by Wendy Martin
“Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any.” ~ Orson Scott Card
Five things to do to see new ideas:
- Make up songs. Sing them loudly and off-key.
- Wear clothes that don’t match. Top the outfit off with a funny hat.
- Climb a tree and hang upside-down.
- Splash in mud puddles.
- Reach for the big box of crayons. The one with the sharpener in the box.
If you’re at all like me, you have a lot of ideas swirling around in your brain almost constantly. They wake you up from a deep sleep, or make you lose count when you’re measuring the 3 ½ cups of flour into that cake recipe.
The trouble with a brain awhirl in ideas is sifting through the crowd to find the ones that will make a good picture book. We’re grown-ups. We think grown-up things like obeying the speed limit, who to vote for in the next election or whether we remembered to lock the front door. Sometimes I wonder about other things, too. Like if I can save money by installing solar panels, or what it would be like to live in a house underground.
In order to come up with ideas, really fun, child-like ideas that will appeal to the picture book crowd, we have to put our adult brain on the shelf. Kids don’t care about the speed limit, who’s running for office or if the house is locked up tight when they leave it.
That list above? Each one of the suggestions will help you get in touch with your inner 4-year-old. You know you want to! Just pick one and do it until you stop feeling silly and start enjoying yourself. Then take a refreshed look at the world around you. What do you see/hear/think now?
Did you see the hidden message in the image above? Take another look if you didn’t. Do you see now? Leave a comment below for a chance to win the original watercolor! A winner will be selected randomly in one week.
Wendy Martin is the illustrator of 5 picture books, 3 of which she also wrote. Her first book was chosen as a finalist for the best children’s book of the year during the 2009 Coalition of Visionary Resources annual international COVR awards. Her latest book, The ABCs of Lesser-Known Goddesses: An Art Nouveau Coloring Book for Kids of All Ages was released in June. She is a founding member of both the middle-grade book blog, From the Mixed-Up Files of Middle-Grade Authors, and the initiative to make November International Picture Book Month. Visit her on the web at WendyMartinIllustration.com, Twitter @WendyMartinArt or Facebook.
87 comments
Comments feed for this article
November 19, 2011 at 12:23 am
Janet O'Neil
Love the post! I already do number 1, so I’m feeling ahead of the game. 🙂
November 19, 2011 at 12:23 am
Sharon K. Mayhew (@skmayh)
I see Ideas everywhere…Am I right?
I’m pulling out my Lock Ness Monster hat tomorrow. 😀
November 19, 2011 at 12:27 am
Marcela S
“I see ideas everywhere”
November 19, 2011 at 12:35 am
Janeen Brian
I see ideas everywhere!
Top of table
under chair
inside kennel
behind a scare.
In a mirror
by a baa
near a bell
above a star.
Every day
here and there
I see ideas
EVERYWHERE!
November 29, 2011 at 9:16 pm
Jennifer DuBose
Hey, this looks like the beginnings of another PB idea!
November 19, 2011 at 12:52 am
Sally Phillips
Cute idea and great message! I don’t think my inner child ever left–for long.
November 19, 2011 at 3:17 am
Loni Edwards
Write Everywhere!
I See Ideas
An excellent post! Thank you!
November 19, 2011 at 4:27 am
10minutoscondios
I see Ideas everywhere!
November 19, 2011 at 4:28 am
Julie Fulton
Love these ideas – I will now endeavour to see them everywhere! I also already do number one (on my own of course) – just thought I was verging on lunacy, but now I know I can say I’m preparing for work!!
November 19, 2011 at 4:50 am
Kim Pfennigwerth (@kpfenni)
I hear whispers – “Iseeideas,Iseeideas,Iseeideas…everywhere!” Well, maybe it’s the wind shushing through the trees in the black of night, or the leaves scuttling from under the trees… “Iseeideas…”
🙂 love the message.
November 19, 2011 at 6:00 am
Mona Pease
Thanks for the eye opening post-I “see” what you mean!
November 19, 2011 at 6:16 am
tinamcho
Great illustration to get us using our brains! I’m hoping to think like a child today!
November 19, 2011 at 7:04 am
Linda Norman-Lyman
Love the post! My daughter says I’ve never grown up – in a good way – of course!
November 19, 2011 at 7:09 am
Linda Andersen
If I put my adult brain on the shelf, “I see ideas everywhere.” Thanks for the great reminder.
Linda a.
November 19, 2011 at 7:17 am
Catherine Johnson
Great reminder Wendy. I am bad for using adult ideas and twisting them, like yesterday when I got terribly lost in town and was driving forever one way then back again and all over – Yikes! Will try to think like a child today.
November 19, 2011 at 7:21 am
Laura
I see them too! Love your inspiring illustration.
November 19, 2011 at 7:30 am
Whitney Stewart
Yup, eye see the hidden message. Now to look under the bed for another one. Ooh, scary under there.
November 19, 2011 at 7:44 am
Megan K. Bickel
Love it, Wendy! Very good ideas!
November 19, 2011 at 7:52 am
Carolyn Rohrbaugh
Thanks, your ideas are helpful
November 19, 2011 at 7:53 am
Lori Mozdzierz
Love the hidden message! How creative ;D
#3 it is for me 😀 (Climb a tree and hang upside-down)
Haven’t done that in a long time!
(lightbulb moment) I know the perfect tree 😀
November 19, 2011 at 7:53 am
pascale mackey (@pascalemackey)
Let the frivolous foolishness and fun begin!
November 19, 2011 at 8:08 am
Marina A
Great post! i see ideas everywhere. wonder if I should try all the 5 things at once …
November 19, 2011 at 8:16 am
Tamara Smith
Trying to put my silly old adult mind on the shelf right now! Thank you!
November 19, 2011 at 8:58 am
Ty's Adventures
Hi! I’m Ty!
Mom & I LOVE this post! Thank you for the perty picture (which by the way, I c ideas everywhere, too!) and inspiring words,
“Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any.” ~ Orson Scott Card
I just turned 9, but because of my Down syndrome I sometimes do or say things that a 5 year old might, depending on the thing & depending on my mood (mwah-ha-ha-ha!). Luckily my Mom can help translate that to the rest of the 9 year old world and still have FUN with her kid brain at the same time. So thanks for the awesome post!
http://www.tysadventures.wordpress.com
November 19, 2011 at 9:08 am
angelapenadahle
Great Orson Scott Card quote! I see ideas everywhere. awhirl…
😀
November 19, 2011 at 9:16 am
Courtney Pippin-Mathur
Great Reminder Wendy! Love the details in your illo! and your super cool photo! 🙂
November 19, 2011 at 9:16 am
Amy Dawn DeLuna
I LOVE your ideas. And, you know what?? Feeling like a kid again not only helps you find those ideas … but it just helps you feel young all around. The other day … I was sitting on some swings while my kids soared to the sky. And, I remembered when I was little. I remembered soaring so high … I felt like a bird. So, I started to swing … a little … then a little more … until I was in full force. I was so high … and when I looked down … my inner Amy was yelling “Jump…Jump…Jump” And … how awesome would this be if I said that I actually JUMPED?!?! LOL!!! But, I didn’t. Instead, looking down made me dizzy … and I had to slow myself until I was safely on the ground. BUT … I did feel like a kid. Even if it was for those few minutes that I was soaring through the sky. And … now … when I’m in that Kid-trance … I will make sure to take a moment to look at the world around me .. and see what I “C”. 🙂
November 19, 2011 at 1:42 pm
Elizabeth McBride
…Know what you mean, Amy! Every once in awhile when I am walking past the elementary school gym in our school and they are in there having a marvelous time playing floor hockey, I just want to dart in there and grab a stick (okay, they are all sooooo short!) and play too!
November 19, 2011 at 9:22 am
Jan Milusich
Sometimes I hear ideas they come in the turn of a phrase or a particular word that’s fun to get your tongue around. I find using all of my senses let’s me into a child’s POV faster than my mind will often allow.
November 19, 2011 at 9:32 am
Diane Kress Hower
i see ideas everywhere too. thanks
November 19, 2011 at 9:55 am
Jarm Del Boccio
Yep…”I see ideas everywhere”.
Maybe I’m not coming up with ideas lately because I am too serious…if I lighten up, and become a child again, eye 2 will C!!
November 19, 2011 at 10:32 am
Lynn
I know there are ideas all around me all the time, I just have to stop thinking above them and actually ‘see’ them. Thanks for yet another reminder to let the child in me come out to play. 🙂
November 19, 2011 at 11:24 am
Sonja Anderson
I See Ideas Everywhere!
Thank you for this PiBoIdMo opportunity! I never thought I could do this, but I’m at 22 ideas on the 19th of November, and having fun!
November 19, 2011 at 11:42 am
Sarah C. Pilon
A fun, light post filled with great ideas!! Just what I needed today 🙂
November 19, 2011 at 11:43 am
Janet
Love the illustration. Writing picture books is a great occupation for adults who refuse to grow up.
November 19, 2011 at 11:55 am
Robyn Campbell
Ideas. What a fun post. Hope I win. I do a lot of these. Playing ball, racing with my dog, watching my horses gallop through the pasture on a crisp fall day, laughing at my son’s dog who laughs at us. What a life we’ve been given. What a cool job! I’m up to 34 ideas. And a lot of them are exciting ideas too. *waving and giggling*
November 19, 2011 at 11:56 am
Joyce Ray
Playing with songs, crayons and clothes are my choices from Wendy’s list. No mud puddles here in November, and it’s probably too dangerous for a writer my age to hang from a tree. It’s a fun post and the illustration is great. I need to open my eyes wide as I am now a day behind in ideas!
November 19, 2011 at 12:21 pm
carol
I agree- we can see ideas everywhere if we open our “child” eyes and look. I got several ideas after a long chat with my 4-year-old granddaughter! Her ideas and questions were so refreshing and enlightening.
November 19, 2011 at 12:40 pm
Tracy Warren (@socialTracyW)
I see ideas everyone-great illustration. This challenge has opened me up to finding ideas all through the day.
November 19, 2011 at 12:56 pm
M. G. King
Great to know that my ability to sing loudly, off-key has some side benefits! Clever post!
November 19, 2011 at 1:19 pm
Wendy
Thanks for all the wonderful comments! I need to take my own advice as I’m a day behind. Life has confounded me with adult duties once again. I’m so lucky I get to color for a living.
November 19, 2011 at 1:24 pm
Bonnie Adamson
Singing silly songs today, Wendy!
Wishing you a quick resolution to adult duties and a speedy return to childhood. 😀
November 19, 2011 at 1:37 pm
Elizabeth McBride
I’m with you, Wendy! “…of all the ways to see the world, it’s ‘upside down’ I love!” is the closing line in a poem I entered into the Children’s Writer poetry contest this Fall. Great post! I would add that one way to truly be inspired and refreshed as a children’s writer, is to listen to their conversations, study their reasoning, consider the world from their perspective – which means with much less background knowledge than you have now.
November 19, 2011 at 2:44 pm
kdhuxman
I see ideas everywhere, too! Now going to find my grandson’s crayons.
November 19, 2011 at 2:47 pm
Ishta Mercurio
Great post! It is so important to get back in touch with our 4-year-old selves.
Another thing that helps me is to spend time with little kids, not judging or teaching, but just listening and understanding.
Thanks for sharing your ideas, and for the generous giveaway!
November 19, 2011 at 3:17 pm
Doris Holik Kelly --Niles MI
(+) (o) -C ideas everywhere. Give me the crayons and get out of my chair.
Clearly taking a break from writing to color with crayons is a wonderful idea. And they smell good too. Takes me back to elementary school and art class.
November 19, 2011 at 3:45 pm
Karen Cheesman
u r a * !!!
November 19, 2011 at 3:48 pm
Gary Masskin
I wish could stop my 4 yr old daughter from ageing… She’s a great inspiration for ideas, especially when I let my inner child play with her
November 19, 2011 at 4:10 pm
Marge McGugan
I see…
numbers are people too
animals have jobs
flowers dance and sing
trees are cops
we need regular baths in dirt
Thanks for getting my cranial hamster back in his wheel and all caffeinated up. Now he won’t stop… 🙂
November 19, 2011 at 4:14 pm
Sue Heavenrich
songs – check.
socks that don’t match – check.
mud puddles – check.
crayons – hey, will fingerpaints work? And what about that school paste that smelled so good we used to lick it off our fingers!
November 20, 2011 at 10:49 am
Wendy
Finger paints are even better. You can get MESSY!
November 19, 2011 at 4:40 pm
Gail Handler
Oh, oh “I see ideas everywhere” too! Great post. Love your work, Wendy!
November 19, 2011 at 5:15 pm
Maria Gianferrari
See them, hear them, smell them too!
Thanks for the fun and kid-centric post!
November 19, 2011 at 5:31 pm
Lori Grusin Degman
You’re so right – it’s hard NOT to see ideas! Thanks for the great post!
November 19, 2011 at 6:04 pm
Donna Martin
Thanks, Wendy, your post alone just gave me another PB idea and I’ve already met my challenge goal!
November 19, 2011 at 7:10 pm
carterhiggins
What a fun post! Stumped me on the hidden message, cause I didn’t follow directions! I kept looking in your numbered list for a code to crack. I’m with it now. 🙂 More coffee!!
November 19, 2011 at 7:34 pm
Christie
Great advice! Thank you!
November 19, 2011 at 7:42 pm
Beth MacKinney
Thanks for the post, Wendy. When you think about it, it’s just amazing that any of us can stop being grown up long enough to write PBs. We have to protect that part of ourselves from getting older. : )
November 19, 2011 at 7:43 pm
Beth MacKinney
P.S. I see the message!
November 19, 2011 at 8:03 pm
Bethany Telles
Fantastically true!! Out to find a tree to climb!
November 19, 2011 at 8:47 pm
thiskidreviewsbooks
I don’t have to look far for my inner child (because I’m nine years old). I wonder when adults stop thinking like kids?
November 19, 2011 at 9:05 pm
Tia C. M. Svardahl
Exactly what I needed! I love the idea of number 2! My girls do this all the time so why can’t I? Here’s to a great new outfit this week. Maybe I will let my girls dress me up and see what they come up with!
Thanks for the great post.
November 19, 2011 at 9:16 pm
Susie Sawyer
I saw it! I saw it! Fun! Thanks for the reminder about finding my inner child. I have the added benefit of an amazing, creative, imaginative four-year-old daughter to help me as well. Yay! Off to jot down some ideas. 🙂
November 19, 2011 at 10:12 pm
Lynda Shoup
Thanks for the reminder. When I look back at some of my ideas I find they came from my adult brain. Some of the more promising ones came from my child brain.
I always enjoy your insights.
November 20, 2011 at 12:47 am
Mindy Alyse Weiss
Thanks for the great post, Wendy! And what a perfect picture for this.
I make up songs all the time, and didn’t realize that a lot of other writers or illustrators do it, too! It drives my girls crazy, but half the time, I don’t even realize I’m doing it. And the truth is, I really don’t want to stop. Making up songs is fun!
I also love seeing the large box of crayons. My eyes glaze over when I take my girls shopping to get ready for school, and see all those amazing supplies!
November 20, 2011 at 1:00 am
LadyInRead
I see ideas everywhere,
climbing up the table,the chair!
Love the post.. I definitely #1 and 2 regularly.. #3 have not done that in some time (climbed a tree but not the hanging upside down part), #4 and 5 – need to do more often (it is raining here today so tomorrow will have perfect mud puddles in the yard)
November 20, 2011 at 4:06 am
Romelle Guittap
Love the water color! I do see ideas everywhere! As for your things to do list, I do most of them all the time, especially the making up of songs and singing it off key. I’ll try the hanging upside down a tree or maybe I’ll hang upside down on a monkey bar instead.
November 20, 2011 at 6:10 am
Andrea
This is such a great post! One of the things I love about being a writer is the way ideas do seem to come out of the blue, when I’m least expecting them. And what a lovely drawing! You are sweet to offer it up for a giveaway.
November 20, 2011 at 9:52 am
Cathy Cronin
Great post! And I love the picture and hidden message. Very clever and perfect for this challenge.
November 20, 2011 at 10:20 am
Deb Marshall
Thank you thank you, Wendy. Great advice…and you know what?
I see ideas everywhere!
November 20, 2011 at 11:00 am
Debbie Austin
I see ideas everywhere!
I think I’ll go get out my box of crayons.
Thanks for the reminder to think like a 4 year old.
Love the image!
November 20, 2011 at 8:59 pm
Kerry Aradhya
Thanks for sharing your childlike perspective. Love your watercolor. Reminds me of my school days when a friend and I used to make up notes in rebuses and pass them back and forth during class 🙂
November 21, 2011 at 12:30 am
Marcy P.
Lovely! And I really DO see ideas everywhere! Sometimes I feel nutty about getting ideas from such random things and conversations!
November 21, 2011 at 10:49 am
Brook Gideon
I have a love-hate relationship with the ideas that come in the middle of the night and you never wrote them down. They are inspiring yet fleeting. Thank you for sharing!
November 21, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Melinda Salminen
“I see ideas EVERYWHERE!”
Thanks for the great post and quote. Maybe #6 could be…
Have a silly hair day.
OH! Well, how about that? I just got my PB idea for the day! : )!
November 21, 2011 at 1:34 pm
Sheila O Lindsay
I see Ideas everywhere
Thanks for reminding me, you are so right. They can appear in the strangest places, and those are usually the good ones.
November 21, 2011 at 1:35 pm
Michelle Bradford
Thanks Wendy. Yes, I too see ideas everywhere. Now if I could just sleep through the nighttime epiphanies. Ha! Thanks for the post and for giving back. You are appreciated!
November 21, 2011 at 4:59 pm
Christie Wild
I see the word “be” under the chair with the girl in the purple dress. Let us all *BE* writers!
November 21, 2011 at 5:18 pm
laurasalas
Fun post and picture! I feel like spinning until I’m dizzy–We’ll see what ideas come from that:>)
November 21, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Juliet Clare Bell
Thanks for the post. I love seeing ideas everywhere. It’s the discipline PiBoIdMo gets me into every year.
November 22, 2011 at 10:35 am
Marcie Colleen
Well said! Thank you! Inner child…here I come!
November 22, 2011 at 11:53 am
Mary Meinking
I see ideas everywhere… too. But are they a picture book quality? Working on that. Thanks for giving us permission to get in touch with our inner 4-year old.
November 22, 2011 at 9:07 pm
Sandi Hershenson
I see ideas everywhere! Great post! I love putting my brain on the shelf!
November 22, 2011 at 10:44 pm
Rachel Smoka-Richardson
Thank you for your fun and inspiring post!
November 23, 2011 at 5:22 pm
Betsy Devany
I love your Five Things to Do. And as for my inner four-year-old self, it is alive and thriving. Especially on the days when I volunteer in kindergarten class or work at the toy store. Children are the greatest gifts in our universe.
November 28, 2011 at 4:12 pm
Laura
the message was i see ideas everywhere soooooooooo cool!
and i like how the hidden message was hdden
November 29, 2011 at 9:19 pm
Jennifer DuBose
Great reminder! Fabulous illustration, too!