Megan Hoyt
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Tiny packets of joy -- or how to write a lyrical picture book

9/30/2018

46 Comments

 
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      I just got back from the 2018 SCBWI Carolinas Conference, where I gave a talk on lyrical writing. It was my first time speaking at an SCBWI event. Yea! Of course, I over-prepared. For the past two months, I have immersed myself in dazzling picture books that filled my heart with rich loveliness. And since my heart is still bursting, I want to share a bit of what I learned with you. 

      The first thing I noticed in book after book was that the illustrations matched the tone of the text. I didn't use this book as an example because I only just bought it at the conference, but look at The Dress and the Girl by Camille Andros, illustrated by Julie Morstad. There is a luscious spread in this book that I absolutely adore. The girl is standing on a flower-strewn hillside, and the sky is littered with stars. Here's the text:

Instead, life continued on in quite an ordinary fashion.
Picking daffodils,
feeling the wind,
and staring at the stars.


      Simple. Elegant. Beautiful. And did I mention her dress and hair are slightly wind-blown and she's standing beside the sea? Gah! Just gorgeous.

      Another thing that jumped out at me in all these lyrical picture books was the use of seriously vivid verbs. Example from Kate Messner and Christopher Silas Neal's book, Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt:

Spring sun shines down to melt the sleepy snow.
Wind whistles through last year's plants,
and mud sucks at my rain boots.


      Here, we have the sun and wind and mud personified and just a tiny bit of alliteration: spring sun/sleepy snow/wind whistles. But the best bit is the “mud sucking at my rain boots.”

      These are sensory details. We feel the warmth and hear the whistling wind. We even feel/hear the glop of the rain boots as the mud releases them.
First person point of view puts us right there inside the main character, so we can experience everything as the little girl in the story does. BRILLIANT!

      Figurative language -- especially vivid visual imagery -- is another hallmark of lyrical writing. Check out The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles by Michelle Cuevas, illustrated by Erin Stead:  

Other times, he would journey until his compass became rusty and he felt loneliness as sharp as fish scales.

      She is masterful at creating unique metaphors and similes! And check out the imagery in this line: He stank of seaweed and salt and fishermen's feet.

      Sensory details are so important when trying to create a lyrical story. It's not ALL about atmosphere and tone, beauty and gentleness. Even stinky fishermen's feet can add to the lyricism. 

      In Step Gently Out by Helen Frost, illustrated by Rick Lieder (photos), the first line is: Be still and watch a single blade of grass. Such simple text! But it's a beautiful book with extraordinary photos throughout. An oldie but goodie from 2012!

      Here are a couple more GORGEOUS lines you need to know and books you need to read (I promise!)

Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E Ransome
 
Here she sits
an old woman
tired and worn
her legs stiff
her back achy
 
But before wrinkles formed
and her eyes failed
before she reached
her twilight years
she could walk for miles
and see clearly
under a sky lit only with stars.


The Little Yellow Leaf  by Carin Berger
 
It was Autumn.
In the hush of the forest
a lone yellow leaf
clung to the branch
of a great oak tree.


This House, Once by Deborah Freedman

This door was once a colossal oak tree
about three hugs around
and as high as the blue.


      Whatever you do, don't miss Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Julie Morstad. It's from 2015, but it's one of those timeless picture books you will read over and over again! The atmosphere, tone, sentence variation, gentleness. Ahh! I LOVE THIS BOOK!

       I am so honored to have had the opportunity to read these beautiful books and to speak to fellow authors about lyrical writing at the conference. Thank you for coming! Now get some rest; breathe in the crisp fall air; feel the gentle touch of raindrops on your skin; watch the dancing leaves that bend and wave on dusty sunbeams. Most of all, believe in yourself! 

Happy writing!


Megan 

P. S. Please share this post, and let me know you shared by posting a comment below with your email address. I will send you even more goodies about lyrical writing (no spam, I promise!) 
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46 Comments
Bonnie Kloster link
10/1/2018 10:38:31 pm

Beautiful choices. Thank you for sharing!

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Keila Dawson link
10/1/2018 10:42:42 pm

This post is filled with great information Megan. And I love your examples. Thanks for the handouts too!

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Michelle Sumovich link
10/1/2018 11:09:24 pm

Great post and great mentor texts! I would LOVE additional lyrical writing goodies. Please count me in!

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Rita
10/1/2018 11:18:23 pm

I love Uncorker of ocean bottles! Please send me more info on writing lyrically.

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Megan Hoyt link
10/1/2018 11:25:43 pm

I need your email addresses! And please share my post -- I really want to help other writers untangle this process, too!

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Megan Hoyt
10/2/2018 08:35:31 am

Never mind! I found them -- weebly was just being wonky. :)

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Gabrielle Snyder link
10/2/2018 12:10:49 am

Thanks for sharing, Megan! Beautiful examples!

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Deborah Amadei
10/2/2018 06:37:52 am

Congratulations on your first SCBWI presentation! I'd love to see your powerpoint presentation. I recently did my first book review for the EBYR reviewers program.

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Val McCammon
10/2/2018 09:10:38 am

Excellent examples of beautiful lyrical language. Thanks for the handouts, and now I'm really looking forward to the "extras" too!

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Jay
10/2/2018 09:32:15 am

What beautiful examples of lyrical language. Truly inspirational! Thank you for sharing.

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Jenny B
10/2/2018 09:37:33 am

This post touched my heart! I'm printing it out to take to the library/bookstore, where I will indulge in a world of lyricism. :)

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Judy Sobanski
10/2/2018 10:26:33 am

Thanks for the beautiful examples and information on lyrical writing. It's something that I'd love to try!

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Jesse
10/2/2018 10:38:51 am

What an invaluable resource. Thank you for sharing your attachments as well. Wish I could have seen your keynote in person!
Jesse (12x12)

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Lynn
10/2/2018 11:01:14 am

Appreciate the examples! Would love more information on the keynote. Thanks!

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Sherry Howard link
10/2/2018 12:34:25 pm

This is great, Megan! I’d love a copy of the keynote! I consider myself a lyrical writer, and I’m always eager to learn more!

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Ashley
10/2/2018 05:09:55 pm

Megan, this is wonderful. I am always eager to learn more about lyrical writing. Thank you for sharing this information!

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Michelle Howell
10/2/2018 06:33:19 pm

So helpful! I’m in love with lyrical picture books...

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Jill M Proctor
10/2/2018 06:57:49 pm

Megan, this is such wonderful information. I'm presently writing a lyrical manuscript, and your words are so helpful! Congratulations on presenting. And thank you for the handouts! I'd love to receive more lyrical goodies.

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Maria Johnson
10/2/2018 08:37:42 pm

What great choices and so well put together. Must've been an awesome presentation.

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Maria Marshall link
10/2/2018 09:36:42 pm

Thank you so much for sharing this presentation. I love your examples.

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Lane Arnold link
10/3/2018 01:57:09 am

Yes! Such delights!

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Gail Hartman
10/3/2018 06:56:17 am

Thank you for sharing this wonderful list of lyrical picture books!

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Julie Abery link
10/3/2018 11:24:02 am

Loved this post Megan!! Shared!

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Margaret Albertson link
10/3/2018 11:39:24 am

Lovely! I am trying to write more lyrically, so this was so timely!

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Michelle link
10/3/2018 12:49:18 pm

Thank you for sharing some favorite lyrical texts. The lines you showcased were beautiful to read. This House, Once is amazing! I could read it over and over... (I’ve shared the post on Twitter- @MimiLRN)

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Shirin Shamsi link
10/3/2018 04:49:41 pm

I love this - this is how I wish to write. Thank you. I have shared with my friends:) [email protected]

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Lib Et
10/3/2018 05:32:52 pm

Thank you so much for your generous gift Megan. It is deeply insightful. It makes me feel like tossing everything I’ve written in the bin. 😊 But, I will calm myself, and glean the best, before tossing the rest. Greatly appreciated. ❤️

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Megan Hoyt link
10/4/2018 05:25:50 am

Don't ever toss anything! It's a continuum -- even if you think something is total garbage, like I do sometimes, you can compare later work to it and get the satisfaction of seeing how much you've grown! Or maybe you'll look back at it and say, wow, that wasn't as bad as I thought! I'm gonna revise it and turn it into something beautiful! :)

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Vivian Kirkfield link
10/3/2018 08:30:46 pm

Hello Megan,
What a fabulous post..I love lyrical language! And congrats on speaking at the SCBWI conference...so glad it went well!

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Buffy Silverman link
10/3/2018 09:38:26 pm

Wonderful post--I'm bookmarking it to return and study your great examples!

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June Steube link
10/4/2018 09:19:07 am

Thank you so much for this post Megan! I am struggling with revising a pb in verse and I find this inspiring and clarifying! Eagerly awaiting your future posts on the subject! Thanks for including titles to check out!

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Cindy Leopold-Ritsko link
10/4/2018 11:31:52 am

Great article, Megan. Would have liked to hear you in person. How did you feel about speaking, other than your mention of having prepared too much?

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Jilanne Hoffmann
10/4/2018 12:39:07 pm

Yes! Cuevas's metaphors (including those in her longer works) are so fresh. She's amazing! And Snyder's voice in Swan, the "oh oh!" is where you are in Anna's head, the little girl's wonder. It's masterful. So many great books. Would love to have been at your talk. Thanks for sharing this.

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Stephanie Farrow
10/4/2018 03:16:59 pm

Our critique group has focused on PBs recently. This handouts are perfect for our exploration. Thanks from all of us.

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Vicki Hammond
10/4/2018 04:28:05 pm

I adore lyrical writing. I don't see a link on your site to share to FB (which I can do from my phone). I can't, however, access Twitter from my phone so will have to wait to share when I'm on my PC.
Thanks for a lovely post :)

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Beth Charles
10/4/2018 08:19:33 pm

So helpful, thank you! I can't wait to use this as I revise my current PB project!

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Jen Fier Jasinski link
10/4/2018 09:43:05 pm

Reading this made my heart swell- thank you for compiling and sharing!

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Paola Green
10/4/2018 09:48:06 pm

I will definitely add these to the mentor text for my students. Lyrical is where I live. Excellent choices. Thanks for sharing.

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Lisa Billa
10/5/2018 03:46:43 am

Thank you for some hints from your talk- what perfect examples! Shared on Twitter, @LisaSBilla

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Rachael Woodward
10/5/2018 03:25:59 pm

Thank you, Megan for your blog post. I really enjoyed it. I want to go look up the books you shared. I shared your article on my instagram @rw_edwards
Best Wishes from your fellow SCBWI in TX,
Rachael

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Lynn Becker link
10/5/2018 07:29:59 pm

Great points, great examples--loved this!

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Sara Fajardo
10/6/2018 11:16:03 pm

What lovely examples. Reading them caused me to slow down, to pause and reflect. So much can be created with a sprinkling of words.

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Rina Singh link
10/7/2018 06:36:41 pm

Wish I was there to see your presentation. Thank you for sharing and I talked briefly with you on the 12 X 12 webinar and you said you'll share the with me. Lyrical is where I wanna be. I'm sharing this on twitter. Thank you.

Rina

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Cherie Downey
10/10/2018 02:12:15 pm

Your post was so interesting to me. I can recall that, as a small child, it was lines like these that caught my attention and first sparked my love of the written word! Your insights and comments are valuable to me, and I appreciate being able to apply your observations to my own writing. Thank you for this beautiful post.

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Cathy Ogren
11/6/2018 11:46:21 am

Megan, this is such a fabulous post. I love all of the examples of lyrical writing. Thank you so much for sharing!

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Rebecca Upjohn link
2/25/2020 01:47:38 pm

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and the fruition of your explorations/study/expertise on this subject. Your identifying all these different aspects of lyrical writing is so helpful! Have tweeted this post.

Reply



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    About me

    When I first stepped into a tiny library in East Dallas and checked out The Fairy Doll, time stood still for one brief moment. A book! A lovely, magical book about a little girl, overshadowed and overlooked, the youngest of four, just like me! she thought. Rumer Godden gave way to Madeleine L’Engle and Frances Hodson Burnett. Soon, a sturdy, low-hanging backyard branch became a thoughtful spot where some rather large ideas began to take shape. If reading James Barrie can make a girl flap her arms and jump off a garden wall fully expecting to fly, books truly do pulse with life. 
    Megan holds a Bachelor’s in English and History from Southern Methodist University and a Master’s in Theology from Regent University, but her dearest love is writing for children. 


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  • Home
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