From The Desk of Phyllis Lyte Picture Book Author Halloween is just around the corner. Here's a game to play to celebrate this holiday. Hope you enjoy it! After you play the game, you can look at the writing prompt below the game and have fun filling it in. Here's the fun writing prompt below. Maybe it will even make you want to write your own Halloween story! ![]() WRITE YOUR OWN HALLOWEEN STORY WRITING PROMPT Character: A scared bat Setting: Haunted House Conflict: Afraid of the dark CHARACTER: A bat, named ___, is excited about Halloween but is scared of the dark. SETTING: A stormy Halloween night flying over a haunted house and all the lights go out. CONFLICT: Name ____, the bat, wants to ___ but can’t because ___. GOAL: To overcome the being afraid of the dark. OBSTACLE: Haunted House in the dark. RESOLUTION: Name_____, the bat, brings (a flashlight?) and discovers lots of fun! GROWTH: Name ____, the bat, is no longer afraid of the dark. Title _________________________. Written by (Your Name) ____________. Date _______. Happy Writing!
See you next time. Cheers, 😊 Phyllis
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![]() From the desk of Phyllis Lyte Picture Book Author Ciao, Writers, What is a Picture Book Grid? A Picture Book Grid is a helpful tool to organize where our text (our sentences) falls on the manuscript pages. It helps us visualize (see) it as if it was a finished, printed book. Some writers like to use this tool, others prefer to use the Pagination format tool (see Post#16 – Pagination). Some use both. And then, there is a third tool, called a Storyboard, which we will explore in a future post. A Picture Book Grid helps us answer the following questions: _ Do I state the problem at the beginning and not in the middle of the book? Just like when you read a book or watch a movie, the reader/viewer knows right away what the story is about. So, by making a Picture Book Grid, you can see if you successfully tell your reader what your story is about in the first few pages. (See Post#14: ARC) _ Do I keep the reader’s attention all throughout the story? _ Are the page turns in the right place? (See Post #15: Page Turns). _ Is the pace too slow, too fast? Do I get bored or do I not understand what is going on? _ Are there parts of the story that need tightening (revising) because they are too long and drawn out? _ Are there parts of the story that need more text, more description and/or dialogue? A better balance between all three? _ Is the storyline (the sequence of events) out of order? Do the events happen without previous explanation? _ Are there too many sentences on one page and not enough on the other? _ Do I have enough sentences to fill a 32 page book? _ Do I have too many sentences for a 32 page book? _ Do I fix (resolve) the problem in the story? _ Is the ending satisfying? _ Will the reader want to read my story over and over again? _ And finally, once you have your Picture Book Grid completed, read it over while thinking to yourself: “Do my words create images?” A Picture Book Grid gives you an opportunity to think about where the illustrations will go, how they might look. If you, as the author, can visualize the scenes, then most likely the illustrator will too. (See Post #10 Your Illustrator and You, Best Partners Ever!) A 32 page picture book does not necessarily mean you have 32 pages for your story text. Keep in mind that many picture books are 14 page spreads. That means you have 28 pages to tell your story. On the last pages sometimes you can place back matter ( information relevant to your story: a science experiment, a recipe, your author and illustrator biography paragraph). There are choices, too, for what you can place on the Paste Down End pages, the Dedication, Copyright, and Title pages. They can have illustrations or some text. They can be plain colored paper. Or, they can even remain blank. (See Posts #12 & 13: Parts of a Book). And, you can begin your story on page 3 instead of page 4. And, be aware, this format can change from publishing house to publishing house. For example, sometimes you’ll find the Dedication Page, Copyright and Publisher on the end pages and not on the beginning pages. These two Book Grids are here to help you organize your manuscript to make it the best it can be. The first Book Grid shows single page text format. The second Book Grid shows a full spread text format. ![]() Happy Writing!
See you next time. Cheers, Phyllis From the desk of Phyllis Lyte |
AuthorI love to write stories, letters, cards, you name it...writing is what I enjoy. How about you? Archives
November 2022
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