Dialogue in picture books does a lot of heavy lifting. Good dialogue: - Reveals character - Builds tension - Moves the plot forward - Delivers conflict - Lands humor - Deepens emotion - Creates rhythm All in as few words as possible. So today we’re focusing on one goal: How to write dialogue that...
Read More
Let’s start with a confession. For years, I used “voice” and “tone” interchangeably. And the truth is, in casual conversation, many writers do....
Read More
There’s a particular magic to picture books that still thrills me—even after years of writing, editing, and teaching them: In roughly 32 pages...
Read More
Finding the right literary agent for your work can feel a bit like searching for a needle in a haystack. With so...
Read More
My friend Peter H. Reynolds once gave me a great image for cultivating ideas. He said he had "story radar"...
Read More
Some writers love outlines, others feel boxed in by them. Mind mapping offers a third option—especially useful in the early stages of picture...
Read More
At the heart of nearly every picture book lives a question. Not a moral.Not a lesson.It's...
Read More
Writers often get asked this question: Where do you get your ideas?But it's a tricky one to answer. Why? Because ideas usually don’t...
Read More
January invites lists. Target word counts. Submission goals.And while goals absolutely have their place, I want to offer you something that I’ve...
Read More
As the final days of the year wind down, you may feel caught between two impulses: the urge to “get it all...
Read More