Analyzing the structure of the manuscript is, for me, one of
the first and most important steps I take in illustrating a picture book. This is not a complicated process. I identify what is the opening section
of the manuscript: the part that "sets the scene." I pinpoint where the actual story
begins: when do things "start
happening"? Next: where are the final crisis and resolution? Everything
following that is the "wind-down."
The second part of my analysis is to distribute the text
amongst the pages of a dummy, or mock-up, of the book. At this early point my dummy is ultra
simple: 8 pieces of 8 1/2 x 11 paper, folded in half and numbered. I mark in the possible positions for front
and back matter. There will then
be something like 12 double-page spreads available for the manuscript.
Out of 12 spreads, only 1, or possibly 2, of these can be
used for "setting the scene."
The actual story must begin on spread 2 or 3. Otherwise the reader will already be losing interest,
wondering when something is ever going to "happen." Likewise, at the other end of the book,
the final crisis must happen on spread 10, the final resolution on spread 11, with the final spread 12 for the
"wind-down." After all,
once the actual story is over, no one likes to hang around for a drawn-out
good-bye.
The remainder of the text can then be divided up amongst
spreads 4 or 5 through spread 9.
This gives 6 or 7 spreads total for the main body of the story. If a
picture book manuscript has a slow beginning, a weak middle, or a tedious
ending, such flaws will become glaringly obvious as one divides it up into a
dummy. This is why authors as well as illustrators benefit from putting a manuscript into a simple dummy like this.
What a great series on picture book design.
ReplyDeleteThere's going to be some lucky students in Virginia this summer.
I revised my terminology and paging slightly to make things clearer...
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