So this week I turned to a professional for advice...Mem Fox. I love her books and her website offers some great guidance for would-be picture book writers - 'So you want to write a picture book' and 'Twenty Do's and Don'ts'. If you need some help yourself you may want to reference her articles too.
If you have been on our fb page you may have noticed Pia's question and link to Tara Lazar's blog whose guest blogger Tammi Sauer writes about common 'structures' used in picture books. It's definitely worth a read.
Excellent advice. Wildfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge is a favorite of mine and I'm going to check it out at the library and count the words, as well as a few other books I love. My draft is now down to 1000 words, but will change when I start laying it out.
ReplyDeleteDon't be afraid to write a terrible first draft. We all do.
This is my first time trying to illustrate, which is breaking the rules, too, but I think I'm ready. I may not be good enough for publication yet, but I'm excited about the process. I've written many stories and used them for oral storytelling. I think this PBDummy challenge will make me a better writer.
This is wonderful information. Thanks for sharing. I have only skimmed through and look forward to reading it in more detail when my kids are asleep :)
ReplyDeleteChecking word counts is so important. You can just Google the title of the book and "word count." It works just about every time. Thanks for posting this, Lisa. Mem Fox is amazing. Anything she has to say is valuable. And please, I still haven't been able to get on the FB page. Help!
ReplyDeleteGreat tip Joanne
DeleteI'm glad that these links have been helpful to others as well.
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