Two Picture Book Workshops at SCBWI-C

Most of my faithful blog readers know that I've been working on a novel for many years. What you might not know is that novel started as a picture book. Although that is another story, I continue to love picture books.

Recently, I've reviewed a number of nonfiction picture books  including some biographies. It appears to be a growing (perhaps limitless) trend in children's books. As I wrote HALF-TRUTHS I came across two historical figures that became mentor figures to Lillie and Kate. As I mentioned here, they each could be an inspirational subject for a picture book. 

With that in mind, I attended two workshops on picture books at the SCBWI-Carolinas conference. Here are some of my takeaways:

Tara Luebbe

Picture Book Workshop #1

Tara Luebbe spoke on "Mining Nonfiction for Fiction Picture Books." Each of her books, written with her sister, Becky Cattie, started with a real fact. Although this isn't exactly what I have in mind to write, her workshop was informative and inspirational.  

Tara brainstorms as many unusual facts as she can find and then digs deeper. She tries to marry different ideas together and thinks, "What can I add to make this marketable and kid-friendly?" She researches to make sure that the idea hasn't been taken, does more research into the subject, and even finds jokes related to the topic. Her wide range of picture books are a testimony that this process works!

She mentioned submitting back matter with your manuscript and to use art notes as needed, particularly for action. "Don't overuse them. If the script doesn't make sense without them, then it's okay."

Picture Book Workshop #2

The second picture book workshop I attended (there were others, these were the ones I selected) was, "Bringing Your Voice to Nonfiction" with Lina Maslo and Alice Ratterree. Lina is the author illustrator of Free as a Bird and an upcoming biography Through the Wardrobe: How C.S. Lewis Created Narnia. Alice has illustrated several books but focused on Dangerous Jane, the biography of Jane Addams. 

Lina Maslo

Alice Ratterree

Lina and Alice stressed that the person you are writing about inspires you. And as you write, remember to:

#1 Discover! Learn something new! Play!

#2 Cross pollinate as you write. Draw from other areas of your life. 

#3 Always ask yourself,  "Who am I creating for?"

All three of these points resonated with me. It is easy to lose the sense of play and discovery when we're writing so I appreciated the reminder. 

I   Writers are also encouraged to consider the character's natural environment, his or her time period, and the city, town or village where your character lives. Nonfiction biographers must constantly consider what influenced their character. I was particularly interested in how Alice demonstrated that the color palette she used in Dangerous Jane reflected the colors in Jane's life.

Speaking of nonfiction, here's one more slide from Vicki Selvaggio's intensive:

She told me, "This varies for picture books as you usually don't need a proposal for a nonfiction picture book. This information applies mainly for middle grade and young adult books." Depending on the topic of book, Vicki always determines what to send in her proposal based on the publisher's submission guidelines and the type of nonfiction project. 

Is there a nonfiction picture book in your future? If so, I hope these tips will help you on your journey. Keep me posted on your progress--we can compare notes along the way!

Next Up: Small With Big Dreams

Analyzing the Successes of the Past and Present for Creating Unique Stories of the Future: Intensive Workshop with Vicki Selvaggio

Congratulations to Carrie Schmidt and Becky Scharnhorst who each won a copy of When We Were Alone from last weeks blog. 

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Two weeks ago I attended the fall SCBWI-Carolinas conference. In the next few posts I'll share some of my highlights with you.

First up was the writing intensive with Vicki Selvaggio on Friday morning.

Vicki is a knowledgable, passionate, and accessible agent with Storm Literacy Agency. She poured herself into her presentation! Here are some of the points she made:

• She loves seeing potential in other people’s writing and encouraging writers not to give up.

• At the same time, writers need to delve deeper to make their stories stand out from other books in the marketplace. Additionally, writers must add layers so that children [and teens] emotionally connect with every aspect of a story.

• If you have an idea for a series, remember your book has to be able to stand alone. If you are a debut author, a publisher might want to base a series on how the first book is received.  Or, sometimes the publisher loves the series premise and an offer is made. Word it as “Series potential" in your query and be prepared to pitch other books. Those other ideas don't necessarily need to be completed, but the writer should have an idea of how to pitch what the next (or next two) book(s) will cover. (Realize that these practices vary from agent to agent.)

• Your manuscript must appeal to the Eye: How does it look? Is there creativity in opening paragraphs? Is there adequate white space?  Sentences that are the same length sometimes have the tendency to sound the same. Make sure there are variations in the length of  your sentences. It's not good if something looks the same and sounds the same. To the Ear: How something sounds makes a difference. To the Hand: How does the manuscript make someone feel? A book must emotionally connect with the reader. 

• A manuscript must have 3 C’s: clarity, consistency, and a cohesive feeling. 

BEGINNINGS

The opening page must include a sense of frustration
and what the character wants.

TRANSITIONS

• Think of transitions like the reader is moving through a house freely. If transitions aren’t smooth, the reader will have to stop and open doors. Consider too, how you're ending your chapters. Are you transitioning your readers into the next chapter in a smooth way, while keeping them engaged? 

ENDINGS

The story has ended, but the journey for your character has just begun.
What will happen next?

DIALOGUE

• What is not said can have greater impact than what is said. The same goes for purposeful miscommunication.

• Dialogue should move the story forward. If there’s no change after the dialogue, it isn’t doing its job.

• Incorporate dialogue with subtext. Possibly characters disagree about one thing, but really are talking about something else.

MEMORABLE LINES FROM VICKI:

• In life, nothing comes easy. Without the battle, the win isn’t as gratifying. The same is true in stories. If you give your main character what s/he wants before s/he struggled for it, the story won’t be gratifying for your readers. 

• ASK YOURSELF: Why am I writing this? Who cares? 

• Your job is to make your reader care. 

• Consider rejections as the fuel to success. 

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Remember in the beginning of this post I mentioned that Vicki was accessible? When I told her that I wanted to pitch HALF-TRUTHS to her, she made sure to fit me into her busy schedule. She listened, asked questions, and encouraged me to submit to her. 

No doubt about it. Vicki Selvaggio is on my top 10 list of agents!

Next Up: Tips on Non-Fiction.