Is Frankenstein’s Monster Technically a Zombie?

by Jocelyn Rish

Dear Kidlit Zombie Week friends,

It’s Day Five of 2025’s #KidLitZombieWeek, and Kaitlyn Sanchez and the other amazing Team Zombie hosts have graciously allowed me to move the undead fun to my site for a little experiment.

This week is all about bringing dead manuscripts back to life (with tons of incredible prizes to boot!), and I’ve loved the amazing posts full of tips and advice for reanimating your precious story corpses.

But today, I’m going to shamble in a slightly different direction.

What if instead of raising one manuscript from the dead, we get a little… experimental? Let’s take our inspiration from the famous reanimation story that’s not actually about zombies but features a monster that’s kind of zombie shaped.

That’s right, my fellow picture book mad scientists, we’re going full Frankenstein!

A sketch drawing of Dr. Frankenstein and his monster in their lab with the words: We're going full Frankenstein!

Instead of shocking life back into that story that’s been decomposing on your hard drive since 2015, let’s do some creative grave robbing and build something new…ish.

Sometimes you write a story you love, but something is missing. A crucial piece. Or rather a crucial part. Dare I say … a body part?

So you let it die. But you’re sad about it. You keep thinking about it, sure you can bring it back to life. And maybe you can … by borrowing parts from your other writing. You assemble them together to create something new from your best bits and pieces to create a story better than the sum of its parts.

But before we start digging up body parts and stitching them together, we need to know what we’re looking for, so let’s get some advice from the expert himself.

(If there’s a tech problem with the interactive element above or you need alt text, then click here for a popup with the same info.)

Okay, I could have pushed this metaphor further, but I was starting to creep myself out looking for body part graphics. So here’s a shortcut of some other things to look for when stitching together your story’s body parts:

Voice Box = Narrative Voice/Tone, which controls the story’s unique sound.
Eyes = Point of View/Perspective, which is the lens through which everything is filtered.
Nervous System = Emotional Arc, which carries feelings throughout the story.
Blood = Motivation, which flows through every scene and keeps things alive and moving.
Lungs = Pacing, which creates rhythm and alternates between tension and release.

And I think I’ll stop there before I turn this metaphor into a truly horrific monster!

It’s time to be brave enough to dissect your darlings, skilled enough to recognize the viable parts, and mad enough to believe you can stitch them into something new and amazing.

Just remember, Frankenstein’s monster wasn’t just a collection of body parts – he was a unique creation who could think, feel, and rock a seriously iconic look.

So go forth and raid your story graveyards. Dig up those precious pieces. Stitch together something wonderful. And make sure to save your work before the lightning strikes because even mad scientists need good backup practices.

Happy experimenting, and may all your Franken-manuscripts find loving homes!

Thanks so much for reading and participating in Kidlit Zombie Week! Now, lumber your Frankenstein self on over to the Kidlit Zombie Week Bluesky account and join in on the conversation. Don’t forget to check out the prizes for the week (I’ve donated a PB critique!) and invite writing friends to participate in 2025 Kidlit Zombie Week!

I hope you enjoyed my interactive experiment above! I will be creating more edu-taining animations with writing, publishing, and marketing tips, so if you want to be notified when they’re available, sign up for the newsletter.

PS – I have comments turned off because of the spam-apocalypse, so add your Frankenstein feedback on Bluesky at #kidlitzombieweek or my account!

Jocelyn Rish

Jocelyn Rish is a writer and filmmaker who loves researching weird and wonderful animals and sharing what she learns. Her debut was BATTLE OF THE BUTTS, about ten animals that do weird things with their butts. Her latest book is BATTLE OF THE BRAINS, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection about ten animals with mind-blowing brain abilities. When she’s not writing, she tutors kids to help them discover the magic of reading. Jocelyn has won numerous awards for her short stories, screenplays, films, and novels and lives in South Carolina with her adorable dog. Find out more at www.jocelynrish.com.

Posted: Jun 26, 2025

Category: Picture Book

Tags:

Welcome to Transmedia Mutts

Yellow origami dog on a teal background

Unleash your creative bark!

Shout out to AYAP!

Logo for Adventures in YA Publishing

Thank you to the women who started Adventures in YA Publishing and ran it for years. AYAP and TMM have merged to form Adventures in PUPlishing, and the legacy AYAP posts are now part of TMM. Click here to learn more about the earlier AYAP team.

Click to Join our Facebook Group

Share advice, practice pitching, celebrate successes, and support each other through writing and publishing adventures.

← Previous: Dive into the World of YA with Powerhouse Authors Gretchen McNeil and Robyn Schneider

The first slide is an animation of a science/magic room in a castle. A cartoon character of a mad-scientist looking man in in the foreground says: “Hello! Dr. Frankenstein here to say, Well Done on kid lit zombie week! I’m an expert at reviving the dead, and let me assure you, with a little spark, you can bring dead projects to life. Especially if you dig up parts from other dead things. I’ll even let you have a sneak peek at my laboratory’s store room to consider potential parts for your dead project. If you see something with a yellow glow, that means you should click it. Have fun!”

He points to the right side of the screen and a new scene slides in of a castle science/magic storage room. There are various cartoon Frankenstein body parts scattered around. Some of them have a yellow glow. If you click on them, the images below appear (I’ve added alt text to them, so I hope it works).

The Heart of your story is the main character. The protagonist is the beating core that truly brings your story to life. If your MC doesn't make kids (and their grown-ups) care within the first few pages, your story will flatline. </p>
<p>Your main character needs to be:<br />
• Relatable enough for kids to see themselves<br />
• Unique enough to stand out in the slush pile<br />
• Active enough to drive the story<br />
• Memorable enough to survive multiple readings at bedtime</p>
<p>Where do you find this amazing donor heart? It might be the very thing you loved so much about the manuscript you want to revive. It might be the younger sister from your shelved YA novel. Or maybe it’s the hilarious kid you blogged about meeting at a school visit. Find a character beating with potential and place it in the center of your story.<br />

The Brain of your story is the theme or central message. The theme is the big idea that controls everything else. Picture books are more than stories - they're tiny life lessons disguised with humor and heart.</p>
<p>But your theme needs to be:<br />
• Subtle enough not to trigger the dreaded "didactic" rejection<br />
• Clear enough for a four-year-old to grasp<br />
• Universal enough to speak to both kids and adults<br />
• Fresh enough to prevent agents and editors from responding with "Not another sharing/bedtime/first-day story!"</p>
<p>Check your other dead manuscripts to see if there is a recurring theme, something that really seems to be speaking to you. Find the bit of poetry you scribbled on the back of a receipt to see what theme inspired it. Reread the pep talk you texted your critique partner at 1am. Pick the theme that will drive your story, giving it purpose, direction, and deeper meaning.<br />

The Legs of your story is the plot. Not to be confused with a grave plot.🤪 The plot is what keeps everything upright and moving, as well as providing support for all the other elements. You have very few words to use in a picture book, so you need to do a lot with each plot point.</p>
<p>In general, your plot should:<br />
• Hook readers fast<br />
• Build tension that a child can follow<br />
• Create page turns that feel natural<br />
• Wrap up in a way that satisfies</p>
<p>You can borrow a plot twist (a leg) from one manuscript and the opening (the other leg) from a different manuscript. Consider if the subplot of the middle grade novel you trunked would work better as a picture book. Or maybe your Facebook post about a disastrous camping trip could become a story for kids. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have your storyline.

The Arms of your story are the side characters.

The Torso of your story is the setting. Setting helps a story breathe and connects all the elements of the story. It isn't just where your story lives, it's what makes your story ALIVE. It's the difference between "this happened in a park" and "this happened in that park, the one with the twisty slide that burns your legs and the creaky swing that sounds like a baby crying.”</p>
<p>Your setting should:<br />
• Make your character's world feel real<br />
• Contain your story in a way that makes sense to young readers<br />
• Connect different scenes and moments organically<br />
• Give your illustrator enough room to add visual subplots</p>
<p>Half-finished manuscripts are a great place to dig up settings, since you worked out the place details before the plot petered out. Or maybe you had to cut a second fantastic location from your chapter book. You can also revisit the detailed caption from your Instagram carousel documenting your tour of that delish candy shop. Disinter a robust setting that can house all of your story's vital organs.

After you press the Click When Done circle button, the lights flash with the sound of electricity buzzing. Then the screen goes black and lightning zaps across the screen with the sound of thunder.

The screen then lights up to show the storage room, and all the Frankenstein pieces have been assembled into the whole monster. An upbeat song plays in the background. Then a speech bubble pops up with the words, “I’m alive! I’M ALIVE!” Then the screen goes to black.

Dog holding a sign that says Pupdates!

Sign up for our newsletter for pupdates and publishing advice