NaPiBoWriWee 2012: Day Four – May 4, 2012

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National Picture Book Writing Week is this May 1-7, 2012!

Welcome to Day Four of NAPIBOWRIWEE! We are officially half way through my fourth annual National Picture Book Writing Week where we attempt to write 7 picture books in 7 days. I’m thrilled by everyone’s comments on their writing journeys this year. A lot of you have managed to keep up and write one book per day – congratulations! For those of you still struggling on Book 1 or 2 or 3, don’t worry! Just keep writing. You’re still a winner in my book even if you only get ONE draft done. This week is to celebrate WRITING and to CONQUER PROCRASTINATION! 🙂

Today’s blog is all about POETRY, featuring special guest picture book author and poet HOPE VESTERGAARD.

Now, I know all the editors and agents and veteran published picture book authors always advise “DO NOT WRITE RHYMED METERED POETRY FOR A PICTURE BOOK SUBMISSION” at the children’s book writing conferences and SCBWI (Society for Children Writers & Illustrators) events.

That’s because writing a picture book in rhymed, metered poetry is difficult. SUPER difficult. SUPER DUPER REALLY UNBELIEVABLY FREAKING DIFFICULT! 😛

BUT… in order to go from a novice poet to an expert published poet, you gotta start somewhere. So why not try your hand at a rhymed metered poetry picture book for this year’s NAPIBOWRIWEE? No one has to see it! 🙂 Just write it, get that rough first draft done, and then one day you can revise it. Or it might inspire more poetry.

And if you STINK at writing poetry, the mere exercise of ATTEMPTING rhymed metered poetry will help you appreciate the musical language of prose writing. You will be more conscious of the rhythms and sounds of your own prose writing.

(Keep reading after the jump for some advice from HOPE VESTERGAARD plus other news and updates…)

Meet 2012 NaPiBoWriWee Guest Author Hope Vestergaard!

For those brave souls who want to attempt a rhymed and metered poetry picture book for Day 4 (or Day 5, 6, or 7), guest author HOPE VESTERGAARD offers some fantastic poetry advice. As an added bonus, she is also going to give a lucky winner his or her own rhyming dictionary! 🙂 Thanks Hope!

Hope Vestergaard is an early childhood consultant and children’s author with seventeen years’ experience working with children, teachers, and families. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Smith College and is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the International Reading Association. Hope currently trains teachers, conducts parent workshops, (works with classrooms in transition,) and develops curricular materials for parents and teachers. Her particular areas of interest include literacy, developmentally appropriate practice, and dynamic classroom environments. Publications: Potty Animals (Sterling), Nothing Rhymes with Orange: Perfect Words for Poets, Songwriters and Rhymers (with Bessie G. Redfield, Perigee), I Don’t Want to Clean My Room: Poems About Chores (Dutton),Weaving the Literacy Web: Creating Curriculum Based on Books Children Love (Redleaf Press), What Do You Do When A Monster Says Boo?(Dutton), Hillside Lullaby (Dutton, 2006) Hello, Snow (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2004) Driving Daddy (Dutton, 2003) Wake Up, Mama (Dutton, 2003) Baby Love (Dutton, 2002), as well as numerous feature articles for The Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market guides (Writer’s Digest Books). Hope frequently presents at state and national conferences as well as visiting elementary schools and libraries to discuss the writing life and to lead young writers workshops. Hope’s Web site, www.hopevestergaard.com, features articles, links, and activity guides for teachers and parents.

Hope says: “Thinking about writing in rhyme? Maybe you’re hoping that putting your story in rhyme will kick it up a notch; make the ordinary extraordinary; help your manuscript stand out in the slush. Just remember: rhyming alone doesn’t make a story poetic.”

For Hope, writing a poetry picture book is a tough job because not only does the poetry have to sing, rhyme and make metered sense, but you still have to feature an original compelling character who actively struggles to achieve his/her goal in a unique storyline that’s filled with tension, action and clever resolution.

“Rhyming stories and poems suffer from the same maladies as prose: flabby plots, one-dimensional characters, pat resolutions,” Hope explains. “Unfortunately, these problems are sometimes obscured by a rhyming format. Good meter and true rhymes are not a get-out-of-jail-free card. If your writing isn’t well developed, even perfectly metered poems and stories will not impress the reader.”

Hope offers a number of fantastic tips on how to write rhymed metered poetry picture books on her website. Her article, RHYMES AND MISDEMEANORS, can be found at this link: http://hopevestergaard.com/writers/articles/rhymes-and-misdemeanors/

I highly recommend reading her article for fantastic advice. And Hope has graciously offered to give a rhyming dictionary as a prize for our contest prize drawing. Thank you Hope!

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Below is a list of other poetry books that I highly recommend if you are interested in studying more about poetry and picture book writing. The big book that is a MUST HAVE is the famous Myra Cohn Livingston’s POEM-MAKING: Ways to Begin Writing Poetry. The other books are also very helpful. Click on each title for the Amazon link.

I would also recommend buying a rhyming dictionary. These are VERY helpful. They even have rhyming apps for the iPhone and iPad, including this one: http://www.paragoni.com/rhymulator-rhyme-app-for-iphone-ipad/

POEM-MAKING: WAYS TO BEGIN WRITING POETRY by Myra Cohn Livingston

SEEING THE BLUE BETWEEN: ADVICE AND INSPIRATION FOR YOUNG POETS compiled by Paul B. Janeczko

A POETRY HANDBOOK: A PROSE GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING AND WRITING POETRY by Mary Oliver

THE POET’S COMPANION: A GUIDE TO THE PLEASURES OF WRITING POETRY by Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux

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Today I wrote a very simple poem, inspired by my poetry blog. It’s amazing how LONG it takes to write a very short story poem versus a longer prose book. I wanted to write something for younger children, as per Hope’s article advice. It was fun to make sure there was repetition and a song-like refrain for this book. Thank you, Hope! 🙂

I did learn something interesting today. After four NAPIBOWRIWEE events in a row, I’ve learned that although I prefer writing via typing/computer, I can handwrite a PROSE picture book in my favorite Moleskine notebook. BUT when it comes to poetry? Forget it. I can’t do it by hand. I NEED a computer. Isn’t that odd? It’s interesting to see what weird writing quirks appear during this event. 🙂

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Finally, here are some recent NAPIBOWRIWEE questions that I answered in the comments section of previous blogs and/or on Twitter that I’m sharing here in case you missed them.

Twitter Question: “How long/short should #picturebooks be?”

Twitter Answer: Not too short and not too long. 🙂 1st draft: Keep 1000 words or less.

Expanded answer not on Twitter: Picture books can be anywhere from as short as 200 words to as long as 2000 words. For example, Kevin Henkes’ Caldecott Medal winning KITTEN’S FIRST FULL MOON is only 268 words. Yup. I counted. In fact, I would HIGHLY recommend you take your favorite picture book from your favorite author and type out the entire text in a WORD document. You will be amazed to see how short these books can be. Longer picture books tend to be for older children and/or non-fiction, like my books, which are about 1700 words long. But the rule of thumb I always use with first drafts? Keep it to 1000 words or less. When I revise, then I can either cut back or expand slightly if necessary.

Twitter Question: “Are most character details revealed in the illustrations?”

Twitter Answer: The writer should be visceral. The artist will be visual.

Twitter Question: “How in-depth do we get with our character?”

Twitter Answer: Character reveals plot. Pare down to essential details.

Question from NAPIBOWRIWEE participant Janie Bill: “How in-depth should we get with our character when writing a short PB? Are most of the character be revealed in the illustrations?”

Paula’s Rambling Answer That She Hopes Made Sense and Didn’t Scare Off Janie Bill: Hi Janie. This is a good question. I would say you should reveal stuff about your character that is relevant to the actual plot. Character moves the plot forward. For example, if your character is short AND short tempered and loves baseball, and your picture book is about a little girl who is too short to grab the cookie jar from the shelf (silly example, please bear with me LOL), then her being short and having a short temper will help push the story plot forward (obviously she can’t reach the shelf because she’s short, and she’s short tempered so she has a tantrum). And if the story has nothing to do with baseball, then you don’t need to tell us she’s a baseball fan. BUT… what if she tries to reach the cookie jar by taking her baseball bat and ball and hitting the cookie jar so it tumbles off the shelf? And so on. See how her personality creates ways for her to solve the problem? By focusing on that, you can make sure only the relevant details of your character are on the page without revealing unnecessary stuff that is not related to the story. I hope this makes sense. As for character reveals in the art – don’t worry about that. If your character HAS to have a red dress for the story plot, state that. If the color doesn’t matter, then use visceral imagery, like a flowing dress or a bright dress. The illustrator will decide what color it will be and so on. I hope this makes sense!

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Well, that’s it for today’s DAY FOUR BLOG. I hope you found the information helpful. Good luck on Day Four – and you know the drill! Comment here to let me know how your progress went! Ask any questions too and I’ll answer them in the next blog. I also try to reply to everyone’s comments when I have the time! 🙂

Your cat inspiration picture for your poetry book… my cats (L-R) Beethoven, Charlotte and Oreo in their cat cages about to go to the vet earlier this month. They felt trapped! Don’t feel trapped by the strict demands of poetry! Be free! Rhyme away! 🙂

L-R: Beethoven, Charlotte and Oreo are not happy at the vet. Free them with your wonderful writing! 🙂

Stay tuned for more contest updates and don’t worry, if you have posted a comment or emailed me, your name will be included in the drawing at the end of the event. 

Until the next blog, I’ll be live tweeting @paulayoo! HAPPY WRITING! WRITE LIKE YOU MEAN IT! 🙂


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53 Comments »

  1. Okay! I’m in. Thanks Paula.

    I love the question and the example is clear and to the point. Thanks. There will be no rhyming here but strangly I feel the need to bake cookies.

    Have a good week rest of the week everyone. I can’t believe we are nearly to the end.

    Lynn Ann Carol

  2. I’m late to the party with comments, but I just want to say that I LOVE this challenge! It gets my juices flowing, keeps me on a deadline, and pushes me to experiment and grow. So thank you, Paula! On to the next draft!

    • Thanks Leslie! I’m thrilled that this event is helping you explore new story ideas and to shake things up with you writing. YAY!

  4. Thanks Paula for making me want to revisit a rhyming PB I’ve had on the back burner for a while… I LOVE this challenge too! Just the kick I needed.

  5. Draft #4 done! This has been such an excellent challenge for me. Today’s story is a tad over 1000 words, but once I revise it’ll be just right. Thanks for another great blog post Paula!

  6. I read this right after I wrote my rough draft for today (time zones!) so maybe I’ll try rhyming tomorrow. I’m not one of those pb writers who’s dying to rhyme–I’m interested but after some quickly failed attempts, I felt I’d better leave it to the experts. But you’re right, Paula– maybe just for fun.

    Today I brainstormed a new idea that I actually like :p and the first draft is okay but needs a lot of work. So all in all, a good day!

    • Ahhh…so we meet again Dana! Nice to be working alongside of you–9115.8 Km away to be exact, but nevertheless…happy writing!
      Best, Donna Weidner (P.S. we’ve moved to CA)

    • Hi Dana! Yes, rhyme is not for everyone, but I think trying it once is a good writing exercise and can open your brain up more. 🙂 So glad you are having fun and doing well!

  7. Four is done. And, at the risk of being corny, I think Paula is a writing fairy. I bet she even has magic dusk she sprinkles on the computer so we will write.
    Because I have never—-well got things done like I have the past four days.

    I kind of rewrote a child’s tail. I worked for an university, so I put a modern day science twist on it. At first I did it because I was blocked and frustrated. When I got to writing it became so fun I didn’t want to stop.

    Thanks again.

    Holly

    • Awww hugs Holly! A writing fairy! That is so sweet of you. 🙂 I’m excited for your modern science twist on a folk tale, that is FANTASTIC.

  8. I didn’t write a PB yesterday. I have no good reason for it, it just didn’t happen. But…I made up for it by writing two today! I love the concept of one of them. I’m not so sure about the other one. Maybe it will grow on me.

    Thanks for your answer to the question about length. I had already typed out a few of my favorite books. I have a folder on my computer where I add PB text for inspiration. The books I love and the books I write all tend to be under 500 words.

    • Hi, no worries, you can make up for no books on this day with a couple extra on the next day. That’s exactly what I’m doing because of my busy schedule plus I have to blog and catch up on comments. As for typing out other picture books, the other reason I suggest doing that is so you can see what it looks like in manuscript form and you can see the pacing better… 🙂

  9. Thank you Hope for the poetry book recommendations. Guess I will have to up the ante from good old rhymezone.com!

    Draft #4 is done, and in honor of today’s topic I drafted it in prose and converted it to rhyme. Along the way the ‘dog’ had to become a ‘hound’ because there were much better rhyming options for that. And ‘hound’ is more descriptive in the end anyway!

    • omg i love the hound discovery as a more specific word choice! Thanks for trying my poetry experiment – sounds like you learned that the more specific the word is, the better it works for storytelling. Bravo!

  10. AND a P.S. regarding the Twitter question on length – –

    While it is a great exercise to type out a book text in a Word document, you may not always have the time. A great link to check word count on a particular book is Renaissance Learning. Here’s a sample link for “Kitten’s First Full Moon”

    http://www.renlearn.com/store/quiz_home.asp?cmd=specific&i=122444&root=TITLE&ftextoption=allwords&y=&q=kitten+full+moon&x=10&w=1&autoscroll=NO&quiztype=ALL&RPMatch=

    • Thanks for this link, I’ve used this site a lot as well. I’ll remind everyone of it in the next blog. BTW the only reason I suggest people type out their favorite books is also to see how the pacing works in manuscript form. It is fascinating to me to see how different the book looks in Word format. Great link, will post it in the next blog, tnx!

  11. Finished day four no problem. I gave my creativity a little bit of a break and wrote a little nonfiction manuscript about ways for kids to earn money. Tomorrow I want to try a poem.

    • Glad to hear you are mixing it up with poetry and non fiction! That’s what this week is for, to try different genres! 🙂

  12. PB draft #4 is done. I contemplated writing it in rhyme. I started out with a couple of sentences…and that was that. Writing in rhyme would’ve taken me all day. Hope gave some great advice on rhyme in her blog.

    • Hi Romelle. Yes, I do think it can take all day to write in rhyme. I know one person is writing one stanza per day while writing one book per day as well. I may try that technique next year!

    • Yay Margaret! I know, I have to have deadlines otherwise I don’t write. That’s another reason why I started this event LOL!

  14. Hi,
    I know it’s really not what this challenge is about, but since I’ve had no time for writing a new draft, I’ve revised an old – rhymed – one. Just reporting 🙂
    Thank you again for the invaluable advice!
    Sasha (aka The Happy Amateur)

    • Thanks for the update, and I’m thrilled that even though you were not able to find time in your schedule to write a new book, you at least took the time to revise an older one. I’m all about everyone writing every day, whether it’s a rough draft or a revision or anything else. So that’s great you still wrote today. YAY!

  15. Writing a pb in rhyme? Probably not in my lifetime. I’ve got my hands full writing a book-a-day in prose. Book #4, is a respectable 576 words and I’m particularly proud of my title;

    “NOT GOOD ENOUGH”

  16. Well–Day 4 was harder (many interruptions) I appreciated Hope’s tips. I did try some verse – but when I was resorting to sat/cat and mouse/house…I knew I had to give up for today. However, mouse/house reminded me of when we had a mother mouse in our house (for real) we caught 19 mice (released all).The cat never caught a single one – I think she didn’t want to get her paws dirty-and she was amused by us chasing them. So I wrote about our Monet cat. She’s the hair-o-ine. (Sorry) I at least got a good title and good ending-middle needs some work. Blessings to all!

    • LAURA I LOVE THIS STORY! That’s fantastic how the rhyme was not working but yet it LED to this wonderful story idea. That’s what I am trying to promote with this event – if you write every day, even if it’s not your best writing, it can lead to other ideas and inspiration. It’s like working out – sometimes we don’t see any weight loss or muscle tone etc. and then out of nowhere, we get our reward (muscle tone or some pounds lost on the scale). This is great!

  18. Hi! Congrats everyone on your Day 4! 🙂 I was gone from the house all day and night with work stuff, got home around 9 PM. Gonna try and slam out Book 4 before midnight. Tomorrow’s blog for Day 5 will be posted by 12 PM PST, just FYI. 🙂 I know it’s getting tough now cuz we’re past the halfway point and burnout starts to happen, but hang in there. 🙂 xo P.

  19. Hi, Paula! I had a long day, too. But, I made myself crank out a book last night that has some potential (I think). My days are getting so much busier, but the time taken to write is a welcomed therapeutic break from all things crazy! 😉 Thank you for NaPiBoWriWee!

    • Glad you were able to get some writing in despite your insane schedule, too, Raychelle! I also believe in taking a break, so on Day 8, we will all REST. 🙂

  24. Funny, I was feeling bad about not getting my Day Four story in ON Day Four, but a story came this morning while still in bed and I thought, how unfortunate that it is spilling out in rhyme! I wrote that off, thought I was not ready to rhyme, but it pushed its way through. I got up and sorted it out on the computer, leaving the internet for later. Now I read this poetry post and advice and feel so much better about it! Thanks!

    • What a great coincidence Julie re: the fact that you wrote in rhyme and I posted a rhyme blog. YES. Glad you were able to squeeze out Book Four. It gets tough halfway through the week so glad you are persevering!

  26. I love my pb ms for day #4. It is around 900 words – the longest picture book I have ever written but I wrote it in 32 pg format from the start so I could be aware of page turns as I wrote. Thank you, Paula. This one’s a keeper.

    • A KEEPER? THIS IS FANTASTIC!!!!! And the 32 format is a great idea too to see the pacing. Glad you are getting a lot done this year!

  27. Hi everyone! I just replied to your comments individually – so honored and excited that everyone is doing well.

  28. Hi Paula:

    Thank you so much for providing a detailed answer to my question. It is very helpful. I do well with omitting information about the character’s past and even their physical descriptions and interests. But I tend to get carried away with descriptions. It seems the descriptions of what they see and what happened to them are important parts of the story.

    For instance, I’ve been writing a series about Halloween characters. They go on little quests with the three attempts. Sprinkling in descriptions about the festivities and their lives seems important because my stories stretch the imagination. Those are my favorite kind of picture books. The ones that provide a dreamy experience before going to bed. However, I might not have a clue what I’m doing. The following are the types of descriptive language I have that isn’t directly related to the plot but gets them from point A to point B. l

    “They flew passed the laughing children dressed in costumes.” “He fell into the pool of dark chocolate and grabbed a handful of sprinkles.”

    You are a natural teacher. Job well done with providing relevant, well-thought out info ration.

    • Thanks Janie for your kind words. I sometimes teach a children’s writing class at UCLA Extension Writers Program. I haven’t taught this year but the class helped me with my blogs! 🙂 I love your Halloween idea – the sentences you included are very whimsical and specifically detailed, which is important. And I think getting from point A to point B is also crucial, so these descriptions sound vital for your drafts. And I love the pool of dark chocolate – YUM! 🙂

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