Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Wednesday Writers Weigh In: The Perfect Page



Picture Books are made up of pages...32 of them, often.  And through a wonderful blend of economy and creativity, an amazing piece of work emerges.

This week in my writing class we discussed what makes the perfect page in a picture book. 

I am curious to what others think.

Writers...Weigh In!

7 comments:

  1. In our house, we love the magical blending of words and illustrations to tell the story.

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    1. I agree. There needs to be a blend. And I will even add that its best when there is more picture than words.

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  2. I don't know if I can say what makes the perfect page, just that it has to be all worked out in those 32...paced well, and with MARVELOUS page turns. I mean, it has to make you want to turn the page! I also LOVE it when books make me turn the pages to get to the end, but then flip back and look at all the clues that have been left in the illustration and writing along the way.

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    1. Well said, Kathy. Yes! Page turns are so important. Pages that provide tension or curiousity to find out "what happens next" definitely create the best kind of story.

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  3. Good question, Marcie. I think I agree with Kathy in that a page in a picture book cannot be perfect in and of itself. But, it's important to me that it be a blend of illustration and text, in the sense that the illos tell a lot of the story without any reference to the text. I love PBs that have a subtext that is only in the illos and not in the text at all. And also, I have to want to turn the page!

    But one perfect page isn't enough. The whole thing has to work as a whole. It has to be the perfect picture book.

    I found you through Julie Hedlund's blog - great post!

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    1. Thank you. Great points. Glad you found me! :) Welcome.
      And yes, I agree. Illos carry much of the weight for me...and I love it when they provide little "easter eggs" or hidden surprises. Which is something that I also struggle with because I am only a writer and not an illustrator.

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  4. Hi Marcie, the perfectly timed page turn does not interrupt the flow of the story, but respects the need for a space, a moment, or a pause to allow the idea spoken and shown on the page/spread to further infuse meaning into the story that is developing for the reader. The perfectly timed page turn feels necessary to the story itself, just like the line break in a poem. It should be part of the experience of the story, not a wrinkle in the unfolding process.

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