Doing the Hard Work
I’ve been working on three picture books for a while now. Okay, quite a while. And I’m close. Sooooo close. But you know what it’s like? It’s like when you fold a piece of paper in half, then in half again, and again, and again…Apart from the physical difficulty, you could–theoretically–be forever able to fold […]
Review: I DARE YOU NOT TO YAWN
I dare you not to love it. Okay, yes, that was a cheap play on the title of Hélène Boudreau and Serge Bloch’s picture book, I Dare You Not to Yawn, but it’s true. And I’m going to tell you why, or at least why I loved it. But first, here’s your warning: Basically, I can’t […]
The Problem with Endings
You’re writing along. Things are good. You’ve got a sweet, but not perfect protagonist developing, the supporting cast is strong, and you’ve hit the funny bone in some of the right places. You’re happy, you’re feeling like…oh, yeah, I’m a writer! Basically, that first draft was a: And then you get to the end. The […]
When Procrastination Pays Off
Okay, you know how it goes. You haven’t quite got that story to the place where you’re ready to write. Or maybe you’re a pantser, and you’re always ready to write, but for some reason it’s not flowing today. The pants are too tight. Too loose. Whatever. So you find something else to do. Something […]
From Concept to Specific: Hunting the Perfect Detail
No, it’s not quite like hunting snipe. But it matters a lot more. Yes, I’m working on a picture-book revision this week, so the detail problem is more in my face than when I’m writing early draft thoughts about the YA WIP. But still…it’s relevant for all writing, I think. Yesterday, on Facebook, Hélène Boudreau […]
Revision: More from Mary Kole…and Me
I will get some time into my picture book this week. Mary Kole posted an archive blog this week on Facebook about trying things out, and that’s going to be my mantra for this revision. Is this what that character wants? I don’t know…try it out! Will this new ending work? I don’t know…try it […]
PiBoIdMo 2011
PiBoIdMo: Picture Book Idea Month. Tara Lazar’s answer to NaNoWriMo for all those picture-book writers who weren’t sure what to do with themselves when November hit. You know, other than order a turkey, buy a turkey, eat a turkey, reheat a turkey and eat more of it. And, hey, let’s all see if we can […]
Monday Mentions
A quick post today, just a few reminders of things you might want to know about. 1. If you haven’t heard yet, Lisa Wolfson, known by her author name of L.K. Madigan, died last week from pancreatic cancer. Lisa was the author of Flash Burnout and The Mermaid’s Mirror, and was deeply loved in the […]
The Picture Book: Using Word Count as a Revision Tool
The last couple of days have been a whirl of productivity for me. And, you know, the good kind–where you’re actually happy-ish with the work. What happened? Short story: I chopped the picture book in half. Long story (Because you know I never use just the short story): Like I said on Monday, I’ve got […]
Picture Books and Me
If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you may have–in the past few days–had your fill of this subject. I’ve been working on the picture book a lot lately and I’ve been posting random updates about it. If it makes you yawn, feel free to click away. 🙂 If you’re not sick of this […]
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