STORYTELLER ACADEMY

"The Assignment"
A Process for Developing Picture Book Ideas

Jim Averbeck
 STEP 1 : CREATE A LIST OF THEMES.

A Word or Phrase
Short
Vague
Weighty, Pregnant with Possibilities
Quirky
Open to Interpretation and Imagination

Write Your List Below:

Some Past Favorites:

The Lost Thing

Baby Book
One Word
Upside Down
The Hour Has
Arrived
Sour Fruit
It Came in on My
Shoe
 STEP 2 : CONNECT TO A CHILD’S EMOTIONAL WORLD.

Make a list of feelings, relationships, objects that comprise the

emotional landscape of a child, perhaps of your own
childhood. Keep this as an ongoing list. Write it down.
Think about your own emotional state and what seems
important to you now. Write it down.
Review your list as you sit down to write or generate ideas.

Write your list below:

Ask yourself over and over 

“How does this relate to a
child’s emotional world?”
“How does it relate to my own
as an adult?”
STEP 3 : CHOOSE A THEME AND EXPLORE VARIATIONS
ON A THEME.

Theme is intentionally vague.

Look at it and think of as many variations of what it could
mean as you can.
Write each variation down.
Ask how each variation connects to a child’s emotional world.

Write your variations:

STEP 4 : QUESTIONS AND CONNECTIONS ON A THEME:

A process of synthesis.
Questions can be almost anything. But you can start with
variations on Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.
Write the questions and answers down.

Write your questions &

connections:
STEP 5 : RESEARCH

Search on Google, YouTube, Pinterest.

Go to the library.
Talk to experts!

Write your research results:

STEP 6 : WRITE!!!

Writing is Step 6 in this process, but to do that effectively you

need to hone your craft.

Writing and
Revising Picture
Book Manuscripts