If you’re on social media, you may already be familiar with Dr. Becky Kennedy, a clinical psychologist known for her engaging posts about common parenting struggles. After the publication of Dr. Becky’s book, Good Inside, I read an interview she did with reporter Elizabeth Holmes, and was struck by one piece of advice in particular.  While talking about […]

During one of the first weeks of school,  my daughter came home from first grade with this paper in her backpack: I was thrilled to see her teachers reinforcing a belief we’ve been working on instilling at home: that even though there are a lot of things she can do now that she’s older, some things

Wrapping up this four-part series on lessons all writers can learn from picture books, today’s letter is about one of the central characteristics that sets picture books apart: their marriage of text and art. In great picture books, the art and text work in synergy, building upon each other to become stronger than either would be alone. Whether or not you

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of your favorite picture books? If you’re like a lot of people, you probably envisioned at least one memorable picture book character. There’s a reason that many picture books include the main character’s name in the title, from Ada Twist, Scientist to Corduroy to Julián Is a Mermaid.

As last week’s letter touched on, great picture books demonstrate many of the same qualities as great novels. This is one of the reasons studying picture books can help all writers to improve their craft, whether or not they’re writing for a picture book audience. Today, I want to talk about two specific areas in which great

As an editor, I’ve found that picture books are one of the topics that people outside of publishing tend to be the most curious about. Even people who have read numerous picture books can be surprised to learn how much time, hard work, and artistry goes into creating one. After all, shouldn’t writing a 500-word

Voice has always struck me as one of the most challenging writing topics to talk about. In comparison to areas like character development, plot, and pacing, what makes a strong voice can be harder to pinpoint and even more subjective. Instead, a strong voice is often described as “I know it when I see it”

In my last two letters, I shared two of my top tips for writers: reading for enjoyment and reading like a writer. Today’s letter is about my third top tip: writing with intention. Essentially, this approach encourages authors to utilize the principles discussed in the previous two letters in their writing practice.  Just as reading for enjoyment serves

Last week, I talked about the importance of reading for enjoyment. However, reading for enjoyment doesn’t mean that authors shouldn’t also read analytically. My second top tip is to read like a writer—essentially, to study published books in order to understand the tools their authors used to create them. While these two approaches are on opposite