“Slant: The approach or style of a story or article that will appeal to readers of a specific magazine.” –Writer’s Digest Weekly Planner

I am rereading the book, Writing Picture Books, by Ann Whitford Paul. I met Ms. Paul at one of the SCBWI-LA conferences a while back. She was charming. Her book is full of sound advice for writers who write in this genre. She mentions the “story question,” that a writer must ask before starting the story. She writes: “…it behooves writers to think of a general question about the underlying issue they are trying to unravel in each new story.” In other words, what does your character want or what happens if? She continues, “…spend time carefully formulating your question and answer. If you do, the writing of your book will be infinitely easier.”

“Each time a child opens a book, he pushes open the gate that separates him from Elsewhere. It gives him choices. It gives him freedom. These are magnificent, wonderfully unsafe things.” – Lois Lowry

I just finished editing one of my picture book manuscripts and I cut, cut, cut to bring the manuscript down to a decent word count. I workshopped it with my critique group last week. Their comments were right on target. After revisions, my story was tightened, the word count was down, and it still

Gumballs anyone?

made a lot of sense when I read it again. That’s what is great about being in a critique group. They point out what you might not notice because you’re so close to the story that you miss these things.

In the book, The Portable MFA in Creative Writing, revision is defined thus: “… good writing involves hard revision. …it means that each draft is a step toward the finished product.”

Trends: Never try to chase trends. Write what you love, and write the best book you can, and worry about publication later.—Writer’s Digest Weekly Planner  

Genre: Refers either to a general classification of writing, such as the novel or the poem, or to the categories within those classifications, such as the romance novel or the sonnet. – Writer’s Digest Weekly Planner

I also visited an Indie bookstore called the Village House of Books in Los Gatos, California. It was

Bookstore

small and really cute and cozy. I spoke to the owner and wished her success as they just recently opened. She expressed interest in carrying some of my books in her store. We exchanged emails. Which brings me to the topic of business cards. Do you have one? You should! You never know when they might come in handy. Always carry these cards with you. This post on the Publishers Weekly BookWorks blog, Business Cards of Famous Literary Characters, is most interesting. Check it out.

Santa Cruz Beach

Flowers in Los Gatos

“Slice-of-life vignette: A short-fiction piece intended to realistically depict an interesting moment of everyday living.” – Writer’s Digest Weekly Planner