From Inkling to Inked: Crafting a Haiku Collection with Betsy Snyder

We are so excited to have Betsy Snyder join us today to share information about crafting a haiku collection!

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Author and illustrator Betsy Snyder made her publishing debut in 2007 after several years working as in-house artist and trend group leader at American Greetings. She has since created over twenty picture and novelty books, teaming with a diverse mix of publishers and earning recognition from groups such as the Society of Illustrators, The New York Times, Amazon Best Books lists, Scholastic Parent & Child Magazine, Indie Next List, and the Cooperative Children’s Book Center. Betsy’s smile-inspiring art has also been licensed for other products including games, puzzles, greeting cards, gift wrap, party goods, plush, decor, fabric and wallpaper.

From Inkling to Inked: Crafting a Haiku Collection

by Betsy Snyder

The inkling

I wasn’t a prolific poet or haiku guru—my interest in haiku came more from my artist side, sparked by a love of Japanese woodcuts and their nature-related subjects. Alongside this passion, I saw an opportunity—in researching the market, I didn’t see many, if any, haiku books meant for baby. What if I could make the art of haiku more friendly and accessible to the youngest readers?

Like most elusive book ideas (aren’t they all?), the inkling of Haiku Baby twinkled in my heart and mind for some time until I was finally called to capture it on paper. That calling was quite literally a phone call from my agent—an editor at Random House was interested in my art, in search of baby book ideas, and inquiring if I had any writing of my own to share. I said “Yes!”, panicked a little because I didn’t (yet), and got to work.

The pitch

I hadn’t quit my day job (yet), so I moonlighted, working to shape my inklings into more concrete concepts. In a few weeks, I sent my first-ever book pitches out into the universe, including the one shared below. Soon after, I received an email from my agent with the subject line “Get out the champagne!!!” Much to my surprise and delight, I had been offered a three-book contract with that inquiring (and so talented) editor, Heidi Kilgras, at Random House. Haiku Baby would be my first authored book, a mini board book collection centered around baby’s first experiences with nature.

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The collection

I had an editor who shared my vision and a signed contract. But now what? In addition to honing my haiku writing (I share some haiku-specific writing advice here), I needed to find a way to string each poem together into a cohesive whole. I created an arc, ordering my poems from spring to winter, and also day to night. In the art, I gave readers a bluebird to find and follow through the scenes and seasons.

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Voice was another tool that helped hold the collection together and set it apart from other haiku books. I sought word choices that felt playful, bouncy and more approachable to my young audience.

Paying homage to haiku’s Asian roots was important to me. True to haiku, I incorporated a kigo, a season word, into my poems. Each haiku was paired with a first word in English and its calligraphic kanji counterpart. In my illustrations, I adopted nuances of Japanese woodcuts into my imagery, line work, sky gradients and collage patterns.

The tabbed board book format also helped support the collection’s theme. Side tabs featured icons for each haiku and helped guide little hands through the pages. The book’s small size created a more intimate, cozy reading experience.

The companion

Nine years after Haiku Baby was published, I was asked to create its companion book, which became Haiku Night. I already had a formula and format to follow, but this theme presented some new challenges. One hiccup was that some of the kanji for the night animals and icons I was considering were two or more characters long—I had to omit the options that felt too clunky in the layout. And landing on the correct kanji wasn’t always straightforward—sometimes there were multiple kanji options for the English word, and some had negative connotations in the Asian culture. I consulted friends and experts to help me translate.

I also struggled with choosing the right little critter to follow throughout the book (like the bluebird in Haiku Baby). I liked the idea of a moth, but it didn’t feel quite right alongside some of my featured night animals (for example, wouldn’t the bats eat a moth?). Fortunately, I had an epiphany that suddenly seemed so obvious—a metamorphosis! The moth could begin as a hatching caterpillar, transform into a cocoon (hanging upside-down with the bats!), and finally emerge as a moth in the final spread. As it turned out, a moth was the perfect character to unite my night collection—I just needed to see it in a new light.

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The insight

Looking back, it’s much easier to see what brings a collection together. But when I am in the midst (and sometimes muck) of writing, the answers aren’t always so clear. I was new to haiku, but I found resources along the way and learned as I went—and you can, too! So, I’ll part with some collection-writing tips and tricks I gleaned along the way that may help you craft your poetry collection.

•Find your glue

What is that special something that holds your poems together as a family? What’s at the core? This will be your ultimate barometer when curating your collection.

•Seize the opportunity.

Are there gaps in the marketplace? Can you answer a publisher’s need? Shape an opportunity into the hook for your book.

•Remember your muse.

Who is your audience? I always start and go back to this. You may have written the best poem ever, but is it right for this collection and audience?

•Start with the title

Feeling stuck with where to start? Many of my best book ideas have been sparked by a catchy and original title. Play with words, rhymes, alliteration, puns, idioms—even make up your own words! Get creative and you may find your collection. Or, maybe a subtitle would help? Motor Goose: Rhymes That Go! (by Rebecca Colby, illustrated by Jef Kaminsky) is a great example of a strong title hook.

•Build an arc

Can you create more continuity by ordering your poems in a certain way, or giving your collection a beginning and end? The whole collection of When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons (by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Julie Morstad) follows a calendar through the seasons, with each poem dated as if it is a journal entry. It has a brilliant circular arc, ending with the same poem it begins with. 

Or—would a recurring character, or cast of characters, help your arc? (Remember, the art can pull a lot of weight here.). All the World (by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Marla Frazee) has smaller arcs within a bigger arc, with families of characters woven throughout the art, and brought together at the end.

•Pay homage

Does your poetic form have roots in a certain culture? Can you make creative choices that feel authentic to your theme?

•Physical Format

If your book is for babies, toddlers or preschoolers, is there a unique format or feature that might help hold your collection together? You can include format ideas in your book pitch (or editors often have their own ideas for this).

•Challenge yourself

Are you procrastinating, or feeling overwhelmed? Create your own mini assignments and make yourself accountable! One year for National Poetry Month, I committed to writing and tweeting one haiku per day. My haiku writing improved quickly, and I ended up with extra, unused ideas in the hopper for next time. I also found it made me more observant and tuned into my everyday life.

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Thanks for joining us, Betsy!

You can learn more about Betsy and her books at www.betsysnyder.com.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betsysnyderart

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betsysnyderart/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/betsysnyderart

Poetry with Allan Wolf

We are so excited to have Allan Wolf join us today to share information about his poetry collections!

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Allan Wolf is the author of picture books, poetry, and young adult novels. A skilled and seasoned performer for the past 30 years, Allan Wolf’s dynamic author talks and poetry presentations for all ages are meaningful, educational, and unforgettable. Florida Reading Quarterly calls Wolf “the gold standard of performing poetry.” Wolf believes in the healing powers of poetry recitation and has committed to memory nearly a thousand poems. Wolf has an MA in English from Virginia Tech, where he also taught. He moved to North Carolina to become the artistic and educational director of the touring group Poetry Alive!. Wolf is considered the Godfather of the Poetry Slam in the Southeast, hosting the National Poetry Slam in 1994, forming the National Championship Team in 1995, and founding the Southern Fried Poetry Slam (now in it’s 27th year). He has won many awards, including Bankstreet College’s prestigious Claudia Lewis Award for Poetry. His latest book of poems for kids, The Day the Universe Exploded My Head: Poems To Take You Into Space and Back Again, is now in bookstores!

Welcome, Allan!

So You Wanna Write a Poetry Collection? by Allan Wolf

Okay, let’s cut to the chase. Poetry is a “hard sell” in ANY economy, so keep that in mind. Even if you are the best of the best, your best may not make you a household name in the world of children’s book publishing. That, of course, never stopped me. Nor does it stop the very dedicated, talented, and prolific group of poets writing for kids today. Just check out any of the titles from WordSong Press (a press devoted solely to children’s poetry). The first thing you’ll notice is that 99.9% of the poetry collections published today are “thematic.” Poems about the seasons, poems about the weather, poems about bugs, poems about sports, etc, etc. That’s because it is the theme, and not your unknown name, that will be THE main marketing hook to sell your book. Sorry folks, unless you are Shel Silverstein or Jack Prelutsky, you’ll need to get thematic. 

At first this may seem limiting—(Q: How many poems about penguins can a poet write? A: Check out Antarctic Antics by Judy Sierra!)—but in the end, you will find that it will make each individual poem more focused, and it will give the overall collection cohesiveness and continuity. I have written poetry collections about anatomy (The Blood-Hungry Spleen), about the solar system (The Day the Universe Exploded My Head: Poems to Take You Into Space and Back Again), and about a school garden (Welcome to Our Magic Garden—due out in 2023). See what I mean? So, find a topic that has some potential, see what other books are already out there, and then go to it. 

The Day the Universe Exploded My Head almost wrote itself. Automatically I knew I had to write a poem for each planet, and so I had to figure out what made each one special. You can see, already, how the ideas might begin to just spring from the research. Did I say research? Yep. Research is your bestest friend. All fancy springs from facts. Consult other nonfiction books on the topic and you’ll see how other authors have divided up the content. You can write all your poems in the same format or vary the format to fit each poem’s subject. I usually do the latter. Longer poems are better suited for older elementary. Shorter for younger elementary and pre-K. I LOVE to rhyme cause that’s how I’m wired, but rhyme is dangerous if you have to force it. Rhyme without rhythm is a clunky train wreck. When in doubt, try free verse. Free verse can be beautiful, lyrical, and even contain musical internal rhymes that turn your poetry into flow-etry. Finally, remember that kids are not stupid, so don’t write stupid poems. 

Good luck with this month’s PB writing challenge. Keep it simple. Have fun. And metaphors be with you!

You can find Allan on his website, on twitter @AllanWolf100, or instagram @allanwolf100.

Thank you for joining us, Allan!

The Joy of Writing (and Reading) Picture Book Poetry Collections with Sam Smith

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We are so excited to have Sam Smith join us today to share the joy of writing (and reading) picture book poetry collections.

Sam Smith is a freelance commercial writer and children’s book author. Her first picture book, CATE’S MAGIC GARDEN, celebrates the power of positivity. It was published by Two Hoots Press in 2017. Sam has served on the SCBWI PA WEST Leadership Team, participates in two writing critique groups and loves writing poetry for people of all ages. She lives with her husband and their two sons in poetry-loving Pittsburgh. 

Picture books are poetry to me. They’re usually sparely written with meaningful breaks and pauses, they feature word plays, metaphors, similes and even distilled dialogue — and when the stories are combined with art, there is real poetic magic in the marriage. Both picture books and poetry sometimes feature rhyme. Both beg to be read aloud. Both evoke emotions. And both tend to be brief — but powerful. That’s why there is such a natural fit for poetry inside picture books, whether the picture book itself is a poem or it houses a collection of poetry. 

So How Do You Write a Collection of Poetry for Children?

Author Darcy Pattison provides excellent advice on how to start. She recommends that you: 

  • Review poetry collections to familiarize yourself with what’s popular and then find the ideas that haven’t happened yet. You might mine curricula for fresh thoughts — or brainstorm ideas on your own. 

  • Stick to about 15-30 poems on a topic so you’ll also be categorized as a poetry collection for classrooms as well, and teachers will be able to find your book easily. 

  • Use different types of structures to keep the stories interesting. Or, you can stick with one genre but cover different topics.

  • Mix rhyming and prose, structured haiku and iambic pentameter; concrete (shaped) or mask (from the POV of an animal, object or person that is not you); or play with a rhyme scheme all your own.  

The best part about writing poetry for children is that there are no real rules, but creativity rules it all! 

Get Inspired with Shel Silverstein

Poetry collections abound! One of the most well-known writers of poetry collections for children is Shel Silverstein. He definitely inspired me to become a poet when I was younger! Although Silverstein didn’t initially plan on writing poetry for children, his style is irresistibly child-friendly. His poetry is clever and features stories about children and animals that are often silly, outlandish and just plain fun — and brought to greater life with charming pen and ink drawings. Silverstein’s poetry often rhymes but does not always have a standard — or discernable meter. That’s part of the magic.

Here is a sampling of his books you must try:

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Where the Sidewalk Ends
“If you are a dreamer, come in,
If you are a dreamer,
A wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er,
A magic bean buyer …

Come in! You’ll enter directly into a child’s imagination, where you’ll find a girl who eats a whale one bite-at-a-time, a boy who turns into a TV set and a place where you can plant diamond gardens. It’s greatly entertaining and limitless in possibility.

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Everything On It

If you’re game for another wild ride, this poetry collection lives up to its title. It espouses the joys of growing down, getting tongue-tied with Stick-a-Tongue-Out-Sid and what happens when you get a case of the Lovetobutcants. 

And don’t miss his A Light in the Attic, Falling Up and The Missing Piece (not a collection, but a poem in itself), which are always wonderful companions with which to curl up.

Get Inspired with Jack Prelutsky

Our first Young People’s Poet Laureate (2006-08), Jack Prelutsky has authored more than 50 poetry collections and is a well-loved figure in the children’s poetry sphere. He says he hated poetry while growing up, but loved to draw imaginary turtles. Upon a friend’s prompting, he submitted the turtles to a publisher and at the last minute added some poetry. A star was born! He was amazed that they chose the poetry that took him two hours, but not the turtles that he had labored over for months….

Some of Prelutsky’s poetry collections include Stardines Swim High Across the Sky and Other Poems, The Swamps of Sleethe: Poems From Beyond the Solar System and Be Glad Your Nose Is on Your Face and Other Poems. He has also edited collections of poetry for children, including The 20th Century Children’s Poetry Treasury. Prelutsky wrote the book Pizza, Pigs and Poetry: How to Write a Poem for kids, but adults can find great advice for writing for kids here too.

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Be Glad Your Nose Is on Your Face and Other Poems: Some of the Best of Jack Prelutsky 

You’ll enter a magical world where ogres run wild, frogs wear red suspenders in a rainstorm of pigs and noodles and Scranimals gallivant under a pizza the size of the sun. Crazy rhymes and hilarious stories run rampant in Prelutsky’s most beloved tales!

Celebrate Diversity

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Thinker: My Puppy Poet and Me

Written by Eloise Greenfield and Illustrated by Ehsan Abdollahi

A new collection of poetry for kids from Coretta Scott King Book Award winner Eloise
Greenfield. In this book, even the puppy is a poet!

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Words with Wings: A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art 

Compiled by Belinda Rochelle

This beautiful collection features African-American poetry and art from the the nineteenth century through the present, with twenty poems from distinguished African-American poets and twenty works of art by acclaimed African-American artists. Renowned poets and artists such as Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Rita Dove, Countee Cullen, Jacob Lawrence and Paul Lawrence Dunbar grace the pages.

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The Poetry of Us: More than 200 Poems that Celebrate the People, Places, and Passions of the United States

Edited by J. Patrick Lewis 

Former U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis chronicles the wonders of America’s people and places through 200+ inspiring poems and stunning photographs, contributed by Langston Hughes, Dorothy Parker, Robert Frost, Naomi Shihab Nye, Walt Whitman, and more.

Concentrate on One Genre or Subject

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H Is For Haiku: A Treasury of Haiku from A to Z

Written by Sydell Rosenberg and Illustrated by Sawsan Chalabi 

The late poet Sydell Rosenberg, a charter member of the Haiku Society of America and a New York City public school teacher — and illustrator Sawsan Chalabi have put together an A-Z collection of haiku that finds the fun and poetry in everyday moments.

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Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World

Written by Susan Hood and Illustrated by Sophie Blackall, Emily Winfield Martin, Shadra Strickland, Melissa Sweet, LeUyen Pham, Oge Mora, Julie Morstad, Lisa Brown, Selina Alko, Hadley Hooper, Isabel Roxas, Erin Robinson, and Sara Palacios.

This collection of poetry honors the stories of women who changed the world, from a brave six-year old who helped to end segregation in the South to a 21-year old whose design for a war memorial won — yet she had to defend her right to create to Congress.

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Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices 

Written by Paul Fleischman and Illustrated by Eric Beddows

This book was written to be read aloud by two voices — sometimes alternating, sometimes simultaneous; these poems celebrate the insect world, from the short life of the mayfly to the love song of the book louse.

Let Your Imagination Loose

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The Ice Cream Store 

Written by Dennis Lee and Illustrated by David McPhail

Completely kid-focused, this light-hearted verse roams from digging holes to foreign lands to searching for the perfect pet.

Let Art Inspire You

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World Make Way: New Poems Inspired by Art from The Metropolitan Museum 

Edited By Lee Bennett Hopkins

“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.”

—Leonardo da Vinci
Inspired by this simple statement, poets including Marilyn Singer, Alma Flor Alda, and Carole Boston Weatherford wrote new poems to pay homage to some of the most popular works in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Ready to Write?

There are many, many more collections to explore. And we are on the cusp of National Poetry Month, which kicks off in April. It’s the perfect time to get inspired and then try your hand at this genre of unlimited possibilities — to play with words and pictures until they are poetry to your ears. Enjoy the ride, and let us know how you fare!

Thanks for joining us, Sam! You can find Sam’s book here and here and you can also check her out on Twitter @samsmithofwords.

Meghan Browne's Picture Book Biography Journey

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We are so excited to have Meghan join us today to tell us about her journey to becoming a picture book author! She has graciously offered to give away a picture book biography critique (up to 1,000 words) to one lucky winner! Please comment below to enter.

Meghan P. Browne is working towards her MFA at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her debut picture book, Indelible Ann will be released June 22, 2021. Meghan lives on and runs a farm in South Austin, Texas, called the Honey Browne Farm. Visit her on Instagram and Twitter at @meghanpbrowne or www.meghanpbrowne.com

Welcome, Meghan!

Stef, thank you so much for inviting me to “chat” with your readers about picture book biographies.


I stumbled upon this form accidentally in 2018, but it has been a fun (and important!) part of my writing and publishing journey. After taking my first-ever class in writing for children at The Writing Barn, I was eager to keep my creative momentum high. I signed up for a picture book weekend intensive that was months away, only I didn’t realize I’d accidentally signed up for the Picture Book Biography intensive. Whoops.

Rather than ask for a refund, I decided to try my hand at biography. When I couldn’t decide whom to write about, I went back to my roots: What was I interested in reading about as a kid? What kinds of nonfiction stories excited me?

Rewind Time

When I was young, I desperately wanted to be a pilot.

Meghan (L) and cousin Seána wearing their grandfather’s leather flight caps for a game of cards

Meghan (L) and cousin Seána wearing their grandfather’s leather flight caps for a game of cards

Meghan and Dorothy Smith Lucas, April 2018

Meghan and Dorothy Smith Lucas, April 2018

When it came time for a semester-long research project in eighth grade, my grandmother suggested I interview her friend, Dorothy Lucas, who flew for the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) in World War II. My mom drove me to a town two hours away so that I could interview Mrs. Lucas in 1998. Fast forward two decades to the year of the accidental biography intensive, and I decided I needed to interview Dorothy again. At the time, Dorothy was a spirited 96 years old, and we got to catch up at her home in San Antonio.

I continued my research all summer, and my first picture book biography manuscript, The Brave Life of Dorothy Lucas, was born. The work sold to Tamar Brazis at Viking, whom I met that fall at The Writing Barn, and illustrator Brooke Smart has been brought to illustrate. That book is due out in Spring 2022, and I cannot wait for Mrs. Lucas to hold it in her hands. She’ll be 99 years old when it is released.

Dorothy Smith Lucas, WASP

Dorothy Smith Lucas, WASP

So, what are you passionate about?

 I firmly believe that any story, written from a place of passion, is viable for publication. There are many folks who believe that picture book biography has had its heyday, the market is saturated, and that biography is not selling right now. I think there is some truth to that – of course editors with one or more biographies on their list will be searching for other kinds of stories. However, there are still so many interesting life stories yet to be told. Writers and illustrators from underrepresented communities telling #ownvoices stories are especially needed in the kidlit landscape. Also, lives of lesser-known history makers continue to beg to be told. True creative passion about any subject, no matter how niche, can make for irresistible storytelling. 

Finding the Story Portal

When I’m brainstorming story ideas, I try to get back into the head of my younger self and the more playful side of my adult brain to figure out which elements of a story are the most exciting and memorable for my intended audience. When I was researching Dorothy Lucas’s life, I found myself on Ancestry.com looking at her high school yearbook. Next to her portrait, teenage Dorothy had listed “pineapple ice cream, learning to dive, and being a jitterbug” as a few of her favorite things.

Dorothy Smith Lucas’s high school yearbook photo, courtesy of Ancestry.com

Dorothy Smith Lucas’s high school yearbook photo, courtesy of Ancestry.com

I just knew those details had to make it into the story. My agent, Alyssa Eisner Henkin told me later that the pineapple ice cream bit was one of the most delicious mid-century Americana details in the manuscript for her. One of my favorite parts of writing non-fiction is the treasure hunt of finding the kid-centric details of a subject’s life that can act as a story portal for a child reader.

 

 Indelible Ann cover by illustrator, Carlynn Whitt

 Indelible Ann cover by illustrator, Carlynn Whitt

Gather up your Awkwardness!

In working on my debut picture book, Indelible Ann: The Larger-than-life Story of Governor Ann Richards, my editor Ann Kelley at Random House Studio and I were hoping to get a jacket blurb from a few power-hitting women in the world of politics and pop culture. I felt extremely self-conscious about asking anyone with a very busy and important schedule to read my work and do me the huge favor of offering a public endorsement. I managed to gather up my awkwardness anyway and send out those requests. I didn’t always get the response I was hoping for, but I was able to secure one extraordinarily kind and important blurb for my efforts.

This act of feeling nervous and awkward but moving forward anyway has been an important practice in my journey as a writer. It doesn’t ever seem to get easier, but it has helped me land incredible interviews (see image below), and perhaps more importantly, it’s allowed me to share my work with people who have helped me make my writing better.

Meghan beekeeping on the rooftops of Paris after gathering up her awkwardness to interview the Notre Dame beekeepers for The Bees of Notre Dame (Illustrated by E.B. Goodale), due out Fall 2023 from Random House Studio.

Meghan beekeeping on the rooftops of Paris after gathering up her awkwardness to interview the Notre Dame beekeepers for The Bees of Notre Dame (Illustrated by E.B. Goodale), due out Fall 2023 from Random House Studio.

I hope you’re feeling excited to try your hand at writing picture book biography. Be sure to return to your childhood brain, find your passion, get your hands dirty in the research, and buckle up for some out-of-comfort-zone adventures.

Be great! I’m rooting for you!

Thank you, Meghan! You can preorder her book here! And remember to write a comment below to enter to win a manuscript critique! Good luck!

Fracturing Fairytales is Twisted Fun

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Sue Fliess is the author of over 35 books for children! She has written multiple fractured fairy tales, and her newest book, Goldilocks and the Three Engineers, comes out this spring. Thank you, Sue, for sharing your wisdom with us!

Sue will be giving away a signed copy of one of her fractured fairy tales! To enter, drop a comment below about how your FFT is coming along this month! Winner will be chosen 2/1/21. 

Fracturing Fairy Tales is Twisted Fun

by Sue Fliess

When I do school visits and kids tell me they don’t know what to write about or how to get started, I often suggest fracturing a fairytale. For starters, you already have something to work with, almost like having a rough draft—woohoo! But how you fracture it is where the magic comes into play.

 I have three fractured fairy tales, a fractured nursery rhyme, and a fractured Christmas song (We Wish for a Monster Christmas) within my resume of published books. Proof that you can fracture just about anything! Here are some ways to go about it (though I’m sure there are many more!):

         1. Start with a fairy tale that you love and brainstorm ideas, using the What if? model. What if Sleeping Beauty had insomnia? What if Rapunzel rescued herself? What if everything Midas touched turned to jelly?

         2. Think about what kind of story you want to write, and search for a fairy tale that is somewhat linked or related. For example, you want to write a female empowerment story, so you take a story told from the POV of a boy and make it a girl. Or take a tale and infuse it with your culture in order to shed light on your ancestors or traditions, while keeping it linked to the original story.

         3. And this one is my favorite—take the title of a fairy tale and see if you can change just one or two words. Maybe you can include interesting wordplay. This will very likely dictate the story, which is why I love this method! I did this with Mary Had a Little Lab. I happen to have 2 Labrador retrievers, so Labrador was the first thing that came to mind. But that seemed silly. Then the obvious route hit me. Lab could be short for laboratory! Because there was already a lamb in the original, that book felt like it wrote itself. What would Mary make in her lab? A sheep, of course! I did the same with Little Red Rhyming Hood, and The Princess and the Petri Dish. With Little Red and Petri Dish, I really had to sit down and hash out storylines to go with those fun new titles.

Once you’ve chosen your starting point, as much as you need your story to be completely new and your own, you still need to sprinkle in aspects of the original tale so that it is recognizable to readers. I learned that many kids were not that aware of the original Princess and the Pea story, and my Princess Pippa’s harrowing story of unruly pea vines was enough to stand alone as a story. But to please those who knew of the fairy tale (and likely editors, too), in my mind, peas needed to be integral. With Mary Had a Little Lab, Mary is a lonely inventor who creates a pet sheep, which gains her friends. In Little Red, she speaks in rhyme, which makes her unusual, but she finds acceptance in her daily visits with Grandma, who discovers a poetry contest where Red could shine. Presto! Your twist becomes your 2nd hook. If you can weave in a third hook, more power to you.

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I have a new fractured fairy tale launching in April called Goldilocks and the Three Engineers. This one took many, many, many attempts to get right. I finally landed the right story when I decided to have Goldilocks (an inventor) be the one who goes for a walk, and the bears (who are engineers) stumble upon her place. I hope you’ll check it out!

Whatever tale you choose to fracture, remember to keep it fun, don’t be afraid to take chances or push limits, have it nod to the original just enough, and most of all, make it your own.

 

Visit Sue at www.suefliess.com and follow her on Twitter,  Instagram, and Facebook.

 

 

Natasha Yim's Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas

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Natasha Yim is the author of the fractured fairy tale Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas, as well as numerous other books for children. She was so kind to share her thoughts with us today about her process of writing her fractured fairy tale. She is even offering one winner a signed copy of the book! Details about that at the end. Thank you for sharing your journey, Natasha!

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The journey for my picture book Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas began about fifteen (or so) years ago, when I learned about fractured fairy tales at a writing conference. I was intrigued by the idea of rewriting a familiar tale from a different perspective. After checking out some books at the library, I played around with a few fairy tales. But something about the Goldilocks story had always stuck with me. Here was a little girl breaking and entering into the three bears’ home, destroying their stuff and leaving a mess, never to be heard from again. How rude! And what kind of message does this story give kids?

I wanted to rewrite this story with a more compassionate protagonist and satisfying ending. My first few attempts told the story from Papa Bear’s perspective (I believe it was called “Papa Bear’s Good Deed”). The story began from the moment Goldilocks ran away, leaving her hat behind, and followed Papa Bear’s journey to find Goldy and return the hat to her—and all the people he inadvertently frightened along the way (because he was a bear), even though he had set out to do a good deed. It went on for about 2,000 words—not even close to publishable. And it didn’t have the unique angle I was looking for or the resolution that I felt was missing from the original story.

Then, a title and a “what if” question popped into my head. What if Goldilocks wasn’t a little girl with blonde ringlets, but Chinese? I asked my aunt to help me come up with a Chinese name that sounded phonetically similar to Goldilocks and hence, the first seeds of a story called “Go Dil Lok and the Three Chans” began to germinate. But I wanted the book to be about more than just Goldy having a different ethnic background. I wanted the story to also offer some insights to Chinese traditions and culture. So, Go Dil Lok began her fictional life in a skyrise apartment in Hong Kong (where I had spent my adolescent years), preparing to celebrate the biggest and most colorful Chinese festival of the year, Chinese New Year.

In its nine-year route to publication, this story passed through the hands of my writing group multiple times, not to mention five different editors from two publishing houses who have all contributed greatly to shaping the book. This meant changing the name from the hard to pronounce Go Dil Lok to Goldy Luck (“Luck” serving the double purpose of being a Chinese last name as well as mirroring the theme of good luck in the book) and relocating Goldy from an international location to an American one (which one editor felt kids in the US can better relate to.)

In the end, the location wasn’t identified in the book, so that readers could relate to the story from anywhere in the world. In my attempts to give the mundane beds and chairs a modern twist, earlier versions of the book included an aquarium (Goldy smudged the glass), an oriental rug (she spilled fish flakes all over it) and a computer game (Goldy beat Little Chan’s record). And a greatly detailed Chinese New Year parade with lion dancers. I thought it’d make for really fun illustrations, but another editor wisely suggested I simplify the story and revert back to the original three bowls/chairs/bed structure. Still, I wanted a slightly different spin. Enter my uncle’s massage chair and my parents’ Tempur-pedic® electric bed (as a writer, I never know what everyday event or object creeps into a story!). The really fun part was implanting the traditions and rituals of the New Year (receiving “lucky” red envelopes, eating turnip cakes) into the story and thinking up ways to make Goldy’s experiences more culturally relevant (“She felt like stuffing in a pork bun,” “The mattress felt as hard as a week-old almond cookie”).

Finally, illustrator Grace Zong added her fabulous artistic touch and brought Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas to vibrant life. So, how many people did it take to make this children’s book? One writer, five editors, four readers in a writing group, one agent, one illustrator, one publisher, not to mention the cast of people behind the scenes, from the art director to the marketing personnel. Yes, an entire village. Writing may be a solitary endeavor, but publishing is not. I was initially offered a publishing contract with Tricycle Press, which was bought out by Penguin Random House and became one of their imprints. This was short-lived, however, when Penguin Random House decided to shutter the imprint (a week after I signed the contract), and it was back to square one for me. I’m grateful to Charlesbridge Publishing and my editor, Alyssa Mito-Pusey, for taking on this project. Alyssa and I also worked together on my just-released picture book Luna’s Yum Yum Dim Sum (Charlesbridge Publishing, Dec. 2020).

My 3 tips for writing a fractured fairy tale: Find a unique angle to a traditional tale. If you’re from an underrepresented culture, there’s so much you can mine there for adding elements that would introduce kids to something new about a culture or tradition they may not be familiar with. Or find a traditional cultural folk tale and give it an American twist. Rewrite the story from a different character’s point of view, as in Jon Scieszka’s The True Story of the Three Little Pigs from the big, bad wolf’s perspective. Enhance your story with interesting and informative backmatter. It’s a fact - editors, teachers, librarians, and parents LOVE backmatter! Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas included a note about the traditions and rituals of Chinese New Year, information about the Chinese zodiac, and a recipe for turnip cakes.

You can connect with Natasha on:

Twitter: www.twitter.com/natashayim @natashayim

MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/natashayim

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natashayim.author/ @natashayim.author

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authornatashayim/

PRIZE TIME!

To enter to win a signed copy of Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas, comment on this blog post with your favorite fairy tale! Winner will be chosen on 2/1/21. Good luck writing!

50 Book Challenge

For the past three years, one of my New Year’s Resolutions has been to read a book a week, for a total of 52 books per year. In 2020, I challenged my kids to join me and called it the 50 Book Challenge. Should be easy, right? We have two free weeks built in! Haha. Whoever accomplished this by Dec 31, 2020 earned a prize.

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 My prize idea was to pick out a new book at the bookstore. Ha! Their idea of a prize was to pick out a donut at Dunkin’ Donuts. As the resident Best Mom Ever in our house, I made the executive decision to do both.

Here’s the thing. Through doing this challenge, I discovered that my kids often read in spurts. They find a series they love and read 5 books in two weeks. Then they don’t read except at bedtime for a couple more weeks. But the great part of the 50 Book Challenge is that this is okay. The point is to just read 50 books by the end of the year, no matter what your method is.

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Study after study has shown that kids who read perform better in every area of school. Studies have also shown that adults who read have improved thinking skills, concentration, empathy, emotional intelligence and more! So join me in this challenge for 2021! It’s a fun way to get everyone motivated to read more.

 I made this chart for us to keep track of our books—use it and join us! Download it here for free.

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Fractured Fairy Tales

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A fractured fairy tale is a classic fable, folk, or fairy tale that has been twisted or changed. This genre is especially popular because it centers on stories people already know and molds them into something new and fresh.

Writing a fractured fairy tale can be helpful if you struggle with coming up with plots and/or characters, because starting with something that already exists and changing it is often easier than coming up with completely new material. It can also be fun to take a story you loved as a child and come up with a clever or humorous twist.

The problem with writing fractured fairy tales is that there are so many already published. However, they obviously continue to sell well.  My advice would be to do a quick Google search and/or library check once you’ve got your idea to make sure it hasn’t already been done.

So… how to create that fractured fairy tale idea? The first thing you need to do is pick which fable, folk, or fairy tale you want to fracture! For ideas, check out some of these lists:

Ivy Tech Library Guide to Fable, Folk, and Fairy Tales 

Fairy Tales List 

Sur La Lune Fairy Tales 

Once you’ve figured out your story, there are plenty of ways to change it. Here are some ideas with examples:

2021 Picture Book Writing Challenge

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My picture book critique group has been meeting monthly for 3 years now, and I feel so blessed to have these ladies in my life. After a rough 2020, we decided we wanted to kick it up a notch in 2021 with a new challenge. 

For VCFA grad school last year, I was able to participate in a semester-long picture book intensive. Each month we were required to write a picture book in a new genre. I found it super challenging and rewarding at the same time. I tried nonfiction, a grief story, a frame story, and more. I wrote stories with structures I didn’t even know existed. Were they all great? Of course not. But I learned so much and had so much fun at the same time. 

I shared this with my critique group, and we decided that each month in 2021, one of us will teach the others about a different genre of picture book. Following that meeting, we will use the next month to write a picture book in that genre.

Then I thought, maybe other people would like this challenge as well, and the 2021 Picture Book Writing Challenge was born. If you’ve always been curious about picture books but have never tried writing one, come join us! Or, if you’re a seasoned picture book writer, maybe this will spark some new ideas for you!

How it Works:

Register by commenting on this blog post. On the first day of the month, I’ll share a blog post with information about that month’s genre of picture book and will provide examples. I will also do my best each month to share a guest post from an author who writes that type of picture book. Challenge yourself by writing a complete picture book manuscript in that genre! It doesn’t have to be perfect! No one else has to see it! Have fun with it! (This is a personal challenge for yourself, and no critiquing or sharing manuscripts is involved.)

Outcome:

By the end of the year, you’ll have 10 new picture book manuscripts! And hopefully you will have been pushed out of your comfort zone, tried something new, and had fun doing it. And if we’re really lucky, there will be prizes!

The list:

January: Fractured Fairy Tales

February: Biographies

March: Poetry Collections

April: Novelty Books

May: Lyrical Stories

June: Circle Stories

July: Break! (We all need time off, right?)

August: Metafiction

September: Narrative Nonfiction

October: Grief

November: Humor

December: Break! (Who has time to write in December?)

 

I hope you join us! Happy writing!