Creating a picture book is a journey, one that starts with a simple idea and grows into a world filled with characters, emotions, and life lessons. For me, that journey began with a story that had been simmering in my heart for years. I wrote, edited, and sketched...
All Ages
Thumbnailing Your Picture Book Dummy | Essential Tips for Picture Book Creators
Thumbnailing is a crucial step in creating a picture book. It’s where you start to visualize how your story will come to life on the page. Today, I’ll walk you through the key aspects of thumbnailing, from composition and storytelling to how to guide your reader’s eye...
Mastering Picture Book Pagination: Essential Tips for Writers & Illustrators
So, you’ve written and edited your story, and now it’s time to paginate your manuscript. Paginating is all about figuring out how your story will flow across the pages of a picture book. In this video, I’ll guide you through the key aspects of pagination, including...
Master the Art of Editing Your Picture Book | Essential Tips for Authors
So, you’ve written your story—congratulations! But the journey doesn’t end there. Editing is where your story truly takes shape. Today, we’ll walk through the key steps of the editing process, from getting feedback to fine-tuning your final draft. Let’s dive into...
Mastering Picture Book Writing: Tips for Creating Compelling Stories
Ever wondered how your favorite picture book was created? It all starts with a great story. Today, I'll show you how to write yours! First off, start with an amazing idea for your story. Now take your idea and let’s discover how to write it! There are a lot of things...
How to Get AMAZING Ideas
Let’s explore where ideas come from. For my book, Storm Trucks, my son was obsessed with cars and trucks. We watched Cars on repeat, read Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site and Little Blue Truck every night, and played with toy cars and trucks all the time. Trucks...
Ever Stuck for Ideas? Here’s What Helps Me
Hi friend! I’ve been busy getting ready for my Kickstarter in September, and a really exciting series of videos I’m launching on YouTube, walking through all the steps it took to bring my story to life in a real, published book. I know when I started dreaming of...
Wild and Wonderful: Our Summer in Five National Parks
My family has been continuing our journey around our country to visit the US National Parks. This summer we visited five more, bringing our total up to 18. As we have seen so many of these wonderful places I have found myself contemplating how amazingly different each...
Family Photos Downtown
Family Photos by Randy Yeats Photography
May the Forties Be With You…
I just turned forty, and as my birthday came nearer I actually got nervous about it. I usually don't care about getting older but for some reason forty seemed like a big birthday to me. I know in my head that forty isn't that old, I still have many years ahead of me,...
Floating Through Summer
Photos from our family trip to North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Plus, thoughts on quitting social media.
Free Booklists
Get your reading game on with this Free Booklist Bundle – a zip archive of all Charlotte’s booklists from baby to adult. With 9 different lists, you’ll have enough reading material to last a lifetime (or at least until the next update)!