PICTURE BOOK WRITING TIPS, part 3

Writers, along with everyone, are experiencing unparalleled times with the onset of COVID-19. If there's a silver lining in all this tragedy, it remains hidden. People cope differently. What works for one may not be appropriate for another. I'm managing stress by staying busy writing and polishing manuscripts. As with all my writing, I spend much more time polishing the text. For those who want to tackle writing a picture book, I'm continuing with tips to help you not only write but polish, as well. 

More tips:

Include an emotional impact, known as the heart of the story. This is writing so the reader will transform in some way, realize something about themselves they hadn’t considered before. Or see something in a new way. Friendship, love, and kindness stories are popular and often have an element of empathy woven into them. Emotions and moods aid in character development, so paint the scenes with feelings, sensations, and reactions. With the world in a virus turmoil, this type of story is likely to become more popular.

Also include sensory details—see, hear, touch, taste, smell—to make the reader feel as if they are along on the journey with the characters. Using the senses triggers memories for the readers back to a time or experience in which they felt the same way: scared, hopeful, anxious, happy, sad…. These shared experiences make the story seem real and builds empathy for the character.

Active verbs are your friends. If you write a statement such as, “Billy walked down the hall.” Rather than walk, which doesn’t paint a specific mental picture, consider, “swagger” if he’s confident, “rushed” if he is in a hurry, or “shuffled” if he doesn’t want to be there. Active verbs create a mood or emotion that helps to place the reader in the midst of the action with the characters. These verbs “show” rather than “tell" the reader what is happening. 

In my next blog, I’ll continue with tips for writing picture books.

 

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

Root & Star. Literary magazine for children ages 4 - 8. Looking for stories that inspire and are kind, strange, powerful, exquisite, and inspired by the sanctity of the everyday. Open to diversity. This magazine doesn't pay, but it can be a nice break in market for writers of very literary work. Also open to creative activities. Check out sample issue online.

Submission guidelines: https://rootandstar.com/pages/contributors

Nancy Kelly Allen has written 40+ children’s books and a cookbook, SPIRIT OF KENTUCKY: BOURBON COOKBOOK. Check out her blog at www.nancykellyallen.com

The Inside Story

As writers, we need to think of ourselves as the characters we’re writing about. If the main character is a raccoon, imagine thinking like the raccoon in your story. How would a raccoon express itself if it spoke? How would it react in the events/problems/struggles in which it’s confronted?

As you develop dialog and actions, imagine what the raccoon is thinking and feeling. That’s the heart of the story. Internal thinking and feeling—what’s going on inside the character’s mind—can be the opposite of the character's dialog and actions. Internal dialog allows the reader to better understand the character’s motivations, which adds to character development.

A character may agree with another character by answering, “Sure!” Following this with the thought, Never in this lifetime, triggers the true feelings of the character. The feelings and internal dialog reveal truths that allow readers greater insight into the character.

Exposing the character’s true sentiments can also be used as a method to lighten the story with a dash of humor or to advance the plot.

Let your readers listen in and raise the emotional level of a scene.

 Call for Submissions for Young Writers:

The Telling Room. Empowers youth (young writers ages 6-18) through writing.

Submissions guidelines at https://www.tellingroom.org/submit

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

Smarty Pants Magazine for Kids. We are taking submissions for children’s short stories (up to 800 words).

Submissions guidelines at https://smartypantsmagazineforkids.com/submission-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