Last week, I talked about the basic understanding of what a picture book is. Today, I want to cover the plotting, vocabulary and readability of picture books. To rhyme or not to rhyme? One of the greatest questions is should picture books rhyme. That’s totally up to you. If you do decide to write a picture book in rhyme, make sure to the sentences short. There are two rules to writing a book in rhyme: Reduce the distance between beats. Reduce the number of beats. Here are some things to think about if you do choose to rhyme your book: Does rhyme enhance the story? Does rhyme come easily to you? Is there rhythm and meter to back up the rhyme? Does the rhyme make the story sound trivial in any way? Could the same story be told just as well in prose rather than in verse? If the answer is YES to the last questions, you will probably be more likely to sell the story if you write in prose. Of course, how tight the rhythms should be will depend on the moo...
Opening a Chapter of Inspiration Served with a Heavy Dose of Reality