My goal in adding rhythm to prose is to dance words
across the page. Another name for this is voice. I never reach my goal on the
first draft, and often not by the tenth. Little by little, as I revise the
manuscript, the words begin to swing and sway, rollick and roll. Picture book
text relies on a rhythm, whether it’s prose or rhyme.
Think of rhythm in terms of music. Listening to the upbeat sound
of the Rolling Stones makes me shimmy and shake. An Elton John ballad brings on
the swing and sway. The beat. The cadence. The rhythm. They affect us in the
same way as we read. Short phrases speed up the action as in this scene in
BARRELING OVER NIAGARA FALLS: Annie
jostled inside the small, dark barrel, bobbing through the rapids, slamming
into rocks. The barrel pitched and rolled—forward and back, left and right, up
and down—in the rough, tough bucking-bronco ride. The sentences are long
but the phrasing is short with emphasis is on the short phrase. 
Longer sentences, without short phrases, slow the
action. I used this method as the beginning scene in HIRAM’S GIFT: Many
winters ago Hiram walked to school from deep in a holler, snuggled tight
between two mountains. A lemon pie moon dangled like a giant’s lantern and lit
the path.
When you read picture books, notice the rhythm of the
words. When you find a passage that you particularly like, read it aloud. Does
it swing and sway? Boogie and scoot? Tap and snap?
Call for
Submissions for Young Writers:
Amazing Kids! Magazine. Our
award-winning, kid-created monthly online magazine is dedicated to providing
kids with a fun and educational experience, a place to share their creative
works, through their writing, art, and photography. Our Amazing Kids! of the
Month stories feature real life kids doing some pretty amazing things! Amazing
Kids! believes by reading about other kids' accomplishments, or reading their creative
works, it can help inspire more kids to explore their own amazing gifts and use
them to make a difference in the world.
Submission
guidelines at http://amazing-kids.org/
Call for
Submissions for Adult Writers:
U.S. Kids Magazines (Humpty Dumpty
and Jack and Jill),
providing fun, entertaining reading material is our
priority. We accept humorous, playful, and witty stories that kids would love
to read—not stories that grownups think kids should read.
As part of the Children’s
Better Health Institute, we are always in need of high-quality stories,
articles, and activities with a broad health and fitness focus. Please keep in
mind that we would rather show kids living a healthy lifestyle than dictate a
healthy lifestyle to our readers. In other words, health topics should be
incorporated into the story or article, not be the focus of it.
Submission guidelines at http://www.uskidsmags.com/writers-guidelines/
Nancy Kelly Allen has written 48 children’s
books and a cookbook, SPIRIT OF KENTUCKY: BOURBON COOKBOOK.
Leave a message or check out my blog at www.nancykellyallen.com
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