Children's Author Shares His Creative Strategies
Award-Winning Artist Chris Gall Talks About Writing Picture Books
May 26, 2009
Since his first book America the Beautiful debuted in 2004, Chris Gall has become very popular in the field of children’s picture books. His picture books Dear Fish (2006) and There’s Nothing to Do on Mars (2008) won accolades from Kirkus Reviews and A Child Magazine, while film rights to his fourth book, Dinotrux (2009), were bought by DreamWorks Animation.
Suite 101 spoke with Gall via an April 22, 2009 phone interview and learned about his creative process and approach to writing picture books. The following is an edited version of the interview.
What is your creative process like when you start a children’s picture book?
CG: Well this isn’t something I always do but it has become a process for me for creating books. I’ll sit down and make lists of ideas. I’ll start with objects that boys like, or categories of fruits, or trucks – anything I can think of. And I try to think of something that’ll evolve out of that, some germ of the idea.
When I have that – and usually a title will come with that – often I’ll create a mock book cover so I can crystallize this idea more clearly. For me, this helps because half my brain is visual so it helps me feel what this is really going to look like. I won’t even have a story at this point, but [having a mock book cover] helps me imagine what the story would be like if I turned the page. It helps me get more excited.
How long does it take for you to write a picture book from idea to final draft?
CG: That can vary quite a bit. If I know where my story is going, I can usually do a rough draft in an afternoon. However, the amount of editing involved in a picture book is extraordinary.
Not long ago, I looked back to see how many editorial versions of There’s Nothing to Do on Mars and Dear Fish there were – and there had to be at least fifteen for both. My editors would give me notes, I’d make changes, they’d make more notes – and this would happen at least fifteen times in the editing of the picture book.
A book, although it seems like a very lonely thing, is a very collaborative process. There are so many voices inside a publishing house that have input not only into your words but your pictures and everything else. So you do have to collaborate.
How challenging is illustrating children’s books for you?
CG: The illustration is easier for me, maybe because I have more experience in it. I think that editors are more concerned with the story than with the artwork. That’s just their point of view – they come from the written word.
Is there an art editor you have to report to when you draw your illustrations?
CG: Not really. My art editor really is my editor. They have more experience dealing with picture books because it’s a whole genre. Within publishing houses, art directors tend to be people who work on the design of the book – fonts, layouts, things like that.
Was it difficult showing your publishers you could be a children’s book illustrator and children’s book author?
CG: I had to do a lot of work to convince them. I had to write some good manuscripts. I had to do sample art so they could see where the art was going to go in the book. And they had to like the story and art because they had to buy both.
The greatest challenge, maybe the greatest responsibility [of being both writer and illustrator] is that at the end of the day there’s only yourself to blame or reward. When the reviews come in, they’re judging all of you. You can’t just say, “Oh well, if this book had been written better… grumble, grumble.” It is more responsibility. So that’s the hardest part definitely.
Discover how Chris Gall’s picture book Dinotrux was bought by DreamWorks Animation at Author Sells Film Rights to DreamWorks Animation and learn more about his background at From Commercial Artist to Picture Book Author.
And learn more about Chris Gall’s artistic background by visiting his website.
Interested in getting more tips on writing from published authors? Read Young Adult Author Shares Her Writing Strategies.
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