The beauty of stories is their power to transmute values and define life.
Aliza Saunders
Objective: Change the World One Story at a Time
I decided to write a children’s book and then format the draft and illustrate. This showcased my storytelling, formatting, and design skills gained through my time in the BYU-I Communications program. The primary focus of this project was storytelling. Good stories bring value to readers. I have not done this scale of writing, so I was excited to examine the skills required to craft a compelling narrative. I amended the focus on the story. I tend to expand my perspective as I draft and edit. Hence, the project focus changed from a book about the benefits of walking to the ABCs of the farm. My objective was to blend my interests of family-building, agriculture, and good health choices. With this objective in mind, I determined to demonstrate my writing and formatting skills.
Work Samples
A symbol of the characters, writing, and design.
The front cover and opening.
The inevitable challenges to overcome
The process of drafting a story is the process of weighing the important pieces and removing the undeveloped ones. As I began to write, I started to change the focus of my writing. I learned quickly that I wrote better when I was in the Canva project page. Editing required me to reframe my word choice. I saw many different variations of descriptions pass through the pages of this book. After young readers read the draft, I further changed some words for them to read easier. I kept in a few words of a higher vocabulary to encourage literacy. In the formatting stage, I was glad to have the words in place. I selected the background and colors to focus the reader on the page itself. I wanted eyes to go first to the words and illustrations. My final challenge was finding every animal. I learned to scour Canva and utilize image generation.
Process, or Road to Success
The process was built throughout each week. Taking vague ideas and finding formats for them made all the difference. I went with the most promising idea after I took time to make covers. From a round of seven stories, I selected the farm ABCs and got to work. I found it easier to draft when I could visualize the story. I took time in the middle weeks to write and put in characters. After this first write, I had different readers look through the project. Their feedback informed my edits. I then finalized all the animals and read through the draft. I met with my mentor throughout this process and got feedback on the design, writing, and overall appearance.
Experienced and Reviewed
The most consistent experience was in my time on the Canva draft. After I learned that I needed to visualize the story, I started to write in there. I knew that writing a draft would allow the other design and formatting elements to fall into place. I learned how to edit and write with simplicity. As noted, there are a few words that are in a higher vocabulary, but the majority flow into each idea. The twenty-six pages do fly by with one illustration and line of text to read. After writing, I turned my attention to the children’s aspect. Kids are more likely to pause for visual elements and then attempt reading. Hence, I made sure to use a variety and keep it consistent to draw in the eye. I learned how to put all the elements together for this flow to be preserved.
Insights & Takeaways
I am most grateful to my parents for their careful literacy cultivation in my life. As I think about my favorite children’s books, they were memorable for illustrations and consistent storytelling. My effort on the visual side was an admirable start that can be refined going forward. However, I learned a lot as I wrote, cut down, and re-wrote sections. I gained insight in digital design. I grew more acquainted with Canva and the ways to utilize their tools. Formatting remained an area to stretch and continually seek improvement. I know that I can write in engaging ways to sponsor literacy. The impact of literature on the young mind is undeniable. I am glad that I could gain a greater appreciation for the process and consider important elements. Writing allows the mind to refine thought, and good thoughts will change the world.
Link to project!
https://canva.link/w63yl69iqb0wzkk