by Kari Ann Gonzalez and Stephanie Wildman

We are so honored to kick-off the guest blogger portion of Storystorm 2026! We (Stephanie & Kari) have bonded over our passion for getting kids excited to develop their writing skills. That excitement all starts with an idea. But as you all know, coming up with an idea can be easier said than done. Wouldn’t it be too easy if we could just say, “Okay, brain, come up with a New York Times bestselling idea…and GO!” So, here are some fun writing prompts we use with kids that we think you’ll love too.

Kari: Sometimes stories arrive as a drizzle. Sometimes a downpour. Keep writing them down. You never know what ideas will set sail. In fact, a Storystorm idea in 2020 landed me a picture book series!

 

In my latest book, HOW TO HATCH A WRITER (illustrated by Rachel Suzanne), I focus on building blocks for sentences…with a cast of plucky chickens! Every sentence tells a little story, but how do you come up with those stories? A technique I use with kids to build writing muscle is practicing sentence elaboration. I use this same technique when generating story ideas. Pick a favorite word and build a story around it. How do you pick a word? What’s the right word to start with you might ask? Anything goes! Pick a word from your new favorite picture book, the news, a word you heard taking your kids to the playground, a grocery list, or snag a word AND enrich your vocabulary with ABSURD WORDS by Storystorm creator Tara Lazar!

Then the fun really starts. Build a story around that word with these key questions: Who?, What?, When?, Where?, and Why?. Then add the juicy conflict. Stretch those writing muscles: the more you write, the more creativity follows, and you never know what story could develop.

Bonus tip: This exercise has all the building blocks for you to develop a story…but also a pitch for said story!

Extra credit: What would your character do next? BAM! Sequel idea.

Stephanie: My co-author for my latest picture book STORY POWER! (illustrated by Estefania Razo) is my grandson Simon Wildman Chung, age nine.

Simon is my co-author because when he was seven, he suggested the story idea to me, based on the characters—twins Flor & Roberto and their big brother Luis, who appeared in my earlier books, TREASURE HUNT, BREATH BY BREATH, and GHOST WRITER.

I was talking to Simon about another book I was working on when he offered his idea—that the twins are bored and want to look at screens, but, with their big brother Luis’s help, they write a story for their abuelito. (Reminder to us all—children often have the best ideas for stories! Ask them! And listen to their questions—my other books come from questions grandkids asked.)

Here are some ideas for writing prompts that kids love, and I think you will, too:

  • Write about a family event.
     Maybe you all had a Father’s Day dinner together—write about what happened—compare—did people see the same things at the dinner or remember them differently? Did anything funny happen? In addition to practicing writing, it’s fun to share family memories. If you don’t have a handy child available to write with, imagine yourself as that child, writing with your adult self.
  • Write about what you see out the window.
    Might the tree be talking to an animal or flower? What would they say? Are people going by? What is happening in their lives?
  • Write about “What if?”
    Picture a scene or an event. As Kari suggests above, write the Who?, What?, When?, Where? Why? What if something about the scenario were different with a surprising or funny twist? Junior-Writers.com offered this kind of prompt for their summer writing contest, urging writers to picture their last day of school with a twist that might lead to a fantasy story, science fiction, or a mystery. What event or scene happened to you lately? What can you imagine would be a surprising or funny twist?

Educator Dr. Shawna Della Cerra developed a resource list for parents and educators to use in conjunction with books like Story Power! and How to Hatch a Writer. Some of her ideas for kids, but that work for adults, include a Character Café and a Plot Twist Spinner:

Character Café
Children (or you!) “meet” the story character for a pretend snack and ask them questions —what would they order? What are they afraid of? What do they dream about? A perfect way to deepen character development through imagination and empathy.

Plot Twister Spinner
What it is:
A creative tool that helps children (or you!) introduce surprise elements into stories to enhance narrative flow and spark imagination. Use a physical spinner, a digital wheel, or simple prompt cards. A well-balanced spinner might include categories such as:

    • Nouns (e.g., dragon, backpack, puddle)
    • Verbs (e.g., disappears, transforms, collides)
    • Events (e.g., a storm hits, someone tells a lie, a secret is revealed)

Why it works:
By combining random prompts from each category, students (and you!) generate fresh, unexpected plot turns.

We hope some of these ideas have you eager to pick up your pen, pencil, or crayon, engage your voice-to-text app, or turn to your computer keyboard. Just get your new ideas recorded! Remember, you don’t have to write the whole story today—just a few words about the idea that you are hatching. And, since we are writing like kids, don’t forget to reward your hard-earned ideas with a marathon of snacks!

Kari Ann Gonzalez is a children’s writer who loves tending to her tiny hobby farm and stuffing her little free library full of books. Her debut picture book HOW TO HATCH A READER won the Northern Lights Picture Book award for humor, while HOW TO HATCH A WRITER has been named Hot Off The Press by CBC, and Reviewer’s Choice on Midwest Book Review’s Children’s Bookwatch. She is excited to share her newest titles, IF YOU LIVE ON A FARM, GOAT MAA-TH in 2026, and more titles to be announced soon! A flock of plucky chickens are kind enough to share their home with Kari, her husband, and their two little girls. For more information, please visit Kari’s website at karianngonzalez.com⁠ or follow her on Instagram at Kari_Gonzalez_Writes.⁠

Stephanie Wildman, author of six children’s books, became a Professor Emerita after serving as the John A. and Elizabeth H. Sutro Chair at Santa Clara Law. She is a grandmother, mother, spouse, friend, good listener, who can sit “criss-cross apple sauce” thanks to her yoga practice.

Her latest book is STORY POWER! (co-authored with Simon Wildman Chung, illustrated by Estefanía Razo from Lawley Publishing). Learn more at stephaniewildman.com or follow her on Bluesky at swildmansf.bsky.social.