Writing Picture Books:
The Rules (and How to Break Them) 

Sunday, November 5th
2:00PM - 5:00PM

$115

Corte Madera Store

How hard can it be to write for children? As it turns out, children’s picture book writing has rules that can be challenging. Fortunately, constraint can actually foster creativity. (Look at what Dr. Seuss did. When asked to write a book using 100 simple words, he found “cat” and “hat” and wrote The Cat in the Hat. And with that subversive book, he transformed reading for generations of children!) 

In this class, you will learn some of the rules for writing a picture book for publication today. You will also be encouraged to play around with those rules, unleashing your own unique creativity. 

Here is what the class will cover: 

• A brief history of picture book writing 
• The expectations of the publishing world today 
• Craft elements including characterization, point of view, and plot 
• Writing exercises to practice what you learn 
• A chance to share what you are working on 

This class can be followed by Monica’s 2024 class, Writing Picture Books: Drafting and Deepening. Details coming soon.

Monica Wesolowska is the author of two recent children’s picture books. Leo + Lea (illustrated by Kenard Pak) won an SCBWI Crystal Kite Award. Elbert in the Air (illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey) was praised by The New York Times as being “effervescent…whimsical and relatable.” She’s also written for adults, including the memoir Holding Silvan: A Brief Life (named a “Best Book of the Year” by The Boston Globe and Library Journal). For over two decades, Monica has taught creative writing around the Bay Area and she works one-on-one with clients as an independent editor.