Creating a distinct voice in your picture books ...

If you are writing picture books it is important not to neglect 'voice', the unique personality of your story-telling that provides the meat on the bones of your tale, and forms the connective tissue between the story and the reader. Voice is what delights us, adds depth to the story and elevates it to a 'must read'.

Folk often say there are no new stories, only new ways of telling them, and a big part of the telling is the voice you choose to use. Voice helps you stand out with publishers and readers. It brings a story to life, animating it beyond just a collection of familiar words. A strong voice will draw readers in - sure, not all will have a taste for every style of voice but if you consider your favourite picture book writers - Lauren Child, Oliver Jeffers, Dr Seuss, Mo Willems, Margaret Mahy, John Burningham - all have a distinctive voice that colours all their stories and has given them a loyal readership.

How is voice achieved? Primarily through reading a lot of picture books and seeing how the best writers achieve it and then practicing a lot with your own stories. It doesn't have to be heavily applied, it just needs to be there.

Technically though it's about:

1) Word choice - what is the 'character' of the words you've selected to tell your story with? Look for the extraordinary, but aim for minor surprise rather than shock. We are going for 'the road less travelled' rather than potentially having your reader get lost. Don't push down (baby talk), pull up (with words that are a little ahead of where your reader is at) - don't forget the pictures will help with meaning. You want little explosions of pleasant surprise, using words that add layers and depth to your themes and meaning. Use words that tie in with the techniques you are employing - the assonance, alliteration, rhythm etc...

Sometimes it is not the words themselves that surprise, but the unexpected way they are used. Repetition can also be very effective, especially when unexpected. Repetition does not have to be immediate either, potentially having more impact a page or two later in the story.

2) Sentence length - this influences the pace and rhythm of your story. Is your story jaunty, dreamy, melancholic, intense? It can be cool to vary the sentence length in a repeating pattern. Different sentence lengths can be used with different characters, or different events within the story. The pagination also has a role to play here - think of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are.

3) Rhythm - like voice, rhythm is an essential component of all good picture book stories. It should have an effortless flow so the reader, or the reader-out-louder is naturally drawn through the story, subconciously anticipating the next word... I've always found the best test of this is getting someone new to the story to read it out loud to you. 

4) Tone - this is mostly about the flavour of the words supporting the mood of the story. Is your story funny? Or scary? Your word choice and sentence length need to support this. But also is your story conversational or a bit more formal? Is it old fashioned or full of contemporary idiom and contractions? Does it break the fourth wall? (Check out Mo Willems, We Are In a Book, and Oliver Jeffers' Lost and Found). Does it have an accent? (Read Cicada by Shaun Tan for effective use of an accent).

Please note: Voice is not sufficient on its own to carry a book. Nothing can 'stand in' for a great story - you need both!

If you are struggling with the concept of 'voice' a good book to read is Anthony Browne's, Voices in the Park which literally gives voice to four different characters over the course of the story. 

Also if you need examples of some of the things I've mentioned or you have question - let me know in the comments section below!! I hope this is helpful :-)