Think Visually for a Picture Book

I wrote a picture book manuscript. Revised until my eyes threatened to cross. Pitched it to my critique partner for feedback. Revised again. Back to my critique partner, and revised again. 

Since most picture books have two components, pictures and text, the goal is to limit words to the bare essentials. The characters' clothes, house, shoes don’t need to be described, unless vital to the story, because the illustrations will provide those. For writers who are not illustrators, it can be difficult to think visually, eliminating the aspects that can be shown through illustrations.

Lack of description provides space for illustrators to carry the story beyond the text and to develop a variety of picture possibilities. Sometimes illustrations add a second story line. 

Focus the story on action and dialog. Dialog allows the emotion of the character to step off the page.

Introduce characters that reflect the interest of the audience/age group. 

Move characters forward in the plot and into different settings. 

Vary the emotional intensity of scenes.

With a maximum of 600 words or less, omitting description allows writers to delve deeper into the story in a short amount of space.

Call for Submissions for Young Writers:

Amazing Kids! Online Magazine. Do you love writing, art, photography or videography, and are between the ages of 5 to 18? Would you like to be published in the Amazing Kids! Online Magazine? Submit your writing and art; it might just be published in an upcoming issue!

Send your name, age, and state/country when you send us your work. Please keep in mind we only accept kid-friendly, age-appropriate original creative works done by kids and teens. (The work must be appropriate for kids ages 12 and younger) and can be any of the following:

Submission guidelines at http://mag.amazing-kids.org/get-involved/write-for-us/

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

East of the Web is keen to provide exposure for writers by offering them a place where their work will be seen and read in a high quality, respected setting. The site receives about half a million unique visitors per month, so successful submissions are likely to be viewed by more readers than in almost any other short story publication. In addition, the site receives attention from agents, the press, film makers, schools, universities and other publishers.

Submission guidelines at http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/Publishing.html

Nancy Kelly Allen has written 40+ children’s books and a cookbook, SPIRIT OF KENTUCKY: BOURBON COOKBOOK.

Leave a message or check out my blog at www.nancykellyallen.com

The Importance of a Picture Book Dummy

I had a request for a blog about the importance of creating a picture book dummy. Here’s my take on the subject:

Picture books should be written with page breaks in consideration. Most have 32 pages but with front and back matter only 27-28 pages are used for text, sometimes less. That leaves about 13-14 double-page spreads of illustrations and text.

When writing, take advantage of the page breaks. Possibility ways to use them is to surprise the reader when the page is turned. Vary the action so each double-page spread has a different scene and new action. One way I do this is to write the story; then divide it into 14 scenes. Of course, I have to revise, revise, revise to get the pacing I need within the story segments. Some scenes may have too many words. My goal is to write 600 words or less for fiction.

I also make a book dummy by folding 8 sheets of computer paper in half and stapling it. Front and back, the pages number 32. I print my completed manuscript, cut it with scissors and tape the text into the appropriate pages. The dummy helps me “see” where the story does not work, where I need to rev up the surprises on page turns, and the pace of the story. Maybe it’s too slow in some parts.

I never submit a dummy or a manuscript with page breaks to a publisher unless it is specifically requested by the editor. Most publishers want standard format for submissions.

So, envision your manuscrpt as a picture book by creating a dummy and get one step closer to a contract. Page turns can make or break a story.

Call for Submissions for Young Writers:

Parallel Ink. An international online literary and art publication for and by students from 12-18 years old. Seeks creative and critical work that can be represented in digital forms: poetry, music, art of any medium, narratives, essays, book/song/movie reviews, multimedia, etc. Their staff is comprised of over twenty teen editors, translators, illustrators, and technology assistants around the world.

Submission guidelines at http://parallelink.tumblr.com/submitwork

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

Babybug– A monthly (except for combined May/June and July/August issues) listening and looking magazine for infants and toddlers ages six months to two years published by the Cricket Magazine Group of Carus Publishing. Looking for very simple and concrete stories, 4 to 6 short sentences maximum; rhythmic and rhyming poetry, 8 lines maximum. Allow 6 months for reply.

Submission guidelines at http://www.cricketmag.com/20-Submission-Guidelines-for-BABYBUG-magazine-for-babies-ages-0-3

Creating scenes

A scene is a piece of action, a unit of drama. Novels and chapter books consist of a series of scenes with pieces of narrative connecting them. They are the building blocks of a story.

As you write scenes for your manuscript, keep in mind that each needs a beginning, middle, and end and should reveal information about the character or plot. Scenes often begin and end with chapters. Mystery writer often end scene and chapters with a cliffhanger. Many writers end a scene when there is a major shift in the action.

With each new scene consider these questions:

Where are the characters in the plot?

What information should I reveal?

The answer to these questions will vary with every writer and story.

Time and setting are essential. The “when” and “where” are usually established in the beginning of the story and only need to be implied in following scenes.

Allow the character to act first and think later. Jesse jumped from the high cliff. Falling faster and faster, he promised himself he would never take another dare. This type of opening for a novel is effective because it hooks the reader immediately.

Next week, I'll discuss other ways to develop scenes.

September through May, I will include Calls for Submissions for Young Writers.

Calls for Submissions for Young Writers:

Teen Essay Contest. Gilda's Club of Louisville seeks entries for 4th Annual Write Stuff Teen Essay, Poetry and Visual Art Contest.  Teens who are or have been impacted by cancer are invited to participate through submissions of essays, poems, two-dimensional artwork and videos.  Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three participants in each of six categories - essays written by middle school students connected to cancer, essays written by high school students connected to cancer, essays written by survivors, poetry, artwork and video. Youth in grades 6 through 12 who live in Kentucky or Southern Indiana may enter. Their original writing, artwork or video can be about their own cancer diagnosis or that of a family member or friend.   All entries are due no later than midnight EST, Friday, October 2.

Submission guidelines at http://www.gildasclublouisville.org//writestuff.html

Calls for Submissions for Adult Writers:

The online journal, Waypoints, is open for submissions of journey-themed poetry, fiction, and art until October 1. Published work will be eligible for the Editor’s Choice Award of $50.  The publication seeks writing and artwork that embodies a sense of what you’ve encountered on your journey--places you've been, people you’ve met, and obstacles you’ve traversed.

Submission guidelines at http://waypointsmag.com/submit/

Idea to Finished Manuscript, Part III

Try these ideas to develop your story.

Remember moments from your childhood. Fiction writing often draws from real life and what is more real that memories of your youth? Mine these memories for stories and scenes to use in fiction writing. What made you scared, happy, angry, sad, joyful, laugh, jump up and down? Memories are wonderful triggers that inspire a story; however here’s a word of caution—don’t allow memories to tell the entire story. Use them as a starting point then allow the characters to tell their own special tale. Let your imagination take the story in a new direction. Adhering too closely to the actual details limits the scope and potential of a manuscript. Think about the universal appeal of a book. The story should resonate with a large segment of the audience. 

Emotions: The character’s feelings make the protagonist seem real to the audience. In fact, the most powerful way to connect a character with readers is through strong emotions. The interaction becomes meaningful when a character displays a vulnerable side and transforms to become stronger by the end of the story. As in life, people often are in control of their emotions when the sailing is smooth, but when life gets rocky and rough, we see the real person emerge through their emotions and actions. Allow the character to travel a rough, rocky road to fully develop. 

Get back to the basics. A story consists of two elements: character and conflict. The character needs to aim for a goal or experience a problem and must reach the goal or solve the problem on his/her own merit. Ask these questions. Who is the character? What does the character want? What is standing in the way of the character getting what she/he wants? When you answer these questions, you have a story idea. Other elements, such as setting, can be added later.

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

Dramatics is an educational theatre magazine published since 1929 by the International Thespian Society, and its parent organization, the Educational Theatre Association. Dramatics is published nine times a year, September through May, in both print and online digital replica versions. It has a circulation of about 45,000. Approximately 80 percent of its readers are high school theatre students; about 10 percent are high school theatre teachers. Other subscribers include libraries, college theatre students and teachers, and others interested in educational theatre.  The primary editorial objectives of the magazine are: to provide serious, committed young theatre students and their teachers with the skills and knowledge they need to make better theatre; to be a resource that will help high school juniors and seniors make an informed decision about whether to pursue a career in theatre, and about how to do so; and to prepare high school students to be knowledgeable, appreciative audience members for the rest of their lives.  Submission guidelines at http://scholtheatre.org

Ways to Improve Writing Series/Calls for Submissions

Today, I’m continuing the series “Ways to Improve Writing.”

One way of looking at a story is to think of it as a series of scenes. A scene is a unit of drama that begins with a character placed in a situation that is problematic. The hero is thrown into a difficult world. As the character plows through the world and attempts to resolve the problem, s/he is faced with even bigger difficulties.

Linking scenes together forms a sequence with a beginning, middle, and end (or in writer terms, an inciting incident, a rising action and a climax.) In my book, AMAZING GRACE, a three-chapter scene sequence involved a bully. When that problem unraveled, another crisis erupted: another  three-chapter scene in which the character searched for her lost dog.

Some scenes in my book carried over into multiple chapters, but a scene can be limited to one chapter. When a sequence resolves the central problem and ties together all the loose ends, the story concludes. The central problem—the arc—that played through the entirety of AMAZING GRACE was the main character’s fear that her father may not return from WWII.

Of course, readers enjoy being surprised. Lead the reader into believing a sequence will solve the problem; then surprise the reader with the complete opposite: a bigger problem. By the end of the book, resolve the problems in a satisfying conclusion or give some suggestion of hope.

Call for Submissions for Young Writers:

ANNOUNCING HIGH SCHOOL WRITING CONTEST sponsored by the BFA in Creative Writing at Spalding University BFA in Creative Writing!

The BFA in Creative Writing at Spalding University is very proud to announce the reading period for our next edition of WORD HOTEL, our annual literary journal. We invite submissions in all genres and a multitude of styles, welcome experimental work, and are particularly hungry to hear from emerging writers (i.e., those who have not yet published a first book).

In fact: This year we are featuring a HIGH SCHOOL WRITING contest! In addition to being published prominently in Word Hotel, the top high school winner will receive a $1,000 scholarship to Spalding University; the runner-up, a $500 scholarship!

Please submit Word or RTF docs to wordhotel@spalding.edu.
We will consider up to three poems (any length), short fiction/CNF up to 2,500 words, and hybrid texts as well.

Reading period for the 2013 issue ends DECEMBER 15TH. Acceptances and notifications of high school winners will be emailed by end of January. The issue is to be published April 2014.

For further information, please contact Merle Bachman, BFA Director, at wordhotel@spalding.edu

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

Flash Fiction. We publish stories from 500 to 1,000 words in length.
They’re very short, but they are still stories. That means the best ones have strong, interesting characters, plots, and (to some extent, at least) settings.

Submission guidelines at http://flashfictiononline.com/main/submission-guidelines/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Writing a Middle Grade Novel/Call for Submissions

This week, I’m continuing my focus on scenes. 

What was the last book you read that you couldn’t put down? You felt an urge so compelling to stop working, pick up the book, and discover what was happening to the character that your mind wandered back to the story time and again. Yeah, that’s the kind of story writers want to write.  

Those stories have more than interesting characters and compelling plots. They have an emotional intensity that draws the reader into the action. Emotion intense scenes are those that have high stakes for the character, critical events that are life changing. Keep the audience in mind. If the reader identifies with the problem, empathizes with the character, or envisions himself/herself in a similar situation, an emotional investment is made. 

In children’s novels, the characters’ situations should reflect what is appropriate for each age group. The plot focuses on external events with less focus on thoughts and feelings of the main character. Young adult novels focus more on internal conflict and less on events happening around them. Of course, there are many exceptions to this and in varying degrees.

Each scene needs a beginning, middle and ending. As one scene ends, transition into the beginning of the next scene. Longer scenes are needed for major events and shorter scenes for less significant actions. Scene by scene, build your story and make it sparkle. 

Call for Submissions for Young Writers:

Starsongs Magazine. You are the future, and Starsongs wants to hear your voice. Our intention is to inspire and promote the creativity of youth. Starsongs is a general market magazine interested in work by writers, artists, and photographers ages 9-19. Please keep this age range in mind and focus your work to a PG rating level. We are open to fiction or non-fiction and “as told to” stories.

Submission guidelines at http://kidspublished.blogspot.com/p/starsongs-guidelines.html

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

Youth Imagination is interested in creative fiction stories by teens as well as by adult authors. Make the stories awesome, inspiring and engaging. Our goal is to publish the best writing for and by teens. We particularly love stories exploring the issues, such as bullying, drugs, romance, school, parental issues, teacher issues, etc., as well as about the grit and character of teens and young adults.

We accept most genres of fiction, including modern, urban or classical fantasy, as well as sci-fi, slipstream, literary, action-adventure or suspense.

Submission guidelines at http://www.youthimagination.org/index.php/submission-guidelines

Writing a Middle Grade Novel/Calls for Submissions

This week, I’m continuing my focus on scenes. 

The character must continue to make decisions, to choose among several options. Reacting and failing allow the character to learn and to become proactive in solving his/her problems. Eventually the character will make some good decisions as s/he overcomes the odds and wins. The decision must be logical and stay true to the character, a decision the reader will respect. The risk can be great, and should be, to keep the reader’s interest high. Setbacks and failures create tension and suspense. 

Convey specific details of the surroundings to set the tone. If the scene needs to produce fear and it is at night, use night sounds and visuals, plus other senses to feed the fright factor. Do shadows creep under lighting? Did something snap? Does the character smell smoke? Could the building be burning?  

Use the setting to reflect the character’s feelings. If the character is sad, do the buildings look rundown and gloomy, does the moan of an animal sound the way the character feels?  

Every scene does not need monumental action and an extremely agitated state of mind for the character, but each scene should show the character and his/her emotional state. 

Linking strong scenes together makes a believable, dramatic story that keeps the audience turning the pages.  

Call for Submissions for Young Writers:

Storybird. Write. Your words. Our art. Amazing stories. Simple tools help you build books in minutes. Let the art inspire and surprise you as you write. Readers will encourage you along the way.

Submission guidelines at http://storybird.com/

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

Harness Anthologies 2015

Publication Date: January 2015. Payment: Two Copies.
Solstice: A Winter Antholog. Winter vacation, snow cream, snow days from school, building snowmen, snowball fights, snow storms, the first time you or your child saw snow. Give us your best white memory! All things winter and snow related. Fiction or nonfiction accepted. Also accepting original winter poems and winter recipes.
Stories should be 750 to 2500 words.
Poems and recipes should be limited to one page.

Open to Submissions: September 2014
Please do not use headers or footers/page numbers in your ms. Please use TNR or similar basic font, size 12.

Submission guidelines: Send as a Word doc in an attachment to harnessantho@rockinghorsepublishing.com

Writing a Middle Grade Novel/Calls for submissions

This week, I’m continuing my focus on scenes. 

How did the character react? The character should remain true to his/her identity. If outgoing, use that personality throughout the story. A shy character should not suddenly become the life of the party. 

What is the main character’s dilemma? An old adage of writing novels is treat the character badly; then treat him/her worse. Dilemma is a situation in which the character has no good options available so s/he has to choose the best of the poor choices. This throws the character out of his normal life and into a situation in which he is not ready to handle, so future mistakes will be inevitable. This is a set-up for upcoming scenes in which the character will work through different choices and fail even more. It also allows the character to learn and grow by the end of the tale. 

Reaction is the response to the dilemma. Express the character’s feelings along with the reactions. Show how the character is hurting. The more you create an emotional experience for the reader, the better your writing becomes. This can be shown through narrative, dialog, gestures, expressions, and how the character decides what to do next; then acts on the decision. Make your reader wonder if the character can ever get out of the situation. Make the reader worry. Make the reader want to find out how the story ends. 

Next week, I’ll continue to discuss scene development. 

Call for Submissions for Young Writers:

Magic Dragon. Work should be neatly printed or typed. If you type it, please double-space. Stories and essays can be up to three pages, poetry up to 30 lines. It is ok to send writing that you have also illustrated. You can write about anything that is important to you; it can be serious or funny, true or fiction.

Submission guidelines at http://www.magicdragonmagazine.com/?page_id=6

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL: THANKS TO MY MOM. We're looking for stories about moms of all ages, from young mothers to great-grandmothers, and everything in between. Please remember, we no longer publish "as told to" stories. Please write in the first person about you and your mom. Do not ghostwrite a story for someone else unless you list that person as the author. You will also receive a check for $200 and 10 free copies of your book, worth more than $100. You will retain the copyright for your story and you will retain the right to resell it. Deadline October 20, 2014.

Submission guidelines at http://www.chickensoup.com/story-submissions/possible-book-topics

Writing a Middle Grade Novel/Call for Submissions

Today, I’m continuing the series, Writing a Middle Grade Novel. 

Description is used to enhance fictional stories. Check out the following ways: 

Descriptive scenes move the plot. Action verbs, such as dashed and darted often work better than run because they are more specific. The more specific we are with our word choice, the more vivid the picture we paint with words. Abstract words are difficult to visualize and leave the reader feeling confused. Concrete, specific words give the reader an image to grasp. 

Concrete images create three-dimensional pictures in which the reader can experience the action, setting, event, or subject matter. Think of it as describing a tornado touchdown. Add details that make the reader feel as if he is actually witnessing the scene, feeling the highly charged air, hearing the roar, seeing the destruction, and feeling the flying debris.  

Mood and tone are affected by description. A sadness charged through Jessie like a runaway train. Or Her smile, like the sun, lit up the garden. 

Description allows the writer to develop a rhythm with words that plays throughout the story. About 90% of the story will be action and dialog and 10% description.

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

The Book Smugglers Publishing: We Want Your Short Stories. What we’re looking for:

    DIVERSITY. We want to read and publish short stories that reflect the diverse world we live in, about and from traditionally underrepresented perspectives.

    Middle Grade, Young Adult, and Adult audience submissions are welcome. Good speculative fiction is ageless!

    Creativity & Subversion. We love subversive stories. We want you to challenge the status quo with your characters, storytelling technique, and themes.

Submission guidelines at:

http://thebooksmugglers.com/2014/05/announcing-book-smugglers-publishing-we-want-your-short-stories.html

Picture Book vs. Magazine article, part III/Calls for Submissions

Today’s blog is part III of a series.

Check out the following elements to determine if your story works better as a picture book or a magazine story:

Does the story have 14-20 scenes or pieces of action? Picture books have about 28 pages of illustrations; magazine stories have 1-8 illustrations. Did you allow enough leeway for the illustrator to tell part of the story? A magazine story will include details such as “red, polka dot dress.” A picture book manuscript usually doesn’t include such details because the illustrations will show this aspect of the story. In fact, some picture book texts can seem sparse and not always easy to understand without the illustrations, which not only reflect the text but carry the story beyond. A magazine story is told with numerous details because the text does not rely on illustrations to help tell the tale.

Does the story have a universal theme? A picture book has an idea or message that flows throughout the story.

Is the story different in some way? Does the author voice or writing style stand out? Does the text zing with rhythm? A picture book manuscript needs a distinctive element.

Does your story have the “read it again” factor? Is there a satisfying conclusion in which the character solves his/her problem? Does the ending have a surprise or twist that delights the child? A favorite picture book may be read over and over. A magazine story is usually read fewer times.

Both picture books and magazines offer entertaining and informational stories to children and both claim important places in the literary world.

Call for submissions for adult writers:

Jelly Bucket is open for submissions through June 1. Send us your best poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Jelly Bucket is distributed nationally and produced by the Bluegrass Writers Studio, which grants the MFA in Creative Writing at Eastern Kentucky University.
Submission guidelines at www.jellybucket.org.

Call for submissions for young writers:

Hanging Loose magazine welcomes high school submissions. As with other writers, we reply within three months, and high school authors whose work we publish receive the same small fee and two copies of the issue in which their work appears. We feel a special responsibility to those young writers who look to us not only for possible publication but sometimes also for editorial advice, which we are always happy to give when asked. Send 3 to 6 poems, or 1 to 3 short stories, or an equivalent combination of poetry and prose. This enables us to get a good idea of what your work is like.

Submission guidelines at http://www.hangingloosepress.com/submissions.html

Check out more contests on my blog: http://nancykellyallen.blogspot.com/

Conflict Ups the Interest in Reading, part II/Call for Submissions

Conflict is the key to keeping readers interested in a story. Characters act and react in ways they never imagined when their worlds collide in disagreements and problems. Compel your character to take action and expose his/her imperfections throughout the plotline. Here are a few more ways to up the tension with conflict.

-Surprise the reader by taking the story in an unexpected turn of events with new obstacles to confront and overcome.

-Craft an external conflict with another character or with an external force.

-Craft an internal conflict by subjecting the character to uncertainty or a predicament in which s/he doesn’t know how to deal with the problem or expose the character’s fear.

-Vary the intensity of the conflict. All scenes should not be loaded with high drama. As in life, some challenges are greater than others

-The intensity of the conflict should be the greatest at the climax of the story.

-Readers will appreciate your efforts when you allow conflict to drive your story.

Call for submissions for adult writers:
The Flagler Review, the literary journal of Flagler College, is seeking submissions of high-quality poems, short stories, creative nonfiction, screenplays, plays and artwork for our Fall 2012 issue, which may be published in print or online formats. Submissions must be previously unpublished. Submit work as a Microsoft Word attachment; include cover letter with contact and biographical information. Submit to flaglerreview@flagler.edu.
Deadline: AUGUST 15, 2012.
Details at www.theflaglerreview.com.

Check out more contests on my blog: http://nancykellyallen.blogspot.com/