The
most successful picture books IMHO have two key elements: 1) a strong
(surprising) story, and 2) they are written in a strong (surprising) way.
You
can have a terrific story but if the writing is dull, pedestrian and flat,
it’ll be a lacklustre read. Of course you can have zippy energetic prose but if
the story is clichéd, or pointless, you’ll also find it that much harder to win
over your audience.
So,
what techniques are the best to employ in a picture book?
ALL
OF THEM!!
All
techniques can be used in stories for small people.
But
not all of them necessarily in the same story. If you overwork everything with
lots of techniques, the story itself may very well be lost. Fit the techniques
to the story you are writing.
So
many of these techniques are teaching tools for the young emergent reader. Rich
text with techniques that facilitate acquisition of reading, expand vocabulary
and develop a healthy regard and respect for words and their properties and
elasticity.
Rhythm –
please use this in EVERY story (picture book or not) you write. Rhythm is a
non-negotiable requirement. Great rhythm is almost invisible but makes your
story a pleasure to read both silently to yourself and even more so out loud.
Rhyme –
I’ve written about rhyme before. This is from my piece on the Storylines
website:
‘Should
you write in rhyme? It’s such a compelling idea to do this. Rhyming stories are
very seductive. They are fun to read and can help with the acquisition of reading
skills. But rhyme is not always the right form for a story. And it is very hard
to do well. And it is not essential for a picture book. For the ten picture
book manuscripts I’ve had accepted for publication, only one has been written
with some rhyme in it. Writing in prose has not stopped me getting
published. It is not the only language technique that can elevate your
story. However, if you do choose to write in rhyme, remember the key rules
to successful rhyming. First, of course, is the rhyme itself, the sound-alike
words that usually end each line, or every second line (there are a few
permutations). Rhyme can also be found internally (mid-line).
The
biggest problems when it comes to rhyming are the use of old-fashioned or dated
words, made-up words, using words that require an unconventional or incorrect
pronunciation to make them rhyme, odd syntax to make the rhyming word fall at
the end of the line, or the use of an odd word that doesn’t fit with the tone
or style of the rest of the story. They often interrupt the flow of reading and
confuse readers. If you are relying on one of these types of words, it would be
better to find a different rhyming pair.
The
second key aspect for a successful rhyming story is rhythm. It has equal
importance with rhyme, and its role should not be underestimated. It won’t
matter if your rhyming is genius if the rhythm is off. Rhythm is a matter of
syllables and stresses. You don’t have to be a slave to counting syllables, and
having the same number in each line, but you do need to generate a smooth
repeating pattern or tempo. The stressed syllable in each word will also have
an impact on the rhythm. The stresses must also fit a pattern, for example Te
DA te DA te DA te DA. If a stress naturally falls on the first syllable of a
word, but your pattern requires that it falls on the second or third syllable,
you CANNOT use that word. We do not say econOMy, we say eCONomy. Anyone coming
fresh to your story will assume every word should be pronounced the
conventional way. If you have altered the stressed syllable there is no way a
reader can know that, and they will struggle to read your story.
A
great test to see if your story works is to get someone who hasn’t seen it
before (and hasn’t heard you reading it aloud) to read it aloud to you. If they
struggle, or even hesitate at any point, you will know the rhythm isn’t quite
right yet. Check out books by expert rhymers like Lynley Dodd and Juliette
MacIver in local bookshops and libraries. These writers are skilled
practitioners who spend months refining their rhythm and rhyme before
submitting their stories. Study the patterns they use.’
It’s
easier to get this wrong than it is to get it right. So to summarise, common
problems include
- Bad scansion – the
number of syllables in a line is out of step with the count in other lines. Can
someone unfamiliar with your story read it aloud in a natural fluent manner? Or
do they pause and make adjustments, or stumble.
- Inconsistent rhyme –
do your stanzas follow a consistent rhyme and rhythm pattern? abab four line or
ababcc etc… Any switches to a different pattern must be for effect and not
convenience.
- Awkward
word use to allow rhyme – if you pick a word that doesn’t fit in with your
other words (e.g. it’s old fashioned, awkward contraction, adult vocabulary)
just to make the rhyme work, this can be a problem
- Sacrificing meaning for the rhyme
As
I tend to not use rhyme, I instead focus more on other techniques to make my
prose sing. One of the joys of writing for children is making them fall in love
with words. Using fun and interesting language will help you achieve this. You’re
probably already familiar with the following techniques. I learnt them all at
school and doubled down on them at University. But it never hurts to be
reminded of these, and how they work.
Alliteration –
starting consecutive words with the same letter. This is easy to over use so
keep a tight rein on this technique.
This
line from my book The Were-Nana has both alliteration
and assonance – Stella Rosa had never met Nanan Lupin before, but she
knew her voice sounded horribly hollow and hard to
understand when she spoke on the phone. The lovely thing about this is
when reading it aloud, the words ‘horribly hollow’ sound as ghastly as their
meaning.
Assonance –
this is kind of a riff on alliteration, using words (consecutive or in close
proximity) that begin with (or include) the same or similar sounding syllables.
They can have either, the same vowel and different consonants, e.g. hells
bells, or different vowels within similar consonants e.g. flipped, flopped, lapped.
e.g.
The Nursery Rhyme
A diller, a dollar,
A ten o'clock scholar,
What makes you come so soon?
You used to come at ten o'clock,
And now you come at noon.
Or
She sells sea shells
By the sea shore
Onomatopoeia –
children are the ideal audience for this technique, and this is a great way to
get littlies participating in the reading process. Words that replicate a sound
– boom, honk kapow, pitter pit pat, ratta-tat-tat. Practitioners who ace this
are Sally Sutton (Ambulance, Ambulance), and Elena De Roo (The
Rain Train). Make sure you give appropriate attention to getting the
‘sound’ right. Certain words will work better for different age groups, so
remember to target your audience appropriately too.
Personification –
helping to give personality to things that are inanimate. The Song
of Kauri does this on several levels: Years passed, and Kauri
grew tall and vigorous. At first he lived alone in the valley. He spoke with
the Earth, but the great Earth was busy with its own concerns.’ and ‘The
rain came down to embrace Kauri, but the Sun soon dragged it back into the sky
to make clouds to wrap itself in. This is helpful to get the reader to
identify and connect with a non-human, maybe even a non-biological character,
to enable dialogue and emotions.
Metaphor –
a comparison using two unrelated things, giving a new perspective to something
familiar, e.g. in The Song of Kauri, instead
of describing diggers and backhoes doing roadworks: Monsters made of dark
night, belching smoke, carved scars across the land..
Simile –
a comparison using ‘like’ or ‘as’.
Repetition/cumulative
text –
repetition is an awesome learning tool in picture books. It can take several
forms:
1 The
same line or refrain repeated, either on the same page or separated by one or
more pages
2 A
repeating structure. For example in The
Were-Nana, Simon describes his nana to his impressionable little sister
over several pages –
“She
has whiskers,” Simon said, as they pulled out of the driveway. “They scratch
your skin when she hugs you.”
“She
has long, sharp fingernails …” he said, as they drove along the motorway, “ …
like claws. They dig into you when she pulls you close.”
“And
don’t think for one minute she’ll be arriving on a plane. She rides a witch’s
broom that she borrows from her witch friends.”
This
trio of descriptions creates a rising tension, to which the sister then reacts
with a fearful outburst. The repeating format facilitates the rhythm and also
follows the rule of three (see below). The descriptors provided (whiskers,
fingernails and witch friends) are also themselves repeated several times later
in the story by the little sister. She has comprehensively swallowed her
brother’s ‘fake news’ and her repetition – “She’s a were-nana,” (…) Her
friends are witches and she has a hairy face and claws on her hands” gives
more power to the words both in her mind and in the mind of the reader.
Repetition is a powerful tool.
Cumulative
text works a little differently and is valuable in the acquisition of reading,
providing text which an emergent reader can easily predict and follow along
with. It’s great for creating a sing-a-long too, e.g. I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, Wonky Donkey
Puns/Word
play –
A fantastic way to show young readers the fun and joy to be had with words. I
can’t think of any specific local examples off the top of my head right now but
will do my best to remedy this as soon as possible J
Neologisms –
inventing new words can be enormous fun. Most don’t pass into regular use but
they can work brilliantly in a picture book. They still have to make sense in
the context of the story, though, and I would avoid making them too nonsensical
or reliant on base humour. The two I’ve managed so far are the were-nana (from
the picture book of the same title), like a were-wolf but oh so different.
And sheepnotist (as in, a sheep performing hypnotism - I guess
this also qualifies as wordplay) from my latest picture book Sharing
with Wolf.
Rule
of 3 –
three is truly a magical number. Repetition reinforces an idea, helping it to
stick in our minds and repeating it three times works well, giving us a good chance
of recalling it while not becoming dull or annoying. Grouping things in threes
(bits of information, clues, actions, descriptors, etc) can also help things
stick, making them all easier to remember, providing a framework for that
recall (I know there are three things). In my own
writing I have found it often occurs organically. I was raised on books that
used the power of three and so utilise the same rule when writing myself
without consciously attempting to do so. Fairy tales are easy examples of the
rule – The Three Little Pigs, the Grimm Fairy tale The
Three Brothers, Andersen’s Clumsy Hans and so on.
There
are other techniques. I will have a go at assembling some more, but if you have
any questions, or comments or disagreements on what I've talked about above, or
suggestions for other techniques to discuss, let me know in the comments below!
