The Write Marbles

It’s my pleasure to introduce Leslie Muir, a talented writer of picture books in prose and poetry. In 2006 Leslie won the SCBWI Barbara Karlin Grant for picture book writing, and she was the grand prize winner for the Smart Writer Win competition (picture book category). In 2010 we’ll be enjoying her rhyming picture book, THE WEE PATISSERIE, illustrated by Betsy Lewin, and published by Hyperion. Find out more about Leslie on her website.

This month at the Write Marbles we are celebrating our love of rhyme. Can you tell us a about your writing process for developing a rhyming
picture book?

Being a totally disorganized, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants person, I’m sorry to say I have no set process. But I’ve learned a few things from writing countless rhyming clunkers.

For me, the hardest part of writing in rhyme is not creating the rhyme itself, but constructing a great story in rhyme. I’m guilty of a very common mistake: obsessing prematurely over kinks and bumps in the rhyme scheme before thinking through the story. I end up with a story that rhymes correctly, yes. But does it have a cohesive structure, meaningful direction, appropriate tension, not to mention well-developed characters? No. So before I go meter wrangling, I do try to give a lot of thought to what the story will be about, who my characters are and how they will resolve their conflict.

Happily marrying solid story to flawless rhyme is a feat unto itself. It requires a mountain of devotion, patience, diligence and a reliable margarita blender--kind of like real marriage.

What is some of the best advice you’ve received for writing rhyming picture books, or for writing in general?

For me, the drill is the same whether writing in prose or rhyme:

Revise.
Share with ruthless critique group.
Lick wounds.
Revise.
Share with ruthless critique group.
Lick wounds.
Shelve.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat…
Submit dazzlingly polished story.
Get rejected.
Submit dazzlingly polished story.
Get rejected.
Spout colorful expletives.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat…

(Disclaimer: My critique group isn’t really ruthless, just unflinchingly “pointed". Some people call it honesty.)

Can you tell us a little bit about your other writing? Do you write just rhyming picture books, or do you find that story comes to you in other
forms?

Picture books are my true love. Generally, a quirky character or random idea pops into my head and I go with it. The characters usually tell me if they’d like to come to life in rhyme or prose. I tend to nudge them toward prose because I am inherently lazy.

Shameless plug: I have a rhyming picture book, THE WEE PATISSERIE, coming out with Hyperion in 2010. Betsy Lewin, the brilliant Caldecott honoree, will be illustrating it. Needless to say, I’m over the moon, Saturn and stars!

What do you do during those times when you do feel like you’re losing your writing marbles? Maybe words aren’t rolling out of your head and onto the paper, or there is a massive muddle in the middle of a story that seems
unfixable. What do you do?

I make soup--the chopping of innocent vegetables is highly therapeutic.