When I teach a picture book writing class or speak to new writers, I tell them I don’t subscribe to the “write every day” philosophy. That just doesn’t work for me as a picture book author. Sorry, wise writing sages.
However, I do give out this suggestion: “stare every day”.
Yes, I spend the bulk of my time staring (a.k.a. thinking) when writing a picture book. In fact, it’s about 50% of my effort. And thanks to my friend Carter Higgins from Design of the Picture Book, I can now share this secret with you in a deliciously accurate chart.
Can I get you a slice?
(Please note: “Writing” is the cherry on top!)
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 
44 comments
Comments feed for this article
September 10, 2012 at 5:26 pm
Ann Ingalls
You didn’t mention staring at the screen with tea, OJ, or a small glass of wine.
September 10, 2012 at 5:34 pm
Tara Lazar
Insert whatever food or beverage you like! (Personally, I’m a chai or tomato juice girl, but as you all know by now, I’m strange.)
September 11, 2012 at 5:32 am
Julie Falatko
Misread as “chai AND tomato juice” and I was about to frantically unfollow all your Pinterest boards. Phew.
September 11, 2012 at 8:40 am
Tara Lazar
Ha! That would be a nasty combo. But those are my preferred drinks–chai or Earl Grey in the morning, decaf chai or hot cocoa at night, and tomato juice during the day.
September 11, 2012 at 8:59 am
Julie Falatko
I drink a lot of coffee, but also like this Numi Ruby Chai stuff, which I suppose does combine chai and tomato juice in certain respects (tastes, chai-y, red like tomato juice). It’s my 10-2 drink of choice.
I’m glad we’re properly hydrated.
September 10, 2012 at 5:35 pm
Susanna Leonard Hill
Best diagram ever! 🙂
September 10, 2012 at 5:36 pm
Dianne de Las Casas
THAT IS AWESOME! I love me some Carter Higgins!
Warmly, Dianne
Dianne de Las Casas Award-Winning Author & Storyteller Founder of Picture Book Month dianne@storyconnection.net 888-721-5915 http://www.storyconnection.net http://www.picturebookmonth.com
November is Picture Book Month! Read * Share * Celebrate!
Sent from my iPhone 4S so please forgive any errors due to Siri or FFS (Fat Finger Syndrome) 😉
September 10, 2012 at 5:43 pm
carterhiggins
HA! Best thing I ever baked. I’d actually eat that.
PS…Ann Ingalls, let me know if you want to borrow my LARGE glass of wine. Any old time.
September 10, 2012 at 5:47 pm
calisue
Since subscribing to your blog, I’ve enjoyed every morsel of insight into your world of writing!
This post is so true, I drink tons of coffee to get through the staring stages. But when I finally start writing, wham! It’s like an out of body experience!
Thanks for sharing:)
September 10, 2012 at 5:50 pm
Tara Lazar
Hey thanks! I aim to please. Do you need a coffee refill, hun?
September 10, 2012 at 5:53 pm
Darshana
Thanks for the post Tara, sounds familiar. I personally seem to spend a lot of time staring at the screen, change words/deleting then unchanging/undeleting. This can go on for hours. I am trying to spend more time just ‘thinking’ and writing a few notes here and there, that way when I actually sit down to type I know what I want to say.
Carter love the graphic!
September 10, 2012 at 5:54 pm
Genevieve Petrillo
Yup. That’s about right….
September 10, 2012 at 6:01 pm
Antje
Oh thanks! This gives me hope. When I stare at the screen with whatever beverage in my hand and I manage to not pour it over the keyboard – yap happened! – I’m usually not aware of the many eyes simultaneously staring at their screen … Huh. I feel I belong… 🙂
September 10, 2012 at 6:35 pm
Bethany Telles
And I thought I was alone! Although, I have a tendencey to have tea or wine…
My hubby will ask me, “So, did you get any writing done today?” I’ll shrug. He’ll take my laptop off said lap, and will read. He’ll look confused. REALLY confused. “It hasn’t changed since yesterday.” He’ll say, accusingly. “Uh YEAH!” I shout in my early 90s Valley girl voice, “I changed ‘it’ to ‘him’!”
Staring at the screen… It SO counts as writing.
September 10, 2012 at 6:40 pm
Laura Lowman Murray
Love it – making me hungry! And I am glad to hear that somebody else “stares” half the day too! BTW – Carter is awesome! She not only does yummy and true pie graphics – she does incredible picture book trailers!
September 10, 2012 at 6:46 pm
Tina Cho
Great chart, Carter! And I love how the 1% cherry is the most important, Tara!
September 10, 2012 at 7:39 pm
Kirsten Larson
I love it! And of course the brilliant Carter Higgins would come up with the pie chart (or that a chocolate cake chart)?
September 10, 2012 at 7:44 pm
laurasalas
Love this!
September 10, 2012 at 7:51 pm
Diana Murray
Love this! Especially the realistic coffee stain. That must be the residue of creativity. I have those stains on my desk too! But mine are tea or wine. Glad I’m not alone. I do agree that the staring is a key part of the process though.
September 10, 2012 at 11:35 pm
carterhiggins
Oh, I love that: the residue of creativity!
September 10, 2012 at 7:58 pm
Marilyn Underwood
I love your diagram! It perfectly represents what writing is like for me. I write. I erase. I stare. Rinse and repeat. I’m pretty sure my husband thinks I am doing nothing all day because I don’t have pages and pages to show for my time.
September 10, 2012 at 9:13 pm
SevenAcreSky
Absolutely accurate representation of our craft. I will write for coffee, by the way.
September 10, 2012 at 9:20 pm
Kerry Aradhya
This is great, Tara. I can totally relate!
September 10, 2012 at 9:51 pm
Christina Rodriguez
Bowing gracefully to this beautifully designed chart. No one could’ve done better! Carter is an amazing graphic artist!
September 11, 2012 at 4:10 am
Mona Pease
Whew!!! All this time, I thought something was wrong with me! Thanks for sharing this, Tara (and Carter)
September 11, 2012 at 5:31 am
Julie Falatko
Yay! Thanks once again for capturing an aspect of my life I didn’t even know needed capturing and validating. Glad I’m not the only one who writes like this. Though mine has some added aspect of batting kids away, and trying to construct sentences while a 4-year-old is telling me about the party she’s planning on throwing.
September 11, 2012 at 7:26 am
Beth Gallagher
Oh so perfect! I’ve always felt so guilty that writing every day just doesn’t do it for me either, and now I have this fab chart to back me up! 🙂 Thanks!
September 11, 2012 at 7:28 am
wendy
Love the graphic, Carter! (You already know I love you!)
Thanks for sharing it with everyone, Tara.
September 11, 2012 at 8:01 am
heylookawriterfellow
The pie chart is perfect!
Well, almost. I would change only one thing: I would replace “cursing at the screen” with “unnecessary bathroom breaks.”
September 11, 2012 at 8:39 am
Tara Lazar
And I tinkered with “convincing yourself you’re a genius” as a tiny percentage and “staring at the refrigerator”, too.
September 11, 2012 at 8:19 am
Penny Klostermann
I’m so glad you’re sharing
about the endless staring.
I worried I was wearing
my eyes out with the staring.
But now the answer’s glaring–
a book’s born of the staring!!!!
September 11, 2012 at 8:38 am
Tara Lazar
LOVE IT, PENNY! I hear Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka signing this in my head…
September 11, 2012 at 8:40 am
Penny Klostermann
Ha! Funny!
September 11, 2012 at 8:35 am
Wendy
I love the chart, too. But especially appreciate knowing I’m not alone! I’m actually illustrating, rather than writing, right now, but, it’s the same kind of situation.
September 11, 2012 at 10:27 am
Mirka Breen
Cute and yummy.
I do almost no screen-staring. Not good for me. But I do walk a lot… the neighbors can attest to that.
September 11, 2012 at 11:18 am
carrie a. pearson
But where is the slice called, “Reading blog posts instead of writing my manuscript?” Ha.
September 11, 2012 at 9:04 pm
Tara Lazar
Good one, Carrie!
September 11, 2012 at 11:34 am
Joanna
Tara summed it up and Carter drew it up. Swell!
September 11, 2012 at 1:30 pm
Gina
Fantastic! I’ve been doing a ‘write every day’ challenge for two months now and this was just what I needed. The first month was fantastic. I polished up lots of rough stuff and really felt productive. Then the staring, coffee, and thinking took over…
September 14, 2012 at 7:12 am
Elizabeth Stevens Omlor
How did I miss this post??? Oh, I know. I must have been staring. 🙂 I feel that most of my staring occurs away from the computer. Like when I’m cooking, or pushing my kids on the swings, or sometimes it pops up in the middle of a conversation I’m having with my husband about why I just didn’t get around to the laundry… I’ll just start to stare, reworking those lines in my head. Sometimes it even involves laughing to myself! I love it when that happens. You hit the nail on the head Tara! Love this graphic Carter! Sheesh! You are good at what you do!
September 16, 2012 at 4:54 pm
joanna
I’m with the tea and chai drinkers. Also I stare at the corner of my wall. It’s *very* interesting. Glad I’m not alone in that my fingers are idle a lot of the time I am writing.
October 22, 2012 at 10:57 am
Design of the Coffee Mug « Writing for Kids (While Raising Them)
[…] That’s right, she bugged her friend Carter Higgins, the writer and designer behind the popular blog Design of the Picture Book. Yes, the same person who designed the Picture Book Writing Pie. […]
September 2, 2013 at 8:32 pm
megmillerwrites
haha! Love it. I spend a fair amount of time staring off into space in addition to screen time. 😀
September 2, 2013 at 9:41 pm
teresarobeson
Hilarious! I’m glad Carter brought it up again recently as I’d missed it the first time around. 🙂