In Part 5 of my
series of posts on writing picture books for children I suggested first just
listing what ‘events’ happen and how the main character reacts to each one.
Here’s my starting
list in a story that I’m still working on:
·
Penny platypus is tired of cleaning up the
stream
·
Penny finds a large sheet of paper amongst
the rubbish
·
Penny asks Frank frog what it is
·
Frank tells her it’s a map that can be used
to find beautiful places
·
Penny throws a stone on to the map and
decides to go to the place where the stone lands.
·
Problem - which way should she walk?
·
Frank offers to help her find the place
·
Penny and Frank leave home
The aim has been to
have one action and reaction sequence follow one another in a logical flow.
Screenwriters call an
action/reaction unit a ‘beat’, the beats join to make a scene and scenes join
to make acts. Thinking about the
story that you are trying to write, by now I hope you have clarified a problem
for the main character, events that will take place in the plot and how the
story will be resolved.
Now you will place
them all on a ‘time line’ of numbered pages, or on a storyboard, taking account
of which pages will be used for titles, legals etc.. The exact page number
position of each event may get changed – but setting out the story this way
will help make sure each element gets a sensible amount of focus and the story
will have a ‘balanced structure’.
I write my events on
index cards or small pieces of paper and paper-clip them to the pages of a
dummy book made from 8 sheets of copier paper folded in half and stapled
together.
Eve Heidi Bine-Stock
has written 3 brilliant books on writing - ‘How
to Write a Children’s Picture Book’, volumes 1, 2 and 3. I make no
financial gain if you buy any of them, but I do believe that all picture book
writers, no matter now experienced, should have a copy of each one. In Volume 1
you’ll learn how an understanding of the importance of the structure of the
story is the key to writing a successful picture book and she likens
‘structure’ to a coat-hanger on which one can hang an infinite variety of
clothes, i.e. stories.
Click on the cover images for details.
I’m sure it will come
as no surprise that most picture book stories are in three acts – a beginning
‘first act’, which sets up the problem; the ‘second act’ in which obstacles are
encountered; then the problem is resolved in the ‘third act’. This is
symmetrical, and, through analysis of already published books you’ll find that
in the majority of well-loved stories, act one and three are almost of
identical length, about 20% each of the total number of pages in the book. In a
32 page book, that’s 5-7 pages each. It is very rare that Act 2 is shorter than
the lengths of Act 1 and Act 3 combined. You recognise the
start of Act 2 by an event – something that happens that causes the story to
move in a different direction. Eve Heidi Bine-Stock calls this ‘Plot Twist 1’.
‘Plot Twist 2’ is similarly like a punctuation mark, and is something that
happens in the story that moves it in a new direction that will lead to the
resolution. Being like punctuation, each is short and only a page or two in
length.
But did you realise
that most picture book stories also have a distinct ‘Mid-Point’ punctuation in
middle of Act 2, that divides the act into two themes, but links them? Both
halves of the act are of similar lengths. This Mid-Point can be a single
incident, which could only take up a phrase of description - perhaps signing a
transition from day to night, or before and after, for example. It will take up
no more than 2 pages. Alternatively, in the
middle of Act 2, there can be a ‘Mid-Spot’ interlude of 3 to 5 pages, again,
with events that happen at its start and finish that mark it off as a separate
entity.Some stories also
have a ‘Coda’ – a short addition, a page or two at the most, that adds
something after the story has actually finished, for example ‘…and the fox family happily stayed there for
ever.’
Disregarding the
title page and legals, here’s Ms Binne-Stock’s breakdown of Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak:
Beginning of Act 1
Page 1 – Max is wild
Act 1 Set-up
6 pages - Max is so
mischievous he is sent to bed without his supper
Plot-Twist 1 – The start
of Act 2
2 pages – The forest
grows
First half of Act 2 –
Conflict
8 pages – Max sails
away
Mid-Point left marker
1 page – Lands ashore
Mid-Spot
3 pages – Tames the
Wild Things
Mid-Point right
marker
1 page – Max is made
King of the Wild Things
2nd half
of Act 2
7 pages – Wild rumpus
Plot-Twist 2 – Finish
of Act 2
1 page – Max misses
home
Act 3 - Resolution
8 pages – Returns home
End
1 page – Supper is
still hot
…and she gives many
more examples from well-known and acclaimed books and other structure plans including ‘Iterative’ which is
also balanced, such as:
Act 1
|
1st half Act 2
|
Mid-Point or Mid-Spot
|
2nd half Act 2
|
Act 3
|
3
|
6
|
1
|
3
|
6
|
6
|
3
|
1
|
6
|
3
|
6
|
3
|
4
|
6
|
3
|
Stories with these structures
are not only satisfying to readers (the child reads the pictures while the adult
reads the text), they also help authors ensure that one part of the story is
not given too much or too little attention.
You need to read her
book!
You don't have to always create an absolutely perfect balance, but I do try to get as close as I can.
Do you recall that I described an action/reaction sequence as a 'beat'? How many beats are there in Act 2 of your story? Yes, it's time to start counting.
Whatever total you
arrive at, this is usually balanced by the same number of beats in the first and
second halves of Act 2, and in Act 3.
So, before writing
the sentences, it’s a good plan to list the action/reaction beat sequences, count
and balance them until each scene and act is complete.
Every
action will produce a reaction (either ‘inner’ or ‘outer’) and in each scene
in your story, a character is trying to achieve an immediate goal (which they
may or may not achieve). As they react to what’s happened, they will set a new ‘immediate
goal’ as they aim towards their ‘overall goal’.
When a character
speaks or does something, it’s an ‘outer action’ or ‘outer reaction’. When
someone thinks something, it’s an ‘inner reaction’. Inner reactions, and outer
actions and reactions, can also be shown in the pictures.
‘Jenny painted a picture of her Aunt Mary’s
garden (Outer action). “I think it needs
some more flowers,” she said (Outer reaction). She added five yellow sunflowers (Outer action – which could just
be illustrated without the use of words).
“That looks better!” she said (Outer reaction).
In picture books,
most reactions are doing something or saying something, because characters are
unable to read another’s mind (what they are thinking or feeling or wishing
for), and wishes and thoughts, smells and sounds cannot be illustrated. But
inner thoughts can be included. In picture books, however, inner reactions
always lead to an accompanying outer reaction:
William (goat) eats Ruth’s door-mat (Outer action -
illustrated).
Ruth was horrified when she saw the holes (Inner reaction). “Are you that hungry?” she asked (Outer
reaction).’
Although dialogue can
be effective in describing feelings and desires, ‘telling us’ these things (horror in this case) should be avoided wherever possible. It’s expected now that we will be ‘shown’
how a character feels by what they do. In the above example, it would have been
better to have left out the inner reaction description and left it to the
illustrator to draw an irate and distressed Ruth. That’s what picture books are
all about – having the illustrations do half the work. And what a character
does will give us insight into how they feel. An outer reaction could have been
“Aagghhhh!” Ruth screamed. She’s
shown grabbing the mat and running inside in an illustration. “If you’re that hungry, I’ll find you some
carrots. Wait there!”
If there is an action
and no immediate reaction, the reader wonders ‘why not?’ This can be used to
build suspense or as part of a special joke, but there has to be a definite
reason for leaving it out. Normally, this ‘action leads to reaction’ linking sequence
is constantly maintained in picture books.
Characters can also
react to things or conditions:
‘Ice crystals (Things) covered most of the window, and there was
very little (Condition) glass that
David could see through. He went
outside and started to scrape the crystals off (Outer reaction)…’
Although it might be
grammatically correct to write:
“Jimbo raced down the beach and picked up the
stick that Dennis had thrown for him to find.”
…it’s the wrong order
for books of this genre. Dennis must act first – Jimbo must then react to it. ‘Action
leads to reaction.’
Imagine your story as
a movie and you are giving instructions for the events in sequence:
Dennis throws the stick. Jimbo happily chases
after it.
This could make good
writing if telling the story in the present tense, but you could also translate
it to past tense for your story, if you wished, and you’d still have good active sentences that readers (and publishers) like:
‘Dennis threw the stick. Jimbo happilly raced
down the beach after it.’
This will help you to
avoid the dreaded passive use of ‘was’.
Dennis was throwing
- No, he threw!
Jimbo was happy as he raced – No, he happily raced!
Or
“Racing down the beach makes me feel good,”
said Jimbo.
I hope these posts will help you create wonderful stories. Next we'll talk about rhythm (not rhyme).
Peter Taylor
