by Sudipta Bardhan-QuallenNovember 29, 2010 12:19 pm
If you’re like me, writing is work. By this I mean it is my job, my primary source of income (therefore, work) but also that it is just plain HARD. There is nothing so depressing as trying to come up with something new and fresh to write about—and coming up with nothing.
That happens to me a lot.
So what do you do?
Well, I really don’t know the answer. But here are some tricks I use to muddle through those times when I have nothing to write about.
1) Start with character. I truly believe that the most important aspect of a picture book, what drives its popularity the most, is a charismatic main character. The premise, the setting, the cutesy word play and rhyme—all of these are secondary to character. So if you need to brainstorm only one thing, work on that viable character list.
The trick to creating a truly charismatic main character is to blend flaws with flair. Don’t just come up with fifty cute character traits. Give your main character some faults, some defects—he will be infinitely more interesting.
2) Something old into something new. There are so many examples of authors who take an old idea and make it into something modern and fresh. The entire genre of fractured fairy tales is built on the premise that recognizable is always a benefit for marketing, but recognizable AND fresh is money in the bank. Now I’m not at all recommending that all you do is read a collection of Grimm’s fairy tales and add a hippopotamus to each story (don’t do that, because it was my idea first). But if you can take inspiration from something your audience will recognize and then take it to a brand new place, where is the downside?
Some examples of this in my own work:
THE HOG PRINCE – we know it’s a frog prince, not a hog prince, but Eldon does not.
QUACKENSTEIN – isn’t every monster story better with a duck?
THE TWELVE WORST DAYS OF CHRISTMAS – believe it or not, in addition to a Christmas song, this is a sibling story
3) Look at your own life. And I mean this as way to eliminate bad ideas. When you’re having a hard time with inspiration, there is the temptation to use your own children or grandchildren as your muses. Trust me, this is a bad idea. Because as cute as their latest antics are to you, they very rarely make for good picture books. Save yourself. Don’t do it.
4) Exercise. Well, do a writing exercise at least. When you’re really stuck you could reinforce your writing ability by taking a book that is perhaps not one of your favorites and then rewriting it the way it should be. Obviously, you can’t then try to publish your version of Dora the Explorer (because Nora the Explorer or even Eleanora the Explorer is simply not going to be fresh enough to merit a whole new franchise!). But the exercise will show you that you are not only able to create a new story but one that is better than something that was actually published (which means there is hope for you yet) and, again, you never know where that road will lead.
5) When all else fails, take a breath. Sorry, guys, sometimes the ideas are not going to come. No matter how much you force it. When you are really and truly stuck, stop trying so hard. Instead, work on revising older manuscripts—maybe you can whip one of those into shape. Or perhaps the something old that you will turn into something new will come from your own pile of older ideas.
Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen is the author of 18 non-fiction books for children and several picture books. Her newest release, QUACKENSTEIN HATCHES A FAMILY, will be followed by CHICKS RUN WILD in January. Enter the CHICKS contest at sudipta.com!
Posted by Tara Lazar
Categories: Children's Books, Children's Writing, PiBoIdMo 2010, Picture Books, Writing for Children
Tags: Chicks Run Wild, Quackenstein, Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
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Oh, I love Quackenstein! Just read it last week!
By Megan K. Bickel on November 29, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Thanks for this, Sudipta.
I especially like your first point. Building a character with flaws would probably make ‘him’ more interesting to children. I do wonder about your point three, though, because many of us get our ideas from the children in our lives. Perhaps we need to keep your tip in mind and use wisdom in where our ideas come from and which ones to choose for stories.
By Lynn on November 29, 2010 at 12:37 pm
Lynn,
I agree that children are an inspiration, and every one of my books was inspired by my children in some way. I was only trying to point out that when you are trying to force inspiration it is easy to be blown away by the cuteness of the kids we love and not examine the inspiration closely enough to tell whether it is a good idea or a bad one…
By sudiptabq on November 29, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Hi, friend, so nice to see you here! As you know, I was, and always am a fan. See you in New Jersey. Hugs ❤
By Lynne Marie on November 29, 2010 at 12:40 pm
Wonderful advice, especially in regard to establishing character!
I have QUACKENSTEIN on my list–and am so excited about CHICKS RUN WILD (big fan of illustrator Ward Jenkins!).
By Bonnie Adamson on November 29, 2010 at 12:50 pm
Sudipta, I’ve been following Ward’s art for CHICKS RUN WILD. Oh my word. The one with the glasses is adorable! You couldn’t have been matched w/ a more perfect illustrator!
Great advice found here as always. 🙂
By Kristin Gray on November 29, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Very cool! Thanks for sharing!
By Marcy Pusey on November 29, 2010 at 1:48 pm
What? No ‘Laura the Explorer’? Thanks for the great post and encouragement. Puff puff. We are almost to the finish!
By Stephanie Shaw on November 29, 2010 at 3:30 pm
Great pointers, Sudipta! I always always always plot/hook first, then fit in characters from my subconscious. I really need to get out of that mindset and try some character-building first, then throw them into a situation that clashes with their personality. Like your tip about re-writing something that we consider badly written. Definitely a good exercise, without having to come up with a new idea from scratch (no pressure there, just brain games).
By Heather Kephart on November 29, 2010 at 4:00 pm
Great advice and coming just in the nick of time for me. “;-) With all these new one-liners I’ve come up with over Tara’s awesome PB blogfest, I’m ready to write!! Thanks for sharing.
By Sheri A. Larsen on November 29, 2010 at 4:25 pm
Love this post! No matter how many times I hear Sudipta speak, she never runs out of new and helpful things to say! Can’t wait for CHICKS RUN WILD! (I’m pre-ordering!)
By Corey Schwartz on November 29, 2010 at 5:24 pm
I pay Corey to say things like this.
By sudiptabq on November 29, 2010 at 6:28 pm
Thanks for the wise advice and the inspiration. I’ve been stuck for weeks and it’s nice to know even published authors get that way.
By Joanne Fritz on November 29, 2010 at 5:56 pm
Joanne, stuck is my default state. The times I’m inspired are the anomaly.
By sudiptabq on November 29, 2010 at 6:29 pm
Great advice! Thanks!
By Rachel on November 29, 2010 at 7:43 pm
Thank you thank you Ms Sudipta.
You know that I’m another one of your fans!
By Mona Pease on November 29, 2010 at 8:06 pm
Wonderful post!! Thank you.
By Catherine Denton on November 29, 2010 at 10:50 pm
I love that you’re focusing us on character first. Frequently we hear this in regard to older fiction (MG and YA) but character is just as important in picture books. (Even if your initial inspiration stems from plot, it always seems to result in a stronger book with a well conceived character in the center.)
By Linda Lodding on November 30, 2010 at 4:03 am
Quackenstein is on my to-read list right nowo–can’t wait! Thanks for the post…
By laurasalas on November 30, 2010 at 7:07 am
I can’t think of anything that couldn’t be improved with a duck! Thanks for sharing your tricks, and I look forward to reading your books!
By M. G. King on November 30, 2010 at 9:41 am
I’m putting those three books on my wish list. 🙂 Thanks for your post!
By Loni Edwards on November 30, 2010 at 12:30 pm
What a superb post! I’m a very character driven reader so I often started with characters, but I love the other ideas too. Thanks so much for sharing.
Cheryl
By ccgevry on November 30, 2010 at 2:17 pm
Your post was very liberating for me. There are so many days when I feel like I am just plain stuck on story ideas but I have lots of interesting characters floating in my head. Thanks for the license to start there.
By Dorina Lazo Gilmore on December 1, 2010 at 1:42 am