Having written a picture book, I’ve experienced what Mem Fox aptly observed: Writing a picture book is like writing War and Peace in haiku. While I still have other picture books in progress (I love PB’s that much), I’m always a sucker for a good challenge and I’m just about to embark on a new one: Writing a novel.

Feels like I’m stepping onto uncharted land. Sure, there are scores of novelists tapping away at their laptops, at any given moment. But as a PB writer/illustrator who rarely goes beyond 1k words, a novel feels airy and blown up, with lots of room for error. I relish the touch, smell and feel—indeed, the compactness—of picture books.

The truth is I’ve staved off novel-writing for more than two years. One particular story is responsible for a recent series of internal rumblings. It’s turning up on a regular basis, changing the landscape of my thinking and pushing me into the realm of middle grade prose.

In response, I’m doing “Fast Draft September,” a Verla Kay Blue Board writing challenge. It’s similar in spirit to NaNoWriMo, but without the strict guidelines and fancy online tools. We fast drafters are a loose contingency of children’s book writers who have committed to fast drafting our stories in one’s month time. We’ll type ourselves silly from September 1st through the 30th in an effort to reach our golden prize: our respective word count goals. May the Heavenly Writing Muses have mercy on us.

I will keep a sporty little writing book by my side the entire time. It’s called Spunk & Bite by Arhur Plotnik. Should I long for some “instant” coaching and inspiration, this book should do the trick. A satisfying jaunt into composition, style, grammar, expression and more, Spunk & Bite has quickly gained attention as the modern-day version (or rival) of Elements of Style. Yes, it’s that good.

Because I participated in NaNoWriMo in 2005 and had reached 35k words, I have a fairly good idea of how to proceed with the challenge. This time, however, I’m starting from a different angle. Instead of a fancy-free, spontaneous approach, I’m taking up the task of telling a story that begs to come out. There’s much to be unearthed. I expect nothing short of the unexpected.

Here’s a closing quote for all you ink slingers out there:

Perceived correctness can be comforting to the reader, like a tidy house. But what distinguishes a piece of writing is the ambiance—the environmental mood—that language can create. That’s why locution, locution, locution is so important to realtors of words.

— Arthur Plotnik, SPUNK & BITE

This entry was posted on Friday, August 31st, 2007 at 2:20 am and is filed under Recent, Kid Lit, Cool Stuff. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.