Ten Tips for Writing Picture Books
mb instructor Dashka Slater is teaching a course on Monday on writing children’s books. Too late for you to sign up? Don’t worry! You can catch her class on writing picture books that start in a few weeks. Here, get a sneak peek on some of her tips:
Keep track of your ideas. Words, concepts, stories, characters, phrases, rhymes, topics…write them down and keep them in a folder. Thumb through them when you need inspiration
Remember your audience. Write for children – about things they are interested in, in language that appeals to them. Write for parents, who will have to read your book over and over.
Read all your drafts out loud. That’s how your book is going to be read, after all.
Study the craft. Read books in your genre. Read books about children’s books.
Read poetry. The best picture books are poetry. If you want to know how to make your language musical, magical, visual, and precise, study your poets.
Do research to make your story more vivid. If you don’t know something, find it out.
Be a brutal self-editor. Make every word count.
Keep it simple – avoid being too clever, too complicated, too exciting, or too edifying.
Imitate the techniques of the writers you admire until you can make them your own.
Remember what it is you wanted to say. Return to your theme when you start to get lost in your own words.
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