![]() I don't know why this is the case, but trust me: somehow, due to the magic of storytelling, 9 is where it's at. Your reader's heart should ALWAYS be in their mouth at 9. Make sure the big turning point happens at 9. ![]() Fit your text into that many 'episodes', aka parts of your plot, aka beats of the story. Write in episodes. Write the numbers 1 - 13 (give yourself 15 if you must) down the left hand margin. ![]() What's the word count and how does it break down per page? How is the main character and their big predicament introduced? What does this text do that your text doesn't? What magic is there between the lines? What made it a no-brainer for an editor to sell in at an acquisitions meeting? Does your text resemble a real live published one yet? If not, you need to work harder. Chances are, that's how the book was originally bought. See how the text works as a word document with no illustrations. Leave line breaks where page breaks occur. Read, study and dissect picture books. Don't think of this as too much effort it will transform your writing if you do it and do it often. But that's what makes getting it right so satisfying. If writing feels like hard work, that's because it bloody well is. I cannot stress enough how much hard work is involved in writing picture books. There is a very unsubtle theme that runs through all of these points. It comes from reading (and re-reading) an awful lot of books, and writing (and re-writing) an awful lot of stories.Ĭertainly when I started out I used to really struggle, and I don't feel like I do anymore. Here are some things that I now do, all the time, without even thinking about it. Is that really what I mean? I'm not sure - maybe it's just that I do all the right things now without even thinking. I find the pacing of stories is kind of intuitive these days. *Yes, I do know Nig is a bit past it now, but he will always be number one in my eyes, okay? If possible, try and make sure it's someone who knows what they're talking about - perhaps an agent, an editor, an avid reader or writer - and get ready to hear things you might not like very much. If you want to get anywhere with your writing, you must let other people have their say>. Everyone can drive a car, too, but we're not all Nigel Mansell*. However, I also know that everyone and their dog feels comfortable criticising writing even if they don't write themselves, beyond the odd email or shopping list. I know from experience that constructive criticism - or, much better, collaboration - almost always makes my work stronger. It may be hard to welcome it, but criticism is often correct (even if it isn't always delivered in the most sensitive way). I didn't enjoy it all that much, but I'm glad I put myself through it - it was good training for this bookish career, too. As a teenager I did a degree in 'creative advertising', a large part of which comprised having my work deliberately torn to shreds to harden me for the career that lay ahead.
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