Leaves space for the illustrator’s storytelling
.
Most important take-
away lesson. Don’t hog the ball.
Let the illustrator make decisions, play an important role.
Ch
ee
p!
as an example. Wordless texts like
Wiesner’s.
Avoid
s
d
e
s
c
ribing what
c
an b
e
s
hown
You need less description than you think. Have to relinquishcontrol sometimes, even it means things are different from what you envision.
A
c
tion-h
e
avy
–
must be “showable
.
”
Granny book example. Thinking is hard to show, for example, asare a series of feelings divorced from action.
Allow
s
for vi
s
ual vari
e
ty
More than one setting. (
Goodnigh
t
Moon
vs
.
Goodnigh
t
Gorilla
) Suggestsneed for variety of POV, depth, full spreads vs. stand-alone pages vs. spots. Amount of variety,necessary detail, etc. is appropriate for developmental level of audience.
Ch
ee
p
vs.
Mi
m
i
vs.
Appl
e
Pi
e
Sugg
e
s
t
s
rhythm and balan
ce
Illustrations that can be repeated, with a variation are good. So issuggestion of balanced illustrations at beginning and end, and something big for the big moment.
Fit
s
c
omfortably in 32 pag
e
s
.
Can be tricky to have right number of scenes. Like writing a screenplay.Scenes and acts (often page turns)
*Cr
e
at
e
s
or allow
s
t
e
n
s
ion b
e
tw
ee
n word
s
and imag
e
s
This is hard
–
but the characteristic most likelyto be in an author-illustrator book and absent in an author+illustrator one.
Emily Gravett’s
Wolv
e
s
; last
page of Ellen Stoll Walsh’s
Mou
s
e
Pain
t
,
Th
e
Du
m
b Bunni
e
s
, same branch spread in
Owl Babi
e
s
(Waddell and Patrick Benson). Can create humor, other emotions. Makes reader feel powerful
–
sensethat he knows things that character might not.
A Pro
ce
ss
for Writing a Highly Illu
s
tratabl
e
T
e
xt
Planning and Fir
s
t Draft
Right from the start keep demands of a book that will be illustrated in mind.(
Th
e
Rid
e
again
–
so much at night. In the dark. What saves it.) Write the first draft though, putting ineverything you need/want to say. DO NOT FUSS OVER LANGUAGE AND GETTINGEVERYTHING PERFECT YET.
Dividing Up th
e
T
e
xt
–
making sure it works in 32 pages. I do it first on the ms. Takes many tries to getit to fit. Then:
o
Storyboard
–
many illustrators do these as 1
st
step. Use stick figures, blobs, etc. (Even illustratorsdo.)
o
Dummy
–
I prefer these. Thumbnail dummies. Gives better sense of page turns and whether thesuspense or momentum are adequate. Again, stick figures, primitive backgrounds are fine.
o
Annotated Text
–
may be easier for non-drawing people, especially in terms of including detailsthat you can then decide to omit from text.
o
Important considerations:
Page turns
–
something has to make you want to go onto the next spread.
Ea
c
h P
e
ar P
e
ar Plu
m
Variety, rhythm, repetition, balance
–
can’t have too much or too little on each spread.
Balance between amount of text and amount of illustration needed.
The big moment. Sometimes the big illustration actually follows this. But make sure itcomes after a page turn and consider allotting a full spread for it.
Mi
m
i
Last image. Has to be something that gives a sense of completion. Might echo earlier image (like beginning) but with a twist.
Cutting and Changing (with an
e
mpha
s
i
s
on
c
utting)
Now you should be able to see what you cantake out. See if you need to change the order, add or subtract scenes to make it fit, etc.
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