Use Voice to Make Your Picture Book Come Alive
Many editors and picture book authors will tell you that the
single most distinguishing feature between a great picture book and an okay
picture book is “voice”. The problem is that “voice” is hard to define. Some
think of voice simply as character dialogue, but voice is much more than that.
For me, voice is what gives your story personality. It’s the
way your language usage and style create the mood for your picture book and
stimulates emotions in your reader. It's
the rhythm of your story. It's the way you structure your sentences. It might
be how you leverage simile, metaphor, rhyme, repetition or contrasts. All of
those things add up to the personality of your story and determine whether or
not your picture book has the fresh, unique voice that an editor might be looking
for.
The books PIGGY PIE and OWL MOON do a good job of
illustrating how these elements work together to create two strong, yet very
different examples of distinctive voice.
You can learn more about developing distinctive voice in your
stories at the Picture Book Writing workshop I’ll be teaching at the WIFYR conference in June.
Dear Ken Baker,
ReplyDeleteI agree that voice is a complex topic that involves many aspects of writing. I think that the best writers reveal genuine emotions in their writing, and that takes courage.
Best wishes!
Janet Ruth Heller
Author of the poetry books Exodus (WordTech Editions, 2014), Folk Concert: Changing Times (Anaphora Literary Press, 2012) and Traffic Stop (Finishing Line Press, 2011), the scholarly book Coleridge, Lamb, Hazlitt, and the Reader of Drama (University of Missouri Press, 1990), and the award-winning book for kids about bullying, How the Moon Regained Her Shape (Arbordale, 2006).
Website is http://www.redroom.com/author/janet-ruth-heller
Janet, well said!
Delete