by Audrey Perrott

If you’ve ever been on my Instagram feed, you already know I cry easily, just like Milton in my debut picture book MOO HOO. But I also love to laugh, just like Babette in the upcoming companion book BAA HAA. And House, well, his snarky anxious self in A HAT FOR HOUSE is me in all the ways.

What I’m trying to say is…

I’m an author shamelessly plugging my books.

I kid, I kid. (Not really, not really.)

Actually, what I’m trying to say is my anxiety makes me a deeply feeling person, which is mostly great when it comes to writing books for kids.

My husband uses the word “intense.” I prefer the word “passionate.”

Tomato, tomato sauce.

This passion usually translates to books with humor and heart, but I’m not always feeling particularly jovial especially when the world feels dark. That’s when I need a little help finding the light—inspiration that brings me joy, makes me laugh, and validates all of my feelings. So where do I turn?

Stand-up comedy.

Seriously.

Hear me out: While the content of most stand-up comedians is NSFPBs (Not Safe For Picture Books), there is a huge bucket of inspiration and knowledge you can gleam.

Stand-up comedy is so much more than jokes. It’s carefully crafted storytelling with perfected word choice, pacing, tone, voice, themes, and a pay-off in punchlines. Sound familiar?

Comedians tell a story that connects with their audience that makes them laugh, hopefully over and over and over again. That’s what we want for the readers of our funny picture books. We are writing to surprise our readers with joy, preferably in the form of a belly-aching snort-laugh so they read our books over and over and over again.

Study the way comedians weave together everyday situations in unique ways. Watch how they lean into the awkward, the embarrassing, the obvious, and the preposterous. Take notes on their timing. Think of their dramatic pauses as page turns. Pay attention to the running gags and where they’re placed in the set.

Laugh—and then analyze why you’re laughing.

I’m not joking.

Humor is a serious business. So is writing funny picture books.

This is why a few years ago, I made a writing challenge I called Eat Your Words to brainstorm silly picture book ideas. You can find all of the posts on my blog, starting here. I printed out lots and lots—and LOTS—of teeny tiny bits of paper with words. Every week I challenged myself to pick three and use them to come up with story ideas. I encouraged people to join me!

They did not.

It’s okay. It was fun! It also helped me get out of my rut and led to some funny story ideas.

You could easily use an online random word generator, such as, Random Word Generator, or you can download the ones I made.

One last idea for ideas: I’ve been a huge Tara Lazar and Storystorm fan for years, even fangirling big time at the SCBWI Florida Regional Conference in 2020 before the world (almost) ended.

But this is my first time as a guest blogger! It’s a very surreal and exciting checkmark on my proverbial author BINGO card. So, I thought it would be fun to make a real 2025 Book-Maker BINGO card for you to download as a way to keep your sights on your dreams beyond January.

After all, one of my main mantras is to dream big, work hard, and be grateful.

On that note, I hope you dream up dozens of big story ideas this January.

I hope you work hard to turn some of the into full drafts.

And I am oh so grateful to Tara and all of you for inviting me into your inbox today.

Now go forth, be the light and find the funny!

 

Audrey’s sense of humor has helped her get through some really icky seasons in life. It’s also helped her write and publish a few books, including her debut picture book MOO HOO, illustrated by Ross Burach, A HAT FOR HOUSE, illustrated by Druscilla Santiago, and the upcoming companion to MOO HOO titled BAA HAA, launching on March 4, 2025. Audrey believes funny books are just as important as serious books and writes both in her North Carolina home. You can find more about her at AudreyPerrott.com, on Instagram at @audreysbooksandbakes or BlueSky at audreysbooks.bsky.social.

Audrey Perrott is offering a picture book critique [non-rhyming, up to 600 words] OR one copy of one of her books [MOO HOO, A HAT FOR HOUSE, or BAA HAA (March 2025)], to one lucky winner, their pick.

You’re eligible to win if you’re a registered Storystorm 2025 participant and you have commented only once below.

Prizes will be distributed at the conclusion of Storystorm.