A Beginning Reader for St. Patrick’s Day

I’ve been practicing creating picture books. I’m an artist, but I haven’t done illustrations before. My first effort went live just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. It’s called “A Pot of Gold” and it’s for the earliest readers.

Most early readers are created in-house, so publishers and agents aren’t interested in them. Kids love them, though, and there aren’t many St. Patrick’s Day books, so I decided to do the illustrations and post it to Kindle.

I learned so much in the process. I am now a master of the pen tool in Photoshop. I’ve also learned how to use Perspective Warp and Object Select.

I found out what the formats mean on Kindle and discovered free Google Fonts.

If you have a young reader in your house, take a look at “A Pot of Gold.”

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Inspiration for Writers

I just finished an amazing course in picture book writing from the Picture Book Academy. It was both informative and inspirational.

Every artist and writer needs an inspiration boost sometimes. Here’s a list of resources to keep handy. I’ve used most of them at one time or another and am looking forward to checking out others I haven’t tried.

If your favorite book, podcast, or video isn’t listed, please share it in the comments!

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Keep in Touch

A Magical Blog For Picture Book Writers

I just found this beautiful blog by author/illustrator Kelsey Lecky. She gave a wonderful presentation for SCBWI Carolinas in January. Watch for her wonderful books and if you see her featured at a conference, especially online, attend if you can.

Just signed up for Picture Book Idea Month

Click to sign up. Registration is open until November 7. It’s a fantastic group!

Ten Picture Book Writing Sins

Picture book friends, attention! Here’s some great advice cleverly framed.

Ten Commandments For Picture Book Writers – Sally Apokedak.

Start a Series with a Strong Stand-Alone Book

If you are interested in writing a series for kids, read this excellent blog post from an author who knows how it’s done.

Writing the Stand-Alone Book as a Series Pilot | WritersDigest.com.

Voyage and Return: A Classic Plot

The vogage and return is a very common storytelling structure. It fits classic epic poems as well as children’s fiction. In my case, both this month’s picture book for Julie Hedlund’s 12 x 12 book and a MG fantasy novel in progress for 5 years and counting follow this format.

Click on the link below for a great overview.

The 7 Basic Plots: Voyage and Return.

Naming Your Characters

Here’s a fascinating little blog post. It was written for new parents, but it’s great for writers, too! Make sure your character’s name says something about him (or her).

Children’s Book Names: From Aidan to Zoe – Nameberry – Baby Name BlogBaby Name Blog – Nameberry.

Children’s Literature: The State of the Art

A thoughtful essay about the development of children’s literature and where we are now.

THE THIRD GOLDEN AGE OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE.

Lou Treleaven Interviews Stephanie Thwaites at Curtis Brown

Here’s an interview with an agent who represents books for children, Stephanie Thwaites at Curtis Brown.

Click on the link to find out more about her.

An interview with Stephanie Thwaites, children’s agent at Curtis Brown | Lou Treleaven, writer.