What picture book readers expect
Two audiences, one book. Children want a character they love, a problem they understand, repetition they can join in with and a satisfying, often funny, turn at the end. The adult reading it wants language that's a pleasure to say aloud for the twentieth time.
Picture book text leaves room for the illustrations. Don't describe what the pictures will show (the red coat, the big tree); use the words for what pictures can't do: sound, rhythm, what characters say and the page-turn surprise.
Length and structure
Picture book texts are short, often well under 1,000 words, and commonly printed across 32 pages, or roughly 12 to 14 spreads of story. Each spread usually holds one moment and ends with a reason to turn the page.
Inkora's shortest book is 1,000 words, with at least 300 words per chapter, and each chapter in a children's book is planned as two to four story moments. For a picture book, plan three or four short chapters, treat each moment as a spread, then cut the text down in the editor with the shorten and simplify tools.
How Inkora writes a picture book
Choose Children's, the Picture Book genre and a tone such as Gentle & whimsical, and the writing rules ask for short paragraphs, simple words, rhythm and the repetition young listeners love. Line breaks are preserved in children's books, so a refrain keeps its shape.
The book bible gives your main character a look, a want and a flaw, which is also what you hand to an illustrator. Export the DOCX to send the text to your illustrator, or use the Playful interior and the 8.5" × 8.5" square trim if your book is mostly text.
What to put in your brief
The brief is the “Your book idea & instructions” box in the new-book wizard. The more specific it is, the less generic the book. Here is an example, with the settings that go with it:
Picture book for ages 3 to 5, to be illustrated later. Pip is a small hedgehog who is afraid of the dark, which is a problem, because hedgehogs come out at night. Each night Pip tries a new way to bring light (a firefly in a jar who wants to go home, the moon who keeps hiding behind clouds, a glow-worm who is too shy). Repeating line: “Not yet, said Pip. Not yet.” Ending: Pip's grandmother shows Pip that eyes get better in the dark if you wait, and Pip sees the stars. Gentle, funny, read-aloud rhythm, very simple words, no descriptions of what the pictures will show.
Other wizard settings
- Genre
- Picture Book (3–6)
- Audience
- Ages 3–5, read aloud by an adult
- Tone
- Gentle & whimsical
- Length
- Short preset, lowered to 1,000 words and 3 chapters
Example outline: Not Yet, Said Pip
A brief like the one above gives a plan along these lines. You can rename, reorder, add or delete chapters before any writing starts.
- 1
Evening
All the hedgehogs wake up, except Pip, who keeps his eyes shut.
- 2
The Dark Is Very Dark
Pip peeps out. “Not yet,” said Pip. “Not yet.”
- 3
A Firefly
Pip finds a firefly and asks it to stay.
- 4
The Jar
The firefly glows in a jar but looks sadder every minute.
- 5
Letting Go
Pip opens the jar. The dark comes back.
- 6
The Moon
The moon lights the meadow, then hides behind a cloud.
- 7
Come Back, Moon
Pip waits and waits. “Not yet,” said Pip.
- 8
The Glow-Worm
A glow-worm is too shy to shine when anyone looks.
- 9
Grandma Hedgehog
Grandma sits beside Pip in the dark and says, “Wait.”
- 10
Waiting
Slowly, shapes appear: a leaf, a stone, Grandma's nose.
- 11
Looking Up
Pip sees the stars, more than he can count.
- 12
Now
“Now,” said Pip. “Now.” And off he goes into the night.
Each entry is one story moment, roughly one spread; the planner groups them into three short chapters.
Common mistakes
- Too many words. Picture book text is usually far shorter than first drafts.
- Describing what the illustrations will show instead of leaving room for them.
- Vocabulary or sentence length pitched at older children.
- A lesson stated outright on the last page instead of shown in the story.
- No page-turn moments: each spread should make the child want the next.