Rhyming Picture Book Cake for Everyone! Tuesday         Day 31

RhyPiBoMo Souvenirs…so you don’t forget me! LOL

I have had quite a few people ask if I will be selling any RhyPiBoMo items. It didn’t occur to me in the beginning and then I didn’t have the time to set it all up during the event, but I’m thinking that I will look into it more next week.

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Please comment if you would be interested in purchasing a coffee mug or a notebook with RhyPiBoMo on it. Or, suggest anything else you might be interested in. I did look into CafePress as an option.

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I’m also going to offer some of the graphics that I created here this month for sale. I just ordered a few of them in 8×10 poster size that would be a nice visual to refer to when writing. I am doing this to offset the cost of the prizes and shipping involved for the Rhyming Parties.  I would like to continue these parties once a month but need to generate a little money to keep offering prizes…it would also make Mr. Karcher happy if I at least break even! LOL

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These are the objects I’m referring to…

    

Let me know if you are interested in purchasing

a notebook or coffee mug?

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Today’s guest blogger is someone I added to my list of guest bloggers right from the beginning.  She is a wonderful writer, I’ve heard, an amazing teacher and an awesome blogger. When I asked, she mentioned that she doesn’t write everything in rhyme and wasn’t sure if this was the place for her…If you read her rhyme, you will see how modest she is…and what a great rhymer she is too! She will tell you that she likes to hang out at dessert tables so maybe she will taste a bit of our rhyming picture book cake! LOL I first found her when she was hosting a writing contest on her blog  http://susannahill.blogspot.com/

You must check it out! I am hoping to take her Making Picture Book Magic class in the fall, when life slows down a bit. Here is the link: http://www.susannahill.com/MAKING_PICTURE_BOOK_MAGIC.html   I have heard such great things about her class! You should check it out!

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So, without further ado, I’m honored to present today’s

Golden Quill Guest Blogger

Susanna Leonard Hill!

      

 

Accidentally In Rhyme

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Hey there!
Hill’s the name, and rhyming’s my game!
Except… uh… it’s not actually.

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(No one was checking ID so I just sauntered past Angie while she was chatting with the RyPiBoMo guests who actually know what they’re talking about. I hung out by the dessert table and tried to look like I belonged. It was surprisingly easy for someone who is not normally good at subterfuge.)

So how am I doing? Do I blend?

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Because here’s the thing: I write stories in rhyme. Some of them have won prizes. Some of them have been published! But all the while I’m carrying a guilty secret, just waiting for the moment when someone cottons on, because… *draws shaky breath in readiness for confession*… I have no idea how I do it.

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There.
I said it.
I’m a rhyming accident.
I don’t know any of the rules.
I don’t know an anapest from a dactyl from an iamb – they’re all Greek to me.
Caesura? I’m pretty sure that’s a hairstyle popularized by Julius and Augustus.
Enjambment? I think that might be a kind of raspberry sauce.
So what am I doing here? you ask.
Well, I’ll tell you.

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I’m here to let you know that you don’t have to know all those poetic terms to write rhyming picture books. (Don’t tell my high school English teacher I said that.) You just have to be able to feel.
Rhyming poetry is like music. It has a rhythm – a rhythm you can feel.

Have you ever seen Footloose (the original fantastic one with Kevin Bacon, not the dreadful remake =)?

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Do you remember the scene where Renn is trying to teach Willard to dance? They clap hands to the beat of the music, and bang on the dashboard, trying to get Willard to feel the rhythm.

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You can do that with poetry.
Let’s try it first with something easy.
Think of childhood songs like Itsy Bitsy Spider, London Bridge, The Farmer In The Dell, BINGO, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Yankee Doodle. You can learn from them.

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Sing one of them. Right now. Don’t worry, you’re in a judgment-free zone. Let’s try a rousing chorus of Twinkle Twinkle. Are you singing? Feel how you naturally put more stress on some syllables than on others…

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TWINK-le TWINK-le LIT-tle STAR
HOW i WON-der WHAT you ARE
UP a-BOVE the WORLD so HIGH
LIKE a DIA-mond IN the SKY
TWINK-le TWINK-le LIT-tle STAR
HOW i WON-der WHAT you ARE

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Tap it out on the table while you sing – a strong tap for the word or syllable that the song makes you want to accent (i.e. put more stress on) and a lighter tap for the softer, less-stressed syllable. Or, if you’re a get-up-and-go type, walk around the room. Take a heavy step for the accented words/syllables and a tiptoe step for the softer/unaccented ones.

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Are you feeling it?

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You can use songs like this, or well-known nursery rhymes, or even the rhyme structures used in the picture books of all the fabulous writers who have posted this month as models for your own rhymes. Read the song, nursery rhyme, or picture book rhyme aloud. Find the pattern of accented/unaccented. Tap it on the table or walk around the room. Feel the rhythm. Then copy the pattern with your own words.

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Now let’s try it with a plain rhyme (no music). Don’t be scared. You can do it!

FREIGHT train’s PULL-ing FROM the YARD.
LOC-o-MOT-ive’s WORK-ing HARD.
“SAFE trip!” CALLS the STAT-ion-MAS-ter.
CHUG-ga, CHUG-ga, TRAIN rolls FAS-ter.

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See? It’s not that hard.
All you have to do is pick a rhythm and stick to it!

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Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to hide behind the dessert

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Bio:
Susanna Leonard Hill is the award winning author of nearly a dozen books for children, some of which accidentally rhyme. Her titles include Punxsutawney Phyllis (A Book List Children’s Pick and Amelia Bloomer Project choice),No Sword Fighting In The House (a Junior Library Guild selection), Can’t Sleep Without Sheep (a Children’s Book of The Month), and Not Yet, Rose (a Gold Mom’s Choice Award Winner.) Her books have been translated into French, Dutch, German, and Japanese, with one hopefully forthcoming in Korean. Her newest book, Alphabedtime!, (one of the accidental rhymers) is forthcoming from Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Books, in Fall 2015. She lives in New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley with her husband, children, and two rescue dogs.

Website: http://susannahill.com/home.html

Blog:http://susannahill.blogspot.com/

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Here are a few of Susanna’s wonderful books:

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Thank you Susanna Leonard Hill!

 

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RhyPiBoMo Daily Lesson: Tuesday, April 29th
By Angie Karcher © 2014
Lesson 31

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Let’s see how our Picture Book Cake turned out!

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Yesterday, I shared a recipe with you on how to bake a rhyming picture book cake. I baked that cake today and thought I’d share a piece with you all…

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I’ve been baking this cake for years but it has never turned out quite as well as it did today. I know the reason why…Because of all the poetry that I’ve studied in April. Those poetic elements have really made my cake rise higher than ever before. It is light on words, moist with rhyme and so rich with lyrical texture that I can’t wait to serve it up to an editor or agent.

But, of course, it will be served to my critique group first!

This is the traditional story arc with a bit of poetic/rhyming technique thrown in for

us Rhyming Picture Book Cake Bakers!

This graphic is for you RhyPiBoMoers!

Please enjoy and promise to share it with other rhymers out there!

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This is the classic picture book structure that has been handed out to me year after year at conferences and workshops. It hasn’t changed from this format in my 12 years of writing for kids. I think the reason it hasn’t changed is because it works! Of course, your book doesn’t need to have each item exactly on the page where this is suggested. It is merely a guideline for you to base your work on. Unfortunately it doesn’t help us rhymers with our specific goals in writing rhyming picture book manuscripts.

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CLASSIC STORY BOOK STRUCTURE
Page 1:             Half Title Page
Pages 2-3:       Full Title Page
Page 4:             Dedication
Page 5:             Intro Main Character, Setting, Problem, Point of View, Voice
Pages 6-7:       Deepen Awareness of Problem and Character
Pages 8-9:       Main Character’s First Attempt to Solve Problem
Pages 10-11:    Result
Pages 12-13:    Things Get Worse!
Pages 14-15:    Main Character’s Second Attempt to Solve Problem
Pages 16-17:    Result
Page 18-19:     Things Get Worse!
Pages 20-21:   Main Character’s Third Attempt to Solve Problem
Pages 22-23:    Result
Pages 24-25     Black Moment: Things Are at Their Worst!
Pages 26-27     Main Character Understands (Inner Climax)
Pages 28-29     Main Character Acts (Outer Climax)
Pages 30-31      Solution Works!
Page 32:            End with a Surprise or Twist

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The thing that is missing from this wonderful list is the rhyming aspect. That’s because this is such a specific area that we have chosen and no one has created a list for us that includes the rhyming aspect of the picture book. Not that I’m aware of anyway…and I’ve been looking.

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I have created another visual that adds all these elements together so you can ensure success with the picture book guidelines and the poetic devices necessary to write a superb rhyming picture book.

 

This sticky note visual includes everything you need to write a rhyming picture book. The orange notes are the rhyming/poetic elements and the rest of the notes include everything you need to write a traditional picture book…add this rainbow of notes together and you have a pretty good device
to help with writing rhyming picture books!

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Start at the upper left corner and move down and over to the right gradually and you will find yourself at the bottom right with everything you need. There is not a definite order of things. I prefer this flowing list rather than a definitive list because we all have different processes. When I use a revision checklist, I never follow it in the order it is written. You probably don’t either. As long as you get to the bottom right with a rhyming picture book that is ready to submit…that’s the goal.

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The Rule of 3’s

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The rule of three is an old writing technique that is still around today. It is believed that things that come in threes are more effectively understood, enjoyed and remembered. It is a pattern that helps us process the information. (write this down)

For example:
The 3 Pigs
The 3 Stooges
3 Billy Goats Gruff
Goldilocks and the 3 Bears
The 3 Blind Mice
The 3 Muskateers

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Slogans/famous quotes and phrases:
Go! Fight! Win!
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
Government of the people, by the people, for the people
Friends, Romans, Countrymen
Blood, sweat and tears
Location, location, location
Faith, Hope and Charity
Mind, body, spirit
Stop, Look and Listen
I came, I saw, I conquered

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I say if it’s not broken…don’t fix it! So I highly suggest that you apply the rule of threes in all your writing, especially in your story arc concerning the conflict, the common use of beginning, middle and end and when you give examples.

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Writing Prompt: Use the Bake a Picture Book Cake graphic and the Revise Rhyming Picture Books graphic and apply them to your work-in-progress.

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Okay, now do everything else on the pledge for today and don’t forget to comment on today’s blog post!

RhyPiBoMo PledgeRhyPiBoMo Pledge Please comment ONLY ONE TIME below for a chance to win today’s prize! Prizes will be drawn by Random.com next Sunday for the previous week. To be eligible for a prize you must be a registered participant and comment after each days lessons.