Eek! I can finally tell you my newest piece of great news! Today is the official release 0f my second class on Skillshare! This class is called Picture Books I: Write Your Story, and is the first in a two-part series, with the second class, Picture Books II: Illustrate Your Story coming out later in early December out now! You can watch the video above to see what the class is all about, or visit the class page to read more! Here's a snippit from the class description on the Skillshare site:

In this 50-minute class, you’ll learn Christine’s step-by-step process for molding a vague story idea in your head into a sparkling picture book manuscript... This class is perfect for illustrators, designers, writers, and everyone who has ever thought to themselves, “Now that would make a great picture book.” No prior knowledge of writing, picture books, or publishing is required! By the end, you’ll have everything you need (and the inspirational push!) to write an impeccable picture book.

There are 11 video lessons that make up 4 units:

Exploring Picture Book History: Learn about what a picture book is, it's purpose, the history of picture books, and the different types of picture books available on the market.

Deconstructing Picture Book Anatomy: Learn all about the structural elements that make up a picture book.

 

Writing Your Story: Learn how to come up with story ideas, writing your first (terrible) draft, plot structure, point of view, prose, and character development.

 

Refining Your Manuscript: Learn about common plot issues, writing good openings and endings, cutting word count, making a writer's dummy to help refine pacing, and my 10-step process to writing a picture book.

Plus, there's a bonus locked layer of content explaining the step-by-step process to submit your manuscript to publishers! This booklet is available to enrolled students as soon as they post their process work in the Project Gallery. If you’ve ever dreamed of having your book published, this is the information you need on how to properly submit to publishers and get your story in front of the right people.

I'm so excited about this class, and I can't wait to read everyone's stories! Students can post progress work in the project gallery and view and comment on each others work. I'll be looking at all the posts as well and giving my own thoughts about everyone's work! I'm thrilled to be able to share everything I know about one of my favorite things in the world—picture books! I hope you'll join me over at Skillshare!