I Come Bearing Gifts: Illustration Basics -- for Writers!

This is meant to be a present for all you picture book writers out there, so I hope it doesn't come across sounding too much like a lecture.

Which it might. Because it kind of is. It's an abbreviated version of the guest lecture I gave last night to students in the kid lit class taught by Kitty Griffin Lagorio at Chatham University.

Well, you'll just have to suck it up and say thank you to me anyhow. That's how it is: you have to act all appreciative even for the scratchy woolen undershirts your Great Aunt Agatha got you when what you were really hoping for was the deluxe Animal Clinic with Vet Operating Room and add-on Guinea Pig Pen from Playmobil.

(I need this set; I am a complete sucker for all things miniature, Playmobil, and animal-related. Oh, and definitely for anything guinea pig-related. And I really, really need the set because my husband says absolutely, positively no more pets [don't worry - we still have some], especially not little caged ones, even though he agrees that our late guinea pig, Hamster aka Piggy, was cute and sweet. Someday I'll grow up. Maybe. Okay, probably not.)

Okay, on to the point. And really, this is a better gift than the hot chocolate that the little chick is giving the snowman above (though probably not as good as the Guinea Pig Pen set. And definitely not as good as a real, live guinea pig. I love them squeakers.)

We'll begin with the facts.

Fact # 1 The picture book market is tighter than ever. See, for example, this recent New York Times article which I found incredibly distressing. (Also see this thoughtful reaction from the stellar kids' books columnist Karen MacPherson. And then go check out Anita Silvey's children's book-a-day blog .)
Fact # 2 Author-illustrators disproportionately win Caldecott Medals and Honor awards over illustrator-onlies. And if you add in true collaborative teams of writer-illustrators, which you should, the do-togethers give the do-separately's a real whupping. And I am pretty sure that this is not coincidence or happenstance - there are reasons why have one unit tends to produce better picture books.

Fact #3 Even if you have zero artistic skills (as in can't even draw a stick figure that's not missing an essential body part), you can still learn the illustrator's mindset that will let you craft manuscripts with all the panache of a skilled author-illustrator. And that will give your picture book manuscript a leg up in capturing the attention of an editor or agent, in getting beautifully illustrated by a dream artist, and in becoming a fabulous (and maybe even award-winning) book beloved by generations of children.

I really don't think I'm over-promising here.

Here's how. Take notes. Or just download my lecture notes here. Oops - just noticed they translated funny into a pdf. Hmm. I'll fix them tomorrow.

Step One Think Like an Illustrator as Well as a Writer in the Planning and First Draft Stages
That means coming up with a story and manner of telling it that involves lots of action. Show-able action. Books packed with lots of feeling and thinking divorced from doing simply don't lend themselves to fabulous illustrations. They'll be visually boring. No one will want to illustrate them, much less spend $20 on them. Plan for visual variety - you want different locations, characters, stuff happening. Okay, Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd's Goodnight Moon all takes place in the same one room with the same small cast of characters just saying goodnight to stuff - but at least it was a "great" room and Clement Hurd is an illustrating genius. (And it didn't win any awards in its day - it didn't even sell well until many years later.)

Remember you have 32 pages to work with, minus front matter and maybe back matter. You have to be able to fill up those pages in a mix of single page, full spread, and spot illustrations - but not cram them so full they overflow. So avoid trying to accomplish too much or too little. Think Baby Bear and Just Right.

Think about how HALF, yes half, the story gets to be told in pictures by the illustrator. Nobody likes a ball hog; sharing is nice and only fair.

And then just write. Go ahead and put in all the stuff I'm going to make you cut later - the long, boring, detailed descriptions, the extra scenes, the part of the story the illustrator can tell all by herself. Just get it out - I know you have to. (I'm a writer too.)

Step Two Imagine Your Manuscript as a Book and Divide Up the Text
Use a pencil for this stage - you'll probably have to mark up your manuscript over and over. I always do. It takes me at least five tries to get it right - and usually more. It's HARD. Don't forget to leave room in the 32 pages for front matter (title page, copyright, dedication, etc.) and back matter if needed. Also don't forget that page 1 and page 32 stand alone - the rest are spreads with the even numbers on the left and the odd ones on the right. You can print out my one page storyboard here, if that helps you keep it in mind.

After you do that, really exercise your visual imagination and make your manuscript into an illustrated book in some fashion. Help, you cry! I can't draw a lick! Don't fret - deformed stick figures, blob trees and furnishings, etc. are perfectly fine. It's more a matter of imagining what might be on a page. You can do this on the storyboard I've provided (if you haven't reached reading glasses stage of life) or you can make a dummy (or sketched sample) book by folding 8 pieces of paper in half (which makes 32 pages since you'll use fronts and backs), or even, if you're really drawing-challenged, by writing an annotated copy of your manuscript that describes the possible illustrations and their placement.

Think about page turns (the reader should be compelled by words and/or pictures to relieve the tension you and the illustrator have created on the current spread by turning the page); variety, rhythm, repetition, and balance in the images and text and their relation to each other;and the opening, big moment and last image, all of which need to be visually compelling, matched with the text in quantity and impact, and satisfying.

Finally, don't get too wedded to your own vision. The chances that the illustrator will duplicate it are, quite frankly, slim. But she'll be drawn in by your obvious attention to visual structure.

Step Three Cut and Change
Especially cut. Ruthlessly. All those lovely descriptions that you now realize can be shown in the illustration? Slash. All that explanation that will be conveyed even more movingly or humorously in pictures? Delete. All those unnecessary words, words, words? GET RID OF THEM. The best picture book manuscripts (today) are spare, even poetic. Think haiku. Think minimalist. Think uncluttered.

You may realize you need to eliminate entire scenes (or, more rarely, add some). Or you might want to move things around, like rearranging the furniture, so page turns work better and you're not tripping over story elements on your way from Point A to Point B.

This will be a hard, hard, hard step for most writers. Time for chocolate and a sympathetic friend. 

Repeat Step Two Divide It Up. Again.
It will probably be easier this time. But you want to make sure the new, abbreviated, rearranged version works.

Step Four Play Around with the Relationship Between Words and Images
This is not as kinky as it sounds. Great picture books pair text and illustrations like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced -- not like those clumsy partners who get eliminated in the first two rounds of Dancing with the Stars (or in some cases, magically last until the final rounds...). The words and images dance together so seamlessly they create something new and magical that's better than anything those superstar dancers could do by themselves. Look for places where the text can contradict the illustration (and thereby add humor), for places where the images can push the text to save something more, something profound or profoundly silly, that the words just don't say by themselves.

Step Five  Now Write Your Perfect Final Draft
Create that lovely language with rhythm and alliteration. Find perfect rhymes or coin silly new words. Figure out a line that will become a national catchphrase. It's okay to invest that effort now because you have cut away all the fat already and what you have left is lean and beautiful and ready to be in front of the camera, or at least an editor's eyes. Your story and words will shine because they are no longer obscured by unnecessary clutter.

Final Step Share a Cup of Delicious Mocha Hot Chocolate with a Friend

Here's a recipe that 's pretty darned good (and really pretty easy, except for not eating the chocolate before you get around to making your drink). The key is to use GOOD chocolate and GOOD coffee.

1 cup of milk (I personally think lowfat is fine, especially if you top your cup with a little whipped cream...)
1 cup leftover from breakfast strong-brewed, really good coffee
4 oz. best quality dark chocolate, chopped
Sugar or sweetener, if desired. (Start with one teaspoon - I'm personally happy without.)
Other options: teaspoon of vanilla, 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or use a cinnamon stick to stir it), dash of hot pepper sauce (surprisingly good), dash of sea salt (also surprisingly good)
Two dollops whipped cream, preferably homemade. You could use marshmallows instead, but I would pity you; whipped cream is gobs better
Extra grated chocolate for garnish, if desired

Heat the milk, coffee and chopped chocolate over medium heat to desired temperature. I like to whisk the mixture to make it frothy. You could also use one of those handheld blender thingies if you like it really foamy. Taste and add any additions that tickle your fancy. Garnish with whipped cream and grated chocolate. Share!

Holiday Gifts: A Hanukkah Celebration for Writers and Readers

It seems like it was just yesterday that I was dumping a leftover turkey carcass into my crock-pot along with an onion, carrot, celery and eight cups of water. Then the next thing I knew, it was time to celebrate Hanukkah!

Oh wait! It was just yesterday that I was making turkey soup - and it is already time to celebrate Hanukkah. The celebration of Hanukkah is determined by the Hebrew calendar which changes each year in relation to the Gregorian civilian calendar. This year Hanukkah happens to begin quite early, on December first. And since the Route 19 Writers are blogging on the theme of "Giving and Receiving" for the month of December, I'm here with timely Hanukkah gifts for our readers. Enjoy!

The first gift is a little info about Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights. The holiday, a relatively minor one in the Jewish calendar, celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. There’s a hero named Judah Maccabbee, a candleholder called a Menorah and a miracle involving oil that burned for eight days. For a good read about Hanukkah I’d recommend the Caldecott Honor Book by Eric Kimmel, Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins and for kids celebrating both holidays, My Two Holidays: a Hanukkah and Christmas Story by Danielle Novack.

Your next gifts are a series of tips on writing how-to books. These days I'm spending a lot of time working on fiction, but I’ve written a few craft books in my day, all for Williamson Publishing, which is now an imprint of Ideals Publications. For several years I was also a contributing editor for Parenting Magazine where I devised crafts based on various found materials, my favorite being the lowly toilet paper tube from which I crafted a noisemaker, elephant, ring toss, candle holder and tree trunk! In the process of writing directions for literally thousands of crafts and supplemental activities and from teaching lots of arts and crafts classes, I've gotten pretty experienced (and efficient) at writing nonfiction instructional books.

Tip Number 1 Begin by asking yourself why anyone would want to read your book. It may sound like a harsh first step, but if you aren't pretty sure you have something to offer a decent-size audience, there's probably not much point in proceeding. 

Tip Number 2  Come up with a unique twist on your subject. There are lots of how-to craft books out there, not to mention lots of free stuff on the internet. In Big Fun Christmas Crafts & Activities I included a section titled, “Customs Around the World” that offers a multicultural learning  experience for teachers and home-school parents, and I always include plenty of supplemental material to make each craft a “whole learning” experience; these features make my books worth their cost to my audience. While you're at it, it's not a bad idea to come up with a title that's an attention grabber - one that promises to provide the reader with entertainment as well as knowledge - but as my titles show, the winning selection is likely to be one that clearly states what the reader will find within.

Tip Number 3 Write an outline of your book. Structure is incredibly important so begin with the major sections of your book. It sounds obvious, but it's overlooked often enough that I'll say it anyhow: group like with like. That's better than being clever for busy users. Then flesh out your table of contents. Subtitles need to be explicit - and appealing.

Tip Number 4 Keep directions clear and concise. It's harder than you'd think - so find some testers to give them a shot. Are you missing steps? Unnecessarily wordy? Is anything confusing? Remember that illustrations, diagrams, and other images can add clarity so don't duplicate their information.

Tip Number 5 Do your research and check your facts whether you’re writing biography, history, travel or memoir. It may be time-consuming but there’s nothing worse than having a reader report an “error” to your publisher after your book has been published. A reputation for inaccuracy will end your career faster than an indifferent review.

The next gift is a craft that is quick and easy for all Little Hands to make as a holiday gift. Pair it with an appropriate book for the perfect present:

A Snowman Bookmark

Here’s What You Need:

1. Construction paper (any dark color) cut into a 2” x 8 1/2” strip, plus scraps

2. White stick-on dots (found in office supply stores)

3. Clear Contac paper

4. Hole punch

5. Ribbon

Here’s What You Do:

1. Stick dots onto the paper strip for a snowman. Use markers for the snowman’s eyes, mouth and arms.

2. Cut out trees and other decorations from scraps of paper and glue them on.

3. Wrap the bookmark in clear Contac paper then trim around the edges.

4. Punch a hole in the top of the bookmark and thread ribbon through the hole. Ta-Da!

And one final gift: A simple, healthy recipe to polish off the last of the turkey leftovers:

Easy Slow Cooker Turkey Stock
1 turkey carcass (you can add the giblets and other gross bits if you'd like)
1 med or 1/2 large onion, skin removed
2 small carrots, scraped
1 stalk of celery
8 cups water (you can substitute chicken broth for some of it if you want)

Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 5-6 hours. Discard solids and strain stock and it's ready to use in your favorite soup recipe. It also freezes well.

So all in all, that makes eight gifts - one for each night of Hanukkah!