Writing Children’s Picture Books
Thinking of writing a book for kids? This workshop gives you basics about writing terrific picture books. You’ll get an overview about how to get started with the idea the Muse has sent your way! This A-B Tech Community Enrichment Program is offered once each semester and includes detailed handouts covering all the topics we discuss.
A Nuts-and-Bolts Zoom Workshop
We’ll focus on how to:
— find your natural, authentic voice
— discover fresh story ideas that touch a child’s heart and funny bone
— write tight prose, play around with rhythm & rhyme
— work within industry-standard format, page count, word count
— give the illustrator creative freedom (even if you are the artist)
— start creating a 32-page draft dummy (storyboard)
NO WORKSHOPS SCHEDULED AT THIS TIME
One-On-One Coaching Sessions
Stuck with your story and want advice for moving forward? Or wondering how to get started in the first place? I coach writers, writing clusters and large groups to help bring you passion, spark and information as you travel up the magical path to writing picture books. My flat fee is $100 per hour for individuals. Fees vary for groups. Send me a note, and we’ll talk!
Re-Ignite Your Magic: Create a Children’s Picture Book
A Self-Directed Workshop Coming Soon!
Remember bedtime when you were little? If you were lucky enough to have someone read you a story, you forgot about any troubles from your day and went off to sleep with colorful, imaginative dreams.
Whether you're a veteran writer or artist, or you simply love children’s books and have thought about trying your hand at one someday, this course will empower you to get in touch with the child within, allow vulnerability to surface, and make “once upon a time” your magical present.
Did you know the best picture books bring solace and joy to the creator as well? They open new pathways in our brains, re-awaken the magic we all carry within us, and allow us to see our hearts on paper.
I’ve structured the 5-week workshop to help you revive and feed your creative flame with the fresh air of innocence, beauty and trust as you learn to write a children’s picture book. Program combines short videos with written instruction, advice, prompts and exercises. It includes a private Discussion Group so you can chat with fellow writers as you proceed with your creation.
Learn how to:
get in touch with the innocence and magic you were born with even if it’s been stifled along the way
free yourself to express in your natural, authentic voice to let your soul shine through
let your main character (animal, vegetable or mineral!) arise from your true feelings
practice writing exercises that energize your work and help keep you flowing creatively
recognize good age-appropriate contemporary picture books that will inspire both you and lots of little readers
deal with serious, even painful, subject matter in a way that brings healing to you and to the world
develop plot, style, repetition, and rhythm for a book kids want to read over and over
use expert advice to write your story within the parameters of the current publishing industry: 400 to 600 words and 32 pages
make a book dummy and understand how to deal with illustrations
let words and illustrations interact
stick with the emotional heart of your story as you revise and edit
choose the best method of reproducing your book to share with others
More details coming soon.
Late winter moon - colorado
BY LINDA LOWERY
When we sleep, our internal critic sleeps, too. As Stephen King says, sleep allows our minds “to unlock from the humdrum rational thinking of our daytime lives.” This children’s book workshop is for writers who want to tap into their subconscious minds to unleash fresh, surprising ideas and imaginative story directions. We’ll cover practical techniques to remember dreams, keep effective dream journals, activate the mind’s waking “dream place”, and create stories fueled by dream themes and words.
Specifics of writing picture books are covered each week: prose text, rhythm and rhyme, style, pacing, reworking, and word count. Writers spend class time writing and rewriting, using their dream journals as compost. By the end of the course, writers will have completed one 24-page picture book text and have a collection of their intuitive prompts to use for future stories. This course requires at-home dream journaling practice.
Topics we’ll cover:
- Creative Sleep
- Keeping Effective Dream Journals
- Mining Dreams for Language, Themes and Stories
- Activating the Subconscious through Daydreams, Meditation and Music
- Tips from Authors who’ve used dreams as inspiration/compost for their work
LET IT FLOW: Genius Creativity Strategies
It’s the intuitive mind that drives creativity. Productive writers know this, and use all sorts of quirky games to keep their intuitions fueled and their work flowing authentically. This workshop is based on my own experience of learning how to disregard “writer’s block” and keep the spark ignited. I’ll share advice from well-loved geniuses including:
— Albert Einstein’s thoughts on “combinatory play”
— Ray Bradbury’s pattern-recognition lists
— Stephen King’s “story game”
Participants work on their current or potential projects throughout the course. They experiment with a technique from a different “genius” each week, see what their intuitive spirits uncover, and learn what works to keep the authenticity of their projects fueled and flowing. It’s Genius Playtime!
SOLSTICE angel by linda lowery