Making a Picture Book

It sounds easy right? Think of a basic story line, write a sentence or two per page and draw a couple pictures and there you have it, a picture book.That simple, right?

WRONG. Here's why:
It starts with an idea, maybe a character or theme pops into your head.
You feel confident and on your way. Maybe this won't be so bad after all.
Then you pick up the nearest sheet of blank paper (a napkin, a receipt, etc.) and try to put sentences to the ideas in your head.

BOOM: you've hit your first writers block. as you begin to form coherent sentences you struggle between too complex and too simple to form a coherent story for the age group of your target.
So how do you get out of this rut?

QUICK, run to your friends, talk out loud with them about your story. Have a paper ready and jot down ideas you come up with as a team to form a better plot for your story.

NEXT, organize your thoughts and brainstorming into a sequential pattern. Number your ideas in the order they will appear in your book.

GOOD, you've got your flow back. Time to sit down and begin a mock up of your story. Open a power point document, it looks more like the format of a picture book and may help when developing your story.

FINISHED? Picture time. Don't worry about editing just yet. Let your draft lie for a while until you can come back to it with a fresh approach. In the mean time print out your draft for a general reference point. Go through your story and draw tiny, quick sketches of what you want to draw on each page, and stick them to their appropriate page.

TOO QUIET? That's what I thought. Turn on your favorite tunes and immerse yourself in drawing the final pictures. Forget it's a project or some sort and just have fun with it. Pretend you're a kid again and let your childish imagination come alive in your new creations.

COLOR. Yeah you heard me, time to pull out that old crayon box and go wild. This is the part of your project where you can relax. Turn on the television in the background, and just enjoy. Use it as an opportunity for stress relief.

BACK TO THOSE WORDS. Ok, ok, I know you've been dreading it but it's time to review those sentences. Go over it and make your own corrections a couple times through. Then give it to a friend. Don't be shy, they'll love it no matter how many mistakes there are. They'll also give you the fresh pair of eyes you need to really make sure your picture book is age appropriate and grammatically correct.

ASSEMBLE. Cut, glue and finish. Put those last touches on it that make it really special. You have now completed your first ever picture book.

At least, that's the process I took when tackling this surprisingly difficult task. There are really an endless amount of ways to approach it. However one this is for sure, make sure to pace yourself. Don't bite off more than you can chew in one sitting. Give yourself enough time to get it done at a comfortable pace and take your time. Better results come from those who are patient with it. It can and will be an enjoyable process if you make it such.