verse; but they may also choose to write in the 32-page format.

We don’t know if or when the majority of picture books will change to digital versions. But it’s still worth studying and mastering the 32-page format because it will teach a lot about selecting events and details for a picture book, about language that works in a picture book, about planning for kids to chime in, about making it read-aloud friendly, and much more. The 32-page format won’t be completely abandoned even when (or if) digital picture books become the norm.

Revise with confidence.

The picture book I’m working on has had three major revisions.

What to Keep

When I realize a story needs a major overhaul, I try to figure out what I want to keep. In this case, I loved the setting and the language evoked in that setting.

My friend has been taking the position that good stories begin with character. Well, for him, they do. I can’t see him doing it any differently. But for me, especially for picture books, it’s the language play that starts the story and keeps my interest going.

Others may start with a voice, or a situation (as in my current WIP novel), or an event. The key is to figure out what you must keep in the story to maintain your own interest and excitement.

Everything Else is Up for Auction

I have a couple good names I could auction off, if anyone is buying. Any bids?

The characters in the first draft of the picture book were wonderful, IMHO. I loved the names, I loved the playfulness of their personalities. But they just didn’t have a story to tell. Or not one that was coherent enough to hang together.

The first draft had the main character as a girl trying to help her grandfather work through a problem. Not child centered enough.

The second revision had the main character as a kid learning to do some difficult skills. More child centered – more appropriate for the audience – but I knew I was doomed when several critiquers said they couldn’t figure out the age of the character.

Third and current draft of this children’s picture book puts a child as the main character, solving a child-sized problem.

Audience. You must keep the audience of your novel or picture book or story firmly in mind (she tells herself!). The problem was to FIND that child-centered problem within the setting or milieu that fascinated me. Once I did that, it was easy. All it took was about 20 drafts or so.

Revise with confidence.

I’m writing a picture book that I know should work. But it’s not.

Consider the Picture Book Audience

Part of the problem with this story is that it’s set in a commercial kitchen and I have a kid who wants to cook. Critiquers tell me that the writing is great, the kid is great, but they wonder about that kid in a commercial kitchen.

Wouldn’t it violate child labor laws?
Wouldn’t the kid be in danger of getting burned?
Would a kid even WANT to be a cook? Why?
How old is this kid anyway?
Why is the kid even in this restaurant, so he gets hooked on cooking? Maybe, it’s his uncle’s restaurant and his parents work and he has to go over there after school and study.

ARGH! No!

Obviously, the adult audience for this story doesn’t connect. What about the kid audience?

At nine or ten, I was baking birthday cakes — from scratch — for my six brothers and sisters. One of the few dissenters in the group of critiquers says that her kids LOVE to make her coffee (Obviously, she lives in the great NW.) It just seems natural to me that a kid would want to cook! I’m convinced the story will work, if I can get around the adult objections.

And I do understand the objections. And I will address the objections. But it will mean starting from scratch and reconsidering both audiences for picture books, the adult and the child.

Research, then Revise

I decided to research. I’ve read through How I Learned to Cook, edited by Kimberly Witherspoon and Peter Meehan. This fascinating book is first-person accounts from some of the world’s greatest chefs on how they fell in love with cooking as a way of life.

Many of the accounts are about a chef’s young adult years, or about some mistake s/he made during chef school or at a first job. But a couple were about falling in love with food and cooking at an early age. I’m also doing free-writes about why I liked cooking as a nine year old. And I’m reaffirming what is the heart of the story for me, remembering why I wanted to write this story.

A new draft will come. And it will be better.

Revise with confidence.

Simplify Your Picture Book Story

I’m currently revising a picture book and my major goal is to simplify the story.

Simple Steps to Revision

• Why simplify the story? At 1200 words, the picture book text is way too long. I needed to cut it about in half. Why? Sue Edwards has just been reading 50 picture books in a short amount of time – something you should do at least once a year if you write picture books – and she reports that “. . .short sells. I ran into very few longer books.” Simplified = Sales. Good enough reason.
• Omit Major Character. In fact, this version of the story had already simplified by leaving out a major character. It meant a total reworking of the story, but it flowed much smoother.
• Cut the conflict in half and expand what’s left. Given that 600 words is a worthy goal, what could I do? I took the first half of the story and expanded it into the whole story, thus simplifying it by leaving out the conflict in the last half of the original. It sounds drastic and it was. But after it was done. I wondered how I could ever have thought we needed that last half.
• Planning for interactivity. In the next revision, I plan to strengthen the interactivity of the story. I already have one section where kids can anticipate and chime in. I”m looking for a couple more places.
• Planning for stronger language. The cuts I’ve done so far are playing up the fun language of the story. But I think it needs more tightening, so the fun phrases will shine.
• Planning for unique characters. A friend reminded me that my characters are too stereotypical. But with minor edits, I can remove the stereotypical references and leave the characters stronger.
• Planning to connect the beginning and end. The motivation at the beginning and the resolution at the end are still not matching up exactly. It’s close – but not right. I’m searching for alternative ways of setting it up. Because I like the new ending, which means the beginning has to set up that ending.

Not much to revise, huh? And people think writing a picture book is easy?

Revise with confidence.