The Picture Book Writer’s Secret Weapon: What You Leave Out

I am the writer who always thinks about the reader’s objection. Yeah, but what about this? And what about that? In articles and longer works, that instinct can be useful — or at least manageable. In children’s writing and illustration, it will sink you.

When I wrote A World of Pancakes — my first published picture book — my original vision was enormous. A picky eater. A family called into missions. Multiple emotional arcs weaving together. It felt rich and full and exciting in my head. On the page, it was a mess. Picture books don’t have room for three storylines. They barely have room for one, told right.

So I made a choice. One arc. The others got set aside — and as it turns out, they’re showing up in books coming out over the next two years. Nothing was wasted. It was just waiting to be developed into its own fun story.

That’s the secret children’s writers and illustrators need to hear: what you leave out isn’t lost. It’s discipline. It’s craft. And often, it’s the difference between a manuscript that delights and one that overwhelms.

Young readers don’t need everything. They need the right thing, delivered at the right moment, with room to breathe and room for the child to discover and think. The white space on a picture book page isn’t emptiness — it’s an invitation for the child’s imagination to step in and finish the work. Illustrators know this instinctively. Writers have to learn it.

Your job is not to throw everything at your reader and see what sticks. Your job is to leave them wanting more — to close the book still smiling, already hoping someone will read it again.

Restraint isn’t limitation. In children’s writing, it’s our art.

Want to learn more? Join us for our Christian Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Retreat: Storybook Inkspiration at the Castle, August 19-23, 2026. Check it out here.