I write for what's left of the eight-year-old still rattling around inside my head
At first, I see pictures of a story in my mind. Then creating the story comes from asking questions of myself. I guess you might call it the 'what if - what then' approach to writing and illustration.
I've always thought of the book as a visual art form, and it should represent a single artistic idea, which it does if you write your own material.
The Polar Express was the easiest of my picture book manuscripts to write... Once I realized the train was going to the North Pole, finding the story seemed less like a creative effort than an act of recollection. I felt, like the storys narrator, that I was remembering something, not making it up.
I think most people agree there is a component of skill in art making; you have to learn grammar before you learn how to write.
