Is there anything new you learned about the process of making a picture book during this project? How interconnected the three are, and that the plot must develop authentically from the characters wants, needs, and actions. What is one of the most important lessons you’ve learned about picture book plot, story structure or character development? And it has taken me a lot of time and many, many (many!) practice projects to understand plot, story structure, and character development. But it took me a lot of digging to discover that I could write picture books (I was focusing on novels for about eight years before I really tried writing picture books). That’s one of the things I’ve always enjoyed and that I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback on from even before I was published. I think being able to get into the voice and mood of a piece in general is kind of one of my writing superpowers. So that was my challenge-to take that kind of old fashioned, lyrical voice that had come to me at the beginning and then try to continue that throughout while also telling an active and meaningful story.ĭoes that lyrical voice come naturally to you? Or did you dig deep to uncover it? After sharing my first draft with my critique group, everyone gave me similar feedback that they liked the first part best and was there any way for me to carry that kind of feeling through the whole story. Actually, the beginning of the story is still very much intact from the first draft, but after about one quarter the way in, it’s completely different now.Īt first I set up the story with that voice, but then jumped into a much different, more dialogue-heavy style. I just checked my first draft and that is the first line I wrote. “With a snip and a clip, and a clip and a snip, the paper mice were made.” Was this also the first line you wrote? Or did it take a lot of revision to pare it down to just the most essential words? Megan, the book’s opening line is so simple, yet so enticing. The mice! The color palette! The wood grain! The blue flowered cape! The setting sun!
When I opened the envelope containing PAPER MICE, I let out a small GASP! because it was so sweet and lovely.
0 kommentar(er)
