by Sara Weingartner

Before we dive into creative inspiration, I want to take a moment to check in with you all. How are you, emotionally? I’m in Minneapolis. The weight of the world is overwhelming—with fear, anger and sadness for what is happening to Minnesotans, my neighbors, the businesses, our schools, our whole community.

If even a little bit of this resonates with you, take a moment. And breathe. In times like this, the act of writing and art making can be our place for peace or meditation. What we create can also become a moment of calm, or hope, or joy for anyone who sees it.

(Thanks for letting me be real for a moment. Now onto the inspiration part…)

As an artist, I’ve always loved brainstorming and creating characters and imaginary worlds. So, when I discovered Storystorm back in 2013 (when it was PiBoIdMo) even though I hadn’t declared myself a writer yet, my journey as a PB writer began.

For me, PB ideas often begin with a character that I’ve drawn or one that is stuck in my head, pleading to come out on paper. As I play around with animal vs. human, body shape, clothes and accessories, it slowly reveals its personality.

It’s wonderful to be able to draw out my first impressions of a character. But I often don’t have a clear picture or direction of whom this character is, its hobbies, friends or setting.

That’s when “branching” ideas can be super helpful.

Here’s how it works:

  1. (RED) Draw a circle in the middle of your paper and choose a character you’re interested in (animal, person, object, place),
  2. (BLUE) Branch out and draw three (or more) circles. Think up characteristics or qualities (realistic or imaginary) about this character.
  3. (GREEN) From those three words, branch out again, but this time, with two circles each. Fill with 1) the opposite, and 2) the extreme versions of each quality/characteristic.
  4. (PURPLE) Last branching, add two more circles each, and fill with nouns that also possess this quality or characteristic.

I hope I didn’t lose you. (Download Sara’s Branching Template here.)

Here’s my quick branching example of an alligator for clarity:

Now comes the fun, brainstorming part! Combine these words to create new character(s), a possible setting, even a friend. So, instead of my initial idea of a (boring) long, snappy, scary alligator, I’ve just imagined a mini alligator fashionista who goes everywhere with her teddy bear, who might be best friends with a confident mouse artist, and maybe this story takes place in a peaceful meadow.

You’re welcome! Now you give it a try!

But first, a few tips:

  • TIP 1: Set a timer. Maybe 5-10 mins. Because with a tick-tocking clock, we tend to think quicker and avoid self-editing.
  • TIP 2: Use a thesaurus! Choosing words from a list, speeds up your process, and offers multiple meanings of a word. (Note my “stylish” word choice above.)
  • TIP 3: I’ve attached a blank branching template PDF if you think it’s more fun to fill in circles.

After you come up with a potential character with weight, dive deeper:

  • WHO are they?
  • WHAT do they really want?
  • HOW are they going to get it?
  • WHAT is at stake if they don’t?
  • WHERE does this story take place?
  • and ask WHAT IF? (if you get stuck along the way).

As an added BONUS, challenge yourself to draw your character! And I already don’t believe you if you say, “But I can’t even draw a stick figure.” YES YOU CAN! Just try.

But most of all, enjoy the creative flow because this is what we are made to do! Thank you, Tara, for this opportunity to share, and for all of you for choosing to be on this journey, too.

Sara Weingartner has illustrated nine books (PBs and an early chapter) and is currently submitting her author-illustrator dummies to agents. She works in mixed media (traditional  and digital) and is a graphic designer who has designed tons of PBs for a local publisher. Sara is happiest when she’s creating things, being active, and filling her world with color. She also loves throwing pottery (on a wheel!), pickleball, baking and running. She dreams of an inclusive world, believes in magic, and wishes animals could talk. Living in Minnesota, Sara and her husband have two kids (an adult art teacher and teen) and a very spoiled pooch.

Visit her at SaraWeingartner.com or on Instagram @sarajweingartner and Bluesky @saraweingartner.