Join us a day early for a chance to spend an entire afternoon focused on honing your craft.
Each intensive will be led by an expert in their field, and we are thrilled with this stellar line-up of faculty.
We hope to see you there.
Creating Picture Books From Structure to Revision
Session One: It All Starts With Structure: Finding the Perfect Framework for Your Picture Book. There are SO MANY ways to structure a picture book. And, choosing the right one is as important to your story’s success as choosing the right design when you’re building a house. I’ll share common picture book structures, tons of book recommendations, and tips for making your structure sing.
Session Two: Puzzling out Your Picture Book: Creating the perfect picture book is like putting a puzzle together. You have to get all the parts in exactly the right spot at the same time or it’s never going to work. Find out how to identify your pieces and get them in exactly the proper order so your picture book is a connected, cohesive whole that gives your reader the right answer.
Session Three: Rising from the Wreckage: Revision Tips for Your Picture Book. Writing a draft of the story in your head is often the easy part. The hard part is revising that story until it’s the best possible version of itself. And how do you even know when you’ve achieved that goal? This presentation talks about the two types of revision every story needs and shares actionable tips to help your story rise from the wreckage and stand tall and proud.
Developmental Editing 101: How to Evaluate Your Draft's Greatest Needs
Session One: (1) Breaking down the edit letter (2) Goals of developmental editing (3) Plot, pacing, character, and style
Session Two: (1) Addressing plot & character (2) Checklist of broader questions for revisions (3) Re-writing vs. revising
Session Three: (1) Addressing style & Next steps (2) Checklist of more specific questions for revisions (3) Practical strategies for tackling a developmental edit
Building a Lovable and Believable Character Readers Will Fall in Love With
As visual storytellers, we must create characters full of life so that readers can fall in love with them, remember them, and root for them. After a short presentation showcasing various examples of great character-building, everyone will actively participate in multiple hands-on exercises to create characters with clear personalities. Participants are welcome to bring the characters they created in advance and develop further from there or create something entirely new. Our goal is to deeply understand the characters we create and to build a full life for them. By doing so, readers can imagine these characters living their lives even when they close the books.