Sunday, February 27, 2022

A Shape For Your Story

 by Duncan Tonatiuh

 

The first nonfiction picture book I wrote and illustrated was about Diego Rivera. A big challenge I had while writing that book was deciding what to include in it. Diego Rivera was a very famous muralist. He was a larger than life, complex, and often controversial figure. Many articles and books have been written about him. There is a lot of information about his life available. I couldn't include everything about him in a thirty-two page picture book. So what do I include?

I became very interested in Rivera's artwork after I got a small job doing an illustration for a textbook about Mexican history. I looked at Rivera's work for inspiration. In his murals Rivera painted the history of Mexico. He painted the conquest, the fight for independence, and the Mexican revolution. He also made murals about technology and science, like the one at the Detroit Art Institute depicting the process for making a car. He painted epic and pivotal historical moments. While looking at his artwork I began to think What would Diego Rivera paint nowadays? Would he paint the computers and smart phones we use nowadays? Would he paint satellites and the internet?

That question –What would he paint nowadays?—turned out to be a good guide. It helped me decide what to include in the book and it helped me find a shape for my story. The first part of Diego Rivera: His World and Ours is a short biography depicting formative events is Rivera's life. But then the book takes a turn and asks what would he paint nowadays and compares it to things he painted. Would he paint a modern metropolis as he painted the ancient Aztec city of Tenochtitlán? Or would he paint students at their desks like he painted factory workers in the production line?



There are different shapes a story can have. A very good and very common shape for a picture book is the arc. There is a beginning, a conflict, and a resolution. But it is not the only shape. Diego Rivera: His World and Ours has a “juggling” sort of shape that jumps back and forth between information and questions. I used that shape again in my book Funny Bones; Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras.

In college, for a fiction class I took, I read a book called Making Shapely Fiction. In the book, Jerome Stern presents different story shapes like facade, juggling, iceberg, and onion among others. I recommend it. Even though the book is aimed at adult fiction writers I think that his insights can be useful to nonfiction children's book authors.

Give It a Try: What are different shapes for a story that can you think of? Find picture books with different story shapes, especially ones that don't have a traditional arc.

When you are working on a book I encourage you to make a book dummy, especially at the early stages. Don't worry if you are not an illustrator. Your mockup doesn't need to be detailed. It doesn't even need to have drawings. Your book's illustrator is usually the one that will decide how to break up the text once the story is finished. But I think it is a good exercise for writers to make a dummy while working on a book and to think of how the text could be split up. I think it can help writers find the flow of the book and the shape for the story.





Meet the Author


Duncan Tonatiuh (toh-nah-tee-YOU) is an award-winning author-illustrator. He is both Mexican and American. He grew up in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and graduated from Parsons School of Design and Eugene Lang College in New York City. His artwork is inspired by Pre-Columbian art, particularly that of the Mixtec codices. His aim is to create images and stories that honor the past, but that are relevant to people, especially children, nowadays. Two of his recent nonfiction books are Soldier for Equality: Jose de la Luz Saenz and the Great War and Danza!: Amalia Hernandez and el Ballet Folklorico de Mexico.



20 comments:

  1. Hi Duncan, Thanks for sharing your work. As a writer, I have been pushing against the traditional arc. I'm glad that story shapes like facade, juggling, iceberg, and onion are being published. Since I've not heard of a facade story shape, I have homework to do.

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  2. I have the Making Shapely Fiction book on my shelf! Thanks for sharing with us the process you used to write the Rivera biography. Even more than with your writing process, I am absolutely fascinated by your art! Love it!

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  3. Thanks for sharing about the different shapes stories can have. I will have to check out Shapely Fiction.

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  4. Definitely an interesting concept to process. I guess I'll have to check out Making Shapely Fiction to learn about it. Thanks.

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  5. Something new and intriguing to check out. I can see there are stories that lend themselves to different story shapes. Thinking of an important incident that makes a great story but may have little information to contribute to it. Thank you.

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  6. Since I was a child, I've always admired Diego Rivera's work. It is so mystifying and beautiful. Your books and art pinged my heart. Thank you for sharing your process and story shapes--magic!

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  7. Thank you for an insightful post. I'm going to check out Jerome's Stern's book, and consider the shape of my current project.

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  8. Duncan, I love the students at desks/workers on an assembly line parallel! I be Diego Rivera would see it that way.
    Thank you for an illuminating and freeing post. I am going to get a copy of Jerome Stern's book to learn more about
    story shapes. Congratulations on your books!

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  9. Thank you Duncan! My library has an ebook. I am looking forward to delving into it.

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  10. Thanks for this post and I look forward to reading your book and studying this structure!

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  11. Hi, Duncan,

    Not only do you write and illustrate outstanding books that kids want to read, you write outstanding suggestions for writers to try. Thank you.

    Suzy Leopold

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  12. Thanks Duncan, I've never heard of different story shapes. Something new for me to investigate..

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  13. Your style and earthy palette is perfectly suited for a book about Mexican history. I like the parallels you draw from past to present. Thanks for the book suggestion. I haven't read that one.

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  14. I've not heard of story shapes either. It's an intriguing subject. Thanks for providing me with another challenge.

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  15. This idea really resonates with me. I'm putting Making Shapely Fiction on my TBR list.

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  16. Duncan, I'm intrigued by how you think about stories and I've enjoyed/appreciated the stories you've told.

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  17. Duncan, thank you for your unique story shapes!

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  18. Duncan, I love your explanation of how you use story shapes for your books. The Diego Rivera book approach brings Rivera's art to modern times and how you applied to Funny Bones. Your books are amazing. I'm stilled thrilled you illustrated Child of the Flower Song People. I read Making Shapely Fiction. I need to get it out again and refresh my memory. Thank you.

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  19. Thanks for the book recommendation and insights!

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  20. I hadn't thought of story as shape before. Interesting approach! Put a hold on the book you recommended. Look forward to reading it and to your 12x12 webinar next week.

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