Josh Funk's Blog, page 11

Tips for Writing Picture Books: Keep Learning

It’s important to know ONE thing: You don’t know EVERYthing. So …

Keep Learning

I debated on whether to call this post Find the Right Critique Partners or Be the Worst … and Learn from People Better than You. I think there are a couple points I want to touch on regarding progression with your craft.

First, you don’t have to do it alone. The kidlit community, both online and in person, is full of friendly people who cheer each other on. Whether through SCBWI, PiBoIdMo, 12×12, or one of the many social networking groups, there is a profusion of resources available. You just have to ask.

Baby Hedgehog *

Find a critique group. This is critical. It sounds like a cheesy acknowledgements section of a middle grade novel, but the truth is that I’d be nowhere without the many critique partners who’ve made my writing better over the years.

But don’t be the best in your critique group. If you want to keep improving your writing, be sure to work with people who are better than you (by this, I mean better at writing). I can definitively say I have never been the best one in any of my groups – and that fact has played a large role in any success I may have had.

There are many other ways to continue learning. One is by going to conferences, retreats, and workshops. This can get expensive and potentially prohibitive, but luckily lots of classes have popped up online that range from very affordable webinars to even free (see Nerdy Chicks Write Summer School, currently in session).

Read books in the genre you write. This is important for several reasons. It will help keep your focus on the audience for which you’re writing. It will also give you an idea of the business side of the writing world. What are publishers buying? What are librarians, teachers, parents, and children enjoying?

How do you keep learning? Do you find it important to continue expanding your knowledge of kidlit? Why?

Next time I’ll share why it’s important to …

[fill in later before you post this, otherwise you might look kind of silly and you wouldn't want that, would you, Josh?]

Wow, that sounds like an interesting topic! Betcha can’t wait to hear about that!

 

See all posts in Josh Funk’s Picture Book Writing Guide

Part 1: Picture Books Are Short

Part 2: Every Word Counts

Part 3: The Illustrator Is Your Partner

Part 4: Show Don’t Tell

Part 5: Write with Active Emotion

Part 6: Story Arc Components

Part 7: Don’t Write in Rhyme

Part 8: Rhyming Picture Books Are All About Rhythm

Part 9: Some Ideas Just Don’t Work

Part 10: Keep Learning

 

* You might be wondering why I inserted a picture of a baby hedgehog earlier in this post. If you are, then you’re not thinking hard enough.

Illustrator for DEAR DRAGON: Rodolfo Montalvo

I’ve got great news, everyone! The creative/editorial team at Viking Children’s went out and found the perfect artist to illustrate DEAR DRAGON. From Publisher’s Weekly Children’s Bookshelf Rights Report:

Rodolfo Montalvo was most recently the recipient of the SCBWI Mentorship Award at the 2013 Summer Conference. His first published works were illustrations for The Contagious Colors of Mumpley Middle School, by Fowler DeWitt, (the second book in the series, The Amazing Wilmer Dooley, will be available later this summer).

Check out his work at RodolfoMontalvo.com – and I’m sure you’ll be as excited as I am that he’s been tapped to illustrate DEAR DRAGON. For more Rodolfo goodies, check out his interview with Kidlit Artists from last October.

Flog Blop

Just kidding! It’s a blog hop! (I’m a rhymer). Thanks to my crit buddy, lofter pal, and splendid author Nancy Tupper Ling for tagging me. I’m gonna answer four questions (just like Nancy answered) about my writing process. Check out Nancy’s Flog Bop entry here.

What am I currently working on?

Boring! Instead of answering this question, I’m going to tell you what I’m currently working on. Lately I’ve been working on more picture books (rhyming? of course! you wouldn’t want it any other way). As always, I’m in the contemplative stages of some things that might not rhyme or might not be picture books. Maybe I’ll start my own blog hop (oh, wait, I already did that). Oh, also, I’m working on my ability to fly underwater. It’s not going well.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Differ. Differ? Differ??? Have you ever noticed that if you say a word over and over again out loud it starts to lose all meaning? I find when this happens it’s best to use a dictionary to explain the word. According to dictionary.com, differ has three definitions, so I’ll go with the third one: “to dispute or quarrel” (what does it mean when it says ‘obsolete’ before the definition? presumably, there is no place I can look that up). So how does my work quarrel with others? That question makes no sense. I refuse to answer nonsensical questions! NEXT!!!

Why do I write what I write?

One of my goals is that I hope that my picture books appeal to both children and adults. Not that this would make them totally unique – there are LOADS of picture books that I enjoy – but there are enough that my many many many kids might like that I’d rather not spend my time reading. I’d like to think that children will want their parents to read my books over and over (and dare I say over) again … and the parents gladly do just that after every request.

[do you think anyone will notice that I copied this answer from the last time I participated in this blog hop? They probably will now that I typed it here inside these brackets]

How does my individual writing process work?

Oooh, the last time I answered this question it was “How does my writing process work?” I like the new word. Individual. Perhaps this picture will explain it:

Well, I hope you’ve learned a lot about my writing process and I’ve answered all of your questions satisfactorily. Satisfactorily. Satisfactorily. Thanks for visiting! And thanks for passing this along, Nancy!

 

BLOG HOP DIES HERE