2013 'Unofficial' #PBDummy Challenge - Week three of Drafting the story

Well, my story is coming along but I continue to struggle with the the wording...too many words...too little words...the balance of words and pictures....

This afternoon I received an e-newsletter from Julie Hedlund. You may be familiar with her 12x12 challenge. You can visit her website for more details on it. It was a fabulous experience last year and although I am not participating this year, if you are a serious kidlit writer, don't pass up the opportunity to avoid the 'slush pile'!...I digress...this afternoon her e-newsletter left me inspired. She wrote about an experience meeting an agent at a SCBWI conference last year and the advice which she received.

Juile wrote -
"One thing Stephen said more than once at the conference was that he needs to be able to “see” a picture book before he can take it on. That doesn’t mean you have to be an illustrator, but that he likes language that is so vivid that it creates a strong visual impression. When I asked him if he had any particular guidance to give 12 x 12 members in their submissions to him, this was his response:

“For me, I am always looking for craft in language. Beautiful language gets me every time. The picture book market is tough right now, so writers need to know that their picture books need to be one-of-a-kind, original, fresh, strong, and inventive. Most publishers these days are looking for character-driven stories. And, please keep in mind, as Maurice Sendak said, you need to ’leave room for the pictures.”