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Welcome to PiBoIdMo, 30 days of inspiration and motivation created for picture book writers.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it (and I know you will ’cause it’s a cakewalk), is to jot down one new picture book concept a day during November. That’s it. You don’t have to write a full manuscript, but if you want to, go ahead. No one’s stopping you!
Guest articles by published authors and illustrators will serve as your inspiration. Visit here once a day to read a new perspective on creativity.
Your motivation will be prizes. (Plus finishing the month with a file of ideas.) Sometimes you’ll need to comment on a post to qualify for a prize, but for most of the goodies, you’ll need to finish the month with 30 ideas.
To qualify for prizes, there are two steps:
- You must sign-up below (leave a comment) by November 7th.
- You must sign the 30-ideas-in-30-days pledge which will be posted on December 1st.
The pledge is by honor system and will remain open for signing from December 1st thru 4th. Prizes will be announced on December 6th. Please note that if your name does not appear in both places–the sign-up and pledge–you will not be eligible to win.
So that’s the fine print!
Now Johnny, please tell us what they can win…
Feedback from Literary Agents
Three winners will be paired with one of three agents: Ammi-Joan Paquette of Erin Murphy Literary Agency, Kelly Sonnack of Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Inc., and Joanna Volpe of Nancy Coffey Literary and Media Representation. Winners will send their five best ideas to their assigned agent. The agent will provide feedback on which ideas may be the best ones to pursue.
Picture Book Critiques
Seven winners will be randomly chosen and paired with one of these authors: Sudipta Bardan-Quallen, Brenda Reeves Sturgis, Corey Rosen Schwartz, Tiffany Strelitz-Haber, Lori Degman, Lori Calabrese and Linda Bozzo. Winners will send one picture book manuscript (up to 800 words) for a critique. (Linda Bozzo offers a non-fiction picture book or article critique. Lori Degman, Lori Calabrese & Tiffany Strelitz-Haber will critique rhyming PBs. Alternatively, Tiffany offers a lesson in rhyme and meter.)
Original Artwork
Some illustrators will be guest blogging in visual format. You can win original art by Neil Numberman, Bonnie Adamson, Jannie Ho, Adam F. Watkins and James Burks, who designed the PiBoIdMo logo and badge.
Picture Books
Picture books donated by Jannie Ho, Sterling Children’s Books, Alison Ashley Formento, Joan Waites, Pat Miller, Tammi Sauer, Jeannine Q. Norris, Lori Calabrese and Simon & Schuster.
Jewelry
Stay inspired all year long with the “write” bracelet, donated by writer and artist Laura Hamor.
Heather Powers has donated her “Anne of Green Gables” book club pendant. Check out her Etsy store Humblebeads for more lovely nature- and literary-inspired wares.
Greeting Cards
Artist Christina Peressini’s inventive die-cut greeting cards have also been donated. The winner chooses a mix & match 10-pack from her original designs, like the “Wishing You Peace” card.
And, there might be some extra-special stuff added as the month progresses, so stay tuned.
So there you have it. PiBoIdMo 2010.
Let the sign-up begin!
Then come back on Monday for the first of 30 posts to help you along your idea journey!
[Update 11/8: Comments are now closed. If you are not signed up below, you aren’t eligible for prizes, but you can still join PiBoIdMo–just visit every day for a new post about creativity to help you along your idea journey.]
by Karen Collum
We creative types often talk about that moment when inspiration strikes. We get an idea, a phrase, an image, a scent, a sound that somehow switches something on in our brains and before we know it words are churning out faster than electric shocks on a trampoline. The concept of inspiration ‘striking’, however, is misleading. It sounds so passive, so unpredictable, so out of our control.
I’d like you to think about another sort of strike for a moment; a lightning strike. It’s true, lightning can strike people almost anywhere and at anytime, and we often hear amazing tales of the same person being struck more than once, but there are well-known factors that can increase or decrease the likelihood of being struck by lightning. I believe the same applies to the strike of inspiration. Here are a few ways you can increase the likelihood of being struck by inspiration (but please don’t use this advice in a storm as you are quite likely to get struck by lightning and although that might make a great story, it would in fact be terrible!):
1. Stand tall and in the open
Everyone knows that lightning strikes tall objects and the wisest thing to do in a storm is lie low. The opposite is true when waiting for inspiration to strike. Stand out in the open field of life, arms outstretched and reaching for the sky. Stand tall, lift your gaze above what is immediately in front of you and look around. Don’t be afraid to be different. Look at a picture, a scene, a group of people from a different perspective. Ask ‘what if?’ questions. Dare to look beyond what you first see. For me that often means taking a mental step back from the scene and surveying it as an observer. Why is that person frowning? Why is the lady in the car crying? Where is that person in a hurry to get to? Do this often enough and inspiration will surely strike.
2. Have your umbrella up
Umbrellas in a lightning storm are a no-no, especially if yours has a metal tip on the end, but for a writer, having your umbrella up means you are ready and waiting to be struck by inspiration. You are aware of what’s going on around you and that there may just be one tiny thing that will spark your creativity in amongst the mundane. I try to have my umbrella up all the time, consciously searching for things that might be useful. I listen carefully to the conversations that my children have and try to absorb their pattern of speech. I also have a notebook handy at all times so I can capture the strike when it happens. When I’m outside playing with my kids I watch for interesting things in my environment. Just the other day I saw a slow and steady march of butterflies heading to some important but unknown place, one at a time. Inspiration can strike on even the gentlest of wings.
3. Get on the phone
During a lightning storm it’s advisable to stay off the phone as lightning can travel down the phone line and end up quite painfully in your ear. As a writer, however, it’s essential that you connect and network with other creative people. Have conversations about interesting things, bounce ideas off one another, share with trusted creative friends what you’re working on. I don’t believe inspiration happens in a vacuum and by connecting with one another we can create surges of inspiration for all of us.
Don’t just wait for inspiration to strike. Stand tall, have your umbrella up and get on the phone. You might just find those thirty PiBoIdMo ideas flowing faster than you ever thought possible.
Karen Collum lives in Brisbane, Australia and is a stay-at-home mum to three pre-school boys. She is about to welcome a baby girl to the family in December. She is also a picture book author and co-convenor of the international online picture book chat group, #pblitchat. (You can find details about #pblitchat at http://picturebooksonly.wordpress.com.) Karen’s debut picture book SAMUEL’S KISSES is due for release in late November by New Frontier Publishing. You can follow Karen on Twitter (@KarenCollum) or find more about her and her books on her website http://www.karencollum.com.au.
Venerable LA Times rock critic Robert Hilburn recently penned Corn Flakes with John Lennon and Other Tales from a Rock n’ Roll Life, a revealing memoir-style series of vignettes featuring the great rock icons of the last 50 years.
In the book, Hilburn recounts his seven-piece Times series on the most influential and prolific songwriters of the rock era, which was published earlier this decade. He chose Bob Dylan as his first subject. Hilburn wanted to learn about a songwriter’s creative process: what inspires them, how they begin to lay down the music and lyrics, if success or failure of past work influenced future songs. The interview with Dylan earned Hilburn his third Pulitzer Prize nomination. And, Dylan’s words may give other writers—perhaps even picture book writers—inspiration for their own work:
“Some things just come to me in dreams,” Dylan told Hilburn. “But I can write a bunch of stuff down after you leave…about say, the way you are dressed. I look at people as ideas. I don’t look at them as people. I’m talking about general observation. Whoever I see, I look at them as an idea…what this person represents. That’s the way I see life. I see life as a utilitarian thing. Then you strip things away until you get to the core of what’s important.”
And picture books are indeed about what’s important; every picture book features an emotional truth, whether it be about family, friendship or fitting in. If you strip away what’s on the surface—the pirates or the penguins or the princesses—what remains is a story about the human experience.
Noted illustrator Jim Arnosky found inspiration in Dylan’s music. “From the first time I heard [Man Gave Names to All the Animals], the lyrics created pictures in my mind of a land of primeval beauty,” said Arnosky. Dylan gave his permission to create a picture book, and the work was released by Sterling in September.
So that’s your inspirational thought for the day. Well, two inspirational thoughts! People and songs.
What do other people’s actions say to you? How do those actions translate to story? What music boosts your creativity?
And don’t forget, there’s much more inspiration to come when PiBoIdMo begins in November. Consider this a warm up, or as Dylan might say, a sound check.
For those of you who are hungry for PiBoIdMo to begin on November 1, here’s something to satisfy your craving: a delicious PiBoIdMo 2010 badge for your blog, Twitter or Facebook page. Nom, nom, nom!
Just right-click on the image and save it to your computer. Then upload wherever you’d like! I ask that you link the badge back to this blog. I said “ask” because it’s most appreciated, but entirely optional.
Thanks to the talented James Burks for designing this year’s PiBoIdMo logo and badges. (Yes, there’s a “PiBoIdMo Winner” badge, too, but you don’t get to have that one yet!)
If you’re a Twitterholic, you can also add the PiBoIdMo Twibbon to your avatar.
Watch for the PiBoIdMo 2010 kick-off post to appear on Halloween!
Lately many writers have wondered, “Are you hosting Picture Book Idea Month again in November?”
Since this is a children’s lit blog, I have to tone down the language of my reply:
HECK, YEAH!
We’re gonna make NaNoWriMo novelists wish they were PiBoIdMo writers this year!
We’ve lined up great guest bloggers.
And three picture book agents to provide feedback to three winners.
And prizes! Oh, the prizes!
Just remember, you’ll have to complete 30 ideas in 30 days to qualify for the prizes. And you’ll have to officially sign up, too.
Watch for the kick-off post and sign-in on Halloween! You’ll have from then through the first week in November to sign-up.
And for now, I’m signing out!
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 