Comments on: Friday Five: Thoughts on Picture Books

By: beckylevine

beckylevine — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 04:10:21 +0000

Thanks, George!

By: George Shannon-Author

George Shannon-Author — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 03:28:49 +0000

Best Wishes. Picture books are, indeed, a wonderful genre. Not to mention, a forever challenging one. But it is a challenge I enjoy. It’s a matter of distillation. Brevity. Hence the pleasure of the challenge.

By: beckylevine

beckylevine — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:04:02 +0000

I think you’re right–the character development is critical. That’s what I’m working on right now!

By: Book Chook

Book Chook — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:04:08 +0000

I think picture books are one of the most evolved writing forms. They are amazing when done well, and jarring when not. Having the soul and skills of a poet helps, I believe. One thing I have noticed with my own picture book writing is that when I develop my characters just as thoroughly as I would for a novel, I am happier with the result. Otherwise, it seems to me that plot tends to dominate, and the text gets out of balance.

By: beckylevine

beckylevine — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:11:41 +0000

I think the brain has to do with patterns we get set in there, and then asking it to adapt to something different. Neurons growing!

By: Amy G.

Amy G. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:04:28 +0000

I’ve heard good things about the Ann Whitford Paul book. Must check it out. Even though PBs are not my metier, I’ve learn a lot from them about the essentials of story-telling.

Fascinating that your brain is treating the 400-word mark like the 3000-word one for a novel!

By: beckylevine

beckylevine — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:14:35 +0000

I am so impressed at the idea of turning a PB into a novel. I am also SO not going there with this one!!

I can really recommend Ann Whitford Paul’s book–it breaks things down beautifully.

By: Sherrie Petersen

Sherrie Petersen — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:10:47 +0000

I tried to write a PB a few years ago and it turned into a novel. A really BAD novel. But it got me writing. I have an idea I’d like to try. Some day when I’m not so wordy…

By: beckylevine

beckylevine — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:31:30 +0000

Hmm…just thinking about heroes. I may just need to read Truman’s Aunt Farm again!

By: beckylevine

beckylevine — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:31:06 +0000

Thanks, Jama. The plotting, I think, is okay for me, other than lots of doubts about what I THINK I’m doing. I think my biggest challenge is going to be turning words into a character that really jumps off the page.