An Introduction
I chose this domain name -- How to Write Picture Books -- because I wanted to make it easy for picture book writers who are just starting out (or are further down the road, but not quite as far as they'd like to be) to find me, and to get some help and encouragement for their journey.
In truth, the domain name should be "My Approach to Writing Picture Books" because, of course, there's not just one way to do this. But that was a bit cumbersome. Plus, even though my way is not the only way, I do think it will help anyone who's serious about writing picture books.
So what is my approach, exactly? I believe in learning from experts – in this case, writers and illustrators who are smart, clever, and creative and do things really well. So when I teach workshops, I share parts of many excellent picture books to illustrate certain concepts—things like voice, story escalation, strong beginnings, satisfying endings, rhyme, character, and more.
I take the same approach in The Nuts and Bolts Guide to Writing Picture Books. I use lots of examples to show how to, say, add humor to your story, enliven your narrative voice, or find your way through the murky middle of your manuscript. Then I offer exercises so you can play around with these ideas yourself and apply them to your works-in-progress.
I learned to write picture books by reading them, by reading about how to write them, and by picking up tips at the occasional conference I attended. I got stacks of books each week from the library (still do), and bought every "how to" book I could get my hands on. I wrote lots of dreck, made dumb mistakes, and got nothing but rejections for two years. But I kept reading and writing and learning. Eventually I sold my first manuscript, then another, then 10, then 20, then 30 . . .
I wrote the Nuts and Bolts Guide to help others avoid making some of the mistakes I made and skip ahead to the more satisfying parts – creating and completing a compelling, well-constructed manuscript, and selling it to a publisher so that (in time—this stuff doesn’t happen quickly) you can hold a beautiful, well-made picture book in your hands.
I’ll be adding more to this website over time. I hope you’ll visit again soon.
In truth, the domain name should be "My Approach to Writing Picture Books" because, of course, there's not just one way to do this. But that was a bit cumbersome. Plus, even though my way is not the only way, I do think it will help anyone who's serious about writing picture books.
So what is my approach, exactly? I believe in learning from experts – in this case, writers and illustrators who are smart, clever, and creative and do things really well. So when I teach workshops, I share parts of many excellent picture books to illustrate certain concepts—things like voice, story escalation, strong beginnings, satisfying endings, rhyme, character, and more.
I take the same approach in The Nuts and Bolts Guide to Writing Picture Books. I use lots of examples to show how to, say, add humor to your story, enliven your narrative voice, or find your way through the murky middle of your manuscript. Then I offer exercises so you can play around with these ideas yourself and apply them to your works-in-progress.
I learned to write picture books by reading them, by reading about how to write them, and by picking up tips at the occasional conference I attended. I got stacks of books each week from the library (still do), and bought every "how to" book I could get my hands on. I wrote lots of dreck, made dumb mistakes, and got nothing but rejections for two years. But I kept reading and writing and learning. Eventually I sold my first manuscript, then another, then 10, then 20, then 30 . . .
I wrote the Nuts and Bolts Guide to help others avoid making some of the mistakes I made and skip ahead to the more satisfying parts – creating and completing a compelling, well-constructed manuscript, and selling it to a publisher so that (in time—this stuff doesn’t happen quickly) you can hold a beautiful, well-made picture book in your hands.
I’ll be adding more to this website over time. I hope you’ll visit again soon.
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