The other day, I
watched an old panel discussion of famous novelists whose books have been
turned into successful films. YouTube is full of old treasures like these. Between
writing, revising, and laundry— hanging out with these writers (all of them now
gone) is my favorite sort of break.
Not one of the
writers on this panel wrote their novels’ film adaptations. One, Kurt Vonnegut,
said he simply couldn’t because writing a novel is what he does best and
writing a screenplay is too different.
It occurred to me
that while many think they could write picture books, few who try actually
write true picture books. Vignettes, shorter short stories, a scene--- all pass
for picture book texts in the eyes of beginning
writers. True picture books are something different.
True picture book
texts are poetry, rhyming or not. In addition, they are screenplays, where the
main action is told in images. They also require the skill of flash-fiction writing,
as the word count tops up at 600-800 words. Unlike this blog post, it shouldn’t
use passive construction. The story must be layered and complete.
I’m almost certain
Kurt Vonnegut would have said he couldn’t write a picture book.
4 comments:
I have written only non-fiction books, articles, book reviews, etc., so I do not have a clue about fiction, screenplays, and picture books. Some writers are able to do crossovers, but probably those who are successful at it are rare.
I've written over 200 short stories and several picture books. I no longer write them, though. Writing a novel is easier is so many ways. In any book, every word should count and be carefully selected, but that's even more important in shorter works. It's no easy task.
Being able to write an excellent picture book is a rare talent. My hat is off to those who are able to accomplish it.
Last year, at the Carolinas conference I watched a wonderful presentation by Vincent Kirsch how screenwriting can help PB writing.
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