I've been reading up on screenwriting and story development to help me layout a good story arc for my children's chapter book stories. I've read several books that I believe are worth mentioning:
Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder
Teach Yourself Screenwriting by Raymond Frensham
How to Write a Damn Good Novel by James Frey
Writing Dialogue by Tom Chiarella
I just finished Save the Cat! and Mr. Snyder mentioned that having a board to pin story elements to helps identify where the holes are. He suggests to tack as much to the board as you can, so you can delve into writing with confidence...you know where to start and where it's going.
He also urges screenwriters to write a logline before they get started. This is a VERY short summary (28 words or less) of your story. The
Cracking Yarns blog was very helpful in this area and contains lots of other useful information too.
The Board
The Board - details
I've written and revised my first chapter book and will be sending it out to agents/editors that visited the last SCBWI Western WA conference last April and are accepting solicitations from attendees. While that's in the cooker, I've already started my second book and wanted to try using the board as Mr. Snyder suggested.
I have it all tacked down...now I need to start writing. Once I get cracking on that, then I'll know if spending the time writing, tacking, moving, and eliminating index cards was worth it. So far, I'd say it was a worthwhile exercise.
The Circus Ship
By Chris Van Dusen
I was at Half Price Books the other day and saw
Chris Van Dusen's book on the shelf. I'd read it before from the library, and wanted it for my home collection. The story is inspired by an actual event and written in verse.
I read it again last night to my kids, and took particular notice of the wonderful perspective driven illustrations. I've been working very hard at figuring out top-down perspective with the added flavor of foreshortening. Not so easy! I really admire and appreciate Van Dusen's work.
Not only is the story awesome and the illustrations inspiring, but through out the story it's fun to find the animals. He's good at hiding them within his pages.
Perspective!
The Circus Ship By Chris Van Dusen
This is the ultimate guide to getting your illustrations out there with over 1,000 editors, agents and art directors. This is a definite must when submitting work. Topics covered:
• submission guidelines
• book publishers, magazines etc listed
• interviews-good advice
• Contract terms
• tips for breaking in
• the Business of writing & illustrating
• Editors Sound Off about unagented work
• Self-promotion
• pricing tips for authors and illustrators
I Sea Horses
From Sky To Sea
Written by Dawn Van Zant
Illustrated by Callan Van Zant
Wild Heart Ranch Books
ISBN: 0-9761768-0-7
Copyright 2004
Paperback
Children’s picture book
Reviewed by Mayra Calvani
How did sea horses come to exist? Could it be that horses on the land, threatened by men and searching for freedom, escaped to the sea?
I Sea Horses takes a magical glimpse into the origin of sea horses. With beautiful, evocative, dream-like illustrations, this is an imaginative, heart-warming story that will delight young and old alike.
Led by the young stallion Pegasus, and with the helped of a magical star, the herd go to the depths of the sea to find peace, freedom and happiness. In the beginning, however, Pegasus encounters much resistance from the herd, for how is a horse, a creature without gills, to survive under the sea?
But Pegasus “told them his dream of things coming to be/When the land would change and they could no longer run free/He did not know when or even know why/But he felt he must turn to the sea or the sky.”
The story is written in lovely lyrical verses, but the language is pretty straight forward, making it easy for the younger child to understand. The language also has a serene, calming quality while stimulating the child’s imagination at the same time.
At the end of the book there is a section about Project Sea Horse and how people can help the survival of these exotic, fascinating, delicate creatures. Children can interact with this project’s website and even purchase the plush-toy, sea horse characters featured in the story.
A picture book that will enchant lovers of horses and sea horses, I Sea Horses comes highly recommended from this reviewer.
Looks great! i don't think I've heard of him before. Will have to check him out..