Illustrator Alison Lyne has amazing advice for picture book writers.
Add in Action Words
One of the first things I look for, when I'm reading a PB
manuscript is “action” words. I look to
see just what the main character is actually doing....even if I don't know what
that character actually looks like...yet. Based on those action words, I begin
to sketch out that character. This sheet is a sample of my
process for Little Things Aren't Little When You're Little.
Leave a bit of Space in your PB Writing
One of the
second things I look at in a manuscript is points in the story that I can add
in my “take” on a story. In Petite Rouge, A Cajun Twist to an Old Tale, (a Little Red Riding Hood tale with a swamp
instead of a woods and a gator instead of a wolf) I found a bit of “room” in
story to inject my reasoning why a little girl wouldn't recognize that her
grandma was a monster. My solution was the gator had bounced the near-sighted
little girl's red glasses right off her nose. Petite Rouge just couldn't SEE
the monster.
Check the Flow of your Story
Finally, I look at how the story flows. I do that with a
book chart of the pages that are in a 32 page picture book. When you flip thru
a picture book, you always have a two page spread open in front of you, at any
given time. Those pages are shown linked together. Stagger your emphasis to
encourage your reader to “turn that page”.
Try these three tips to help you visualize how your picture
book story will come to life.
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