While it is a wonderful to get
caught up in the heat of writing, the words flowing from a pen (or onto a
computer screen) unbidden—the fact is that the words ultimately need to make
sense to an audience.
One of the best pieces of writing
advice I’ve received was that a scene I wrote didn’t have to be true—readers had to believe that it was true. This advice
works on two levels.
First, if you’re writing something
that is based on events or emotions that really transpired, unless you are
writing nonfiction and are in essence telling the reader “this happened,” it
doesn’t matter that it’s true if it isn’t believable. Conversely, if something
is believable, it doesn’t matter if it’s the biggest whopper or scientific
impossibility on the planet.
Writing for kids is especially fun
because kids embrace the absurd. But within the parameters of a story, the
absurdity still has to make some sense. In recent Caldecott winner Jon Klassen’s “I Want My Hat Back,”
because the rest of the plot makes sense, no reader stops to ask—why was a bear
wearing a hat in the first place? Mo Willems makes us believe that a pigeon
really could drive a bus if we only gave it the chance. In the subtle interplay
between the believable and the absurd we can see these authors’ craft.
Last month I was fortunate to
attend an SCBWI picture book workshop with Christopher Cheng. Next month I’m
heading to the MD/DE/WV SCBWI conference. I’ve found that attending workshops
is an investment in craft that repays itself many times over.
What’s one piece of writing advice
that has helped you?
