by David Michael Slater

My picture books are nearly all the product of a love affair with words. I listen and they bring me ideas:

THE RING BEAR was born when my sister told me that her five year-old caused a ruckus at a wedding after she whispered to him that the ring bearer was about to come out. He heard it wrong. And panicked.

the-ring-bear-400

CHEESE LOUISE! was born after I heard someone say that “everyone has holes,” meaning “no one’s perfect.” Which lead me to wonder whether Swiss Cheeses mind having lots of problems.

cheeselouise

NED LOSES HIS HEAD is about a boy who…loses his head. (Mom told me I’d lose mine if it wasn’t attached.)

nedloseshishead

7 ATE 9 was born after my five year-old told me the old joke: “Why is 6 afraid of 7? Because 7 ate 9!” And I had to ask why. (It’s just a joke, Dad!)

7ate9

THE SHARPEST TOOL IN THE SHED is about a saw who isn’t, well, the sharpest tool in the shed. Until he is.

sharpesttool

But idioms, misunderstandings, jokes, and silly expressions generate ideas, not stories. How do we get from one to the other? A great idea, while exciting, can actually be paralyzing, so it’s helpful to understand the distinction between a simple and a fertile premise.

Idea: A story about a slice of Swiss who doesn’t like having holes.
simplepremise
Problem: There are an infinite number of possible story paths.

Let’s pause for a moment to discuss structure. I believe that understanding traditional story structure is wise. And so does screenwriting guru, Robert McKee:

tradstructures

And so remember this from school?

plot

You know: set up/complications/climax/resolution. It helps. A lot. But this helps even more…

plot2

Because…

movingstories

And watch this…

plot3

Linking (one way or another) the incident that sets your protagonist off on his/her quest for change to the climax of the story creates a powerful effect. Ideally, this effect:

beststories

So back to this:

simplepremise

Now let’s adjust.

fertilepremise

A fertile premise requires an Inciting Incident, which means we need to determine what causes our cheese to dislike her holes. There are many possibilities of course, but the choices are manageable. (Decision: she gets teased.)

And our knowledge of structure tells us that, one way or another, in the climax, she must use her holes to “save the day.” (Decision: she uses them to outwit the one-eyed cat in the kitchen.)

inciting

The traditional structure imposed limits that guided these choices, but these limits were helpful:

creativelimitation

If this feels formulaic during your drafting…hang in there. You are yet to internalize the traditional structure. Once it’s instinctual this isn’t something you consciously consider as you write. Yet it’s nearly always detectible in the final product, even if it has been creatively altered. (For example, Cheese Louise! employs two superimposed story arcs.)

Keep in mind that the subject matter of your story is not original (sorry). What should be original is the specific way you package and present it. Here is Mr. McKee to the rescue one more time:

archetypal

I’m hoping that the story of coming to believe one’s flaws can be one’s strengths has never been told in the context of refrigerator life. Similarly, that blending families can be fraught with misunderstandings has never been conveyed via a story about a boy who intentionally turns himself into a bear to wreck his mother’s wedding.

Can one reject traditional story structure entirely and still produce a successful story? Of course, though in my opinion doing so pretty much guarantees a limited audience. Unless you hold the trump card.

trumpcard

Not that one.

This one:

horseteeth

If you are hilarious, no one cares what happens in your story. But guess what the hardest thing to do in writing is?

PiBoIdMo is a gift because the more ideas you can muster the better. You never know which one will be the one that blooms.

Good luck!

SlaterCartoonDavid Michael Slater is an acclaimed author of books for children, teens, and adults. His work for children includes the picture books Cheese Louise!, Flour Girl, The Boy & the Book and the on-going teen series, Forbidden Books, which is being developed for film by a former producer of The Lion King. David’s work for adults includes the hilarious comic-drama, Fun & Games, which was included on Steven Spielberg’s start-up magazine, Heeb’s, Best Books of the Year list. David teaches in Reno, Nevada, where he lives with his wife and son.

You can learn more about David and his work at DavidMichaelSlater.com.

bookofnonsense  boyandhisbook

PrizeDetails (2)

David is giving away one of two prizes, your choice:

  • either a free Skype session for a classroom/group
  • or a picture book critique.

Leave a comment below to enter. One comment per person, please.

This prize will be given away at the conclusion of PiBoIdMo. You are eligible for this prize if:

  1. You have registered for PiBoIdMo.
  2. You have commented ONCE ONLY on today’s post.
  3. You have completed the PiBoIdMo challenge. (You will have to sign the PiBoIdMo Pledge at the end of the event.)

Good luck, everyone!