Each book turned out to be a unique lesson in showing versus telling, meaning letting the art reveal as much, if not more, than the text does. We discussed at length how we knew that Madeline and her friends attended a Catholic boarding school as opposed to an orphanage, how clear it was that Max’s mother had forgiven him, where Peter and Willie lived, and how much we knew about Olivia’s and Trixie’s families without being directly told… simply by way of their actions in the story, and most of all, through the illustrations.

That night, with showing versus telling on my mind, I watched “The Artist” – Michel Hazanavicius‘ valentine to silent films that is a contender for this year’s Best Picture Oscar. Since the story takes place in Hollywood during the time when silent cinema was replaced by the talkies, 90% of the film is silent. (It is also shot in balck and white.) The result is not only a wonderful, uplifting film and a terrific evening’s entertainment, but an invaluable lesson in showing versus telling.

With so little dialogue – which, when it occurs, is told through title cards – the story is almost entirely conveyed through action, behavior and expression.  It is a truly inspiring lesson for picture book authors, in terms of how little text is necessary to tell a story… as long as you know how to think visually, and show rather than tell. It also left me wondering how many other great silent movies might offer the same lesson.

1)   Write them down the old fashioned way – This requires carrying a notebook with me at all times, which is sometimes challenging to remember to do, let alone find room for in my purse.  I love Moleskins, since they feel so writerly, but I’ve also used Miquelrius notebooks, which I like because they have spiral binding and stay open easily. And of course, we have spiral-bound notebooks with the Childrens Book Hub logo on the cover that are very nice, too.

Peter H. Reynolds mentioned in our interview this month that he always carries index cards in his pocket, to jot down ideas or make quick sketches on, and also to flesh out his ideas, because they allow for shuffling.

2)   Write them down digitally – I love my iPad, but again, it’s not always convenient to carry around with me. What is convenient is my iPhone – and the ‘Notes’ app works well for capturing ideas on the fly. However, it’s not easy to type anything that requires detail on the tiny iPhone screen.

3)   Record them – This is my latest favorite method. I have the free app “Dragon Dictation” installed on my iPhone (I have it on my iPad as well). All I have to do is tap the app to open it, and tap the red button to begin recording. I say as much as I need to, and hit save. This miraculous app instantly transcribes my words to text, and it’s accurate about 90% of the time. One more tap and I’ve emailed the document to myself. When I get home and open my computer, the emailed idea is there, ready for me to edit, embellish or simply drag-and-drop it into the ideas folder on my desktop.

How do you capture your ideas?

Once an idea comes to him (as they do all the time, because he has such highly developed Story Radar!), Peter asks himself, “Who could help me tell that story? What character and what situation can help demonstrate that idea?”

My ideas often start with theme  – with the take-away, so to speak. But good storytelling is all about character, after all. If the characters aren’t compelling, believable, interesting, then the reader doesn’t care… and if the reader doesn’t care, the take-away usually ends up being didactic or lost altogether.

Who can help me tell this story? What character, in what situation, solving what problem, can illuminate this idea?

This Fall, I’ve been taking a workshop entitled “Imagining What You Know” with the incomparable Roger Rosenblatt. Each week, Roger has given us a new writing assignment, the cumulative effect of which has been, for me, a phenomenal workout in developing ‘voice’ – not the vocal kind, of course, but that of character.

Our exercises have ranged from the sublime to the near-ridiculous, but they have had one task in common – imagining ourselves into the character, the setting, the situation. We’ve written in response to paintings, pieces of music and food. We’ve written about ourselves in the third person. But perhaps the most informative exercises have been those that asked us to craft a monologue from the point of view of an unlikely character – a machine, a body part, a type of punctuation, to name but a few.

Children’s book authors often grapple with anthropomorphism – but our degree of success is directly related to how successfully we can imagine ourselves into that character and find their voice.  And as I’ve grappled with finding the voice for my achy left shoulder, my kids’ old Fisher Price jeep or an ellipsis, I’ve discovered that the key lies in discovering the character’s need, or complaint.  I’ve also come to appreciate just how valuable these exercises are… and how many variations of them might be possible. What’s the voice – and/or the complaint – of your kitchen table? Your favorite shoes? The moon?

Each time I’ve shared a piece in class, a fellow student (God bless her!) has remarked “That could be a children’s book!” … and I’ve been reminded that we never know when a simple exercise might venture beyond being a mere tool for development to become the seed of an idea for a story…

I had the good fortune to listen to Joanna Merlin, president of the Michael Chekhov Association – speak about her mentor last week. (MICHA will be one of the theatre companies in residence at our Writers Conferences next summer.)

I have long been aware of the overlap between the dramatic and writing arts, but something Joanna said struck me as particularly relevant.

One of Chekhov’s valued concepts was that of the ‘four brothers’: ease, beauty, form and wholeness. As I listened to Joanna describe these elements with respect to art, I realized they were directly transferable to children’s literature.

Ease – Who hasn’t marveled at the ease of Dr. Seuss’s verse, or Jules Feiffer’s line? When a book really sings, doesn’t it seem effortless? Like it just rolled off the author’s pen? Doesn’t it make us think: That looks so easy! I could do that!

Beauty – From Kenneth Grahame to Gennady Spirin to Jon J Muth, there’s no denying the beauty in children’s book art. But there’s beauty in text, too… Whether it’s an exquisitely crafted message, mastery of language or authenticity of voice, there are times when the stellar narrative of a children’s book can make one weep.

Form – Thirty two pages, one thousand words or less. There’s no denying that picture books have form. The challenge is how to tell that story with a richness of character and plot that compels the reader to turn the page… within the confines of that form. Martha Grahame said “The aim of technique is to free the spirit.” I would amend that to say, “Within the confines of form, anything is possible.”

Wholeness – Beginning, middle, end. Problem, crisis, resolution.  Picture books travel a great distance in a thousand words or less… and the good ones provide a complete story, and a wholly satisfying journey.

Michael Chekhov wrote and published a few great books on acting, but never any children’s books. I suspect that, had he chosen to, he could have penned one with ease, beauty, form and wholeness.

I.O.P, or “Illusions of Progress.”  Now, for some this may have a negative connotation.  An illusion of progress, as opposed to the real thing… could sound like busywork.  But it’s Peter’s view (and I agree) that I.O.P. can be a great motivator.

Look! I already have a…

- Chapter done
- Page written
- Outline drafted
- Book jacket idea

… I’m halfway there!

Well, maybe not halfway – but far enough along to make it worthwhile continuing.

Here are a few of my I.O.P’s…

- A rough draft
- A title
- Notes compiled on a subject
- Research on other books on the subject
- A few lines that establish “voice”
- A related list of any kind

What I.O.P.’s keep you going?

Here’s a question: can we fine tune, or improve the frequency of, our Story Radar?  I think the answer is yes, but it has to do with whether we’ve got ours pointed in the right direction, first of all, as well as how regularly we tune into it, and the degree to which we are able to tune out other, non-useful input.  Like any fine instrument, the more one uses it, and the better one cares for it, the more likely it is to hold its tune.  Let it sit there and collect dust, or be subject to interference, and it’s unlikely to work as well.

Any other ideas out there about ways to fine-tune our Story Radar?

This was a question Peter H. Reynold posed to his workshop participants during last summer’s Southampton Children’s Literature Conference. Then he did something extraordinary.

Each of us came up with our title, and Peter then designed a Peter H. Reynolds book jacket around that title, and listing our name as the author.  He then made each one the cover of a blank book, which he gave to each of us, and invited us to fill in the pages.  What a gift – and a challenge!

Mine is standing on my writing desk, staring at me every day and inviting me to write. It’s a tremendous source of inspiration.  You can do something similar (OK, maybe not with a Peter H. Reynolds jacket – I know how lucky I am!).  Just buy a white book with blank pages (you can get them for about $3 each, here’s a link to one source: blank white books) and put your title idea for a Book-Not-Yet-in-Print on the cover, even if only in a nice font.  You don’t have to write on the book itself, you can print something out and paste it on. Then stand it up on your desk and let it stare at you for a while. You may be surprised by what it invites.

We look at basic three-act storytelling structure:

Act 1 – Set-up/Intro to character(s) and problem

Act 2 – Problem escalates to crisis or turning point

Act 3 – Resolution/Character solves problem and/or learns something, grows or changes in process

Another great way to develop or measure your plot is against the following story structure, or plot sequence:

• Something happens to someone
• Which leads to their wanting/needing something, and/or making a goal
• Which needs a plan of action
• But forces try to stop the protagonist (obstacles occur)
• Yet they move forward (because there is a lot at stake)
• But then, there’s a crisis! Things get as bad as they can
• And they learn an important lesson
• Which helps them overcome the final obstacle
• Thus satisfying the need created by something in the past.

Here’s an example of how this might work as measured against our recent picture book, The Very Fairy Princess:

• Something happens to someone – Gerry learns she will be part of a new ballet, The Crystal Princess, at her ballet school
• Which leads to their wanting/needing something, and/or making a goal – She wants to play the lead – the Crystal Princess!
• Which needs a plan of action – she offers all the reasons why she is perfect for the part (already has the costume, accessories, is a natural etc.)
• But forces try to stop the protagonist (obstacles occur) – she is cast as the Court Jester instead. Worse, she hates her costume, which makes her look like a boy.
• Yet they move forward (because there is a lot at stake) – She really wants to be in the ballet, so she swallows her pride, and plays the jester. She also hides her crown under her jesters hat, so as to still be a fairy princess underneath.
• But then, there’s a crisis! Things get as bad as they can – When it comes time to perform the ballet, everything that can go wrong, does… Gerry steps on Tiffany’s (who plays the Princess) toes, trips over her stick, and her crown slips out from under her hat. She is in serious danger of losing her ‘sparkle’ altogether. Then, Tiffany’s crown falls off and gets crushed – and the ballet mistress expects Gerry to give Tiffany HER crown!
• And they learn an important lesson – Gerry realizes that a Crystal Princess REALLY needs to sparkle, and by lending her crown to Tiffany, her own sparkle comes rushing back.
• Which helps them overcome the final obstacle – By saving the show, and the day, Gerry makes friends with Tiffany. She also gets to be seated in the front of the company photo, and to keep her jester’s stick and hat. Plus, her own crown feels ‘extra-sparkly’ when Tiffany gives it back.
• Thus satisfying the need created by something in the past. – Gerry ends up being a star after all — in a different way than she imagined, but perhaps an even more satisfying one.

This tool can be used to develop an initial plot, or to assess one in progress as part of the self-editing process.  And, it can be as valuable for a chapter book or novel as it is for a picture book, since the basic principles of dramatic structure are the same.

My mother and I are fortunate to work with truly gifted editors at our publishing houses – but for my own independent projects I always seek feedback from a freelance editor (such as Emma D. Dryden, whom I interviewed this month for the Hub).  You see, I’m not very good at editing myself.

There are many good reasons to work with a freelance editor in today’s publishing world – but here is perhaps the most compelling one:  Once a manuscript has been rejected, it will seldom be reconsidered by that same publisher… even if you rewrite it.  So it’s very important to get it as polished as we can be before the submission process begins, and the best way I know to do that is to hire a freelance editor.

That said, there are a number of things we can do to become better self-editors, to get our manuscripts into the best possible shape even before we submit them to a freelance editor… and I thought, given this month’s focus on editing, I’d explore some of them. Here’s one for those of you who use Microsoft Word:

Use the Find and Replace and Thesaurus tools.

“Find and replace” is the most efficient way to replace overused words. For instance, I tend to overuse the word “wonderful”. It crops up all the time in what I’m writing and it drives me insane. What I do is write, write, write – and when I’m done, I click “Find” (under the Edit tab), type in the word “wonderful” and each time the tool pulls it up in the manuscript I choose a better word to replace it with (using the “Thesaurus” tool – or the real, bound Thesaurus if I get stuck!)

If you want to change a character’s name, you can use the find and replace tool to pull up all the “Mickey’s” and change them to “Mikey” in one mouse click. You can click “find next” and walk through the manuscript word by word, or you can click “find all” and do a global replace on a word or name.

Among the things you might want to ‘find and replace’ (with better choices from your Thesaurus!) are:

• Cheap or cheesy modifiers (very, just, etc.)
• Passive verbs / tentative or weak sentence construction (was going, been having, seemed, felt etc.)
• Words you use too often (wonderful, like, suddenly, little)
• Adverbs that prop up weak verbs
• A character’s name (Replace All)