SNOOZEFEST AUTHOR PHOTOby Samantha Berger

You never know WHEN inspiration will hit
So carry a pen, and be READY for it!

The story of Witch Spa I’m sharing with you,
was LIT-ER-ALLY a dream that came true.

One night, around 3, I sat up in bed
and the words “WITCH SPA” flew into my head.

I said them out loud, then laughed, and passed out
and asked the next day, “what was THAT all about?”

I started to answer myself in real time,
and somehow the words, they came out IN RHYME!

That’s never really happened before,
But when story comes knockin’, you answer the door.

“A Witch Spa is clearly a place witches go…
to recoup and regroup from October’s big show…”

And so it flowed forth, and I let it come out,
pushed PAUSE on my own editorial doubt:
(*which is CRITICAL, I’ll come back to this later)

“After all of the Halloween hullabaloo
With the tricking and treating a haunting to do
And plotting and planning and endless late nights
The cooking and cackling and long broomstick flights

a witch needs a break and a little vacation,
a witch needs a place for some REAL relaxation.
A witch must admit, though it may be bourgeois,
She’s booked herself into the faboo WITCH SPA!”

witch_spa_big

(*note, actual editor killed the word bourgeois)

But almost the rest of the first draft still stands,
from a dream in my head, to the book in my hands.

SO–
Everyone writes in their own writer-way
But here are a few things I think I can say:

1. (*my point from earlier)

Check your self-editor at the front door,
and leave yourself free to fully explore!
Your writing will be a BERGILLION times greater
If you blather it out, and edit it later.
To do both at once, leaves you quite agitated,
makes writing and progress both constipated.
(Fecchhh!)
So ramble and blurt, and fly your flag free,
and do not worry about who’s gonna see.

2. Have you ever witnessed a kid hard at play?
Fully engaged in a world far away?
Drawing or building or digging in sand?
Well, working and playing, they go hand in hand!
So get into play mode, and play for yourself
Don’t worry about how your book hits the shelf.
Go blow some bubbles, sing really loud!
Forget all the rules, and what’s not allowed.
Meow at the moon, run around nakiepants!
Put on a wig, do a Stanky Leg dance!
Go back and touch base with your child within
That’s always an inspirational place to begin.

3. If you are filled with picture book ambition

Challenge yourself with a daily tradition:
A warm-up doodle, a chapter, a page —
A little brain-juice for the mind to engage.
Hold yourself to it, don’t ever cop out–
That’s what PiBoIdMo is really about.

Blah blah blah, Sam.
Enough rhyming!
Write on, PiMoIdMo-thers!

Samantha Berger writes and writes and writes (she even wrote *this*). 

She has written picture books like CRANKENSTEIN! illustrated by Dan Santat (Little, Brown, 2013), A CRANKENSTEIN VALENTINE (Little, Brown December, 2014), WITCH SPA illustrated by Isabel Roxas (Dial, August 2015), and SNOOZEFEST illustrated by Kristyna Litten (Dial, January 2015).

CRANKENSTEIN  CRANKVALENTINE Snoozefest

She also has written picture books like SANTA’S REINDEER GAMES illustrated by John Manders (Cartwheel, 2011), MARTHA DOESN’T SHARE, and MARTHA DOESN’T SAY SORRY illustrated by Bruce Whatley (Little, Brown 2010, 2009), which won a Parent’s Choice Award Honor. 

She has written cartoons and promos for Nickelodeon and other networks. She has written comic books and commercials. 
She has written movie trailers, theme songs, slogans, magazine articles, poems, TV-books, sticker books and professional books.

You name it, Sam writes it. 

And when she ISN’T WRITING…. She’s doing voice-overs, traveling the world, and helping rescue dogs. 

THEN… 
she writes about that, too! 

Samantha splits her time between New York City and sunny California. 

PrizeDetails (2)

Samantha is giving away one of her books! Ooh-la-la!

Leave a comment to enter. One comment per person, please.

This prize will be given away at the conclusion of PiBoIdMo. You are eligible for this prize if:

  1. You have registered for PiBoIdMo.
  2. You have commented ONCE ONLY on today’s post.
  3. You have completed the PiBoIdMo challenge. (You will have to sign the PiBoIdMo Pledge at the end of the event.)

Good luck, everyone!