Narrative Non-Fiction Picture Books
These are non-fiction picture books written like a story, where the reader doesn’t what to expect next or how the story will end. The reader learns something new while enjoying the picture book.
Linear Stories for Picture Books
Unlike plot-driven stories, linear stories (AKA incident stories) are made up of a series of incidents flowing from one to the next, each incident having about the same weight/importance. The protagonist moves through the incidents without really changing or learning anything. So, linear stories tend to be about typical days in the protagonist’s life, rather than extraordinary days required for a plot. Linear stories are often bookended by a beginning (waking up, arriving at Grandma’s house, leaving for the beach) & an end (going to sleep, leaving Grandma’s, watching the sun set at the beach before going home) to create a satisfying structure. However, linear stories only work if they do something special. The language may be rhythmic & beautiful, the series of events surprising or absurd, or the incidents themselves infused with humor.
Fiction!
This is plot-driven and/or character-driven fiction with beginning/middle/end. Stories where the reader doesn’t know the stories will end. This is what I write!
My picture book, Spearfinger, is about to be released. It is definitely fiction.
Spearfinger, a witch, terrorizes the Cherokees of the Smoky Mountains. No one can stop her. A little boy named Chucha battles her. Can he discover her secrets? Can he put an end to her rampages? http://www.4rvpublishingcatalog.com/charles-suddeth.php
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C. T. Suddeth 