PASSION FOR PICTURE BOOKS, LEE WARDLAW, Author Interview

     Facebook is an amazing tool when you make so many connections with other writers and illustrators who share the same passion.  I can't remember who contacted the other first as Lee Wardlaw's newest book is appearing simultaneously on my "other" blog, Book Wisdom By Diane.   Years ago, I first learned about Lee as a one of the " Fairy God-Sisters" that help a newer writer who wants to attend the summer SCBWI conference.  This week, it is my honor to support and share award winning author, Lee Wardlaw on 
PASSION FOR PICTURE BOOKS.


Lee, welcome and please tell us what pulled you down the rabbit hole of writing picture books ?

     The short answer?  Naiveté!  I assumed that because picture books were short, they’d be easy to write. (Insert hysterical laughter here.)  Little did I know that good writing means making it look easy…

The long answer:  In the late 1970’s, when I’d first earned my B.A. in Education and my teaching credential, jobs at the elementary level were rare.  So I ended up working for two years as the director/head teacher of a pre-school .  The school didn’t have much money, so to supplement our meager library I wrote stories to share with the children. They were awful!  (The stories, not the children!) Everything you could possibly do wrong in creating a picture book, I unknowingly did with gusto.

One of the first picture book manuscripts I wrote was called The Smallest Square.  It told the tale of five squares that live one inside of the other.  The baby square yearns to be free of his claustrophobic existence, so he changes himself into different shapes in order to escape:  first a circle to roll himself out (which doesn’t work)…next a rectangle to muscle his way out (ditto)…and, finally, a triangle, breaking free at last with his new pointy head. Then he turns into a circle again and rolls off to see the world.

Riveting, right?  J  The story was derivative of Shel Silverstein’s The Missing Piece – but without his wisdom, wit, talent, voice and clever illustrations. I got so many form rejection letters on that manuscript (and many others like it), that I gave up on picture books and started writing stuff for older readers.  I published eight other books (YA novels, non-fiction and first chapter books) before I got up the nerve to try my hand again at picture books.

When you are writing a pb manuscript, what area of the story do you get the most satisfaction in developing and exploring? 

     Mem Fox, the award-winning, Australian children’s book author, http://www.memfox.net once said that writing a picture book is like writing War and Peace – in haiku.  

True!  A good picture book contains all the same elements as a novel for adults, such as:

     -an opening that grabs and pulls in the reader;

     -three-dimensional characters whom you care about and root for;

-a vital conflict that has serious consequences if not resolved by the main characters;  

-a logical plot line;

-suspenseful pace;

-a fresh, unique voice;

-sparkling dialogue;

-rhythmic, expressive, evocative  language;

-and a satisfying conclusion.  

Whew!

The main difference between these two forms of literature is that a picture book story must be told in a way that is appropriate for the physical, psychological and emotional development of the child. Tricky!

I enjoy that challenge. So although it’s always a treat to create characters I’d like to meet in real life, to express their authentic voices, to give them the opportunity to solve their own conflicts, etc., etc., what I find most satisfying about writing picture books is the distillation process:  taking a big story and honing it to its essence.

Lee is there any part of writing a picture book that you find frustrating or difficult to develop?

     Thinking visually.  A picture book needs to have a minimum of 13 different illustratable scenes.  I tend to be better at creating dialogue than action, and dialogue is difficult for an artist to illustrate.  So I spend a lot of time revising my manuscripts to create more action.

If you could choose one pb author, author/illustrator, or illustrator to spend a day with, who would that be and what would you want to receive from your time with them?  
     I love funny, quirky picture books with heart, such as Officer Buckle and Gloria, (Peggy Rathmann); Martha Speaks (Susan Meddaugh); Benjamin and Tulip (Rosemary Wells); Bootsie Barker Bites (Barbara Bottner); Zelda and Ivy (Laura McGee Kvasnosky).  The master of this genre was the author/illustrator James Marshall (who also wrote as Edward Marshall).  His simple line drawings – in books such as George and Martha, The Stupids, Fox Outfoxed, etc. – could bring me to my knees with spasms of silliness and giggles.  As for what I would want from him?  Just to sit quietly in a corner and watch him work…

Lee, I have one last question.  Do you have a favorite picture book you never tire of?


     OH, my. There are so many of them!  So I'll pick the one that springs to mind first:  Officer Buckle and Gloria written/illustrated by Peggy Rathmann.

The story is hilarious, the pictures (and the story THEY tell) are even more so.  Too, there are many tidbits in each picture, that you discover new things

each time you read it.  A picture book has to be able to stand up to a minimum of 500 readings aloud, and this is one I never, ever tire of!

     Lee, thank you for taking time to participate in two blogs timed near a book launch and a vacation.  I look forward to seeing your published list continue to grow & grow.

Won Ton by Lee Wardlaw

      Lee Wardlaw’s first spoken word was ‘kitty’. Since then, she’s shared her home with more than two-dozen cats (not all at the same time!) and written more than two-dozen, award-winning books for young readers, including Won Ton – A Cat Tale Told in Haiku (Holt; illustrated by Eugene Yelchin), winner of the 2012 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award and many other honors.

     Lee has a B.A. in education, and taught school for five years before deciding to write full-time. She recently received her AMI Primary Diploma from the Montessori Institute of San Diego, and will earn her M.Ed. from Loyola University, Maryland, in 2013. She still enjoys teaching, and presents a variety of lively programs each year for students, educators, librarians, parents and writers at schools, workshops, and conferences.

Red, White, and Boom! by Lee Wardlaw

Lee’s books have been honored by the American Library Association, the International Reading Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, the International School Librarians Association, and more. She is an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, the Authors Guild, the California Reading Association and, yes, even the Cat Writers’ Association!

     Lee lives in Santa Barbara, CA with her husband, teenaged son, and three former shelter cats. Her newest book Red, White and Boom! (Holt; illustrated by Huy Voun Lee), celebrates the many cultures and traditions that make America’s birthday BOOM!

For more info about Lee and her books, visit: www.leewardlaw.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/leewardlaw

Self-Editing, the Andy Way * Part Five * The Final Cut

 

     I really appreciate the comments and connections with other writers as I have worked on this series.  What becomes clear to me is that Andy shared a great deal of wisdom at Chautauqua which has continued to inspire other writers to try something new in their editing process.  It certainly has helped me.  I am very grateful for Andy and his support and to be able to share this with you.


     I have three more editing tips that I have found very helpful.  The first is to go through your manuscript and rate you paragraphs.  A number 1 means this feels good. A number 2 means not bad. And a number 3 means this has problems.  Looking at the numbers helps to clarify problem areas and make your writing more concise.


    The second process is to lay out all your pages and look at the pacing.  When I do this with one of my manuscripts, I look at the physical form of the story.  Being a visual artist, I can pick out flaws easier by doing this.


    Then, the third editing process is to put a slash mark after each sentence to see how the length of your sentence structure is. You do not want it to be choppy or even, including in a picture book text.  This really helps me to look at if I am using variety in my sentence structure.


    Finally, it all comes down to the simple goals you need to have to make your writing a great piece.

• clarity & reader understanding
• concise 
• flow or smoothness
• vivid, said with style and voice

     Thanks for following these Highlights Chautauqua Tidbits.  I will see you at the end of October.

Self-Editing, the Andy Way * Part Four

  
 Now that you are done with the 101 questions a writer needs to ask themselves when editing, we are  ready for the another pass.  This time let's look at our dialogue.


    Well written, dialogue moves the story a long and reveals the character.  I had the pleasure of working with Mitali Perkins in a workshop on dialogue so this blog has a little bit of Andy and a little bit of Mitali expertise. You get two experts through my filter.


     When you edit dialogue, always read it a loud and have someone else read it.  Then try reading only one character at a time.  Ask yourself if you can make sense out of the one sided dialogue?    Another way to see if you have strong dialogue is to get rid of the tags and read it through.  How does it sound?  Dialogue should always be natural sounding.


     Dialogue busters have to do with words, pacing, dialects, and not needed information that bust a great dialogue and ruin your story.

• Annoying dialogue tags.  Try reading with and without.  The best dialogue does not focus on said.  It may be written but it feels invisible.
• Abounding adverbs do not trust the reader.  Get rid of them.
• Badly placed beats.  Beats speed up the pace or slow it down so get it right.
• Random reactions that do not belong.
• Pesky pauses that may take the reader out of the moment.
• Disturbing dialect.  Write to be real and only as if your character has 20 seconds to answer.
• Irritating information.  Dialogue is meant to be overheard by the reader so leave only the important information.

     Remember dialogue adds to the mood.  It can give the scene a different perspective. It has to be well paced and natural sounding.

    Next week is my final blog on editing.  I will wrap up with a few final ways to get out of your patterns and look at your work.

Self-Editing, the Andy Way * Part Three

As we continue with the self-editing process, Andy suggests that you go into your document, save it as a copy and change the font.  I did this, and it worked great. 

Choose a font you are not use to typing in or reading. Print it off and read it through, again.  

Same story, different font is like the same image with a different style or look. It changes the way we see something and allows us to look at it differently.  Sometimes it shows us the major flaws. Lets look at this past weeks Harvest Moon to illuminate this point.

It is time to ask some serious questions.  They are not in a specific order. Feel free to rearrange them. Remember, editing is the craft part of writing and you have to question everything, or not.  Someone will ask the questions. Who do you prefer asking the hard questions?

   Are your ideas clear and logical?

   Does the story make sense?

   Are all scenes required?

   Is the sequence still logical?

 Are there gaps that need to be filled?

   Are there unneeded or repetitive scenes that fail to advance the plot?

Are there unneeded or repetitive scenes that fail to develop the character?

   Are your character’s motives and actions clear?

   Do all actions provide insight into the character?

               Have you given the necessary background?

                 Is your character or their actions repetitive with another character?

                   Is the writing suitable for the audience/reader?

           Is the main theme expressed well?

                Is it lively and interesting?

                  Is there too much showing before a critical moment? 

I think that will keep you busy for a bit.  Check back for part four of my five part series.

Self-Editing, the Andy Way * Part Two

     In the editing process, this step is sometimes one of the hardest parts.  Just like my fisherman, you have to be patient and let the story sit or lay.  Put the story away.  Tuck it into a drawer and forget about it for a while.  How long?  Now that is a personal question. If you have a hard time doing this then go fishing or sit on your hands, write another story, or take a nap in the sun.


     Have you pulled  something you wrote out several years later and wonder who wrote this?  I cringe when I look at some things that have sat for a long time.  When you take a break from your work, your head and heart get out of your way.  You are not as attached to your work and are more able to see where there may be issues.  

    


     When your ready to pull out a piece and start the editing process, print out a hard copy and make sure it is double or triple spaced.  Read the whole thing through once without actually doing anything.  Sorry, you are not done yet.


     Next, it is important to look and see if you actually have a beginning, a middle, and an end.  Simple as it sounds, starting the real story too late will loose your reader.  Ask your self some questions about your three parts and make some notes off to the side.


    Grammar comes next.  Correct your grammatical errors.  It does not hurt to have someone else read just for grammar.  This is where my critique group, Pens & Brushes gets an A++.  They see blatant errors that I have missed multiple times.  


    My last suggestion in this post is to take adjectives and adverbs that the story does not need.  We storytellers love to embellish and often we bore and do not allow our readers much room to participate in our stories.  We dumb the reader down.  Let's give them a break and trust they understand.  


    I bet you knew all this.  It is nothing new to most of us. How often do you skip through or over parts of your editing process?  This is where I believe having a systematic approach like Andy does is helpful.


     Tune in next week for some serious questions to ask yourself about your writing.


   

Self-Editing, the Andy Way

     Taking time to review and revise all those words, sentences, and paragraphs as an author is either a part of the writing process that is enjoyable or not, mostly it falls in somewhere in between.  For myself, I have had to learn not mixing the creative writing process up with my editing process. 

     At Highlights Chautauqua 2011, writer and editor, Andy Gutelle gave a wonderful talk on self-editing that really helped me to take my writing to the next level.  My next several blogs will be dedicated to what I am calling Self-Editing, the Andy Way.  What I am sharing is coming from 4 pages of notes that I took so the information is more about what I heard than necessarily what Andy said.

     Editing is a personal process.  Everyone has they’re own way or style, likes and dislikes.  What works for one writer does not always work for someone else.  I found it helpful to add some of what I learned to what I already do to create a system that works for me.

     Editing should not begin until you are done writing.  This is a hard one for me because I like to change words as soon as another one pops in my head that I like.  I think this is really part of my creative process as a very random thinker.  Words and ideas pop into my head from what seems like nowhere.  For others, this could be editing or changing things that are part of the creative process.  Which way is it for you?  I think it is good to know if you are creating or getting in your own way.

     Writing is creative, subjective, personal, sub-conscious art that involves no questioning about what is getting put down.  Editing is the objective, non-personal, conscious craft that involves questioning everything. 

     So why don’t you join me as I start my next picture book and write, write, write.  At the end of next week, tune in and see the first steps in Self-Editing, the Andy Way.