Definition for Pricks: (pricks-a slight sharply localized discomfort)
In the world of "DO NOT DO THIS" there has been a lot said about writing for children and writing in rhyme. Editors say it is hard to sell books that rhyme. Most rhyme stories or books end up in the "slush pile." Slush, now that sounds nasty. There should be a rule against "slush.
My picture book is done in rhyme. It was meant to be that way. It needed to be that way. My story of Sleepytown is a bed-time journey. It was intentionally meant to be like a song. That way, you read the story and sing the person to sleep at the same time. (Okay, you don't sing the book, but you could.)
I have read my story to 100 first grade students. They hung on every line and gasped at the illustrations. They laughed at the right moments and clapped at the end. What more could I want? They loved it. And you know what? I wrote it for them. I wrote the story and did the illustrations for them.
So, what should a person do that wants to write in verse? Write in verse. I would encourage trying it out. Read the selection aloud. Be careful, do not write something "weird" just to make it rhyme. Make it work. Sometimes changing the lines around helps. Sometimes you have to strike it out. I had a couple of other characters for my book and decided to take them out.
Just know, according to what I have been told, editors do not go "crazy over rhyme." Maybe they were not read to, when they were children? Maybe that is it in a nutshell. They missed something. We have to re-educate them to love rhyme. Yea, right. Sounds good on the surface.
What is your take on rhyme?Side note...Don't you just hate the term "They Said?" I do. I worked at a business once and was called in to the office several times and told, by the boss, "They said that you had not done this or that...blah, blah blah." I was never told who THEY are. Why is it so difficult to get names? I want to know who the THEY are. Why did the boss not mind me being on the "beating block," but he protected the THEY as if they were Royalty? Ahhh, maybe the they were the bosses pets. If I can not know who the THEY are, wouldn't it just be "peachy" to have them turn their ankle so that we could at least recognize them by their limp? Now, that does not mean that the person that has a legit limp is one of The THEY. He might just have something physical. Hey, drop me a note sometime. I would love to hear from you.
If, by chance you are a publisher, hey, have a heart, pull that story that I sent you OUT OF THE SLUSH PILE and publish it. Step out on faith. It can happen. For all you know, I could be another J.K. Rawling, only I will not write a book, have only a few copies printed, and dangle it before the world that made me what I am. To me, an author has an obligation. More on that later! Okay, okay, I may not be another J.K. Rawling, King, Shakespeare, or Geico, but I am me! (I just added Geico for fun.) I am ONE, but hear me roar! These days, it might be more like a "low bark or growl," but it is me.
In the world of "DO NOT DO THIS" there has been a lot said about writing for children and writing in rhyme. Editors say it is hard to sell books that rhyme. Most rhyme stories or books end up in the "slush pile." Slush, now that sounds nasty. There should be a rule against "slush.
My picture book is done in rhyme. It was meant to be that way. It needed to be that way. My story of Sleepytown is a bed-time journey. It was intentionally meant to be like a song. That way, you read the story and sing the person to sleep at the same time. (Okay, you don't sing the book, but you could.)
I have read my story to 100 first grade students. They hung on every line and gasped at the illustrations. They laughed at the right moments and clapped at the end. What more could I want? They loved it. And you know what? I wrote it for them. I wrote the story and did the illustrations for them.
So, what should a person do that wants to write in verse? Write in verse. I would encourage trying it out. Read the selection aloud. Be careful, do not write something "weird" just to make it rhyme. Make it work. Sometimes changing the lines around helps. Sometimes you have to strike it out. I had a couple of other characters for my book and decided to take them out.
Just know, according to what I have been told, editors do not go "crazy over rhyme." Maybe they were not read to, when they were children? Maybe that is it in a nutshell. They missed something. We have to re-educate them to love rhyme. Yea, right. Sounds good on the surface.
What is your take on rhyme?Side note...Don't you just hate the term "They Said?" I do. I worked at a business once and was called in to the office several times and told, by the boss, "They said that you had not done this or that...blah, blah blah." I was never told who THEY are. Why is it so difficult to get names? I want to know who the THEY are. Why did the boss not mind me being on the "beating block," but he protected the THEY as if they were Royalty? Ahhh, maybe the they were the bosses pets. If I can not know who the THEY are, wouldn't it just be "peachy" to have them turn their ankle so that we could at least recognize them by their limp? Now, that does not mean that the person that has a legit limp is one of The THEY. He might just have something physical. Hey, drop me a note sometime. I would love to hear from you.
If, by chance you are a publisher, hey, have a heart, pull that story that I sent you OUT OF THE SLUSH PILE and publish it. Step out on faith. It can happen. For all you know, I could be another J.K. Rawling, only I will not write a book, have only a few copies printed, and dangle it before the world that made me what I am. To me, an author has an obligation. More on that later! Okay, okay, I may not be another J.K. Rawling, King, Shakespeare, or Geico, but I am me! (I just added Geico for fun.) I am ONE, but hear me roar! These days, it might be more like a "low bark or growl," but it is me.
