Dynamically Paced Picture Books

About this course:

For novelists who'd like to see a microcosm of the hero's journey and for picture book writers who are creating a character-driven picture book and would like understand how 10-14 story beats can be achieved at a rewarding pace. In this one-day introduction, I'll cover Freytag's Pyramid and dissect several award-winning picture books that show a protagonist on the Hero’s Journey (a journey that is completed in 500 words or less!). Students will learn how to dissect their stories in terms of the western structure of the three-act play. They will also learn about characters in agency and how to land story beats—the pulse points that actively move a tale from the opening image, to the inciting incident, to breaking into each act and the rising action that goes with each beat. We'll get to "big gloom" and more. By the end of this class, students will have stretched their storytelling skills so that they are equipped to write exciting page turns—pages that feature a compelling protagonist who traverses a meaningful plot line at a rewarding pace.