I started writing for kids over a decade ago and soon started meeting other people who also wrote for kids. When they talked about how they had so many ideas and not enough time to write them all, I secretly wished I could pinch them. A really mean pinch—a tiny bit of skin squeezed and twisted brutally between thumb and forefinger, the kind of pinch my sisters and I used to give each other when we were furious.
Too many ideas was not the kind of problem I had. I didn’t have enough.
A decade later, I’ve learned that picture book ideas come to me when I’m supposed to be working on a novel. I’m proud of my subconscious for being so clever. In the past few months, when I was supposed to be toiling on a middle-grade novel, I’ve written drafts of three picture books.
Two were from PiBoIdMo 2011 ideas. The one I finished, FIRST GRADE DROPOUT, went out on submission and sold in two days. That’s a first for me—a quick sale. My PiBoIdMo success story.
If you felt like you were moving well beyond your comfort zone when you signed up for PiBoIdMo 2012, please know that you are not alone. I’m not very good at public writing events. I don’t generally participate in such things—my process is more private-feeling and works on its own clock. But last year I decided to give it a try. In the end, I really liked the way PiBoIdMo pushed out the walls to provide a bigger creative space for me.
And if, in the early days of November, you find yourself worrying about how lame your ideas are or how you have no idea how to get from that idea to a finished manuscript, take heart. It took time for my PiBoIdMo ideas to marinate. If I had started writing FIRST GRADE DROPOUT immediately after jotting down the idea last November, it would have been awful. My PiBoIdMo idea was, I now know, more like half an idea. It was what happened in the book. It took nine months of my brain silently working away to figure out how to tell that story. In this particular case, the how was more important than the what. (I’d tell you all right now, but that would be giving away the punch line years ahead of pub date.)
I’m participating again this year, even though I’m supposedly hard at work on finishing up this novel. PiBoIdMo still scares me. I just know that on one (or more) of those days, when I can’t think of anything new, I’m likely to steal from myself to pad out the list—dig up old ideas that didn’t work to give them some new attention. (I did this last year. Shhhh. Don’t tell Tara.)
But on those days when I run into a writer who has so many ideas and not nearly enough time, well, it’ll be nice to think of my overstuffed PiBoIdMo file. I won’t gloat though, as that’s just awful for those suffering through an idea drought. And I really hate being pinched.
Audrey Vernick is the author of six picture books, including IS YOUR BUFFALO READY FOR KINDERGARTEN?; SO YOU WANT TO BE A ROCKSTAR; and BROTHERS AT BAT; as well as the middle-grade novel WATER BALLOON. Her next picture book, out in June, is BOGART AND VINNIE: A Completely Made-Up Story of True Friendship, with EDGAR’S SECOND WORD following after that. A two-time recipient of the New Jersey Council of the Arts Fiction Fellowship, Audrey lives in a house full of inspiration: one husband, one son, one daughter, and two dogs. She blogs about writing buddies at Literary Friendships.
41 comments
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October 30, 2012 at 12:18 am
tinamcho
I hate to be pinched as well. And I’m always wondering how and where people come up with such great ideas! Congratulations on your new pb’s!
October 30, 2012 at 1:51 am
julietclarebell
Thanks, Audrey. It’s such a good point about letting things take their time after the idea/half-idea has formed. It can be really tempting with PiBoIdMo to try and write up your drafts really quickly but it’s great to leave them till they find a way of telling themselves.
Clare.
October 30, 2012 at 2:11 am
Catherine Johnson
Here, here!
October 30, 2012 at 4:25 am
Roelant Dewerse
Audrey, I’m one of those with ideas in a notebook but nothing much more, so I’m glad we haven’t met just yet! Thanks for your encouragement; it give me hope that one or two of those ideas might make it through the long journey to publication some day.
October 30, 2012 at 5:58 am
lindamartinandersen
Audrey,
With all your published works, it’s hard to imagine you having trouble generating ideas. Thanks for encouraging us all to hang in there through November’s PiBoIdMo. Let’s all hold our pinches to ourselves. Ouch!
October 30, 2012 at 6:13 am
laurasalas
I love your honesty here!
October 30, 2012 at 6:55 am
Penny Klostermann
Congratulations on your success and thanks for telling us that PiBoIdMo scares you…because I feel that, too. How in the world will I come up with 30 ideas in November???? But then I remember last year and somehow…with all the community and posts like this….it just happened.
October 30, 2012 at 7:12 am
Sheri Larsen
I love hearing about all your success! So inspiring!
October 30, 2012 at 8:14 am
Robyn Campbell
Yippee for you. Sending you lotsa congrads and stuff like that! I loved reading about your PiBoIdMo edginess. ME TOO! But every year I see ideas all over my farm and through my kids and even at the grocery store. And so it goes.
It’s a big circle. The thought to sign up for PiBoIdMo, the worry and anticipation of MY failure, then the ideas day after day and finally the worrisome thoughts about the next year and never finding any ideas.
*waves peace sign*
October 30, 2012 at 8:34 am
C. C. Gevry
I love the cover of the first book in this article. it’s silly and fun. I worry that I won’t have enough ideas either, so I can relate. One of my ideas from when I participated in PiBoIdMo in 2010 is now under contract, so I hope that will inspire me.
Wishing you the best,
Cheryl
October 30, 2012 at 8:42 am
Desiree Batson
Congrats. You’ve inspired be not to steal from my list as well. New ideas every day!
October 30, 2012 at 9:10 am
Cathy Ballou Mealey
Oooh…love the FIRST GRADE DROPOUT teaser Audrey!
October 30, 2012 at 9:38 am
julie rowan zoch
You can pinch me; I have no trouble with ideas. That is, if I can pinch you – for knowing which were worth the attention and dressing them appropriately for submission! Glad we can all be in this together.
October 30, 2012 at 10:29 am
Ty's Adventures
I can totally relate to what Audrey is saying! I do not perform well under pressure & cranking out fresh ideas on a daily basis scares me a bit, too. Your post does make me think no matter what my idea might be (lame or fantastic) I should jot it down anyway, because you just never know what it might turn into. *Just keep writing, just keep writing, just keep writing…Dory has made her way into my head lol* Thank you for helping me realize that!
Can’t wait to read FIRST GRADE DROPOUT to my boyseez!
October 30, 2012 at 10:37 am
Marcie Colleen
I know how you feel. I always want to pinch those PiBoIdMo participants who gloat they came up with 27 ideas on the first day. Grrrr! But I guess we all have our own work style.
Great post and good luck to all PiBoIdMo’ers this year!
October 30, 2012 at 10:54 am
Lori Alexander
Good to hear successful authors go through dry-spells like the rest of us 😉 My son and I have read BROTHERS AT BAT over and over—what a fascinating story! I nominated it for the NF Cybil Award. Good luck with PiBoIdMo 2012!
October 30, 2012 at 11:12 am
Judy Cox
Don’t pinch me! I do get a lot of ideas, but so many of them are half-baked. It’s hard to get through the muddled middles and come up with a satisfying ending. So I’m challenging myself to try to push beyond simply jotting down a picture book idea, and come up with (at least) a bit of a plot as well. I’m not counting on 30 plots in 30 days, but I’m hoping for two or three full picture book ideas in addition to my scribbles.
October 30, 2012 at 11:30 am
Carolyn
Looking forward to another month of ideas. Hope my computer holds on
October 30, 2012 at 12:00 pm
Maria Gianferrari
Thanks for your inspirational post, Audrey!
I hope that you, Tara and other New Jersey-ites are safe after the terrible storm! (and those of you in NY too!)
~Maria
October 30, 2012 at 12:58 pm
Beth Stilborn
Great post, Audrey! Thank you. And I’ll echo the hope that all have remained safe through the storm.
October 30, 2012 at 1:01 pm
kamikinard
Great post Audrey! And congrats on that first sale!
October 30, 2012 at 1:01 pm
kamikinard
I meant your first PiBoIdMo sale!!!
October 30, 2012 at 2:17 pm
Cindy Breedlove
Nice to read about someone like me- not the published pb part- but the being out of one’s comfort zone. I have pencil poised over my notebook and am hoping for the best.
October 30, 2012 at 3:26 pm
stephseclecticinterests
Ideas I have. However, if someone says, “I have an excess of free time for writing and don’t know how to fill it,” I will definitely be tempted to pinch said individual.
October 30, 2012 at 6:44 pm
Debra Feldman
Thanks for sharing your success and fears. I like that writing your PB mind sneaks into your MG mind–knock knock, psssst…pay attention, I have an idea!
October 30, 2012 at 7:30 pm
Sue Rankin
I feel so much more at ease now that I’ve read this. Half ideas? Yep. It’s usually one piece of the puzzle that needs to marinate. Thank you for sharing your process and congrats on your PB successes!
October 30, 2012 at 10:24 pm
Donna Earnhardt
Congratulations on your PiBoIdMo success story. It helps me have hope!
October 31, 2012 at 12:55 am
Laurie Ann Thompson
Great post, Audrey! I go through spurts. First it’s too many ideas, too little time to write them, then there will be the long dry spells. I can so relate to both. I guess you can pinch me, just not very hard? Since I signed up for PiBoIdMo, I’ve had a great burst of ideas (quantity, that is, not necessarily quality), which I’m sure means the dry spell will hit on Thursady and last about 30 days. But, hey, even it’s that’s the case, I ALREADY won, because I have a page full of shiny new ideas! Getting from idea to fully realized plot is always a challenge, though, so it’s comforting to know that doesn’t always come easy for you. Best of luck, with the writing AND the storm cleanup!
October 31, 2012 at 1:27 am
Elizabeth Stevens Omlor
Love that it took nine months of your brain to silently work it out. I feel like I need to sometimes give my brain the benefit of the doubt, that IT WILL work a storyline or detail out, eventually. The waiting is torture, but the end result is pretty satisfying. =) Thanks so much for this great post Audrey!
October 31, 2012 at 1:40 am
viviankirkfield
Audrey…I had to smile when I read about the pinching…my sister still reminds me that I used to bend her fingers back (ouch!) when we argued about clothes (I would wear her sweaters and stretch them out)…she would push me and I would fight back.
Thank you so much for sharing part of your journey…this is my first time at PiBoIdMo and it is really helpful to hear from others who’ve done it before. I especially liked when you talked about putting the ideas aside for awhile and letting them ‘marinate’…I’m always so anxious to make it “perfect” right away…I think you give very good advice. 🙂
I first heard about your book, “Brothers at Bat” from Kathy Ellen Davis who picked it as one of her 31 in 31 this month…I must get a copy because my 4 year old grandson and his dad (my son-in-law) LOVE to play baseball…well, any kind of ball, I guess. I know they will really enjoy the book. 🙂
October 31, 2012 at 1:33 pm
Audrey Vernick
Belated thanks to all–we were without power until this afternoon, and I’m feeling really lucky to be back so quickly. I kind of want to file for an extension–can we really start idea generation with all that’s going on? I fear some dark comedy from me ahead….
October 31, 2012 at 4:24 pm
Talynn Lynn
Thinking up ideas are easier for me than completing the ideas.
November 1, 2012 at 3:25 am
Marcy P.
So true! I just looked at my PiBoIdMo list from last year and realized… I haven’t done a thing with it! Mostly because I had to fundraise full time and then move across the world with my family of 6… so I suppose it’s a good excuse. But now it’s time to get last year’s (and this year’s) ideas into drafts… and I LOVE having an idea list to pull from. Thanks for your post!
November 1, 2012 at 8:45 am
Diana Murray
Thanks for the inspiring post. Marinating is so key! Yep.
November 1, 2012 at 10:42 am
Anjali Amit
Thanks for the inspiration, and congratulations on your success.
November 1, 2012 at 6:31 pm
Carol Nelson
Coming up with ideas isn’t usually a problem for me. However, coming up with GOOD ideas is another story all together. I guess I’ll just have to let some of them them marinate a little longer. 🙂
Congratulations on your new book!
November 4, 2012 at 3:27 pm
B.J. Lee
Thanks for your post. Congrats on your success and a peak into your process. 🙂
November 4, 2012 at 5:24 pm
Brook Gideon
Thanks for the great post, now I don’t feel so bad letting all of last year’s ideas marinate!
November 8, 2012 at 10:52 am
tammi sauer
No pinching required! I, too, suffer from Idea Drought. Getting a fresh idea is the hardest part of my entire process. PiBoIdMo is exactly the kind of nudge I need.
November 9, 2012 at 2:32 am
Kristiane Pedersen
Been there! Done that! Pinching doesn’t work! Drat! Loved your post. Made me feel….not so…..doomed to failure. Thanks!
November 30, 2012 at 10:08 pm
Jenny Boyd
I’m intrigued to find out what Edgar’s Second Word could be.