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If you’ve ever been in one of my workshops, you probably know my three-word writing philosophy:
Just try stuff.
And one of my favorite exercises to try is the dialogue-only story. Here’s the challenge:
No narration.
No scene setting.
No description.
No he said/she said.
Just two (or more) characters talking. That’s it.
Limiting the text to dialogue forces us to think cinematically, an essential skill for picture book writers. Imagine those 32 pages as a movie, the opening scene pulling you in, each page turn propelling the story forward until it’s all wrapped up on that final, satisfying page.
Even if you ultimately decide you don’t want to limit the manuscript to dialogue, this exercise is an excellent way to hear your characters’ voices. You can always fill in the action and description later if you feel they’re needed.
Just try stuff.
And one of my favorite exercises to try is the dialogue-only story. Here’s the challenge:
No narration.
No scene setting.
No description.
No he said/she said.
Just two (or more) characters talking. That’s it.
Limiting the text to dialogue forces us to think cinematically, an essential skill for picture book writers. Imagine those 32 pages as a movie, the opening scene pulling you in, each page turn propelling the story forward until it’s all wrapped up on that final, satisfying page.
Even if you ultimately decide you don’t want to limit the manuscript to dialogue, this exercise is an excellent way to hear your characters’ voices. You can always fill in the action and description later if you feel they’re needed.
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For the examples below, I focused on fairly recent books that offered variations on the dialogue-only theme. Some are told in two voices, some in many. Some use font variations (e.g., color, typeface) to distinguish among characters; some use speech bubbles. As you read these books, listen for the distinct voice of each character and notice how the dialogue works with the illustrations to tell the story.
If you’ve got a young child around, you might notice another feature of dialogue-only books: they’re great for paired reading. Kids often memorize their “parts” before they’re actually able to read. (I’m a big fan of Mary Ann Hoberman’s You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You series for that reason.)
So read these books, and if you’re itching to try your own dialogue-only story, you’ll find some prompts on my Pinterest page: https://www.pinterest.com/lindaashman/. You’ll also find a board with additional books that didn’t make it on this list—it was tough to limit it to ten!
If you’ve got a young child around, you might notice another feature of dialogue-only books: they’re great for paired reading. Kids often memorize their “parts” before they’re actually able to read. (I’m a big fan of Mary Ann Hoberman’s You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You series for that reason.)
So read these books, and if you’re itching to try your own dialogue-only story, you’ll find some prompts on my Pinterest page: https://www.pinterest.com/lindaashman/. You’ll also find a board with additional books that didn’t make it on this list—it was tough to limit it to ten!
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1. Ask Me by Bernard Waber, illustrated by Susie Lee.
An exuberant little girl repeatedly instructs her dad to ask her what she likes as they go walking on a colorful fall day. Note the child-like voice of the girl and the loving and patient voice of the dad.
An exuberant little girl repeatedly instructs her dad to ask her what she likes as they go walking on a colorful fall day. Note the child-like voice of the girl and the loving and patient voice of the dad.
2. Cheetah Can’t Lose by Bob Shea.
Here we have three characters speaking—a boastful cheetah and the two little cats who try to outsmart him so they can win the big race for a change.
Here we have three characters speaking—a boastful cheetah and the two little cats who try to outsmart him so they can win the big race for a change.
3. That Is NOT a Good Idea! by Mo Willems (2013)
Mo Willems gives this book the feel of a silent movie. A conversation between a fox and a goose, interrupted by a chorus of concerned baby geese, leads to a surprise ending.
Mo Willems gives this book the feel of a silent movie. A conversation between a fox and a goose, interrupted by a chorus of concerned baby geese, leads to a surprise ending.
4. No Nap! Yes Nap! by Margie Palatini, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino.
A model of brevity and limited vocabulary with just 120-odd words—but only 20 different words. It’s the only example in which there’s an actual attribution. The first page—Mama says,
Nap. Baby says, NO NAP!—establishes that Mom’s speech will be in italics and Baby’s in regular font for the rest of the book.
A model of brevity and limited vocabulary with just 120-odd words—but only 20 different words. It’s the only example in which there’s an actual attribution. The first page—Mama says,
Nap. Baby says, NO NAP!—establishes that Mom’s speech will be in italics and Baby’s in regular font for the rest of the book.
5. I Don’t Want to Be a Frog by Dev Petty, illustrated by Mike Boldt.
A conversation between a young frog who wants to be anything but a frog, an older frog who tells him he’s got to be a frog, and a wolf who makes him feel grateful for what he is.
A conversation between a young frog who wants to be anything but a frog, an older frog who tells him he’s got to be a frog, and a wolf who makes him feel grateful for what he is.
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6. Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld
This is older than most of the examples, but it’s so clever I didn’t want to leave it out. It’s also unusual in that we never actually see the two characters having the conversation.
This is older than most of the examples, but it’s so clever I didn’t want to leave it out. It’s also unusual in that we never actually see the two characters having the conversation.
7. Let’s Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy by Jan Thomas
Jan Thomas is a master at creating funny and interactive dialogue-only books. In this one, her “brave cowboy” turns out to be a bit of a scaredy-cat.
Jan Thomas is a master at creating funny and interactive dialogue-only books. In this one, her “brave cowboy” turns out to be a bit of a scaredy-cat.
8. My Name is Elizabeth! By Annika Dunklee, illustrated by Matthew Forsythe.
Through the use of speech bubbles, we see that friends and family have many different
nicknames for Elizabeth, much to her dismay. As the title suggests, she sets them all straight, loudly and clearly.
Through the use of speech bubbles, we see that friends and family have many different
nicknames for Elizabeth, much to her dismay. As the title suggests, she sets them all straight, loudly and clearly.
9. I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
It’s not all that recent, and I’m pretty sure you’ve all read it, but it was such a huge hit I couldn’t leave it off the list.
It’s not all that recent, and I’m pretty sure you’ve all read it, but it was such a huge hit I couldn’t leave it off the list.
10. Rain! By Linda Ashman, illustrated by Christian Robinson
Before writing Rain! and No Dogs Allowed—both very brief, dialogue-only books—I read a lot of wordless books to help me understand how illustrations advance a story with minimal text. I also sketched out a bunch of scribbly storyboards to figure out pacing, adding dialogue along the
way.
I know writers are often concerned about what a dialogue-only manuscript looks like. Given that the illustrations tell so much of the story, how do you convey that in the text? If you’d like to see two examples, the manuscripts for Rain! And No Dogs Allowed! are available on my website: lindaashman.com. (Look for the “For Writers” section at the bottom.)
Before writing Rain! and No Dogs Allowed—both very brief, dialogue-only books—I read a lot of wordless books to help me understand how illustrations advance a story with minimal text. I also sketched out a bunch of scribbly storyboards to figure out pacing, adding dialogue along the
way.
I know writers are often concerned about what a dialogue-only manuscript looks like. Given that the illustrations tell so much of the story, how do you convey that in the text? If you’d like to see two examples, the manuscripts for Rain! And No Dogs Allowed! are available on my website: lindaashman.com. (Look for the “For Writers” section at the bottom.)
Linda is giving away a copy of each of her new 2016 picture books to three winners! Thanks Linda!
To be eligible, you must be a fully registered participant, comment on this post, read daily, and keep records of your progress.
To be eligible, you must be a fully registered participant, comment on this post, read daily, and keep records of your progress.
Linda Ashman is the author of more than thirty picture books and The Nuts & Bolts Guide to Writing Picture Books. Her books have been included on the “best of the year” lists of The New York Times, Parenting and Child magazines, the New York Public Library and more. She lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Visit her at lindaashman.com.
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