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Picture book writing tips!! I've been doing a bunch of critiques lately and am going to start a thread of what I'm seeing a lot of.
1. Don't tell readers what they should feel, write the scene so they can't help but take away the emotion instead. #kidlit
2. Art notes.
Ah, the endless debate about art notes. Your illustrator may not want them, but you might need them to grab an agent/editor's interest. That said, if you have a spread that has more art notes than dialogue, something isn't working.
Ah, the endless debate about art notes. Your illustrator may not want them, but you might need them to grab an agent/editor's interest. That said, if you have a spread that has more art notes than dialogue, something isn't working.
3. If you have a character that only pops up once and doesn't really need to be there... cut them! I've read a few drafts with so many characters with so little to do, I've had trouble keeping them straight. If it's confusing at this stage, people will just stop reading.
4. Your editor will decide how the spreads play out, but if you're writing in spreads and the page turns don't make you want to turn the page(!), think about where you're placing them. What you could write to propel things? Look at some pubbed work to see what works and why.
5. Endings. You need an ending. I get it, wrapping things up is hard, but your story can't just stop. Readers need a satisfying ending - circular, surprising, heartwarming, funny, open-ended... If you're struggling with endings, go back to mentor texts. Study what's out there.
