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If you can stick with this post all the way to the end, you’ll find my little bio where it is clearly states that “author/illustrator” is not my day job. Most days I get up a little too early for my taste, and head into Manhattan where I work as a set designer for television. Mostly, I work in talk shows, having spent the bulk of my career doing late night shows like Late Night with Conan O’Brien and The Late Show with David Letterman. When the taping wraps, I go home, kiss my wife, pat my kids on the head and head up to my attic studio where I make books for kids.
Sometimes (almost never) I’m asked how the day job informs the night one. What have I learned working in TV that applies to making books?
Sense of humor is one answer. I think I’m irrevocably scarred … sorry skewed—(either works actually) from years of designing weird sets and goofy props. Late night humor and the way the writers craft their comedy has had a big influence on me.
On the illustration side, I’m heavily influenced by the way the camera is used to shoot a scene. I try to set up scenes in my books using time-honored camera shots like using wide establishing shots to set a scene or close-ups for comedic moments.
I think the biggest takeaway has to do with pace. I’ve got one book out on the shelves (go get yourself a copy) and more to come but I still can’t get over the difference in pace between writing/illustrating a picture book and making a daily television show. It really messes with me.
At my day job, I get multiple scripts a day that I need to break down, sketch out, draw up, and then source any necessary props or create them from scratch. Every day. We produce a show, sometimes two, every day. And then we come in the next day and do it again. What this all means is that there’s very little time to plan and strategize. When I’m handed a project, I make a plan and I go. It really trains you to problem solve and think on your feet. There’s no rehashing. There’s no switching direction midstream. There’s just a steady march towards getting the set or prop to stage for rehearsal and, later that day, the show. That same afternoon we tape a show and it’s over. My set or prop gets used on air and then…Done. Whole new show tomorrow. You move on.
Having worked this way for so many years might explain why the open-ended, no time-limit, move-at-your-own-pace process of creating a book is difficult for me sometimes. So much time to rethink and revise. Don’t get me wrong. I see the benefit of it all but I sometimes think too much time is… well… too much time.
So, when I find myself going in circles on a manuscript or illustration, or endlessly staring at a blank page, I implement day-job rule:
Do it in one day. Get it done TODAY. Pick a path and move forward. Whether it be an outline, a picture book manuscript, or a chapter of your novel — see it through to it’s conclusion. Get it to stage before showtime.
Ultimately, you might choose incorrectly. You might not love every sentence you write that day and I’m certain there will be details you’d like to change. If you picked the wrong story path, you’ve at least narrowed down the possibilities of where your story goes. You certainly wont be staring at a blank page. That’s progress.
The beauty of this is, unlike my day job, the show is not over and done at the end of the day. You do have tomorrow to edit and revise. For me, the best making-a-book timeline is a mix of the two. Hurry up and get it done and then slow down and take your time to make sure it’s perfect.
If you find yourself stuck on your latest project, give it a try. Set yourself an end-of-day deadline and pretend there’s a national tv audience and a grouchy host waiting for your work. I can almost guarantee some progress by day’s end.
Here’s the bio I told you about at the beginning. I knew you’d make it.
By day, Jason is a set designer for television, with credits that include Harry, The Meredith Vieira Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and The Late Show with David Letterman. By night, Jason is an author and illustrator of children’s books. You can find his debut picture book, MR. PARTICULAR: The World’s Choosiest Champion on shelves in bookstores everywhere. See Jason’s work, both illustrations and set designs, at jasonkirschner.com. Follow him on twitter @jason_kirschner. You can also read more of his blogs and some of his friends’ at DrawntoPictureBooks.blogspot.com.
Jason is giving away a copy of his debut picture book, MR. PARTICULAR.
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!
When Tara asked me to blog for Storystorm I knew right away that there were two points I wanted to make.
- Ideas can come from the most random and wackiest places.
- A good idea is invaluable and must be guarded like gold.
To illustrate, I will tell a story from my own writing journey.
It was February 2012 and I was attending my first SCBWI conference in New York City.
Excited and eager to soak up all knowledge about kidlit that I could, I sat in the ballroom and listened to a keynote given by bestselling author, Cassandra Clare. The title of the keynote was “Love Triangles and Forbidden Love: Creating and Maintaining Romantic Tension in YA Literature.” Much of what she had to say made me blush.
I turned to picture book author Jodi Moore, who was sitting next to me, and jokingly whispered, “Doubt I will use anything from THIS in a picture book.”
Jodi responded, “You never know.”
That planted the seed. At that moment, I wondered if there was any way I could possibly write a “love triangle” picture book.
For some time, I mulled over the idea and, a little over a year later, the premise finally came to me:
- Circle and Square are best friends until a more interesting Triangle shows up. Then they both want to be best friends with Triangle, instead.
Now, having a stellar idea doesn’t always lead to immediately being able to draft up the story. Some things take time. At least for me.
Although I had a premise and knew that I wanted to infuse the story with lots of pun-filled, geometry-related humor, I wasn’t quite ready to start drafting.
Fast forward to May of 2013. I just happened to pitch LOVE, TRIANGLE to my agent and she was immediately interested.
“Oooh! Send it to me,” she said.
“Oh, I haven’t written it yet,” I answered.
“Well, you need to.”
A year passed and my agent asked for LOVE, TRIANGLE four times! Finally, she painted me into a corner by pitching it to an editor who also got excited by the concept.
“Now you must write it,” she said with a smile.
Finally, I did.
In November 2014 LOVE, TRIANGLE was sold in a five-house publishing auction to Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins.
Now, look closely at my timeline.
- First inspiration: Feb 2012
- Casual brainstorming: Feb 2012 – May 2013
- Drafting, writing, rewriting: May 2013 – Nov 2014
- Sold at auction: Nov 2014
So, to my opening points, ideas come from everywhere. Some of them are ready to be birthed right away. Others need some more incubation time. LOVE, TRIANGLE needed over two years and that’s ok.
However, I was particularly careful about keeping my idea to myself. Sure, a few close writer friends and my agent knew what I was working on. But over-sharing it might have led to someone else using my concept to write a similar story. And in all actuality, with the story taking years to develop, it is quite possible someone could have beaten me to the chase.
At times, it was a struggle to not tell everyone about something I was so excited about. But, in the long run, keeping it to myself proved beneficial and allowed me to tell the story when I was ready.
So, go out there and gather ideas.
Soak up life.
Listen to keynotes you might not necessary think you can use in your work.
Gather lots of ideas.
And guard them like gold.
Then, when the time is right, write. If it takes time, that’s fine. I am still working through some ideas I came up with five years ago.
No. I will not share what they are.
But I can’t wait to share LOVE, TRIANGLE with the world when it finally publishes later this year.
Marcie Colleen has been a teacher, an actress, and a nanny, but now she spends her days writing children’s books. Her debut picture book, LOVE TRIANGLE, illustrated by Bob Shea (Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, Fall 2017) sold in a five-house auction. It is about best friends Circle and Square, and Triangle who comes between them. Other upcoming picture books include THE ADVENTURE OF THE PENGUINAUT (Scholastic, Fall 2018) which will be illustrated by Emma Yarlett. Marcie is also the author of the SUPER HAPPY PARTY BEARS chapter book series (Macmillan/Imprint). Marcie is a frequent presenter at conferences for SCBWI, as well as a faculty member for Kidlit Writing School offering courses with a focus on plotting and revising picture books. She lives in San Diego, California with her husband and their mischievous sock monkey. Visit her at thisismarciecolleen.com or on Twitter @MarcieColleen1.
Marcie is giving away Books 1 & 2 from the SUPER HAPPY PARTY BEARS chapter book series.
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 Colby Sharp
One of my favorite things to do with my students is a Mock Caldecott unit. Each year, my friend Mr. Schu and I select 20 books for the study. Mr. Schu posts the list on his blog with a whole bunch of resources. I kick off the unit by sharing Mr. Schu’s post with my students, and then we get to work.
During the unit my students read and reread and reread the books on the list. We discuss the Caldecott criteria. They quickly develop favorites. Those favorites often change as they dig deeper and look more closely at the books.
Once they’ve become experts on the 20 picture books they select a favorite. Then they talk all of their mad persuasive writing skills and create a video essay trying to convince their classmates which book they think should be honored by our pretend Caldecott committee.
After watching the videos, students can come to the front of the classroom and give their final arguments. I love watching an 8-year-old kid beg their classmates to vote for the book that they hold closest to their hearts.
After everyone has said all that they have to say about the books, I pass out the ballet. Each student is allowed to vote for up to four books. This year the first round of voting resulted in 5 books receiving a significant amount of votes.
On to round two.
I love watching the kids react to their favorite book not making it to round two. We talk about how important it is that they respect the opinion of the committee, and that they finish the job that they started. Even though the book they loved the most didn’t win, doesn’t mean they can check out.
During the second round of voting students select two books. This year Deborah Freedman’s SHY and Jon Klassen’s WE FOUND A HAT received the most votes.
Time for the final round!
Before this round we have another round of debates. I really enjoy watching kids get behind a new book, and try to convince their classmates why that book is the one they should vote for.
For the final tabulation of votes, I read the anonymous votes out loud one by one. It creates a fun and dramatic environment.
By a vote of 18-9 SHY took home this year’s top prize.
Deborah Freedman saw some of the tweets that I posted about our little project, and she offered to Skype with our class. The day after we selected SHY as our Mock Caldecott winner we spent a half hour chatting with Deborah about books, chasing your dreams, and how she became an a creator of books.
It is my hope that we can work together to help the kids in our lives realize that you don’t ever have to ever outgrow picture books.
Colby Sharp is a third grade teacher in Parma, Michigan. He is the co-founder of Nerdy Book Club, Nerd Camp, and the #SharpSchu Twitter book club. He co-hosts The Yarn podcast with Travis Jonker. Mr. Sharp is currently working on THE CREATIVITY PROJECT with a bunch of his friends. Visit him online at mrcolbysharp.com and on Twitter @colbysharp.
Viking is generously giving away a copy of Deborah Freedman’s SHY to accompany today’s Storystorm post.
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 Julie McGann
My name is Julie McGann and I am a wish-granting digital artist who captures the imagination of little dreamers worldwide by giving them the dream pet they have always wanted. Children have a deep connection with animals, but much differently than we as adults feel towards them. This friendly connection is why I created dream pet portraits, so children could live out their fantasies of having any animal in the world as their best friend!
Each portrait is made up of several images that I have blended together in Photoshop to bring my imaginary idea to life! It is like finding all the pieces of the puzzle and putting them together as I see it in my brain. Each tiny little detail, I have captured with my own camera! Sometimes as many as 50 images come together to create a final portrait! It is exciting to watch it come to life!
Sometimes children wish their imaginary friends were real. This little girl loves ketchup so much, she wished it was her best friend. Since I use real life objects and people, her imaginary vision could actually come to life right before her eyes! She could see what it would look like in the real world! I find myself drawn into the stories and the characters I create, as if I am living right in the portrait. I am taken to another world that I am passionate about creating.
Many parents want to create portraits for their furry children too! When I made this tea party portrait, I felt was like I was actually there getting to know the dogs, even though I have never met them! Most of my work is done through email, which gives me the opportunity to offer portraits to families across the globe. Katie is the beautiful sophisticated senior dog fanning herself. She prefers the coolness of the shade. Emma is the diva of the group. She is the leader of the pack and a total drama queen, which is why she refuses to wear a hat and is texting at the table. Bailie is the baby of the group and looks up to the other two dogs. She wants to be just like them, but still a baby at heart with her little stuffed bunny.
My most favorite moment in my career so far is when I interviewed my idol Mindy Thomas of the “Absolutely Mindy Show” on Sirius XM’s Kids Place Live! She is like a super cool babysitter to entertain your kids while you drive, so you can gain back (some of) your sanity. She has the incredible magical powers of an imaginary Fairy Godmother, granting the wishes of all her listeners!
My kids are HUGE fans and wanted to ask Mindy their own Would-You-Rather question,“When you were a child, would you have rather played on the monkey bars with a wolf wearing a blue sparkly dress or gone roller skating with a purple polka dotted elephant?” As it turns out, Mindy LOVES rollerskating, both when she was a child and still now very much as an adult. I was so excited to create this picture for her!
So, how did I decide to write and illustrate children’s books using my photography? Since all of the tiny details of my portraits portray a story, I often hear people tell me I should write children’s books. They wanted to know more about the characters in the portrait. I didn’t actually take the plunge until about a year and half ago, when I accidentally printed these mini glossy board books. I thought I was printing slightly larger albums to showcase my work at a local show, but misread the dimensions.
My youngest daughter was immediately drawn to them and asked to keep one. She carried it with her wherever she went. I was so happy that I had found someone to appreciate the little mistake I made. I put the other copy in my purse to show anyone who asked me what I did for a living.
When my youngest was in Daisies, someone asked me about my photography. I brought out my mini board book and immediately every single Daisy girl flocked towards my tiny little book, fascinated by every little picture in the book. The girls were begging me to let them keep that book. That was the exact moment that I decided my art should be in children’s books.
My pictures were wasting away on social media when they could be in the hands of young children all over the world who would truly appreciate their whimsical wonder. From that day on, I decided that I would both create for families, as well as write and illustrate numerous children’s books for all the little dreamers out there!
2016 was a great year, because it brought me my dream agent Jen Hunt from the Booker Albert Agency! Here’s hoping 2017 brings me my dream publisher and one for you too!
Julie McGann is an internationally award-winning creative photographer and digital artist who brings children’s imagination to life through Illustrative Portraiture. Part painting, part photograph, her whimsical dream portraits have captivated families across the globe. Julie is well-known for her ability to turn ordinary personal photos into extraordinary imaginary masterpieces.
Visit find Julie online at juliemcgann.com, Facebook at Julie McGann Fine Art, Twitter @juliemcgannart and Instagram @juliemcgannfineart.
She invites you to visit her fun links:
- Finding Inspiration Tutorial: Thinking Outside The Box
- 50 Imaginary Game Ideas
- Sirius XM Kids Place Live Mindy Thomas Interview
Julie is giving away a copy of her 2017 wall calendar.
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!
Well, Storystormers. We have made it to January 11 already. While many of us have developed an aversion to the news these days, I encourage you to give your morning newspaper a second chance. Why? Because your newspaper is chock full of book ideas! Here’s how it works:
- Brew a cup of coffee.
- Sit down with your favorite newspaper—or online equivalent. (I still prefer the paper kind.)
- Scan the headlines cover to cover.
- When a story idea jumps out at you, STOP! Rrrrrrip out the article. (Warning: Get permission from other house dwellers first. If you’re reading online, just save and print.)
- Change a few words in the headline and . . . eureka! An idea!
This tried-and-true method has worked for me for both fiction and non-fiction book ideas. Last year, I saw a headline in the New York Times Magazine that read, “How to Brush a Gorilla’s Teeth.” Rrrrrip! The article was about a primatologist who brushes gorillas’ teeth at the Bronx Zoo. Based on the headline, I wrote a fictional picture book called HOW TO BRUSH YOUR GORILLA’S TEETH. It was a funny how-to about tooth-brushing antics and anarchy. My agent loved it and invited illustrator extraordinaire Julie Bayless to sketch a dummy. (We got some nibbles from editors, but no bites…yet!)
A few years ago, I started a file of clips about creepy critters. They slowly evolved into a book idea, which I pitched to National Geographic Kids. While I can’t divulge the title yet, that book is coming out in 2018.
Two recent headlines that have inspired other book ideas:
- “Inky the Octopus Escapes from New Zealand Aquarium” (NYTimes 4/13/16)
The soccerball-size critter slithered out of its tank and down a drain pipe leading to the sea! - “British Parrot Missing for Four Years Returns Speaking Spanish” (Telegraph, 12/15/16)
Hola! Do you see the multicultural possibilities here?
Some pointers: Magazines work too. (If you’re in a doctor’s office, cough loudly while ripping.) Make sure to scan all sections, including sports, business news, ads, and even obituaries. A well-written obit will make you laugh, cry, and give you a jolt of inspiration…all elements of a perfect picture book. Remember all those icons we lost in 2016? Maybe you’ll be the one to write a picture book biography about Prince, David Bowie, Gwen Ifill, or Carrie Fisher!
Or perhaps a biography of a lesser-known individual will give you the motivation to start writing. Here’s an obit about Norma Lyon, a farmer’s wife, mother of nine, and butter sculptor at the Iowa State Fair. Lyon is famous for sculpting tons of salted butter into life-size cows, Barack Obama, and a diorama of the Last Supper.
Rodney White/Associated Press
Jus’ sayin’. Keep an open mind. The possibilities are as endless as the AP newswire. At the very least, you’ll be recycling and repurposing your daily newspaper.
So rrrrip away and story on!
When she’s not shredding her family’s New York Times, Chana Stiefel is writing books for kids. Her debut picture book, DADDY DEPOT (Feiwel & Friends), hits bookshelves on May 16, 2017. Chana’s book about creepy critters will be coming out from NatGeoKids in 2018, and WAKAWAKALOCH, a semi-autobiographical picture book (and Storystorm success story) about a cave girl who wants to change her unpronounceable name, will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2019. Chana has also written 20+ non-fiction children’s books for the educational market. She has a Master’s degree in Science Journalism from NYU. Chana is represented by agent John M. Cusick at Folio Literary. Follow her on Twitter @chanastiefel and visit her at http://www.chanastiefel.com, her authors’ blog kidlittakeaways.com and picturethebooks2017.wordpress.com.
Chana will be giving away one signed copy of her debut picture book, DADDY DEPOT (after 5.16.17), and a written picture book critique up to 500 words.
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!
If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me if I was going to quit my job now that my first book has been published, I’d have…a couple of dollars. Which is not enough to quit my job and write picture books full-time.
But here’s the thing. For me and for many of you who are juggling writing with other obligations, whether they are full-time jobs, part-time jobs or taking care of your family (or any combination or permutation of the above), your other life can be a source of ideas.
I’m the theater critic for The Dallas Morning News. There’s no obvious correlation between that job and writing picture books. And yet, it was in the course of doing my job that I found the first picture book idea that I sold.
Now I didn’t realize I had come up with a picture book idea when I decided to write an article about a fascinating play, “The Signal Season of Dummy Hoy,” that was being produced at a local high school in Garland. I was intrigued with the subject of a baseball player who was deaf and taught signals to major league umpires so he could play the game he loved. But once the article was written and published, I moved on to other articles. After all, I write several articles a week and I’ve learned to go go go, so I don’t fall behind.
Then I received a thank you email from a man named Steve Sandy who is a friend of the Hoy family. Steve is deaf and shared with me that his life’s dream is to get William Hoy in the National Baseball Hall of Fame where he would be the first deaf player honored there. We emailed back and forth and I found myself on board with his dream and eager to help.
Suddenly, I had my Storystorm moment: What if I write a children’s book about William Hoy and the kids help Hoy by writing letters for him to the Hall of Fame? I asked Steve if he’d help with the research and he said he would. It took me YEARS to turn that idea into a story, mainly because I had no clue about the craft of picture book writing when I started, but that did become the story that got me my agent (the wonderful Karen Grencik of Red Fox Literary) and became my debut picture book in March 2016 from Albert Whitman. We’ve sold three books since.
It’s not every day that a story idea hits you while you’re working and won’t let you go until you transform it into a manuscript. And yet, consider, that those ideas may be kicking around your office or your home, waiting for you to recognize them for the great possibilities they are.
Maybe someone at the office tells you a story you can’t get out of your head or you are working on a project and your mind starts wandering on an only remotely related line of thought. Perhaps someone asks a question or is frustrated because there’s a person or a subject that should be better known or understood. Maybe you overhear a child, or your own child, with a concern or an anecdote that cradles the seed of something bigger.
In fact, I’m willing to bet you could meet your StoryStorm goal of 30 IN ONE DAY, if you weren’t on the go go go to finish all those important things you have to get done.
John Lennon once wrote, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” Yes, you’re busy, but don’t forget that life and ideas are waiting like treasures in plain sight to be discovered and savored while you’re shushing the distractions that, in the end, may turn out to be the best part of your day. Slow down and think twice—or thrice!—about all the off topic observations, off track remarks and the many moments between the boxes you check off on your to-do list. Consider that the busy job you have that steals your writing time may also be a repository of ideas!
Here’s another story I like. Atalanta, the original woman in a hurry, refused to marry anyone that couldn’t beat her in a race. Most suitors didn’t try because the penalty for losing the race meant death, which had a way of dampening the ardor. One young man wasn’t deterred. He was not as fast as Atalanta, but he had an idea. He brought three golden apples to the race and as they ran, he threw one, then two, then the third golden apple just before the finish line. Atalanta veered off the beaten track to get those apples and the young man won.
Personally, I think Atalanta won, too. She got herself a clever and determined young man, three golden apples and a break from all the running and executions. So, I guess what I’m saying, is if life throws you golden apples, chase them and turn them into stories. Or golden cider. Either way, you win.
Nancy Churnin is the theater critic for The Dallas Morning News and the author of THE WILLIAM HOY STORY, How a Deaf Baseball Player Changed the Game (Albert Whitman & Company, March 1, 2016).
Her next book, MANJHI MOVES A MOUNTAIN, will be published by Creston Books Sept. 1, 2017. Next up: MAKING HIS SHOT, How Charlie Sifford Broke the Color Barrier in Golf and THE PRINCESS AND THE TREE, both from Albert Whitman. Visit her online at nancychurnin.com and on Twitter @nchurnin.
In lieu of golden apples, Nancy Churnin will toss one winner a signed copy of THE WILLIAM HOY STORY, How a Deaf Baseball Player Changed the Game…and another winner a picture book critique.
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 Salina Yoon & Christopher Polentz
People often ask me if my characters come first, or the story. Which inspires the other? Each book is different, but it’s an interesting question, and fun to reflect on. In my case, envisioning a character helps me to tell his or her story with authenticity. But they are often not fully fleshed out until my story is complete. My husband, however, fleshes his characters out with extravagant detail before the story is ever conceived.
I’d like to introduce you to my husband, artist Christopher Polentz, an aspiring writer and illustrator. He paints portraits with stunning realism inspired by actual vintage photographs he finds at antique shops. These portraits inspire stories!
I never simply copy the photograph. Over the hours of painting we spend together, developing a tangible painting, a thought process is at work. Beyond this picture; who is this person? Who were their friends? What was their position in life? Jotting down notes, organizing thoughts in my head, a real person emerges from this simple inspiration found in an antique store for $3.00.
My mental notes encourage more imagery, a background environment, she should appear emaciated-why? She’s wearing a necklace, what should be hanging from that necklace I ask myself. And so the conversation goes. And from this single photograph an imagined world of complexity evolves. None of which was planned, yet happened, spontaneously. Over the years I have found my paintings feeling incomplete in some way. My viewers had questions. A natural human curiosity wanted answers. I found myself retelling, and embellishing on my own original thoughts. And listening to my audience-they have some of the most compelling thoughts about my characters, and I take it-it’s great! Then, tying one character to another, it all slowly came together and made sense. They all belonged together, as they all came from me. I realized the need to put these stories, previously confined to my mind, on paper.
My portrait has not inspired just one idea, but several, because they are all inner-connected like a family tree. I now have a story of pictures supported by the movie of my mind that is always different and ever changing-one photograph, object, or maybe a past experience all play a role. So this is what I do. I shop, hunt, and think, never knowing where or what that next thing is adding to another piece of my puzzle, a new chapter in MY Twilight Zone.
My finished portraits are not finished at all. It’s just the beginning. A character is born with a story to tell, and we, the creator, are the ones to tell it.
Try this.
Go to an antique or thrift store. Scan through photographs of real life people or things people have owned. There are games, tools, dishes, toys, jewelry, and all kinds of unexpected treasures! Each one has a story to tell, and only you can tell it because it’s from your own imagination. Let an object or photograph trigger a story. Don’t simply interpret it. Make it your own! Elaborate and invent. Even inanimate objects can come to life if you’re using your imagination. What is their story?
Have fun browsing and imagining. Find something ordinary and make it extraordinary!
Pictured: Portraits by Christopher Polentz that have inspired stories. Feel free to let them trigger stories of your own!
Christopher Polentz graduated with honors from Art Center College of Design in 1985 earning his BFA degree. After a long career as a freelance artist working with clients such as; Atlantic Records, MGM/UA Entertainment, Mattel Toys and Reebok, Chris returned to college earning his MA degree from Syracuse University in 2001. Chris now pursues gallery work and has exhibited with galleries including; CoproNason Gallery-Santa Monica, La Luz de Jesus Gallery-Culver City, Sparks Gallery- San Diego and Cannon Gallery-Carlsbad. He continues to teach, and likes to think of himself as more technician than artist, working traditionally in his preferred medium of graphite and acrylic. Chris has been teaching art for over thirty years, including twenty years at both Art Center College of Design and Palomar Community College.
You can learn more about Christopher Polentz and his art at christopherpolentz.com.
Salina Yoon is an award winning author and illustrator of over 160 books for young children, including the popular Penguin picture book series and the new Duck Duck Porcupine beginning reader series. She was the featured author for the 2016 Kohl’s Cares Summer Campaign, and her awards include the 2015 Award for Excellence in a Picture Book for FOUND, by the Children’s Literature Council of Southern California, the 2015 International Literacy Association’s Children’s Choice Reading List for FOUND, and much more.
You can learn more about Salina Yoon and her books at salinayoon.com or follow Salina on Twitter at @salinayoon.
Chris and Salina have two boys, one more artistically inclined than the other (but they won’t name names) and they share one agent, Jamie Weiss Chilton, of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
Christopher is giving away a print of one of his portraits (that you can use to inspire a new character).
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 Tara Lazar (with Deb Lund)
Over the holidays, I caught an NPR broadcast on secular Christmas music. Immediately struck by the rich voices of Perry Como, Judy Garland, and Nat King Cole, I listened to the broadcast two more times on the NPR app.
We don’t hear many voices like these anymore. At the risk of sounding like an old curmudgeon, much of today’s popular music is auto-tuned, synthesized and over-produced. There is something simple and stirring about the classic tunes of the mid-20th century. The voices have not been altered—they are as smooth and clear as ice forming on a still pond. I challenge you to listen and not get chills.
As I often do when something moves me, I circled back to pondering writing, books, and what is different about today’s stories compared to those of fifty and sixty years ago. For one thing, we are more open to discussing sensitive subjects like racism, mental illness and death. And while there is a need for many more, diverse characters allow children to see themselves reflected back and give others a window into different cultures and experiences. There is much progress to celebrate.
But when was the last time you delved into a classic children’s book? What do they have to offer us? Often aspiring authors are told not to examine them, they are not indicative of what gets published today; for example, picture storybooks, those longer titles with one page of illustration beside a packed page of text, have vanished. However, many picture books and novels remain popular today and explore timeless themes and emotions. Don’t the books of your childhood bring you joy to this very day?
It is because the voices remain clear and strong even after decades.
The first line of E.B. White’s “Charlotte’s Web” grabs us immediately: “Where is Papa going with that axe?” Who wasn’t struck by Judy Blume’s honesty in “Are you There, God? It’s Me, Margaret.” The single sentence of “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak drifts between fantasy and reality, seamlessly, just like a child’s daydreams. It concludes with Mom’s dinner waiting, still hot. Dr. Seuss’s “Green Eggs and Ham” bounces along with an undeniable, yet varying, rhythm. “Goodnight Moon” evokes vivid images with a calm, deliberate, yet subtle, pace. And speaking of pace, Peter in “A Snowy Day” alters his footsteps in the freshly fallen snow and we feel his fascination. When his snowball melts in his pocket, the innocence and disappointment is palpable, but readers are immediately lifted by the promise of another snowy day…this time, with a friend.
Voice is not only what you say, but how you say it. The order and timing of story events will contribute to mood just as well as a turn of phrase. Would we be talking about these books today had they not begun and ended precisely where they did? We remember the emotions they stir in us. Emotion is the most important part of art, the most universal way we convey and share story.
So pick up a meaningful old favorite today.
- What universal themes are behind the story?
- What promise is made at the beginning?
- How do you feel when you read the last line?
- What “rules” does it follow?
- Are there any elements you can borrow?
Like those melodious voices from the past, there are reasons old classics are still loved today. Reread them a few times as if you were listening to a favorite old song.
What about it sings to you?
Tara Lazar is a picture book author and founder of Storystorm. She has two books releasing in 2017—WAY PAST BEDTIME from Aladdin/S&S and 7 ATE 9: THE UNTOLD STORY from Disney*Hyperion. Tara is a council member of the Rutgers University Council on Children’s Literature and a picture book mentor for We Need Diverse Books. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, two daughters, and far too many stuffed animals.
Tara is giving away a signed F&G (folded and gathered proof) of WAY PAST BEDTIME or 7 ATE 9: THE UNTOLD STORY, the winner’s choice.
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!
A year ago last autumn in Chicago during the Architecture Biennial, one exhibit captured my imagination. Situated in the middle of a large room were several dozen waist-high stands, each holding small everyday objects, such as fake flowers, egg crate foam, or a crumpled mini plastic water bottle.
What made the objects startling, though, was that the artist/architect had included tiny plastic people on or by each group of objects. Those plastic people changed the objects from everyday to fantastic—no longer just things you’d find in a junk drawer, they were now a whole new landscape for those little people. I had a moment of vertigo. I was looking at something small, a pile of Pringles, but to the plastic people, the Pringles were hills. And if the Pringles were hills, what did that make me?
At this point you’re probably thinking, “Did I click on the right blog? Isn’t this supposed to be about WRITING?” But writing is the first thing that came to mind when I saw the exhibit, particularly writing for children, because the everyday can become fantastic if you just change your perspective. We do it all the time as writers of kids’ books. We imagine ourselves as we were when we were three or seven or ten. We remember what it felt like to be younger, smaller, under our parents’ control.
But as writers, we’re not limited to imagining ourselves as children. We can imagine ourselves as anything at all. A monkey. A vampire. A purple two-headed dragon. A little plastic person in a field of giant fake flowers. We can picture ourselves on the outside looking in . . . or on the inside longing to get out.
Perspective has been on my mind a lot lately. This year, I had two books come out that look at perspective differently. The first, LADY LIBERTY’S HOLIDAY, features a larger-than-life main character, the Statue of Liberty, and views America through her eyes. To her, Niagara Falls isn’t just a gorgeous waterfall—it’s the perfect spot to shower. And the Golden Gate Bridge? A great place to nap. The only thing that makes her feel small is the Grand Canyon.
MARTA! BIG AND SMALL, on the other hand, takes on the idea of how perspective differs depending on what something is compared to. So compared to an elephant, Marta is small. Compared to a bug, she is big. (Or “grande”—it’s a bilingual book.) It’s the whole idea of me, the Pringles, and the tiny plastic people. We are all big, and we are all small. Everything is relative.
And this is where the inspiration comes from. If you’re looking for a new idea, change your perspective. What would it be like if you were the size of a mouse? What would you eat . . . or wear . . . or play with? What if you were as big as a Brachiosaurus?
Look around. A pile of Pringles can be a hillside. A handful of twigs can be a forest. A piece of egg crate foam on its side can be a modern housing development. Lie on the floor. Crawl on your knees. Climb a ladder and see what it’s like to be eight feet tall. Take an elevator to the top of a tall building and look down. Then look up. Who sees the world that way? There’s your character. What challenges would they face? There’s your plot.
In one of the explanations of the exhibit, the artist/architect wrote “Anything stacked is architecture.” He found inspiration for his craft in the everyday, just as I found inspiration in his exhibit. Who knows where your next idea might come from? Like architecture, inspiration is everywhere!
For more on the exhibit, Sou Fujimoto’s “Architecture Is Everywhere,” click on this link.
Jen Arena writes, edits, and finds for inspiration in the world around her for everything from easy-to-reads to picture books to early chapter books. Her recent titles include BESOS FOR BABY (Little Brown), LADY LIBERTY’S HOLIDAY (Knopf), and MARTA! BIG AND SMALLl (Roaring Brook), which the Huffington Post named in its Best Picture Books of 2016 as an Honorable Mention in the category of—you guessed it—“Best on Perspective.” Her next picture book SLEEP TIGHT, SNOW WHITE will be published in 2017 by Knopf. Visit her on twitter at @hallojen or at her website: jenarenabooks.com.
In honor of the very first Storystorm, Jen is giving away a thirty-minute brainstorming session/Q&A/editorial consult phone call. She has twenty years of experience as an editor with Putnam, Golden Books, and Random House and has been writing for kids just as long. Ask away!
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!
Novels were my first love—as a children’s literature graduate student, as an editor, as a bookseller, and then as a writer. I loved long descriptive passages, the rising tension and angst, the unexpected twists and turns of complicated plots, and all the ways that casts of characters could clash, conflict, and come together. Novels were other worlds in which I could become fully immersed for long stretches of time, emerging only to jot down particularly beautiful sentences in my journal. However, these complications presented certain problems for me once I began writing my own novels.
It turns out that plotting is . . . not my strong suit.
While wrestling with the plot of my second novel, SOME OF THE PARTS, I turned to picture books for help. There were plenty in our house, but I knew those too well to read them objectively (and my kids kept interrupting), so I went to the library and gathered stacks of new ones, old ones, favorite classics and unfamiliar texts. I was searching for a sense of how stories were built, and I knew that picture books had patterns I could see clearly, structures I would recognize. The more I read, the more I fell in love. I felt like I was cheating on my novel, but I didn’t care. It was glorious—the humor, the energy, the sweetness, and unexpected twists and turns of uncomplicated plots were a revelation.
I began thinking in picture books, seeing new possibilities. My son’s preschool playground rule (“There are no bad guys at our school.”) sparked a story.
So did a conversation at an academic dinner, where I was seated between an astronomer and a marine biologist.
There were some practical things I did to put the picture books to work for myself:
- I typed out the text of books that were particularly successful in some way, so that I could see the words separately from the pictures. This is how picture book manuscripts arrive at a publisher (most of the time) and how mine look when I write them, because I am not the illustrator. When you can read the text alone, you get the clearest possible sense of how it operates, what jobs it has and what jobs it should not try to do (e.g. extensive description).
- I took note of elements like repetition, alliteration, rhyme, and plot structures to get a sense of what the rules were. I compared older books and newer ones, to see how the rules had changed. Word counts and formats vary wildly from then to now, and I wanted a strong sense of both the history of the form and the current trends, so I knew where my stories would fit.
- I allowed myself to start with themes and ideas that I knew had been written before. Because I had been reading so many picture books by other authors, my first efforts to write my own often mimicked what I’d read. (I could call it “an homage” and get away with it, right? Maybe?) But I let it happen, because I needed to warm up those muscles and strengthen them. It was like taking a class at the gym: for a while, I just followed along with what the instructor did. I couldn’t design my own routine right away.
Before long, I had a couple of drafts that I really liked (and several more that had yet to find their feet). I revised and fine-tuned them until I felt brave enough to send them to my agent. She replied almost immediately. “You’ve done it,” she said. “You’ve cracked the picture book code.”
So, what have picture books taught me? To be open to unexpected possibilities, to examine small moments and know that stories can grow out of anything that happens, and to be confident in my ability to structure a narrative. Writing both picture books and longer stories allows me a unique kind of balance between different forms, and has allowed me to see plot on a much smaller, more manageable scale and then expand that scaffolding to a larger one.
They’ve also taught me that sometimes you think your characters are elephants, but your illustrator has other ideas…
Hannah Barnaby is the author of WONDER SHOW, a 2013 Morris Award finalist, and SOME OF THE PARTS. She makes her double picture book debut in 2017 with BAD GUY, illustrated by Mike Yamada (coming in May from S&S), and GARCIA & COLETTE GO EXPLORING, illustrated by Andrew Joyner (coming in June from Putnam). Hannah lives in Charlottesville, VA, where she teaches creative writing and wrangles a variety of children and dogs. Visit her online at hannahbarnaby.com, Twitter @hannahrbarnaby and Facebook.
Her two picture books are now available for pre-order via Indiebound: BAD GUY and GARCIA & COLETTE GO EXPLORING.
Hannah is giving away her code-cracking secrets in a picture book critique.
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!
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 