Picture Book II – WRITING-X 441.2 (registration required)
Date:
Tuesday, 6 January 2026
Time:
1/6/26 12:00 am - 3/22/26 12:00 am
Venue:
Via ZOOM class hosted by UCLA Extensions
More about this event (link coming soon)
❄️❄️ Winter Quarter ❄️❄️
January 5, 2026 – March 22, 2026 | Wednesdays, 5 – 8pm (Pacific)
Live via Zoom through UCLA Extension
Go beyond picture book basics! In this supportive Zoom workshop hosted by UCLA Extension, you’ll master the craft that brings winning picture books to life: strong beginnings and endings, the power of the page turn, audience engagement, playful language, humor, and musicality.
Through focused writing exercises and ongoing feedback in a safe, instructor-guided environment, you’ll deepen your understanding of story elements and critique skills—while working toward a complete manuscript and a polished query letter.
In this course, students will:
- Review essentials from Picture Book I
- Examine picture book structures
- Workshop manuscripts in a safe, structured critique group
- Sharpen craft and revision with writing sprints
- Explore fractured fairytales & epistolary forms
- Write for deeper emotional connection with close POV
- Expand skills: tension, stakes, language, pace, plot, theme, voice, POV, and more
- Analyze beginnings, middles, page turns, and crafting satisfying endings
- Learn to trust your reader & illustrator—discover when less is more
- Discuss “killing your darlings” & suspension of disbelief
- Experiment with word choice, tone, poetic elements & musicality
- Develop characters with agency
- Build a collections journal
- Create a logline, jacket flap, query letter, and query strategy
- Gain industry insights for publishing success