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Friday, May 16, 2014

How to Write a Rebus Story by Tina Cho

One way to break into writing for children’s magazines is to write puzzles, activities, and rebus stories. That’s how I started writing long ago for Stories for Children and Clubhouse Jr. In fact, my fourth rebus will be published this summer in Clubhouse Jr.



A rebus story is a very short story that uses words and pictures that stand for words. These stories are written for young children just learning to read. Often, the endings of these stories include a surprise, a twist, or some kind of humor. I like to think of the ending as a punch line. Since these stories are for beginning readers, simple vocabulary and lots of repetition is best.

I get my rebus story ideas from activities my children do. For example, one time we went miniature golfing. That led to a sale, "A Golf Ball Mystery," in which a groundhog had stolen the ball out of the hole. Another summer we bought the kids insect nets for the clouds of dragonflies that hover in late summer. I wrote a rebus about my kids trying to catch dragonflies and butterflies. In my story, they caught nothing. But in the end, as they sat under a tree, Daddy caught them and took them out for ice cream. So this coming summer, look for great opportunities to turn a family outing into a story!


Before you write a rebus, check the magazine you’re targeting because each magazine has specific guidelines regarding word count. Study 3-5 rebuses of the magazine you want to write for. How many pictures do they include in the rebus? If the magazine seems to use 7-10 picture words, then try to write your story so it will include the same amount.

Formatting a rebus is a little different in that you need to tell the illustrator which words will be pictures. I use brackets around each word that will be a picture. Others highlight or underline the word they think will make a good picture. For example, this is how I typed the beginning from my rebus “Catching On,” Clubhouse Jr, June 2013. 

[Daddy] bought [Anna] and [Isaac] [butterfly] [nets]. [Anna] got a [pink net], and [Isaac] got a [blue net]. [Anna] ran through the [park] chasing [butterflies]. [Isaac] ran through the [park] chasing [dragonflies]. 

And here's what the beginning looks like in published form with the illustrations.

Here are a list of magazines that I know of that accept rebuses. Feel free to let me know of others, and I'll add them to the list!
  • Clubhouse Jr.
  • Highlights
  • Ladybug (Ladybug guidelines don't mention rebuses, but I know Ladybug has published rebuses.)
  • Turtle (Turtle guidelines don't mention rebuses, but they also publish them.)






42 comments:

  1. Congratulations on all those rebuses! This is a great post and I think a great summer goal for me would be to have a monthly rebus writing challenge and see what I can come up with.

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  2. That sounds fun, Laura! And I used my children's names on my rebuses, so my kids like seeing their names in print!

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  3. Nice! Thanks for sharing your tips.

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  4. Gladly, Sylvia. Thanks for stopping by.

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  5. You made this sound so simple and fun, Tina. Great "how-to" and i am going to try it when I get in a writer's dead zone and feel I can not produce. Sounds like a fun way to write. My grandson Tobin at 4 is full of stories and summer fun!

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    1. Yes, I hope you like writing rebuses, Kathy. Do try it. Tobin (great name) will probably give u a number of ideas.

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  6. Very thorough, Tina. That's pretty much what is needed to write and submit rebus stories. I bold my picture-words, which seems to work. I have sold a few. They're great fun, and it's always such a treat to see how they're illustrated.

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    1. Good to hear from another experienced rebus writer! Yes, I like seeing how they end up illustrated!

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  7. As I read, write, count, create and play with my preschoolers everyday, I enjoy watching them learn and grow and become emergent readers and writers. They like to read big books with *words to know* [high frequency words] and rebus stories. Your how to, Tina, is helpful and encouraging. I look forward to writing some rebus stories. ~Suzy Leopold

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    1. Great, Suzy! I'm sure you can write a great rebus. Your preschoolers will be surprised when they learn YOU wrote it!

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  8. Terrific post, Tina! I'm going to give it a try.

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    1. Good for you, Patty! Let me know how it goes!

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  9. Thanks for this, Tina. I have tried to write a rebus with no success. This encourages me go try again!

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    1. Yes, do try again, Jarm. You have so many stories and knowledge!

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  10. This is a cool post - I had no idea what a rebus story was! ;) Thanks for teaching me!

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    1. No problem, Erik. You've probably read them but didn't know what they were called.

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  11. Congratulations, Tina, on all these wonderful rebus sales!!!! And thanks for sharing the step by step process.

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  12. Thanks so much, Nancy! Thanks for teaching me to write for children!

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  13. Thanks Tina! I was always curious about rebuses. I think I will give it a try for fun. Always nice to challenge ourselves.

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  14. Super, Romelle! They are fun. Let me know if you get one published!

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  15. I'm sorry I'm a bit late to your article, Tina. We were out of town. You did another great job with it and I enjoyed hearing about your examples. Congratulations on all those publications!! I've had fun with rebuses and agree they're a great way to break into magazine writing.

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    1. Thanks, Ev! Yes, they're a lot of fun to write.

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  16. In our critique group we have fun writing rebuses. One of our writers has sold them to Highlights on more than one occasion. A great exercise & to actuallly have one published means a writer has skills many of us still need to perfect. Congrats, Tina! :)

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    1. Thanks, Jan, for the compliment. That's neat you do rebus writing as a group!

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  17. Thanks for this post, Tina! I've been saving it in my Inbox and got to it this evening. I've always loved Rebus stories. Maybe I'll write one some day :-) I appreciate you sharing your process. Very helpful.

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    1. Thanks, Penny. Yes, you'd be great at writing rebuses!

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  18. Great post TIna! I have been tossing around several Rebus story ideas and this is the inspiration that I need to set them down on paper. I too set the post aside for the time I was ready to start. Tonight's the night! Thanks

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    1. I'm happy for you, Mary! I'm glad this was helpful and hope to see your rebus published soon!

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  19. Hi Tina, I'm finally getting around to reading blogs. Thank you for sharing how to write a rebus, and for the links. And congratulations on getting published again. Very inspiring. :-)

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    1. Thanks so much, Tracy! I was thinking of you and your blog the other day.

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  20. Great post! I haven't ever read about the set up of a rebus before. Thank you.

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  21. Sorry I never read this one, Tina! Excellent instructional post....and congrats on your success with rebuses. And thanks for the links to the magazines that might be interested in them. ;)

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Vivian! Give rebuses a try sometime!

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  22. This is a great article. Thanks also for the list of possible markets.

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  23. Thanks for this info, and congrats on your success in this area, Tina. I used to love reading these when I was a kid.

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    1. Me, too! I think kids still enjoy them, especially beginning readers.

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  24. Great post, Tina. Thanks for sharing your successes and for the markets.

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  25. Thanks for this article, Tina! I have rebus pieces that I'd like to see in publication - your article encourages me to keep trying.

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  26. Thanks for this article, Tina! I have rebus pieces that I'd like to see in publication - your article encourages me to keep trying.

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