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Avoiding Rhyme in a Picture Book?

10/29/2019

Some of my favorite Picture Books are in rhyme. I loved to read aloud to my children the books that had rhythm and rhyme. They were just so fun to read. Besides, after reading them a few times over again, you could practically recite them easily from memory. One book's first lines I can still recite from all the times I read it to my kids is The Digging-est Dog by Al Perkins, illustrated by Eric Gurney.

"I was the saddest dog you could ever see
Sad because no one wanted me.
The pet shop window was my jail.
The sign behind me said FOR SALE..."

I can probably recite most of "Fox in Sox" and "Green Eggs and Ham," too.

I am not clear on why the editors and agents who presented at the Picture Book Writers Workshop were so set against accepting rhyming texts. The only brief explanation they offered was their consensus that most writers don't know how to rhyme properly. They don't pay attention to meter and rhythm or they try to force a rhyme with words that really don't. And they insist that the story be told in 600 words or less. (Well, it might be with international markets these days, rhyming books have a hard time being translated into other languages. I don't know.)

How about a book like "The Seven Silly Eaters" by Mary Ann Hoberman? That is certainly a playful rhyming romp and definitely has more than 600 words.

Would these editors also automatically reject manuscripts by Dr. Suess?

I love read aloud rhyming books! That's why I went back and revised my first three books to be told completely in rhyme.

Songwriters pay attention to meter and rhythm. That's what they do. They also pay close attention to patterns and rhyme schemes. I am pretty confident, that as a songwriter I can rhyme couplets properly.

So, I am sticking with my instinct that my Picture Books will stay in rhyme.

Here is a preview of the first few pages of my new Picture Book.

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Neuschwanstein

10/21/2019

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Bavaria in Germany is probably the most picturesque and photographed area of the world that I have ever visited. The mountains and valleys with forests just showing a hint of changing fall color and the fields still exquisitely green were almost too beautiful to be believed. No wonder this area became the backdrop for King Ludwig II of Bavaria's most ambitious castle --- Neueschwanstein.

At the time of the king's death in 1888, Neuschwanstein was not completed. In fact, the tour guide said that of the 200 rooms planned, only 28 were actually completed. Soon after the death of the king, this castle was opened for visitors to tour. It was an income source for the royal family up until the World Wars. It has been featured in movies and documentaries. It was the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty castle and many other castles that were renovated in the Romantic style. It has become a symbol of Bavaria in many tour brochures. This castle is very beautiful.

But Neuschwanstein was never really used as a residence. It was designed more as a theatrical set dedicated to the operas of Richard Wagner. King Ludwig was a friend and admirer of Wagner and he loved the Medieval mythology and folk tales brought to life in Wagner's Operas. The Hall of the Singers, Throne Hall, Drawing Room, Study Room, Dining Room, and Bedroom were all ornately painted with scenes from "Lohengrin," "Tannhäuser" and "Tristan and Isolde."

As beautiful as Neuschwanstein is, it still felt like a stage set --- beautifully executed fake history. The castle felt as real as make-believe.

Still, you can't discount King Ludwig's choice of a dramatic setting. The scenery was real and gorgeous.

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Opening Lines

10/1/2019

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The first line of a story and the opening motive in a melody both serve to HOOK the reader or listener into continuing on --- to turn the page, as they say. I have been attending workshops on writing Picture Books. Today's subject was about Opening Lines or the first words of the story. Because I am a musician first, I tend to think in musical terms. I know that a HOOK is a very powerful melodic phrase where the most important idea or lyric or message of the music is found. It ultimately should be what the listener goes out of the theater whistling. In music, the HOOK can be the opening line or it can be the opening line of the refrain. It just needs to be placed at the most important juncture in the music so that it can make the biggest impact.

In writing a Picture Book, the first line may be the first and only chance to HOOK the reader into wanting to turn the page. The facilitators gave some guidelines to what a first line should do.

1. Introduce the main character and establish the VOICE.
2. Suggest the THEME of the story.
3. Establish the TONE of the book.
4. Reveal the CONFLICT.
5. Set up the STRUCTURE of the book.

Some famous first lines of books that they shared were:
1. "I'm a bad seed." from The Bad Seed by Jory John
2. "I just ate my friend." from I Just Ate My Friend by Heidi McKinnon
3. "On Monday I asked my mother if I could have a dog." from
   The Best Pet of All by David LaRochelle

They shared a few others, too, and discussed why these were brilliant first lines. Sometimes the art does a whole lot more to entice the reader to turn the page than just the first line. But you get the idea of how important the job of these first few words is to introduce the main character, the conflict, the tone of the story and so on.

Now that I have written four Picture Books, I wondered how the first lines of my stories held up under the 5 criteria mentioned above.

1. "It all started with the boots." from Is This Cowboy Food?
2. "When Katelyn was a baby, she only wanted Mom." from Who Will Be My
   Friend?
3. "Michael was a boy who knew just what he liked." from Too Many Sisters
4. "Some kids have wooden forts high in the trees.
Some kids have swings that they sway in the breeze." from The Wonderful,
     Marvelous, Magic Bunk Bed

Not too bad. What do you think? I have appreciated comments from friends such as "Your stories are such page turners." I hope that's true!

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Avoiding Rhyme in a Picture Book?

Neuschwanstein

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