Guest Post: Is Writing a Picture Book Really That Hard? by Veera Hiranandani
[Posted by Jen Breach for Writing With a Broken Tusk]
Veera Hiranandani writes heartbreaking, devastating, tear-spilling, and, yes, hopeful historical and contemporary novels for young readers about nuanced characters whose identities and experiences figuratively, literally, and literarily cross borders. She’s really really good at it. Her middle grade novel, The Night Diary, won a Newbery Honor. Her most recent releases are Amil and the After, the historical middle grade sequel which continues The Night Diary’s story in post-partition India; and The Greatest, a tender picture book about intergenerational family love, illustrated by Vesper Stamper (releases today, September 3, 2024).
For novelists, the process of writing a picture book can present its own challenges. Here are Veera’s reflections on tackling the “concentrated feel” of a picture book.
Is Writing a Picture Book Really That Hard?
by Veera Hiranandani
Photo courtesy of the author
I’ve always heard that writing a picture book can be more challenging than writing a novel, but I didn’t know exactly what that meant until I experienced the process myself. I’m proud to announce, that after many attempts, I have my first two picture books coming out in September and January. My debut entitled, The Greatest, is inspired by my grandfather on the Jewish side of my family. The second, called Many Things at Once, explores a child’s mixed identity representing my own Indian and Jewish background.
I’ve written long form fiction since my early twenties. I’ve always appreciated the room it gives me to follow lush and complex paths to get where I need to go. That time and space to make mistakes, explore subplots, and not have to be so careful about every single word allows me a certain kind of freedom. I actually like that it can take years to write a first draft.
On the other hand, a picture book manuscript can be drafted in a day, but it can take years to get right. Even the revision process has a concentrated feel to it. It’s a little bit like having to make a great first impression over and over rather than taking the time to get to know someone.
I’m not always great at first impressions. Sometimes I’m awkward or shy. I’m never as clever or as quick as I want to be. Every time I had an idea for a picture book and tried to write it, it would fall flat. I just couldn’t nail that first impression. I’d revise it and it would only get worse. I abandoned many ideas in this way, but one day I decided to do what I’ve always done in my writing life, I mined my personal and unique experiences to create a universal story, this time one about intergenerational love and happy childhood memories that can take on a magical sheen.
I never knew my grandparents on my father’s side who sadly died before I was born. I was lucky enough, though, to have two loving grandparents on my mother’s side who were very involved in my life. They’ve passed on now, but I think about their warm loving presence often. My grandmother was an introverted, nurturing soul who taught me to crochet, let me rummage through her jewelry drawers, and snuck me her favorite Drake’s Devil Dogs when my health food conscious mother wasn’t looking. My grandfather was a larger-than-life character, a classic extrovert. He knew everyone on his street. In the warmer months, he would hang out in his driveway, tinkering away in his open garage or painting in his screened-in porch. He also loved working in his little garden, proudly showing us all his flowers. As a man who immigrated from Poland to the United States and came of age during the Great Depression, he knew how to make the most of what he had. He enjoyed collecting things like empty jars, coffee cans, buttons, scraps of leather--anything that could come in handy for future use.
I knew he thought of himself as a simple man. He never had a fancy career or much money, but to me he made ordinary things seem special. This idea, a grandfather character reflecting on why his grandchildren seemed to think he was the greatest grandfather ever, finally bloomed into a solid first impression, and after many revisions, hopefully a lasting one.
Perhaps it was the love I had for him that kept me going, kept me tinkering away until I felt like I had something worthy of the form. Now, at least I know why writing a picture book can be tougher in certain ways than a novel. I’m not sure if writing one will ever get easier, but I plan to keep trying and in my grandfather’s spirit, I continue to collect ideas that will hopefully come in handy for future use.
