Children’s picture books and stories may seem like they’re simple enough to write. After all, how hard is it to come up with a cute story idea, jot it down in several hundred words or less, and send it off to an editor, who’ll find just the right illustrator?
Actually, it’s not so simple. Much more goes into writing picture books and stories for kids than meets the eye. First and foremost, the writer has to make the story illustratable, and that takes following some important steps.
Think About the Story's Pictures
Lee Wyndham writes in Writing for Children & Teenagers that a picture book’s illustrations “are expected to carry fully half of the story – if not more.” Because of the important role pictures play in picture books and stories, writers have to be thinking about pictures as they write. Not only do they need to make sure the text lends itself to illustrations that complement and enhance the story, there must be enough variety and action in the scenes for a number of pictures.
But when visualizing the story's pictures, writers also have to consider the age of the audience. A story for toddlers, for example, will need pictures that appeal to toddlers. Those pictures will likely contain images that are uncomplicated, vibrant, and familiar. Naturally, the writing should match the simplicity and mood of the story’s pictures. Language that falls outside of a toddler’s scope of knowledge won’t work. Nor, for that matter, will writing (and illustrations) for older kids that’s too simple.
Write with Brevity and Strength
Since pictures take up much of the space in picture books and stories, the text needs to be concise. There’s no room for excess words or redundancies. In fact, words that don’t help move the story along will only weaken it. As accomplished children’s author Margot Finke puts it in her Musings column, “For [picture book] writers, every word must count.” Strong, sensory, hardworking words are all good choices. So is using the active voice.
Writing picture books and stories often requires cutting words and rewriting many times over. Pictures can help fill in the blanks, so not every description and detail needs to be stated. Still, the story should read well and make sense without the pictures. Pictures are like seasoning; adding them will bring flavor to the story and give it life.
Plan for a Certain Number of Illustrations
The standard length for picture books is 32 pages (including back and front matter), with roughly half that many illustrations. Illustrated stories in children’s magazines contain fewer pictures, but they’re every bit as important to the overall reading experience. By planning for a certain number of pictures, writers can keep the momentum and visual quality of their stories consistent throughout. Picture planning also helps writers stay within the desired length of a picture book or story.
Lee Wyndham suggests that writers “dummy up” their stories by marking where the pictures might go between lines of text. For picture books, it’s smart to keep the amount of text as equal as possible for each planned page. Although a writer doesn’t usually have say on the type and layout of a story’s pictures, brief suggestions to the editor are okay and can be useful.
As simple as picture book and story text may seem, plenty of hard work goes into the writing process. But thinking visually, making every word count, and planning for the illustrations can help make the challenging job of writing children’s picture books and stories easier and more successful.
For related reading, see Writing Dialogue for Children's Picture Books.
Sources:
Finke, Margot. “So You Want to Write a Picture Book?” Musings (May 2002).
Wyndham, Lee. Writing for Children & Teenagers (3rd Edition). Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest Books, 1989.
Susie Yakowicz - Susie Yakowicz is a Minnesota freelance writer whose work has appeared in dozens of publications for children and adults.
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