Intro to Writing Picture Books 4 Week Class (Paid)

Fascinated by the children’s section of the library? Still find yourself agreeing with Alice’s thought that “what is the use of a book without pictures or conversations”? In this 4 week class we will jump down the rabbit hole of writing stories for the very young. Artists and illustrators are welcome, but no artistic skills are required, we’re just here for the words.

Week 1: List books

Never tried to write a picture book before? No problem! Week one is alphabet and list books, proving that everyone who knows 1-10 and their ABCs has a story inside them. We will work together on the difficult quandary of “X” and talk about themes and story cohesion-- what makes a “good” alphabet book? There’s a lot more here than xylophones!

Week 2: Luck

In this class we will work to dissect the “luck” book and follow it with our own examples. In doing so, we will cover all the most important elements of story writing-- for picture books as well as longer pieces. We will also cover pacing and the narrative importance of turning the page. Watch out, there’s a monster at the end of this class!

Week 3: Bedtimes

When do we read to children? During story hour-- and at bedtime. Week three is a discussion of the bedtime book, how to tell a story that gets us ready for bed-- without putting the storyteller to sleep too!

Week 4: Surrealism

A picture is worth a thousand words, and a good picture book is worth reading a thousand times. For our final week, we’ll explore some of the bizarre worlds of classic picture books and answer the question “what if my strangest ideas were suddenly made real?”

Duration: 4 Weeks

Cost: $100

Dates: Saturdays 10/5, 10/12, 10/19, 10/26

Time: 3-5pm

Location: Trinity United Methodist Church, 4001 Speedway, Austin TX 78751