There’s one thing you should know about me right upfront: I love making lists. There’s something that I find both focusing and freeing about having to crystallize my thoughts into this form; while I might not cover everything there is to say on the given subject, just the act of making the list helps me focus on the things I feel are most vital.
So, picture books. During these grand days of PiBoIdMo goodness, I’ve been giving a lot to the form. Certainly they are a big part of my life: I write them, I read them, I sell them (for my authors). But what pushes a text from a short story into a perfectly crafted masterpiece? Editors are not looking for something that’s just sweet, or nice, or passable. And I’m not either. Texts like these would very likely have sold five or ten years ago. But nowadays? The bar is a lot higher.
Which leads me very nicely to my list. What makes a picture book text stand out from the pack? What kinds of stories should you be crafting? What are my top tips and most targeted advice for perfecting the craft of writing picture books? Read on to find out!
1. Think outside the box.
The beauty of events like PiBoIdMo is that they focus the power of volume. “Quality not quantity,” the adage goes—but sometimes, it takes quantity to find that quality. It’s the old familiar brainstorming routine, whereby the free-flow of ideas stirs up the mind to the extent that the mundane gives way to the extraordinary.
So stir up those creative juices! Get crazy! Make lists and put unexpected elements together. A shark… and a train? A pigeon… and a bus? Like a phenomenal preschool-aged Glee mashup song in fully illustrated form, you too can strike gold with your big out-of-the-box idea.
2. Focus on a character.
If every era has a buzzword, the one for the contemporary picture book marketplace would be: character-driven. Everyone wants to see (or be) the next Fancy Nancy. But what does that mean to you, sitting as you are with brain to fingers to keyboard?
What editors don’t want: copycat stories. (Oh! I know: Stylish Suzie! Or maybe… Frilly Jilly!) No. The key to parsing out this riddle is to go deeper. Put your own spin on the demand, and focus on the core premise: Kids want someone they can connect with. They want to see a bit of themselves in the larger-than-life heroes who fill their pages. They want a dash of crazy; a spark of excitement; a quirky, interesting, fully-themselves hero or heroine who can take their imagination by storm.
Be original. Be flamboyant. Give specific character details. And give your readers a brand-new friend they can take home in their pocket.
3. Embrace the universal.
So far my tips have been all about the crazy, the creative, the new-and-oh-so-different. Now I’m going to take all that back a notch, add a great big qualifier on top. Your picture has to be fresh, new, original—yes. But!
It also has to be about the same ol’ thing.
What? After all that talk of originality, now this? Here’s the thing: It’s not enough to have a wild and wacky premise. There also has to be some deeper core to the story that connects with readers on its most basic level. I’ve heard them described as the “universal child emotions” that need to be represented in order for the story to fully hit its mark.
Now, please note that we’re not talking about morals or lessons or message here. What are talking about is theme, subtly underlaid, weaving throughout the text and supplementing the story.
The list of universals is endless: love, friendship, overcoming fears, trying new things, getting along with others, sibling rivalry, leaving someone or something you love, sickness, loss. It’s as long as life itself, and honestly? The simpler the better. (Which, come to think of it, could totally be point #4 on my list, but a list of 4 simply cannot compete with a list of 3.)
So there you have it—my three top tips. I hope they will help you as you take your ideas and craft them into stellar picture books that take the marketplace by storm. So… are you ready? Get set, WRITE!
Ammi-Joan Paquette writes picture books and young adult novels, plus she’s a literary agent with the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Her latest book is Nowhere Girl, published in September 2011 by Walker/Bloomsbury. She lives in the Boston area with her husband and daughters. Visit her online at AmmiJoanPaquette.com.
52 comments
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November 20, 2011 at 1:11 am
Ruth McNally Barshaw
I like this so much I’m printing it. Thank you!
November 20, 2011 at 1:27 am
Donna Martin
Thank you Ammi-Joan for making such a superb list of what a strong picture book IS and ISN’T! I just finished the first draft of another one of my picture books and happy to know that I seem to have followed your list so at least I am going in the right direction…lol…
Donna
November 20, 2011 at 1:39 am
patientdreamer
Thankyou Ammi-Joan these are 3 very strong points to remember. Like Ruth I am printing your post to keep for futher reference. Yes, I know there always has to be that emotional link that binds the story, is the glue. Thankyou very much for this. Love your new book btw, congrats.
November 20, 2011 at 2:25 am
Shari Green
I’m not a PB writer, but I do love lists, lol, so had to read this post anyway. And there’s definitely truth here for novelists, too, so thank you!
November 20, 2011 at 3:18 am
Janeen Brian
Thank you Ammi-Joan.
LIST for picture books
L – love (emotions, feelings)
I – idea (original!)
S – sustains, nourishes (universal themes needed in our work)
T- the time needed to re-work our picture books till they shine!
warm regards
Janeen
November 20, 2011 at 7:33 am
Lori Mozdzierz
Love this! I’m also printing your list, Janeen 😀
November 20, 2011 at 4:12 am
Romelle Guittap
I enjoyed your talk at our SCBWI conference in Oakland last year. And I’ve been keeping my list of everything you’ve shared about the craft of writing and the industry. Thank you Ammi-Joan. Your list is a treasure full of gems!
November 20, 2011 at 4:39 am
Loni Edwards
Thank you Ammi-Joan! Great advice. I agree with Ruth, this is one to print out and save.
November 20, 2011 at 6:49 am
M. G. King
I love how you compare writing picture books to “parsing out this riddle.” That’s exactly what writing a story feels like! Time to look through my month of ideas with these three tips in mind!
November 20, 2011 at 7:52 am
Lori Mozdzierz
I’m with Ruth and the others . . . this post is a keeper! Thanks, Ammi-Joan!!!
Love your pb TIPTOE GUIDE TO TRACKING FAIRIES eand how the idea for it came to you! Those I’ve recommended it to sing their praises!
I look forward to cuddling up in front of the a crackling fire to read NOWHERE GIRL 😀
Okay, Ammi-Joan, spill . . . which ninja agent were you for this year’s WriteOnCon? (Promise I won’t tell ;D) Will you suit up again August?
November 20, 2011 at 8:08 am
Kristi Bernard
This is an excellent post. Also, very inspirational!
November 20, 2011 at 8:13 am
tinamcho
Wonderful tips, Ammi-Joan! I love the concept of putting the unexpected together. My daughter and I also enjoyed your fairy book. I peeked at your web site and am anxious to read the Guide to Tracking Mermaids!
November 20, 2011 at 8:26 am
Tamara Smith
Joan, this is list is that best kind of simple-yet-profound advice. A tangible thing to wrap my head around as I tackle the not-so-tanglible task of revising my picture books… Thank you for this, and for many other things…
November 20, 2011 at 8:29 am
Jeannie Brett
Thank you for your very helpful post! I liked waking up to the new post early in the morning!
November 20, 2011 at 8:32 am
Mona Pease
Great post. I’m a list maker too. Have to jumble up a few of my lists and jump out of my box! Thanks.
November 20, 2011 at 8:35 am
Robyn Campbell
Printing. Thank you for this. I had an idea while reading this post. Mixing the probable and the improbable. The likely and the unlikely. *waving and smiling*
November 20, 2011 at 8:44 am
Natalie Dias Lorenzi
This list is a lovely way to start my day–a day when I’ll have some quiet writing time to myself. 🙂 Thanks, Joan!
November 20, 2011 at 8:45 am
Kim Pfennigwerth (@kpfenni)
Ammi-Joan,
You’ve given us a list that is easy to remember in it’s simplicity yet gives us three strong working points in our revision process.
Thank you for giving us a simplified way to focus.
November 20, 2011 at 9:38 am
Dana Carey
Thanks for such solid advice, Ammi-Joan. Nothing like a great check list to keep us on track.
November 20, 2011 at 9:43 am
Cathy Cronin
I’m a list maker too. 🙂 Thanks for sharing this one with us! Great advice.
November 20, 2011 at 9:45 am
thiskidreviewsbooks
Great tips! They will help me come up with good story ideas for picture books!
Erik
🙂
November 20, 2011 at 9:53 am
Bonita Herold
I remember reading a description of how you transformed a walk with your kids from the ordinary to the extraordinary and then turned the idea into a great fairy book. You definitely thought outside the box!
November 20, 2011 at 10:18 am
Deb Marshall
Thank you! And this..
“And give your readers a brand-new friend they can take home in their pocket.”
Loved, love it. Need to put it on a stickie!
November 20, 2011 at 10:24 am
elizabethannewrites
This is so very good. Thank you, Ammi-Joan. That list needs to be front and center on my desk every morning when I begin to write.
November 20, 2011 at 11:03 am
Kathleen Cornell Berman
Absolutely great suggestions! Thanks! I also plan to print this.
November 20, 2011 at 11:03 am
pascale mackey (@pascalemackey)
Great list Ammi-Joan! This one’s a keeper =)
November 20, 2011 at 11:08 am
Debbie Austin
I love lists, too! Thanks for sharing your list of what makes a picture book stand out. Btw, I love the cover of Nowhere Girl.
November 20, 2011 at 11:22 am
sabrina
Thanks Ammi-Joan. You just made me realise something very important. I often have stories/ideas which score either on 1, 2 or 3, but not on all three. So maybe December will be my PiBoIdCoMo, Picture Book Idea Combine Month 🙂 a time where we start going through all our ideas and see how we can combine various ideas to stories which tick all 3 of the boxes.
November 20, 2011 at 11:40 am
Sharon K. Mayhew (@skmayh)
Thank you so much for the outstanding post. Just like everyone else, I’m printing it. 🙂 I didn’t realize Ammi-Joan wrote. I’ll keep an eye out for Nowhere Girl. 🙂
November 20, 2011 at 12:45 pm
Sandi Hershenson
This is a great article! Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
November 20, 2011 at 1:07 pm
Julie
This list is a perfect barometer for us to check our stories with after we’ve written them. Thanks for sharing! I have the most trouble with #1 – my stories are more grounded in realism, but I’d like to break out of that. PiBoIdMo is great for that!
November 20, 2011 at 1:48 pm
Bethany Telles
I am a obsessive compulsive list writer, but I had never actually looked into doing just that for my writing… How therapeutic!! I, too, will be printing your list. Thank you for your inspiration!!
November 20, 2011 at 3:14 pm
Sarah C. Pilon
“Like a phenomenal preschool-aged Glee mashup song in fully illustrated form..”
I feel like I may not be the only one that saw last weeks Glee. 😛
Being a huge fan of lists myself, I loved your post. Thanks a bunch! 🙂
November 20, 2011 at 3:21 pm
Sue Heavenrich
Three things – hey, that’ll be easy to remember:
1. Think outside the box
2. great character.
3. um-m-m…. hm-m-m, how embarrassing. Seems I’ve caught whatever’s going ’round certain debate circles….
Thanks for the ideas.
November 20, 2011 at 4:15 pm
Wendy Greenley
On days when I can’t see the picture book forest for the trees, I’ll pull this post out to re-read. Thank you for the insight!
November 20, 2011 at 4:58 pm
Jarm Del Boccio
I’m a list girl as well…thanks for clearly defined tips, Ammi-Joan! I will remember focus on character-driven PB ideas. Your book, “Nowhere Girl” sounds fascinating…it’s going on my list of “must-reads”.
November 20, 2011 at 8:10 pm
Jenn DesAutels
Thank you for spending time distilling it to a list for us. It is so generous of you. =)
November 20, 2011 at 8:54 pm
Kerry Aradhya
Thanks so much for this fabulous post. It’s so nice to hear advice from an agent (and author) so focused on picture books!
November 20, 2011 at 9:05 pm
Tammi Sauer
Ooh. La. La.
Love this post! 🙂
November 20, 2011 at 9:06 pm
Tracy Bermeo
This was an amazing and inspirational post! I’m a list maker and I love putting things together that don’t normally “go” together. Kids do too and that’s part of what makes picture book idea so pliable and malleable. And YES! the Glee mash ups were amazing! They are already favorites on my play lists.
November 20, 2011 at 9:27 pm
Marcela S.
Thank you Ammi-Joan. It is great to remember (through these three points) what is essential for a story to become a great story.
November 20, 2011 at 9:41 pm
Lynn
I’m still having to learn to “think outside the box”. Thanks for the reminder. 🙂
November 20, 2011 at 10:36 pm
Cathy C. Hall
A writer after my own list-driven heart. Thanks!
November 20, 2011 at 10:47 pm
A Reid
Thanks, Ammi-Joan
November 21, 2011 at 12:34 am
Marcy P.
I love the practicality of your post! Thank you sooo much for sharing! I know it’s one I’ll need to come back to.
November 21, 2011 at 8:46 am
Cathy Mealey
I love having the succinct three item targeted tips list in counterpoint with the infinite list of universal themes. There is so much more to be said!
Many thanks for sharing your insights!
November 21, 2011 at 10:55 am
Brook Gideon
Lists are great for my scatterbrained mind. When I have a story idea, I often list all the ideas and images that come to mind when i think of that topic. sort of a word association purge. Sometimes even better ideas or great phrases come out of that list. Thanks for sharing what makes a picture book stand out and special while being universal!
November 21, 2011 at 11:12 am
Melissa Kelley
Awww… all I ever need is permission to be just a little bit crazy and give my characters that undeniable SELF! Loved the article, Ammi-Joan – thank you for the universal YES. 🙂
November 21, 2011 at 11:22 am
Jennifer Rumberger
What a terrific list! And I love lists too! 🙂
November 21, 2011 at 11:39 pm
Lori Grusin Degman
Thanks for the post, Ammi-Joan – great advice! I love making lists too – unfortunately, I often forget to look at them 🙂
November 23, 2011 at 5:17 pm
Betsy Devany
I love the idea of making lists, and the image of a child taking home a brand-new friend in their pocket. With that thought, I will now tackle my newest picture book idea. Thanks!!
November 25, 2011 at 6:43 pm
sketched out
I wrote your list in my notebook. One, so I can have this great inspiration with me wherever I am and also wanted to handwrite it so it would stick in my brain and become second nature. Such good advice! It opened a little door in my brain!