by Adriana Hernández Bergstrom

By this point in Storystorm, I’m sure you have a LOT of ideas. Smoke might even be pouring out the sides of your ears. Your eyes might be spirals of overwhelm. 😵‍💫 Do not despair! Let’s take a moment today to organize your ideas and get a few of them ready for the rest of the writing process. Clearing your mind a little may even inspire some new ideas when you’re done.

Firstly, how are you keeping track of your Storystorm ideas? Maybe you’re using the official Storystorm notebook, maybe each idea is on a separate page or post-it note, or maybe you prefer a digital list on your phone. Whatever you do, make your ideas easy to access and simple to find. Bring all your ideas together in one place.

Next, let’s sort them. It helps me to do this on paper so I can think without distractions.

Take a moment to look at your list of ideas one by one. Do any of them stick out to you or give you a little jolt or make you smile? Does your imagination run away with any of them? Do any ideas make you want to draw or write more? Let’s mark those ideas as your top contenders.

For my top ideas, I like to doodle and do a bit of visual note-taking. Take your top three concepts and let’s doodle!

Sometimes, like with my book TUMBLE, a word prompt inspires my imagination. TUMBLE came from a “story duel” instigated by my son. He wanted us both to make stories based on the word “tumble.” Immediately images from my time in Texas and New Mexico came to mind, so I sketched them out.

The rough sketches turned into a dummy and the text came afterward. I pitched the dummy to my agent who then asked for full color renderings of a few of the sketches, and we submitted it to publishers.

Not a doodler? How about writing what words, phrases, or thoughts you associate with the idea? That’s what I did with my book COUNTDOWN FOR NOCHEBUENA. The word that sparked the book was “Nochebuena.” Memories of the many Christmas Eve celebrations of my childhood flowed out in a descriptive list.

Every time a related visual or description would come to me, I’d jot them down and put them in a simple 3 prong folder. If, after this exercise, an idea keeps popping up in your life then it’s probably a good indicator of its potential!

Next, if you’re an author-illustrator, it’s time to dummy up your concept. A dummy is a rough mock-up of a picture book. It’s often sketched in greyscale. Here’s what I mean:

These rough thumbnail dummies are how I organize my thoughts about a story. See how some of those early concepts made it into the final art and text?

With each dummy, I’m working through parts of the story that don’t flow, or compositional elements that don’t work. The idea gets more and more refined, until it’s pitch-ready.

I put all these dummies and drafts together in a simple 3-prong folder to keep them together. This way, I can quickly find alternative versions that an editor or art director might request. Plus, seeing all the drafts together is a great reminder that ideas start out rough, and that helps keep perfectionism at bay.

Are you feeling a bit more organized? Are you ready to take an idea to the dummy stage? I can’t wait to see where your Storystorm ideas take you! Feel free to download this blank dummy page to help you get started dummying up your favorite concepts.

Adriana Hernández Bergstrom is giving away a signed copy of one of her books to one lucky winner (winner’s choice).

You’re eligible to win if you’re a registered Storystorm 2024 participant and you have commented only once on today’s blog post.

Prizes will be distributed at the conclusion of Storystorm.

Adriana Hernández Bergstrom is a Cuban-American artist and children’s book author-illustrator. She loves languages and literacy and is the author-illustrator of ABUELITA AND I MAKE FLAN, TUMBLE (Orchard Books, 2023) and COUNTDOWN FOR NOCHEBUENA (Little, Brown, 2023). Follow her on most social media channels as @adriprints, or check out her blog and website adriprints.com.