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# Nakisa Nooraee

Nakisa Nooraee Website

## Sitemaps

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## Posts

- [Wrong Terms about Narrative Structure](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-ns-terms/) - In a previous blog post, I discussed the Narrative Structure. In a nutshell, the most used Narrative Structure is the Three Act Structure (Beginning-Middle-End). The term Narrative Structure is self-explanatory: a Narrative Structure constructs the Narration. Yet, this simple concept has been prone to many misunderstandings. When I started learning the basics of the craft, I
- [Concept books for cultural & Social topics](https://nakisanooraee.com/concept-picture-books-for-cultural-emotional-social-topics/) - Do we always need stories to talk about tough topics or new experiences? Learn how concept books could be a unique tool for this aim.
- [Day 40: Emotional Weight](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_40/) - Welcome to the final day of 40 craft lessons. Has it ever happened to you while reading a book that a scene lands so heavily on your chest that you have to take a breath, close your eyes, or sigh, just to let the weight out of your body? I can recall those moments vividly,
- [Day 39: Emotional Stake](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_39/) - Welcome to day 39 of 40 craft lessons. Any book about the craft of storytelling advises you to “raise the stakes in the story” as soon as possible. A good story should set a clear goal for the character at stake. The higher the stakes, the more page-turning effect it has on the reader. No
- [Day 38: Emotional Hook](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_38/) - Welcome to day 38 of 40 craft lessons. Why don’t some books emotionally hook readers? In recent years, especially after the pandemic, many picture books with social-emotional learning themes have been published, in which child characters speak about mindfulness, stress management, and similar ideas. While these books often feature eye-catching covers, fabulous illustrations, and playful
- [Day 3: Inciting Incident](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_3/) - Welcome to Day 3 of 40 craft lessons from 40 picture books. A new male teacher with tattoos. Does he sound strange to you? Well, your reaction isn’t the point here. Mr. Mendoza might not seem unsettling to you, but to Xavier, the main character of My Teacher Has Tattoos, he is. In Xavier’s understanding,
- [Day 11: Second-person POV](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_11/) - Welcome to day 11 of 40 craft lessons from 40 picture books. You would read and read, and the story goes nowhere. This is when you make up your mind and return the book to the library, wondering who on earth a publisher has invested in such a mediocre book. The above text is written
- [Day 18: Metaphor](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_18/) - Welcome to day 18 of 40 craft lessons. Metaphor is another powerful asset in your writing toolbox. It allows you to convey complex emotions and ideas in the story without explicitly naming them. The Big Bad Wolf in My House (2021, Valérie Fontaine, Nathalie Dion, Shelley Tanaka) is a story about a heart-wrenching topic: child
- [Day 8: Inanimate Narrator](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_8/) - Welcome to Day 8 of 40 craft lessons from 40 picture books. What could immerse the reader better in the story world and give a clearer view of it than a narrator from within that world? That narrator isn’t necessarily a person; it can be an inanimate object, and we see this abundantly in picture
- [Day 17: Similie](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_17/) - Welcome to day 17 of 40 craft lessons. We use simile quite often in our daily conversations. It helps us make ourselves understandable and makes our speech more vivid and colorful. But a simile is a more versatile asset than adding color to the text. It can change the entire approach to a topic. Consider
- [Day 16: Frame Story](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_16/) - Welcome to day 16 of 40 craft lessons. If the story was finished by sunrise, that would be the last day of Scheherazade; Shahriyar would have killed her, just as he had killed many women before her. Night after night, Scheherazade told an unfinished story, and by the end—after one thousand and one nights, a
- [Day 12: Third-Person Limited POV](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_12/) - Welcome to day 12 of 40 craft lessons from 40 picture books. Third-person POV (“she,” “her”) is versatile. It can be an omniscient, god-like POV that knows everything—thoughts, feelings, and experiences of all characters—and moves freely between multiple characters’ minds. We don’t see the omniscient POV very often anymore. What we usually encounter is either
- [Day 9: Unreliable Narrator](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_9/) - Welcome to Day 9 of 40 craft lessons from 40 picture books. A narrator brings us, readers, into the story world and honestly shares events and thoughts. Well... narrates, yes. Honesty? not necessarily. An unreliable narrator doesn’t lie maliciously. They genuinely misunderstand or misinterpret a situation. And that’s exactly what makes them such a versatile
- [Day 7: Story Stake](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_7/) - Welcome to Day 7 of 40 craft lessons. One of the most popular pieces of writing advice is "raise the stakes." And one of the most misunderstood ones! For me, that advice went in one ear and out the other. Stakes are for adult thrillers, right? I don't write in that genre. So why would
- [Day 4: Animal Characters](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_4/) - Welcome to Day 4 of 40 craft lessons. For a long time, animal characters have dominated children’s books. In recent years, human main characters have become more common. So, when is it still better to use animal characters? It’s tempting to choose animals simply because they’re cute. But cuteness alone isn’t enough to make a
- [Day 2: Hook](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_2/) - Welcome to Day 2 of 40 craft lessons from 40 picture books. Do you know what is more complicated than writing a book? Writing the first line! The first line is the gateway to the story’s world. It shouldn’t be banal or overly strange, nor should it be too slow, too rushed, or forced. Most
- [Day 1: Story Question](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_1/) - Welcome to day 1 of 40 craft lessons from 40 picture books. All well-crafted stories share one essential element. Whether it’s 32 pages or 300, readers keep turning the page because of it. In Monster Post, a beast finds a delicious-looking dinner: a child. The beast writes to his monster friends, inviting them to a
- [Day 5: Character Arc](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_5/) - Welcome to Day 5 of 40 craft lessons from 40 picture books. Many terms in storytelling are confusing. Luckily, "character arc" is one of the clearer ones. Throughout a story, either the main character changes (dynamic arc) or the main character changes the world (flat arc). In both cases, the story revolves around that change.
- [Day 10: First-person POV](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_10/) - Welcome to Day 10 of 40 craft lessons from 40 picture books. Choosing the best Point of View (POV) for a story is one of the trickiest decisions writers have to make. Many confuse the narrator with POV, so let’s start there. The narrator is the entity telling the story: a character, an object, an
- [Day 13: First-person Plural POV](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_13/) - Welcome to day 13 of 40 craft lessons. If second-person POV sounds unfamiliar, what would you say about first-person plural POV (“we”, “us”)? It’s strange, isn’t it? But once upon a time, the first-person plural was the natural choice for oral storytelling. Many cultures told stories not from an individual’s perspective but from the
- [Day 14: Third-person Objective POV](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_14/) - Welcome to day 14 of 40 craft lessons from 40 picture books. Imagine a fly-on-the-wall telling you a story! That’s third-person objective POV in a nutshell. If you like a fancier term, some call it “camera-eye POV.” This POV shows the story through an outside observer who reports only actions and dialogue. It doesn’t peek
- [Day 15: Allegory](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_15/) - Welcome to day 15 of 40 craft lessons. Not all picture books should be funny, nor should they only tackle simple topics. We need picture books on every subject, especially the tough ones. In fact, those are often the most needed, particularly these days. But writing about complex topics for young readers is tricky. The
- [Day 19: Reverse Chronology](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_19/) - Welcome to day 19 of 40 craft lessons. Most stories are told chronologically because our brains better understand the consequences of events. The story of Before She Was Harriet (2019, Lesa Cline-Ransome, James E. Ransome) doesn't follow this order. It opens with Harriet as an old woman and then moves backward, stage by stage: she
- [Day 20: Epistolary; Letters](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_20/) - Welcome to day 20 of 40 craft lessons. Epistolary narration refers to any story told through written communication. For example, letters, diaries, or collections of documents such as postcards, emails, or text messages. Many picture books that use diaries, postcards, or letters take a humorous approach. However, this type of narration can also be used
- [Day 31: Informational Fiction](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_31/) - Welcome to day 31 of 40 craft lessons. Informational fictions, as the genre name says, are stories with the main purpose of conveying information and facts. One of the most frequently used literary devices in this kind of fiction is anthropomorphism. This literary device assigns human characteristics, emotions, and behaviors to nonhuman entities, such as
- [Day 27: Math Storytelling](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_27/) - Welcome to day 27 of 40 craft lessons. Math storytelling isn't biographies of mathematicians. It also doesn't refer to nonfiction books about math themes or math concept books. It's exactly what the title implies: tell a story that familiarizes the young reader with math in a fun way. That means the narrative structure (beginning–middle–end) should
- [Day 24: Interactive Books](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_24/) - Welcome to Day 24 of 40 craft lessons from 40 picture books. An interactive picture book invites young readers to participate in the story. Through activities like tapping or blowing on the page, shaking or tilting the book, or clapping their hands, the reader isn’t just a listener but an active part of the storytelling. The
- [Day 29: Memoir](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_29/) - Welcome to day 29 of 40 craft lessons. Writing a picture book memoir isn't for every writer—not every life has a story. But reading picture book memoirs benefits any writer, since it helps with one of the most difficult steps in writing picture books: deciding what to include and what to exclude. Studying memoirs also
- [Day 35: Spooky](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_35/) - Welcome to day 35 of 40 craft lessons. Fear is the most common feeling among young readers: fear of darkness, being alone, new places, etc. Spooky picture books, with their playful unease and slightly eerie atmosphere, give young readers a safe way to explore a feeling that scares them. It's like an experiment in a
- [Day 37: Relatability](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_37/) - Welcome to day 37 of 40 craft lessons. A book might have an emotional core and emotional truth, yet still fail to resonate. One reason is that the character’s feelings and world feel far away from us, and we don’t feel connected to their experience. In picture books, this often happens when characters are unrelatable,
- [Day 36: Emotional Core](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_36/) - Welcome to day 36 of 40 craft lessons. A book might have all the narrative elements and be enhanced by many literary techniques. It might read beautifully aloud, yet still feel hollow or detached. Something is missing—a sense of warmth, connection, or genuine emotion that moves the reader beyond simple entertainment. That’s what makes a
- [Day 34: Mystery](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_34/) - Welcome to day 34 of 40 craft lessons. Reading mysteries not only entertains us but also trains our deductive reasoning. At a young age, this is especially useful. But the challenge is finding a mystery that isn’t too difficult for a young reader and fits within a 32- or 40-page picture book. Before, whenever I
- [Day 33: Fantasy](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_33/) - Welcome to day 33 of 40 craft lessons. The fantasy genre is defined by magic or supernatural elements and forces. Dragons, unicorns, elves, and wizards have populated this genre so extensively that it might seem impossible to write a fresh fantasy story. Still, many magical creatures can carry our imaginations into a fantasy world. How
- [Day 32: Historical Fiction](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_32/) - Welcome to day 32 of 40 craft lessons. Has it happened to you that you read about a person or an event and decided it is the perfect subject for a picture book biography? However, while writing, you face a big problem: a lack of resources. Since everything in a biography should be verifiable, we
- [Day 30: Biography](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_30/) - Welcome to day 30 of 40 craft lessons. Biography is one of the most common genres in picture books, and its evolution is interesting to watch. If you look back at books published before 2015, you’ll often see long blocks of text paired with fairly simple illustrations. Between 2015 and 2020, things began to shift.
- [Day 28: Retelling Folktales](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_28/) - Welcome to day 28 of 40 craft lessons. Making a good story by retelling a tale—or by being inspired by one—demands good craft. I exclude religious stories from this list because those stories have their readership secured through faith. They already have their customers. The challenge is to take a tale retold for generations and
- [Day 26: Wordless Picture Books](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_26/) - Welcome to day 26 of 40 craft lessons. Picture books have dual narratives: text and illustration. Wordless picture books have only one narrative—illustration—which is a big advantage, especially for young readers who don’t need an adult to read the book aloud to them. Most wordless picture books are created by the author-illustrator. However, I still
- [Day 25: Quiet Picture Books](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_25/) - Welcome to day 25 of 40 craft lessons. Picture books that focus less on action and more on the feelings and emotions of the characters are called quiet picture books. They are the perfect medium for discussing social-emotional learning and other challenging topics with children. That said, the lack of action doesn’t mean the main
- [Day 23: High-concept Picture Books](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_23/) - Welcome to day 23 of 40 craft lessons. High-concept books are like El Dorado: agents and publishers seek them, and writers love to write them. But what are they? High-concept books are commercial, easily pitchable ideas with a unique twist that anyone can understand instantly. You can summarize a high-concept film or book with a
- [Day 21: Epistolary; Diary](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_21/) - Welcome to day 21 of 40 craft lessons. Another popular type of epistolary narration is a diary. The word 'narration' after epistolary reminds us of an important fact. Many people actively do daily journaling. If we create a child character who does so, would the diary be a picture book, or would it be a
- [Day 22: Concept Books](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_22/) - Welcome to day 22 of 40 craft lessons. Traditionally, concept books were used to introduce basic ideas or concepts for toddlers: alphabet & basic vocabulary, colors, counting & numbers, etc. Those books had a few words and were mostly written by the publisher's staff. In recent years, we’ve seen concept books with broader, mixed topics,
- [Character Arc](https://nakisanooraee.com/character-arc/) - What is a character arc? Is it the same as a Narrative Arc? Do you need it in your picture book manuscript? Do all the stories need a Character Arc?
- [High-concept picture books](https://nakisanooraee.com/high-concept-picture-books/) - You may have seen some agents, publishers, and people in the movie industry seek high-concept manuscripts/playwrights. For a simple reason, high-concept is a mega-seller. A wide range of audiences love these films/books. Why do they sell so well? Why are they exceptional? What are they, anyway?! Answering these questions is as hard as writing a high-concept
- [test button](https://nakisanooraee.com/test-button/) - PictureBookPedia
- [POV types in Picture Books](https://nakisanooraee.com/blog-pov-pb2/) - Learn the difference between POVs in picture books with examples
- [Narrative Structure analysis](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-ns-analysis1/) - The best way to learn the Narrative Structure is to analyze books. Read the analysis of three picture books in this blog post.
- [Slant in nonfiction](https://nakisanooraee.com/slant/) - I knew one of my nonfiction manuscripts was mission something---something that I couldn't identify! The topic was interesting, about a space telescope. The text wasn't wordy; less than 800 words. The language level was appropriate for my target audience. Yet, I felt something crucial was missing, SOMETHING that should be in the blueprint of
- [Day 6: Flat-arc character](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb40_6/) - Welcome to Day 6 of 40 craft lessons from 40 picture books. Not all main characters change, positively or negatively. What if a character doesn’t change, yet changes the world outside? That’s a flat-arc character. The word "flat" suggests constancy, which is partly correct: the character stays constant, but the world around them changes. Annabelle,
- [Craft Books On Deep PoV](https://nakisanooraee.com/craft-deep-pov/) - Not long ago, in the stories, the narrator was all-knowing, neutral, god-like, omniscient. The narrator freely observed the story's world from above, reported all actions to the reader, and moved seamlessly from one character's head to another, sharing their thoughts. For example, ... Tom said: "You're a coward and
- [Hook in picture book biography](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-bio-hook/) - “Hook the reader’s attention as early as you can.” You’ve probably heard this piece of writing advice a gazillion times. But how often does it actually work? Especially in picture book biographies? I became curious. My Study I read only the first two spreads of seventy traditionally published
- [Story part 1](https://nakisanooraee.com/story-1/) - This blog post is not a summary of STORY. Claiming otherwise would be the height of naivety. STORY is a very dense book. You wouldn't digest it by reading bits and pieces before falling asleep or on the train. It demands full concentration. Yet, every single sentence of the book is worth
- [POV in picture book biography](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-bio-pov/) - In the previous blog post, I discussed the time frame and the possibilities we have. This blog post is about another decision we have to make: the Narrator and accordingly the Point Of View (POV). Previously, I have published two blog posts about Point Of View (POV) in picture
- [Revision fiction manuscripts](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-revision/) - What are your revision steps? Do you print the manuscript, take a pencil and read through the text and cut words? Or, do you make a dummy picture book first? These two were my intuitive steps. Until some comments from my critique partners showed me that some
- [Point Of View (POV) in picture books](https://nakisanooraee.com/blog-pov-pb1/) - What is Point Of View? Point Of View (POV) is one of the most important and misunderstood elements in storytelling. The basic concept is easy to grasp: Point Of View stemmed from the Latin word punctum visus which means the position from which a thing is to be viewed.
- [Narrator in Picture Books](https://nakisanooraee.com/narrator-pb/) - How to select the Narrator for your picture book manuscript
- [Inanimate Narrator in picture books](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-inanimate-narrator/) - Introduction: Why an inanimate Narrator? In writing picture books, we often use personification. Personification is when we use a human attribute(s) or a feeling(s) to describe an object. For example, the leaves dance, the wind whispers, etc. Personification differs from an inanimate narrator. By choosing an inanimate narrator, we
- [Theme in Picture books](https://nakisanooraee.com/blog-pb-theme/) - What is the theme of a book? Does your picture book manuscript have a theme? Or, ideally, themes? How to incorporate theme into the story?
- [Picture Book Titles](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-book-title/) - How to find a title for your picture book manuscript? Get some ideas from published books
- [Historical fiction picture books](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-historical-fiction/) - Has it happened to you that you read about a person or an event and it blew your mind away? You decide that is the perfect subject for a picture book biography. However, while writing, you face a big problem. The material is not enough to write a biography
- [Nature- and STEM-based Informational Fiction Picture books](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-stem-informationalfiction/) - What is Informational Fiction? Informational fictions are stories with the main purpose of conveying information and facts. They have the Narrative Structure as each story should have. Therefore, they are NOT non-fiction. They are NOT narrative nonfiction (biography or memoir) either. Because informational fictions have fictitious characters with made-up dialogues which narrative non-fiction doesn't have.
- [Make a digital shareable dummy in a few seconds](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-dummy/) - Making a dummy of your manuscripts is a great revision tool. Learn how to make a digital dummy.
- [Postmodern & Metafiction Picture Books](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-metafiction/) - Postmodern and metafiction break the usual form of narration. This blog post investigates postmodern picture books.
- [Zeigarnik Effect; a hook for next book](https://nakisanooraee.com/cb-zeigarnik-effect/) - The Zeigarnik effect indicates we remember incomplete tasks better than completed ones. in storytelling, this effect makes the reader yarn for the next book.
- [Literary Techniques in Picture Book](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-literary-techniques/) - Which literary techniques can assist you in writing a better version of your story, especially if you are writing about tough topics?
- [Pitch examples of published picture books](https://nakisanooraee.com/pitch-examples-pb1/) - Learn how to craft a perfect pitch for your manuscript by studying successful examples. Six pitch examples of the books that are published.
- [Pitch examples of published picture books](https://nakisanooraee.com/pitch-examples-pb2/) - Learn how to craft a perfect pitch for your manuscript by studying successful examples. Six pitch examples of the books that are published.
- [What makes a hook in Picture Books?](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-hook/) - Why cannot we put down some books? What does hook us into those books? Read and compare some picture books and find out the secret of a hook.
- [Keep track of your reading with Libib](https://nakisanooraee.com/blog-tools-libib/) - How do you organize and tag books you read? What to do with more than one or two tags? Use Libib, a free app. Perfect for personal authors libraries
- [Pitch a Fiction; write a log line](https://nakisanooraee.com/pitch-fiction/) - How to pitch your manuscript? Is there any formula that works perfectly for your manuscript? What is the difference between a logline and a tagline?
- [Pitch examples of quiet picture books](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-pitch-quiet/) - INCOMPLETE Writing a book is one skill. Pitching is another skill. Previously, we looked at two main components of a query letter; Logline and comp titles. In this blog post, you will read the pitches authors used to sell the manuscripts we see now as picture books. I would love to
- [Narrative Structure; what is it and what isn't it!](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-structure/) - What is the Narrative Structure? Does a picture book manuscript need it? What are the misunderstandings and misconceptions?
- [What is Narrative Structure?](https://nakisanooraee.com/narrative-structure/) - What is the Narrative Structure? Why does it matter? Read the brief history of the Narrative structure, from ancient greek until today.
- [Narrative Structure Analysis example](https://nakisanooraee.com/cb-ns-analysis1/) - To read about the basics of Narrative Structure, I would like to invite you to read this blog post. To learn how the Narrative Structure works in stories, I have analyzed some early readers and chapter books which I found well crafted. In this blog post, I share
- [Book Series](https://nakisanooraee.com/cb-book-series/) - You may have heard that chapter books, unlike any other category of kid's books, should be pitched, and hopefully sold, as a book series proposal. The first question is how to plan the serious. The answer depends on the type of book series you want to write. Let's explore
- [Change Character Arc](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-positive-negative-arc/) - What is a dynamic Character Arc? Does the character change always for the better? Do picture books have Character Arc?
- [Flat-arc Character in picture books](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-flat-arc/) - Previously, we looked at the meaning of a Character Arc (link) and positive-change and negative-change character arcs in picture books (link). This blog post looks at the flat-arc character in picture books What is a flat-arc character? If the character doesn't change, why would a reader want to read it? Would something be more boring
- [Narrative Structure in Biography](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-bio-ns/) - The previous blog post was an introduction to picture book biographies. This blog post is about the most important element for creating a story: the Narrative structure in biographies. Why is the Narrative Structure needed? The Narrative Structure is the framework of the story. Without it, the story collapses---no matter
- [Info dump in picutre book biographies](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-bio-infodump/) - This blog post is the summary of my research to answer one question. How to write a biography like a story, not a Wikipedia article? Most biographies give interesting facts but there don't read like a story. And more importantly, how can I revise my biography manuscripts---picture books and
- [Three-act structure; Act I (Beginning)](https://nakisanooraee.com/three-act-structure-beginning/) - In the previous post, we looked at the concept of narrative structure and the three-act structure. This post is devoted to the 1st Act. What is Setup or Act I? Have you heard that agents/editors give a book's manuscript only a 10-page-opportunity? For picture books, the chance shrinks to a few first sentences! It sounds
- [Quiet Picture Books](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-quiet/) - What is a quiet picture book? How would these books help children in understanding their feelings? How to write such story?
- [Introduction to picture book biography](https://nakisanooraee.com/bio-introduction/) - What is a picture book biography? Although picture book biography is a subcategory of picture books, their nature is different than other subcategories; they are NOT fictitious. A biography is based on heavy research and each line of the book should be 100\% verifiable and documented. The writer has
- [Time Frame in picture book biographies](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-bio-timeframe/) - This blog post is part of the blog post series I wrote about picture book biographies. Here is the complete list. To summarize a person's life in 32 pages with less than 1000 words, we need to select the time frame carefully. The simplest and the most obvious choice
- [Narrative Devices in Picture Books](https://nakisanooraee.com/narrative-devices-in-picture-books/) - How to narrate your story? Chronological narrative or reverse chronological narrative? or through letters?
- [Ensemble cast in picture books](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-ensemble-cast/) - A story with an ensemble cast has no one main character, but a cast of the main characters. Each character develops the story equally. Does picture book have enough space for an ensemble cast?
- [Plot Goal](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-plot-goal/) - Countless times I read in the craft books and blog posts that story starts when the main character faces the Inciting Event. In response to the Inciting Event, the main characters set a concrete tangible/physical goal and this is the Plot Goal. The sooner the writer tells the reader the Plot Goal, the better. Whether
- [SEL; Social awareness in pictue books](https://nakisanooraee.com/sel4/) - In the first blog post of this series, I looked at the definition of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and its five components according to CASEL 5. So far, two components are discussed: Self-awareness link Self-management link This blog post is about the third basic element in SEL: social awareness. What
- [SEL; Responsible Decision-making](https://nakisanooraee.com/sel6/) - In the first blog post of this series, I looked at the definition of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and its five components according to CASEL 5. So far, two components are discussed: Self-awareness link Self-management link Social awareness link Relationship skills link This blog post is about the last blog post on the SEL series and it discusses the last
- [Concept Books](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-concept/) - Concept books are not only ....
- [SEL; Relationship skills in pictue books](https://nakisanooraee.com/sel5/) - In the first blog post of this series, I looked at the definition of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and its five components according to CASEL 5. So far, two components are discussed: Self-awareness link Self-management link Social awareness link This blog post is about the fourth basic element in SEL: relationship skills. What are
- [Text layers](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-nf-text-layers/) - Some calls this text layers or text features I have always thought of back matter as a way to include extra information about the book's subject. However, backmatter is only one of the options, among many! Reading this blog post was eye-opening. Then, I looked at recent traditionally published picture books and compiled
- [Dialoge in picture books](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-dialoge/) - Purpose of dialogue Types of dialogue Dialogue only picture books Dialogue Tags (Said or not said!) Dialogue Punctuation
- [Show & Tell in picture books](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-show-tell/) - "Show, don't tell" is one of the most given writing pieces of advice. Is it related to picture books? If yes, how to avoid it
- [Inciting Event in Picture Books](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-inciting-event/) - What is Inciting event? Do you need it in picture books?
- [Folktale, mythology in PBs](https://nakisanooraee.com/folktale-mythology-in-pbs/) - The Tale of the Tiger Slippers (2019) by Jan Brett Riding a Donkey Backwards: Wise and Foolish Tales of Mulla Nasruddin (2019) by Sean Taylor (Author), Khayaal Theatre Company (Author), Shirin Adl (Illustrator)
- [SEL; Self-management in pictue books](https://nakisanooraee.com/sel3/) - In the first blog post of this series, I looked at the definition of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and its five components according to CASEL 5. The second post was about self-awareness and this blog post is about the second basic element in SEL: Self-management. What is Self-management? According
- [SEL; Self-awareness in pictue books](https://nakisanooraee.com/sel2/) - SEL; Self-awareness in pictue books – In the previous blog post, I looked at the definition of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and its five components according to CASEL 5. This blog post is about the first components: self-awareness and some examples of picture books that are published in this category. What is Self-awareness? According to
- [Social & Emotional Learning (SEL) in picture books](https://nakisanooraee.com/sel1/) - What is Social-Emotional learning in picture books?
- [Build your author website with Wordpress](https://nakisanooraee.com/author-website-with-wordpress/) - Build your author website with WordPress – Descilmiar: None of these links are affiliated. I refer to them because I use them and find them helpful. Domain & Host To have a website, you need to buy a domain. Most authors use their names for their domain addresses. On this website, you can check if
- [Middle (Act II/Confrontation)](https://nakisanooraee.com/middle-positive/) - How to write the middle of the story while creating a positive Character Arc? Learn about all the Plot Points.
- [Book Review: Latkes for Santa Claus](https://nakisanooraee.com/latkes-for-santa-claus/) - Review picture book elements of Latkes for Santa Claus by Janie Emaus.
- [Act I (part 2): Story Question](https://nakisanooraee.com/pb-story-question/) - What is Story Question? Every writing craft book or blog, on the chapter of Act I, teaches us about the importance of introducing the protagonist and other characters, establishing the story world---so the reader cares for the protagonist, and, last but not least, pin down the Plot Goal---what the protagonist wants to achieve. However, not
- [Comp title in Query Letter](https://nakisanooraee.com/comp-title/) - What is comp title? Is it mandatory to provide it in the query letter?
- [Pitch examples of published picture books (set 3)](https://nakisanooraee.com/pitch-examples-pb3/) - Example of pitches of traditionally published picture books
- [Lead; hook reader's attention](https://nakisanooraee.com/npb-hook/) - What is a lead? How do I begin? Theoretically, I knew that the first lines (lead) have the crucial job of drawing readers into the book and capturing their attention. But practically, how to do so? If writing the first lines isn't more difficult than writing the rest, it isn't easier either.

## Pages

- [Home](https://nakisanooraee.com/) - Nakisa Nooraee Menu For Writers Literary Voyage​ About Contact All materials copyright Nakisa Nooraee. Illustration by Sina Abbasnia. Calligraphy by Armin Nooraee
- [40PB](https://nakisanooraee.com/40pb/) - 40 Fiction Picture Books 40 Lessons in Story Craft Explore the craft of storytelling through my 40-day picture book series. Each post offers practical tips and examples to help writers create compelling stories. This series was launched on November 15, 2025, and will be published as a book in 2026. Stay tuned for updates through
- [Japanese Literature](https://nakisanooraee.com/japan/) - Japanese Literature My conclusion comes here Kazuo Ishiguro (1954 – ) A Pale View of Hills An Artist of the Floating World Klara and the Sun Satoshi Yagisawa (1977 – ) Days at the Morisaki Bookshop More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop Yoko Ogawa (1962 – ) The Housekeeper and the Professor Durian Sukegawa
- [Irish Literature](https://nakisanooraee.com/ireland/) - Irish Literature My conclusion comes here Claire Keegan (1968 – ) So Late in the Day
- [My Literary Voyage​](https://nakisanooraee.com/literary-voyage/) - My Literary Voyage In an epiphany, I realized how narrow my reading world had been. I had mostly read works by British and American authors. So limited! So thought-provokingly limited! Weigh anchor! Hoist the sails, and thus the discovery of undiscovered stories began. I gave myself a plan: each month, I harbor in a new
- [About](https://nakisanooraee.com/about/) - About Me I tell stories: Stories of home, of Iran. Of its today and its past, of its forgotten Gods and Goddesses Stories of stars of galaxies, which I studied. Stories of immigration and journeys shaped me and my understanding of humanity. I
- [Vietnamese Literature](https://nakisanooraee.com/vietnam/) - Vietnamese Literature My conclusion comes here Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai (1973 – ) The Mountians Sing
- [Kyrgyzstan](https://nakisanooraee.com/kyrgyzstan/) - Kyrgyz Literature My conclusion comes here Ghingiz Aitmatov (1928 – 2008) Jamila
- [Indonesian literature](https://nakisanooraee.com/indonesia/) - Indonesian Literature My conclusion comes here Ahmad Tohari (1948 – ) Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk Pramoedya Ananta Toer (1925 – 2006)​ Leila Chudori (1962 – ) Mochtar Lubis (1922 – 2004)​ Tiger! Tiger!
- [For Writers](https://nakisanooraee.com/for-writers/) - Blog Posts for Writers When I started my writing journey, I taught myself the craft by reading books on writing and analyzing published works. I went through each element carefully and wrote blog posts to organize my thoughts and share them with others. PictureBookPedia Over 50 blog posts about picture books PictureBookPedia 40 Craft Picture
- [Contact](https://nakisanooraee.com/contact/) - Contact Send me a message: info @ nakisanooraee.com Instagram Goodreads Facebook Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form. Name * Email * Subject * Comment or Message * Comment Send Message
- [Swedish Literature](https://nakisanooraee.com/swedish-literature/) - add here
- [PictureBookPedia](https://nakisanooraee.com/picturebookpedia/) - PicturebookPedia is a collection of blog posts on the craft of creating picture books and the art of revising manuscripts
- [ChapterBookPedia](https://nakisanooraee.com/chapterbookpedia/) - Craft of writing chapter books
- [نوشته های فارسی](https://nakisanooraee.com/farsi/) - سفرنامه ها سفرنامه نپال*** سفرنامه لهستان *** سفرنامه جزایر قناری ***سفرنامه سويیس ***سفرنامه هلند***سفرنامه پراگ***سفرنامه اسپانیا برنامه های رادیویی اسپانیا،تاریخی فراموش شده برنامه رادیویی بود که در سال 2013 با همکاری گاهشنود قاصدک بر مبنای سفرنامه ام تهیه و پخش شد. برای شنیدن برنامه ها و دیدن عکسها لطفا بر لینکها کلیک کنید: قسمت اول،‌

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## Categories

- [Tools](https://nakisanooraee.com/category/tools/) - Tools writers and authors need for writing, revision, organizing their work, designing books
- [PictureBookPedia](https://nakisanooraee.com/category/picturebookpedia/) - The craft of writing and revising picture books
- [Picture Book Query](https://nakisanooraee.com/category/picturebookpedia/pbquery/)
- [Picture Book Biography](https://nakisanooraee.com/category/picturebookpedia/picture-book-biography/)
- [Revision](https://nakisanooraee.com/category/picturebookpedia/revision/)
- [ChapterBookPedia](https://nakisanooraee.com/category/chapterbookpedia/) - The craft of writing and revising chapter books
- [Nonfiction](https://nakisanooraee.com/category/picturebookpedia/nonfiction/)
- [Craft](https://nakisanooraee.com/category/chapterbookpedia/craft/)
- [40DaysPBCraft](https://nakisanooraee.com/category/picturebookpedia/40dayspbcraft/)