| Many beginners believe writing picture books are a | | | | book needs to inspire a different illustration. So count |
| breeze, but it requires a lot of skill to pack a story | | | | out 36 words from your manuscript and note how |
| into a few words. If writing a picture book is your | | | | big a block of text that is on the page. That's about |
| dream, here are some tips to consider before you | | | | how many words you can devote to each illustration. |
| begin: | | | | After that, your characters have to do something |
| 1. Keep it simple. You should be able to sum up the | | | | move around, change locations so the illustrator will |
| plot of your picture book in three sentences. Not | | | | have a new picture to draw. |
| every detail, of course, but the broad strokes. Use | | | | One way to think in pictures is to convey the |
| one sentence for the beginning (naming your main | | | | character's problem, and her efforts to solve that |
| character and the problem or conflict he'll face in the | | | | problem, in concrete, visual terms. If your character is |
| story), one for the middle (describing the gist of the | | | | having trouble memorizing facts for school, that all |
| efforts your character makes to solve his problem), | | | | takes place inside her head. But if she's embarrassed |
| and one for the end (how he finally resolves the | | | | because she can't swim, then her attempts to learn |
| conflict and reaches his goal). If three sentences | | | | are easily illustrated. Note: Some illustrations will span |
| doesn't capture the essence of your plot, then it's | | | | two facing pages, called a two-page spread. In this |
| probably too complex for a picture book. | | | | case, you'll have about 70 words for that one |
| Note: You're concentrating here on plot (the action of | | | | illustration. But picture books are a mix of single page |
| the story), rather than theme (the underlying | | | | illustrations and two-page spreads, so keep the action |
| message). Don't get into describing theme when | | | | moving at a good pace. |
| you're summarizing your plot. The theme shouldn't | | | | 3. Keep a childlike outlook. Picture book characters |
| even be an issue at this point. You want to construct | | | | can be children, adults, animals or fantasy characters. |
| the story so the character's actions, and how he | | | | But all main characters must embody the sensibilities |
| changes because of those actions, implies a lesson to | | | | of a child between the ages of 4-8. This mean the |
| your readers. | | | | problem your characters faces needs to be relevant |
| 2. Think in pictures. The term "picture books" says it | | | | and important to your target audience. The way |
| all: the illustrations are just as important as the words. | | | | your character tackles that problem must fit with the |
| The average picture book is 32 pages long, with | | | | way a child would tackle it. Don't create an adult main |
| about four pages of front matter (title page, | | | | character just so you can impose some adult wisdom |
| copyright page, etc.) So you have 28 pages of text | | | | on your readers. Grown-up characters using the |
| and illustration. If you aim for 1000 words to tell your | | | | emotional, illogical and sometimes messy coping |
| story (the average length of picture book text), that | | | | strategies of children can be a very effective, and |
| gives you about 36 words per page (some pages will | | | | funny, storytelling technique. Above all, the character |
| have more words, some less, depending on the | | | | must be the one to solve the problem, using |
| pacing of your story). | | | | methods that are accessible to children. If readers |
| While you don't want to obsess over precise word | | | | see themselves in your main character, then they'll |
| counts when you're writing early drafts of your | | | | understand the underlying message of your story. |
| manuscript, do keep in mind that every page of your | | | | |