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by “Where do you get your ideas?” When someone asks this, if you’re like me, your mind might go blank as you struggle for an answer. I’ve written quite a few unpublished novels and picture books over the last fifteen years, and for most, I could not tell you what idea sparked those stories. But I can tell you where I got the idea for my chapter book JASMINE TOGUCHI MOCHI QUEEN.
I came across an article about a multigenerational Japanese American family that got together every New Year’s holiday to make mochi in the traditional way—steaming sweet rice, pounding it, and rolling mochi. Then, a little girl’s voice chimed in my head, complaining that she wanted to pound mochi even though it was a “man’s job.” And Jasmine Toguchi was born.
When my editor made the offer to buy MOCHI QUEEN, it was one of the happiest days of my life. Then, she surprised me by saying she wanted three more books about Jasmine Toguchi, to make a series. I was elated! She asked if I had ideas for more stories. I responded with an enthusiastic YES!
Honestly? I had no other ideas, at least not at that moment. When I wrote MOCHI QUEEN, I wrote it as a stand-alone chapter book. Suddenly, I had to come up with three more book ideas in a very short amount of time. How did I do this?
MOCHI QUEEN has a thread of Japanese culture (traditional mochi-making during the New Year holiday) with a bigger theme of a girl challenging a family rule (too young to participate) and Japanese tradition (pounding mochi has traditionally been a man’s job). With those big picture themes, I sat down and brainstormed. I focused on the cultural aspect since that’s how MOCHI QUEEN came about. I jotted down traditions that I personally enjoyed or was interested in. From that list, I picked out some favorites that I felt I could expand upon.
On Girl’s Day, families with daughters set up a display of special dolls. As a child I loved those dolls, but because they are delicate and fragile, my sister and I weren’t allowed to play with them. I could totally see Jasmine’s mom having the same rule. This became the starting point for book 2, SUPER SLEUTH, where Jasmine is excited to share Girl’s Day with her best friend, but a falling out puts the celebration in jeopardy.
Book 3, DRUMMER GIRL, focuses on taiko drumming. I’d long loved watching and hearing taiko performances and often wished I had been able to learn to play taiko. This one made the list because I knew I’d get to finally take a lesson because, you know, research! This story expanded to lead Jasmine to contemplate the meaning of talent during a school talent show when a nemesis turns the fun event into a competition.
And finally, the idea for book 4, FLAMINGO KEEPER, started with the daruma, a Japanese wishing doll. Long ago, I had wished for one of my stories to be published. I colored in one eye of the doll while I made that wish, and many years later, after I sold MOCHI QUEEN, I was finally able to color in the other eye. I was filled with joy to be able to do this after having it sit on my desk for so long with only one eye. I knew that Jasmine would feel the same joy, but what if her wish was a little impossible? Like wishing for a pet flamingo.
Delving into cultural and family traditions could be a great idea generator. What memories do you have of favorite (or not-so-favorite) traditions? What traditions or stories from your culture fascinate you? Make a list and I’ll bet you come up with more than one idea.
Happy day 4 of Storystorm! I’m cheering you on!
Debbi Michiko Florence is the author of the chapter book series Jasmine Toguchi, about a spunky 8-year-old Japanese American girl. Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen (a JLG selection) and Jasmine Toguchi, Super Sleuth are available now. Two more books will follow – Jasmine Toguchi, Drummer Girl (April 3) and Jasmine Toguchi, Flamingo Keeper (July 3). A third generation Japanese American and a native Californian, Debbi lives in Connecticut with her husband, puppy, bunny, and two ducks.
Visit her at debbimichikoflorence.com and follow her on Twitter @DebbiMichiko and Instagram @jasminetoguchi.
Debbi is giving away a two-book Jasmine Toguchi prize pack. You can win MOCHI QUEEN and SUPER SLEUTH.
Leave ONE COMMENT on this blog post to enter. You are eligible to win if you are a registered Storystorm participant and you have commented once below. Prizes will be given away at the conclusion of the event.
Good luck!
by I absolutely love sketching prompts. If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram (@ciccotello) then you may have seen my 10 minute sketches. Every now and then, I post a question asking readers to share their favorite something… maybe it’s animal, or an object, or maybe a mode of transportation. Whatever it is, I compile all of them into a nice big list and create quick sketches from the prompts. Some of those images become finished character illustrations in my portfolio. A few of those illustrations go even further and have become characters in book dummies.
With visual prompts in mind, I thought we could have some fun generating ideas. All you need to do is look at the pictures and let your imagination wander.
Pick a character…
Pick an object…
Pick a setting…
Now let’s put them together. Combine one item from each row. It kind of makes me think of the board game, Clue. What if we put the raccoon in the living room with the gift? Where is the raccoon? Where is the gift? I don’t want to sway your creativity, but these questions will help define the moment. Let’s leave it there and allow you to finish the scene.
Play around with it. Maybe there are two characters in one settings, or one character with multiple objects. Don’t stop there. If this idea is working for you then get out there and pick some more images of your own. Pull images from the web. Clip pictures from magazines or newspapers.
Look at each item and start to ask questions. Why is this character so special? What are they doing? What’s the dilemma? What is the conflict? How will this character grow throughout your story? Use your fantastic writing skills to develop something unique with your voice.
If you are looking for places to get prompts for writing or illustration, be sure to check these out:
Have fun with it and good luck!
Mike Ciccotello received a BFA with a concentration in painting from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. He has fourteen years’ experience in broadcast motion graphics, working at CNN and Fox Business Network. Currently, he is the Art and Design Director at Telos Corporation. His art has been featured on Liquitex.com, CNN, ClothPaperScisors.com, Artists & Makers Magazine, and Industry Magazine. He has exhibited at Johnson & Johnson Headquarters and the NY Design Center. He is an active member of SCBWI, CBIG, Drawn to Picture Books, and a contributing member of AllTheWonders.com. Visit him at ciccotello.com or follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
Ciccotello is giving away a custom illustrated avatar. It can be in your likeness or just something you admire. But I would suggest it not being Mike. He’s already taken.
Leave ONE COMMENT on this blog post to enter. You are eligible to win if you are a registered Storystorm participant and you have commented once below. Prizes will be given away at the conclusion of the event.
Good luck!
Now, go get visual.
by Tammi Sauer
Over the Storystorm years, I have shared many of my idea-getting strategies.
This time around, I want to focus on using a familiar song, nursery rhyme, or chant as a starting point.
While I had heard of this writing exercise many times before, it wasn’t until I saw it presented in Linda Ashman’s (super amazing!!!) resource, THE NUTS AND BOLTS GUIDE TO WRITING PICTURE BOOKS, that an idea popped into my head.
This is what I saw in Linda’s book:
Rework a song or chant. Try rewriting a familiar song, chant, nursery or jump rope rhyme. Here are a few suggestions, but feel free to come up with your own:
- Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
- Baa Baa Black Sheep
- She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain When She Comes
- I’ve Been Working on the Railroad
- Mary Had a Little Lamb
- You Are My Sunshine
- Row, Row, Row Your Boat
And this was my idea: Mary Had a Little Glam.
I knew I had to write that story. And, once I felt brave enough to tackle rhyme, I did. Lucky for me, Vanessa Brantley-Newton agreed to illustrate the book.
There are many great examples of books that have sprung from this approach. These are just a few of my favorites:
- HUSH, LITTLE DRAGON by Boni Ashburn, illustrated by Kelly Murphy
- I AIN’T GONNA PAINT NO MORE! by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by David Catrow
- THERE WAS AN OLD DRAGON WHO SWALLOWED A KNIGHT by Penny Parker Klostermann, illustrated by Ben Mantle
- TEN ON THE SLED by Kim Norman, illustrated by Liza Woodruff
- THIS OLD VAN by Kim Norman, illustrated by Carolyn Conahan
In February, the adorable TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE CAR written by Kate Dopirak and illustrated by Mary Peterson will zoom onto the scene. (And both ladies will be guest blogging for Storystorm later this month.)
In March, MARY HAD A LITTLE LAB written by Sue Fliess and illustrated by Petros Bouloubasis will prove quite inventive.
While these books follow the same basic rhythm and rhyme scheme as the song, nursery rhyme, or chant they were based on, keep in mind that you don’t have to marry yourself to this approach. You can use one of those things to simply trigger the basic idea for a story as well.
My upcoming book with Dan Taylor, BUT THE BEAR CAME BACK, for example, got its start when I was listening to NPR. They played the old song “But the Cat Came Back.”
Right away, I thought about what it would be like if a rather large and completely unexpected animal would show up at a kid’s house and decide to make himself at home.
While I didn’t mirror the actual song in my book, I used its title as a stepping stone.
BUT THE BEAR CAME BACK debuts this April from Sterling.
So give it a try. Think about those familiar childhood songs, nursery rhymes, and chants then brainstorm a few picture book title possibilities of your own.
Tammi Sauer is a full time children’s book author who presents at schools and conferences across the nation. She has sold 30 picture books to major publishing houses including HarperCollins, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Penguin Random House, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, and Sterling. Her book WORDY BIRDY, illustrated by Dave Mottram, debuts on February 6. This book got its start in StoryStorm. It was idea number 19 on her 2014 list.
You can learn more about Tammi at tammisauer.com, read her posts at picturebookbuilders.com, and follow her on Twitter at @SauerTammi.
Tammi is giving away a copy of the soon-to-be-released WORDY BIRDY to one lucky duck commenter.
Tammi is also giving away a picture book critique. Ooh.
Leave ONE COMMENT below to enter. You are eligible to win if you are a registered Storystorm participant and you have commented once on this blog post. Prizes will be given away at the conclusion of the event.
Good luck!
by Urania Smith
This past year was incredible. I won a We Need Diverse Books Mentorship and got the opportunity to work with the awesomely funny Tara Lazar. We polished three manuscripts, two that came out of last year’s Storystorm. I helped start a non-profit to assist writers of color with professional development. In our first year, KidLit Nation sent 10 diverse writers to SCBWI conferences around the country. And somewhere in there, I took a spontaneous vacation at a random B&B in Canada and ran into this guy.
Yes! That’s Jon Klassen ya’ll!
That smile was pasted on my face for weeks.
So, here I am at the start of a new year, kicking off Storystorm.
30 ideas in 30 days. Simple right?
Heck no!
I have more thoughts about not having ideas than thinking up new ones.
I worry. . .
- What if I never have another idea in my life?
- What if this is it?
- What if I’m finished?
- I’m all washed up, and I haven’t been published yet.
- Ahhh!!!!!!!!!!!
If you’re like me, you’ve bitten your nails to nubs, and have begun to consider each new idea a fluke. When I’m suffering from Insecure Writer Syndrome, I have a temporary cure. . .
Eminem.
I remind myself it’s a bunny eat bunny world, and bunnies die everyday. I’ve been in the kidlit game fourteen years. I can’t stop now.
Then, I brush my shoulders off, bump some “Lose Yourself,” and I let the ideas flow.
So Storystormers, we’re about to get pumped to met this challenge.
First, I want you to slip on your favorite hoodie. Not cool enough to own one?
Rock that Christmas sweater you wore last week.
Next, look yourself in a mirror. A mirror in a grungy bathroom works best.
Now shadow box. Who knows why we’re doing this part. But trust me, we look good doing it.
Now, we’re ready. . .
To take on Storystorm as we channel Eminem.
Look
If you had
One month
To win prizes
And write as many ideas
In as many days.
Would you capture that moment.
Or just let it slip?
Yo
We’re armed and steady,
pencil sharpened, minds are heavy.
There’s drool on our shirts already
coffee smells so heady,
We’re nervous, but on the surface we are calm and ready
To drop 30 book ideas,
But we keep on forgettin’
What we wrote out, critique peeps groan so loud.
“Page is full. . . but what’s this crap you just wrote down!”
We’re chokin’, how, everybodys jokin’ now
Months done, times up, over, blaow!
Snap back to reality
Oh, kidlit writers, we choked.
We’re so mad, but we won’t
Give up easily? No.
We will make it, we know
Just keep writing, we close.
We write books, and we dope
Even if we all broke.
We’re not stagnant, we grow.
We tow ourselves back to the chair alone,
And hit the pad again, yo
This whole writing things slow.
But we’ve learned, and we know,
We better capture this moment
And never let it go.
[Chorus]
You better lose yourself in this month, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go.
You only got thirty days, for your ideas to flow.
Storystorm comes only once in a year
so you better.
[Repeat]
When these 30 days are up, I want you to stand up from that chair.
Lean back and nod your head.
Because we did it. 30 ideas in 30 days.
Then, I want you to drop that pencil like a boss.
Yep, that’s right.
Storystorm.
We out.
Peace.
Urania Smith has a B.A. in English and has been writing for children for 14 years. She is the New Member Chairperson and a Diversity Committee Member for the Illinois chapter of The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Urania is the winner of the 2017 We Need Diverse Books Mentorship in the Picture Book category and is mentored by author Tara Lazar. Urania loves to cook, garden, decorate, and DIY projects. She is from Chicago and currently lives in the South Suburbs of Chicago with her family and the laziest shih tzu on the planet, Lucy. Follow her on Twitter @UraniaSmith.
In honor of Urania’s post and the completion of her WNDB mentorship, Tara Lazar is giving away a half-hour Skype consultation to talk about any aspect of kidlit.
Leave ONE COMMENT below to enter. You are eligible to win if you are a registered Storystorm participant and you have commented once on this blog post. Prizes will be given away at the conclusion of the event.
Good luck!
***STORYSTORM Registration is closed for 2018. You can still participate in the challenge by reading the inspirational daily posts, but you will not be eligible for prizes. Thank you.***
What a glorious feeling!
It’s that time of the year again, when you will be showered with inspiration!
Story ideas are gonna rain down like cats and dogs! (And maybe some will be about cats and dogs!)
Last year I changed the name and month of my annual writing challenge, from Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo) to Storystorm. Why? Answer’s here.
Any writer interested in brainstorming new story ideas in January is invited to join. Any genre, any style; student, amateur, hobbyist, aspiring author or professional.
How does STORYSTORM work? It’s simple…
- Register here by signing your name ONCE in the comments below. Teachers participating with a class can register under the teacher’s name.
- Registering makes you eligible for prizes.
- Visit this blog daily (right here at taralazar.com) in January for inspirational essays by guest bloggers—professional authors, illustrators and experts in creativity.
- Instead of visiting the blog directly, you can receive the daily posts via email by clicking the “Follow Tara’s Blog” button in the left column—look under my photo for it.
- After you have read the daily inspiration, jot down a daily story idea in a journal (the annual CafePress journal will be linked here when ready), computer, anywhere you like to write. Some days you might have no ideas, but some days you might have five or more.
- At the end of January, if you have at least 30 ideas, sign the STORYSTORM pledge I will post and qualify for prizes.
- Prizes include professional consults, signed books, original art, writerly gadgets and gizmos.
Remember, do not share your ideas publicly in January. They are YOURS. No need to prove that you have them at the end of the month. The pledge you will sign is on the honor system.
Are you in? Awesome. Pick up your Official Participant badge below and affix it to any social media account you wish. (Right click to save to your computer, then upload it anywhere.)
The final piece? Join the STORYSTORM Facebook discussion group. You need friends for the journey!
The group is completely optional, but it remains a year-round source of writing information and support, mostly focused on picture books, I admit, because that is where this all began.
Registration will remain open through JANUARY 9TH.
What are you waiting for? Register and go celebrate! I’ll see you back here on New Year’s Day.
*Storstorm 2018 logo courtesy of Ross MacDonald, illustrator of 7 ATE 9: THE UNTOLD STORY.
In my new book I’M GOING TO OUTER SPACE! I tell the story of a boy named Luis who tells us all about the exciting things he wants to do and see when he gets to outer space. I was inspired to write this book as an homage to all of the science fiction I’ve loved since I was young. I remember watching old B&W films like “This Island Earth” and “Invaders From Mars” on television and cartoons like “The Jetsons”. As I got older I would read books by Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury and Robert Heinlein and watch “Lost In Space” and “Star Trek”. I was already an avid sci-fi fan when “Star Wars” came out and my love for Science Fiction only grew further and continues to this day.
When I started to flesh out the illustrations for my story I decided to pay homage to the entire genre. I have a spread with spaceships from the 1930’s to now. I have a page of robots that I challenge any sci-fi fan to name them all. They are from movies, television, comics and even other picture books.
When it came time to draw aliens, I realized I had a problem. I love designing aliens, it’s one of my favorite things to draw. But I also wanted to have some classic aliens as I had done with the spaceships and robots. I decided to have one spread with recognizable aliens that kids and parents will have fun figuring out who they all are. For the rest of the book I put my own original creations designed just for this book…all except one.
Back when I was just out of college I was hired by a friend who was an art director at Doubleday Books. They needed an illustration of an alien artist. At the time I was creating sculptural illustrations, 3D models that were photographed for print.
I created a number of sketches for the alien and when one was picked I sketched the final scene. I then sculpted the character and built his props; the easel, canvas and box of paints he uses. Another artist built the landscape and a sky backdrop was rented.
Everything was brought together at a photographers studio in lower Manhattan and the photograph was then used as the cover of a catalog of Science Fiction Art Books.
So when I started drawing aliens for I’M GOING TO OUTER SPACE! I decided to include my first alien from one of my first professional illustration jobs. He appears a few times in the book including this spread with a bunch of his friends.
I’M GOING TO OUTER SPACE! released just a few days ago…on December 15, 2017 from Schiffer Publishing.
Thanks, Tim! This was like time-traveling through outer space!
You can go to outer space, too, because Tim is giving away a signed copy of I’M GOING TO OUTER SPACE…THIS WEEK.
Leave one comment below to enter! And good luck!
Boy, I am buried in prizes to give away! I’ve opened Random.org to help me select them all, so let’s get started…
Winner of an original sketch by IF MY LOVE WERE A FIRE TRUCK’s Jeff Mack:
Katie Giorgio
Winner of BONAPARTE FALLS APART by Margery Cuyler:
Tracy Abell
Winner of FORT BUILDING TIME by Megan Wagner Lloyd:
Tiffany Dickinson
Winner of Lori Alexander’s FAMOUSLY PHOEBE Prize Pack:
Ashley Bankhead
Winner of A COOKED UP FAIRYTALE by Penny Parker Klostermann:
Sandi Lawson
Winner of TRUCK, TRUCK, GOOSE by Tammi Sauer:
Sharon Coffey
Winner of MASTERPIECE MIX by Roxie Munro:
Julie Lacombe
Winner of HELLO GOODBYE DOG by Maria Gianferrari:
Sheri Dillard
Winner of SHARK LADY by Jess Keating:
Lauren Kerstein
Winner of RACE! by Sue Fliess:
Alicia Minor
Congratulations to all the winners…and be on the lookout for an email from me.
Next up, I’m busy planning the STORYSTORM idea challenge for January.
Registration will go live the last week in December right here on this blog…and remain open through the first week in January.
I’ve already confirmed the following guest bloggers for January:
- Doreen Cronin
- Heidi Stemple
- Alicia Padron
- Jarrett Lerner
- Annie Silvestro
- Robin Newman
- Corey Rosen Schwartz
- Kate Dopirak & Mary Peterson
- Miranda & Baptiste Paul
Many more to come. I’m putting on my big girl pants and getting organized…which is not easy for me…I think messes are bestest for my creativity. (Didn’t mean to rhyme, but hey, let’s go with it.)
Today IF MY LOVE WERE A FIRE TRUCK illustrator Jeff Mack takes us on a whirlwind ride through his creation process.
Jeff, when you first read a manuscript, how do you begin generating the style and vision of what the art will look like?
I start by making some really rough scribbles on the paper. I don’t think too hard about it. I just sketch whatever first comes to my mind. The sketches suggest the general shapes of the things in the picture because, at that point, I have only a vague idea of what the picture might look like. Some of the scribbly marks may serendipitously give me ideas for details that I didn’t think of at first. So I stay open to those possibilities as I redraw the picture over and over. Then I start adding a range of values in black and white.
For FIRE TRUCK, I used a combination of watercolor, cut paper, and digital to get the style I wanted. So my next step was to create the characters in watercolor and cut paper. Then using my computer, I added the background colors. On some of the pages, such as the lion image, the cut paper really stands out. On other pages, like the dragon image, I used the computer to blur the edges a bit.
FIRE TRUCK went through many versions in the sketch stage. For instance, I considered animating each of the vehicles that the characters rode on. I also created a version that included lots of different fathers with both sons and daughters. But, in the end, I decided that one father and one son was the best way to lead the reader through the story.
For IF MY LOVE WERE A FIRE TRUCK, you insert surprising moments of humor, such as the scene where the small dragon’s fire enables the young boy to toast his marshmallow. How do you arrive at funny additions like this?
One of the things that drew me to the story was how Luke Reynolds’ text leaves plenty of room for visual interpretation. In the best picture books, where the text and images support each other, leaving this kind of space for the illustrations this is the mark of a highly skilled and clever author. Overall, FIRE TRUCK has a perfect little story arc. At the same time, each of Luke’s rhymes suggests a story of its own. So when I was thinking about each image, I wondered what else could be going on in the scene. What details could I add to make the scene spin off into its own story? What will give the readers something extra fun to talk about? On the dragon page, it’s the marshmallows. On the elephant page, the monkey has swiped the dad’s watch and hat. On the whale page, they’ve hooked a giant blue whale from their tiny fishing boat.
How do you decide what projects to work on, and how long does it take for you to craft the art for an entire book?
I take on few stories by other authors because most of the time I’m working on projects I have written myself. So I have to really love a story to illustrate it. When I’m considering a manuscript, I ask myself “What job does this story do?” or “What important thing will this book add to a young reader’s life?” I ask the same questions of my own stories.
Here’s what I wrote to my editor at Doubleday, Frances Gilbert, about the FIRE TRUCK manuscript:
“Have I mentioned how much I love this book? When I took on the project, it was Luke’s clever, lyrical, emotionally rich poetry that sold me on it. I love that this is about fathers and sons expressing their feelings for each other. Too many guys grow up in our culture with pressure to be tough and to hide their emotions. Luke’s story encourages them to communicate their feelings starting at an early age. He’s given kids and parents something they can really share and connect over. And the wild range of vehicles and animals make it so much fun! I imagine some parents will get a little teary over the ending too.”
It takes me about a month to make the dummy. That’s the process of drawing and redrawing and re-redrawing the sketches. The finished color pictures usually take me between two to three months depending on the style and the amount of detail.
What do you hope readers remember from your artwork in FIRE TRUCK?
When I was young, there were often odd little details that stuck with me about certain illustrations. For example, I loved the way H. A. Rey drew donuts in one of the Curious George books. Do I know why I became fixated on his donuts? I do nut. But I do know that I tried to draw donuts the same way. It got me practicing and working on my own drawing skills. So I guess I hope readers notice and remember some of the little details in the illustrations and that those might inspire them to make their own drawings. By the way, my three favorite images in FIRE TRUCK are the rocket page, the parade page, and the dragon page. But I’m sure readers will have their own favorites different from mine.
What’s your favorite snack while you work?
Coffee, Mint Chocolate Brownie Cliff Bars, more coffee, Skinny Pop popcorn, and then a lot more coffee.
Thanks for the fascinating inside look at your illustration process, Jeff!
Blog readers, leave one comment below for a chance to win an original sketch by Jeff Mack.
I’m overdue selecting winners for many giveaways, so I will announce them all next MONDAY, just in time to give as holiday gifts!
Jeff Mack studied art at SUNY Oswego, Syracuse University, and Scuola Lorenzo De Medici in Florence, Italy.
In 2000, he moved to NYC to try to sell his stories to publishing companies. He didn’t have much luck at first. After a few more years of practice and persistence, he became a published author in 2008.
Since then, he’s written and illustrated a long list of picture books, chapter books, and early readers. And his book GOOD NEWS BAD NEWS, which has only four words in it, has been published in twelve different languages!
Learn more about Jeff at JeffMack.com.
Today I’m posting as part of Tracy Marchini’s #Thankful4forPBs, interviewing picture book author Shelley Kinder about her debut book, NOT SO SCARY JERRY.
You can enter to win JERRY and all twelve participating books by visiting #Thankful4PBs at Tracy’s blog!
Shelley, tells us a bit about your participating book…
NOT SO SCARY JERRY is a quirky monster story about friendship, individuality, and accepting people as they are. The twists and turns will keep readers on their toes (and giggling too).
What are three things your protagonist is grateful for, and why?
- Jerry is grateful for hugs because they make him feel all warm and gushy inside.
- He’s also grateful for lasagna because it’s the perfect middle-of-the-night snack.
- And Jerry loves his pink watch because it glows in the dark, making nighttime not so scary. Plus, it’s quite a fashion statement!
As the author, what picture book(s) are you thankful for, and why?
There are so many wonderful books, but I do love NO DAVID! by David Shannon for its simplicity and wonderful illustrations. And because my kids love it too.
Please share one person that’s made a big impact on your picture book career, and how?
I can’t narrow it down to just one person. I’d have to say that my mom and also my husband have played big roles in my career as a writer. My mom always believed in me and pushed me to follow my dreams. I always knew I could do what I put my mind to because of her affirming words in my life. My husband has always been supportive, as well, and he’s so good at reading my first drafts and sharing his thoughts on what could make them better.
What are you hopeful for (or looking forward to) in 2018?
I’m looking forward to my second picture book, THE MASTERPIECE, being published in the spring. It’s a faith-based book about God painting the sunrise. My mom is illustrating the book, and the process of working with her on this project has been amazing. It’s going to be beautiful! She doesn’t even realize how talented she is.
Thanks, Shelley…I am thankful you shared your story with us!
Shelley lives in Indiana with her not-so-scary husband and their four little monsters. Some of Shelley’s favorite things are family, photography, music, and sushi. NOT SO SCARY JERRY is her first picture book.
Learn more at ShelleyKinder.com.
Click the image below for the #Thankful4forPBs giveaway entry page!
by 2015 was the year I decided to finally give writing a go. Armed with my first idea, I began writing my first manuscript. Fast forward nine months—I was still working on that same story. Don’t get me wrong; it needed a LOT of work. But I hadn’t come up with any other ideas. I started to worry I was destined to be a one-trick pony.
Then I heard about Tara Lazar’s Storystorm (formerly PiBoIdMo). I was hopeful this challenge would get my creative juices flowing and help me generate some new ideas. And it did. I had just read David Michael Slater’s guest post about listening for ideas in misunderstandings, jokes, and silly expressions, when my husband and I started a conversation about our favorite place, Cape Cod. We spend time there every summer, and there are always several great white shark sightings. My husband was joking and said, “What if those sharks were just looking for friends?” BOOM! There was a new idea.
The rest of the month provided more and more inspiration. While I didn’t manage to form 30 ideas, the handful I did come up with fueled the fire to keep me writing. And the shark idea wouldn’t let me go. I wrote and revised and received feedback from my critique group, and then I rewrote and revised some more.
I submitted my polished manuscript to many agents and publishers and received a lot of rejections. But as they say, it only takes one yes. Last November, I got a response from Callie Metler-Smith of Clear Fork Publishing. She loved my story!
Now, one year later, my very first idea from my very first Storystorm is about to become a book! FINN FINDS A FRIEND will be released on November 7th from Clear Fork Publishing.
Thank you so much, Tara, for organizing such a wonderful challenge. From the guest bloggers to the support from other participants, Storystorm has become something I look forward to every year. I can’t wait to see what inspiration Storystorm 2018 brings!
Storystorm 2018 begins in January, but you can register in late December. Follow this blog (email sign-up in left column) for all the details…
Jenna Grodzicki lives in Connecticut with her husband, two crazy awesome kids, a cat named Pixie, and a dog named Ozzy. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Boston College and a Master’s in Education from the University of New England. Her first book, PIXIE’S ADVENTURE, was awarded two Honorable Mentions in the 2017 Purple Dragonfly Book Awards. She recently traded in her librarian hat to become a full-time writer. At all hours of the day (and night) she can be found at her desk, drinking iced coffee and working on her next story. When she’s not writing or spending time with her family, Jenna LOVES to read! She also enjoys skiing and cheering for the best team in baseball, the Boston Red Sox. Visit her website at JennaGrodzicki.com.
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 