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by As adults, it’s easy for us to get entrenched in the necessities of day-to-day living whether it be money, bills, work, deadlines, marketing, dinner, laundry, family time, and the list goes on… I know because I’m guilty. As a TV producer for World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. for ten years, I was immersed in work, concentrating on my career, traveling around the globe, and trying to hold my own alongside 7 foot, 400 lb. men.
But everything changed when I started to hang around two little guys who weighed less than 30 lbs. After the birth of my two boys, I realized the importance of seeing beauty in the ordinary and opening my eyes to things I hadn’t before. I became curious and observant and enjoyed to watch a caterpillar inch along the sidewalk or the clouds drift along the sky. I gained a renewed sense of humor in gas and poop jokes and rediscovered what fun it can be to blow bubbles in your chocolate milk.
As I began to think like a kid, ideas and creativity flowed in my head like Roaring Rapids at Six Flags. I found all of my inspiration for writing came from my two boys. As a result, I felt an urge to express myself on paper.
In fact, the idea for my first picture book, The Bug That Plagued the Entire Third Grade, came to me when one of my sons had that dreaded stomach virus that makes its way around a house until it’s hit every family member! When family and friends called to see how he was doing, I would say, “He caught the bug.” It’s something we all say when we’re sick, but it made me stop and wonder why we say that. Something clicked, so I expanded on the play on words of getting sick and catching an insect. Hence… “The Bug” was born.
The idea for my second picture book, Oh the Possibilities, a work-for-hire I wrote for John Hancock’s Back to School campaign, can also be credited to my two boys. John Hancock was looking for a children’s book about that age-old question, “What do I want to be when I grow up?” Everyone always takes the time to tell me how my boys are “all boy.” And they truly are, fascinated by everything from super-heroes to dinosaurs to trucks to dragons. I was thinking about professions and thought, what boy doesn’t dream of being a dragon, right? I built off that, so when my character, Miles, realizes he only has human genes and must decide on something soon, he runs through all the possibilities.
As my writing career was starting to take shape, I discovered one of the most dramatic shifts we can make as picture book writers is to see life through a child’s eyes. After all, who are our readers? Picture books are targeted toward 4 through 8 year olds and the rule of thumb is that children want to read about characters their own age or a bit older. So how do you get inside the head of a five year old? I don’t know about you, but I’m the type of person who can’t remember what happened yesterday, so there’s not much chance of me tapping into my own childhood memories and bringing to the surface what I was feeling when I was five. So the best way for me to identify with my main characters is to hang out with my readers. There’s nothing like picking up a crayon and coloring, blowing bubbles, whizzing down a slide, and running my fingers in a sandbox for inspiration.
Chances are, if we’re writing for children, we like to think of ourselves as young at heart. So as you’re wracking your brain for 30 ideas in 30 days, think of some of the children you come into contact with each day, whether it be your own, nieces and nephews, grandkids, or friends’ kids. However, this time, instead of watching from the sidelines, join the race or purposely plan an outing in the rain so you can stomp in the puddles together. Chances are you might just find inspiration from all the pint-sized fun, and reap the rewards, bigger than you ever imagined.
Lori Calabrese is an award-winning children’s author. Her first picture book, The Bug That Plagued the Entire Third Grade, was awarded DFP’s Best Children’s Book Award. She writes for various children’s magazines, is the National Children’s Books Examiner at Examiner.com and enjoys sharing her passion for children’s books at festivals, schools and events. Visit her website to learn more: www.loricalabrese.com.
Lori has generously donated a rhyming picture book critique as one of the PiBoIdMo prizes. A random winner will be chosen in early December, from those who have completed the 30-ideas-in-30 days challenge.
by Last year, I participated in PiBoIdMo. At the end of the month, I had about 34 ideas on my list. Participants were writing to Tara with comments like “Oh, I am jumping out of my socks with excitement to get started developing all these FABULOUS ideas into picture books” and “I have 30+ of the best ideas on the planet and I am certain they will be lining the shelves of bookstores by spring.”
I looked at my list. And I thought “Blech.” I don’t have a single good idea. I was irritable. And jealous. Why is everyone else feeling so motivated and inspired, and I am feeling like an utter failure? I even joked on my blog:
While other people have come up with 30 wonderful diverse ideas for PiBoIdMo, I have a list of 30 pathetic variations on the Three Bears theme.
Goldifox and the Three Hares
Tawnylocks, Goldi’s Little Known Twin
Goldi-Rocks and The Three Bear Band
Well, the joke is on me. Because guess what? I ended up selling GOLDI ROCKS AND THE THREE BEARS to Putnam!
So, here is my humble advice. Don’t dismiss any of your ideas.
Finding the perfect idea is like mining. What may not seem at first to be a dazzling gem, may end up being your diamond in the rough. You have to sift carefully through what you’ve collected. Show your list to some trusted people. Even if you don’t win the agent prize, you can still get feedback. Ask a writer friend or critique partner to view your list. Ask your kids! Get a second opinion. And a third.
I may have missed the initial sparkle, but let me tell you… my blog followers did not. They commented in droves “The GOLDI ROCKS one shines.” I was too visually impaired to see it, but they realized it right away and let me know I’d struck gold.
And keep your list going all year. Add to it, when the littlest inkling crosses your mind.
GOLDI ROCKS was idea #28.
You never know when you are going to hit your jackpot.
Corey Rosen Schwartz is the author of Hop! Plop!, an Eric Carle Museum Picture Book of Distinction. Her next book, THREE NINJA PIGS, is due for release in 2012 (not soon enough in Tara’s opinion). It will be followed by GOLDI ROCKS AND THE THREE BEARS, which would never have been conceived were it not for PiBoIdMo. Corey spends her free time Facebooking all the funny things that come out of her five and six year old’s mouths. (You never know what comment will inspire a PB!)
Corey has generously donated a picture book critique as one of the PiBoIdMo prizes. A random winner will be chosen in early December, from those who have completed the 30-ideas-in-30 days challenge.
Those of us you who were children once upon a time will surely remember how frustrating it was suddenly to have been plunked down in a world where everyone knew more than you did—about everything. Children spend a great deal of time trying to figure things out: where does snow come from? Why can’t dogs talk? What happens next? Or, as we say in our family: “Who ordered the veal cutlet?”*
Kids develop their own little GPS-like subroutines, constantly recalculating to keep themselves on track—but sometimes, inevitably, they get it wrong. Misperceptions and missed information lead to misunderstandings . . . and—I won’t sugar-coat this—little misunderstandings often lead to:
Major Disappointment!
Total Humiliation!
Nightmares!
(Yeah, I was grown before I figured that one out.)
Thank goodness for picture books!
In a picture book, you can check out your own real-live dinosaur any time from the Storybook Lending Zoo.
You can have the queen invite the golfer with the highest score to the palace for tea, and meet the prince, who is even worse at Goony Golf than you are.
You can become a super-hero in training, and rid the world of evil, baby-eating furniture.
How cool is that? As children’s book writers and illustrators, we get to do this all the time. So, having aired three of my own neuroses . . . er, picture book ideas . . . here is a tip for today: think back to those times in your childhood when things were not quite what you expected them to be—and imagine what it would take to discover a new, old friend . . . or have the last laugh . . . or fly to the rescue.
And then, for the love of heaven, explain to the little person in your life that dinosaurs are really extinct; that, as silly as it sounds, low score wins at Goony Golf; and that, yes, if necessary, a very tiny baby can sleep safely in a dresser drawer . . . but only if you take the drawer OUT of the dresser first!
*A line from Mel Brooks’ Silent Movie . . . um, maybe you had to be there.
Bonnie Adamson’s latest illustration project is BEDTIME MONSTER (¡A dormir, pequeño monstruo!) by Heather Ayris Burnell, released in September by Raven Tree Press.
Visit Bonnie’s soon-to-be-completely-overhauled website at www.bonnieadamson.net, or hang out with her on Twitter, where she co-hosts #kidlitchat on Tuesday nights and #kidlitart (for children’s book illustrators and friends) every Thursday.
Bonnie then, practicing her skeptical glare; and now—-an older and wiser children’s book illustrator.
Prize Alert! Leave a comment to enter. One randomly-selected winner will choose one of the three picture-book-inspired sketches above for Bonnie to paint in watercolor (Dinosaur, Royalty, Superhero). One entry per person! Winner will be selected one week from today. Good luck!
by As an author/illustrator of picture books, my process for creating picture book characters involves a constant back and forth between my keyboard and sketchbook. I have to “draw them out.”
I start with my keyboard, and the first thing I do is ask myself lots of questions about my main character.
- What does she love?
- What does she hate?
- Is she messy?
- What type of clothes does she wear?
- What’s her favorite color?
- Does she have pets?
- Is she scared of lizards?
- Does she play the violin?
- Is she afraid of her mailman?
- Does she like to eat Cool Whip sandwiches on white bread? (okay, that one was MY favorite sandwich when I was little!)
- Would she help her worst enemy?
- Is she cute? Precocious? Bookish? Obnoxious?. . .
I get pretty specific and allow for the unexpected to pop in. Don’t we all love a character with some weird little surprising personality quirk?
When I finally hit upon the perfect character who has her own unique gumbo of personality traits, then it’s time to pull out the sketchbook. I draw facial expressions and hairdos. Wardrobes and bedrooms. I really get to know my character visually–I need to be able to see how she likes to stand (arms crossed protectively in front or hands sassily on hips), what she likes to wear (tie dyed t-shirts or tutus), and what things she loves to do (ballet or tai kwon do).
Then I think about objects that would inhabit her world. Little details scattered in the illustrations of a picture book help create a rich character, kind of like the world building writers do when writing fantasy stories. I just do my world building visually–actually drawing a world with beds and chairs and clothes and people. For me, visualizing my world is a necessary step before I begin to think about writing plot. I like to have my stage set and my characters in full costume before I turn them loose to tell me their stories.
If I’ve done my job, then my main character and how she relates to the world will lead me to a plot. There will be something in her personality that stands out, and it’s up to me to put something in her way. For example, if she really hates something–like sports. I make her put on a pair of soccer cleats and play. Or, if she’s really embarrassed about something–like her frilly blankie that she sleeps with every night. I make sure someone exposes her at a spend-the-night party.
I ask myself “What’s the worst thing that can happen to my main character based on her unique personality?” And, then I do it to her (I know–I’m such a meanie!). But, since I’m an illustrator, I do this visually. I draw the way she would stand if forced to put on full soccer gear. I draw her reaction to being exposed at the party.
And, this conflicted character that I’ve pulled out, drawn out, of her comfort zone, leads me back to my keyboard to bang out a story . . .
Sarah Frances Hardy, a Southern girl living in Oxford, Mississippi, took an early retirement from practicing law to paint and write full time. She has exhibited her work in galleries throughout the Southeast as well as in New York. Her corporate clients include Steve Wynn who purchased several of Sarah Frances’s paintings for the Beau Rivage Resort in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Sarah Frances’s debut picture book, pitched as “Wednesday Addams meets Fancy Nancy”, which she wrote and illustrated will be published by Viking Children’s Books in 2012. Sarah Frances also writes middle grade novels which are set in the South. She is inspired by her three daughters, who each couldn’t be more different.
Sarah Frances is represented by Joanna Volpe at Nancy Coffey Literary and Media Representation. Learn more about Sarah Frances Hardy at her website www.sfhardy.com and her blog www.plotthis.blogspot.com.
According to three judges appointed by the NY Times—Robert Sabuda (illustrator & pop-up genius), Elizabeth Bird (NYC librarian, author & Fuse #8 blogger) and David Barringer (novelist & designer)—these are the top 10 illustrated picture books of 2010.
After reviewing these titles, there is little doubt that the finest illustrative work in the world appears in children’s literature.
Congratulations to the illustrators! Erin E. Stead, Sophie Blackall, Tony Fucile, R. C. Roth, Peter Brown, Peter McCarty, Red Nose Studio, Blexbolex, Suzy Lee and Christoph Niemann.
Shaping a poem
the body builder
pumps
flexes
tones and
tautens
as
snip
snap
snip –
the gardener
prunes and shapes
and
whoosh!
the very
clumsy clown
colours the sky
with brightly bobbing
balloons of
thought
© Kathryn Apel 2010
Playing with words to inspire creativity
I write poetry. And I write picture books. And this is a good thing, because poetry and picture books go hand-in-hand… beautifully!
If I’m stuck for inspiration or enthusiasm in my picture books, or I’m at that point of doubting that I’ll ever find ‘the’ perfect word (or any words, for that matter)—I write poetry. Poetry prompts me to play with words again.
We all know the cliché that writers paint pictures with words, but when I’m writing poetry, I get three distinct visual images—and they’re all of me! Let me put you in the picture, too…
The first is a bit of a joke, because in reality I can’t lift more than a bar of chocolate… BUT—I see myself as The Body Builder toning up by pumping poetry. Composing poetry flexes creativity. It hones vocabulary and encourages wordplay. It pinpoints weaknesses and forces me to focus on specific ‘muscles’. The more poetry I write, the greater my control of my writing muscles—of words. And that is vital when writing picture books!
As The Gardener, I am a topiary artiste, intent on pruning and shaping; looking at the bigger picture and trimming it into a recognisable form. There is a certain ruthlessness in laying bare a thing of beauty. Poetry is a lot like a topiary tree—each word carefully placed to create a sharp, clear image. Excess words snipped away. There is no room for clutter. Each word must earn its place. A lot like … a picture book!
And then I see myself as The Clumsy Clown clutching fistfuls of colourful helium balloons… but can she keep them all in her grasp? No way! Poetry has a way of releasing thoughts to, float, fly, drift and swirl like a bunch of brightly bobbing balloons. Thoughts that could become a poem… or even a picture book… For me, a tramp over paddocks (with notebook in hand) is the perfect time to release the balloons, where they can dip and sway and soar to greater heights in the vast, open sky.
When writing poetry, I am carried away by my imagination.
Come fly with me!
Kathryn Apel is the author of the rhyming picture book This is the Mud! published by Lothian/Hachette Australia in 2009 and read on ABC Play School in 2010. You can follow @KatApel on Twitter, or visit her website, katswhiskers.wordpress.com. Kat is also the co-founder of #pblitchat, the weekly chat for those who work in the picture book publishing industry. You don’t have to be on Twitter, Facebook or any other social media to join the chat. Read all about it at picturebooksonly.wordpress.com.
by Lori Degman
Thanks, Tara, for letting me be a guest blogger for PiBoIdMo 2010! I was an avid follower last year and came away with more than thirty story ideas (some great, some not so great). It really jump-started my brain!
About a week ago, I sat down to write this post and drew a blank. I just couldnʼt come up with a good idea (pretty ironic, huh?). The next day, after the weather forecasters predicted record-breaking winds, I said to my husband, “That forecast sure was overblown.” When I stopped laughing (well after my husband), I realized I had found my topic—PUNS! Iʼm a sucker for a pun—good or bad—I just canʼt get enough of them!
Most puns just pop out of my mouth, without really thinking about them, but Iʼve learned how to purposely create puns, too—some of which have lead to funny, punny picture book stories! Though some puns go over childrenʼs heads, the adult readers catch them—and itʼs important to please your adult audience as well. After all, theyʼre the ones who will be reading your book again and again and again (hopefully)!
Here are some ways you can create puns—Iʼm sure there are tons more:
Put a twist on an idiom or slang phrase:
- Mrs. OʼLearyʼs cow kicked the bucket.
- Baking a pie is a piece of cake.
- Being a vampire really sucks! (Not for kids, but I thought it was funny.)
Think of animals and related traits:
- The cow was udderly delightful.
- The elephant packed his trunk for a trip.
- Having skunks for neighbors really stinks!
Make references to well-known fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters:
- Maryʼs in trouble and now sheʼs on the lamb.
- The Big Bad Wolf stomped off in a huff.
- Mother Goose hatched a plot.
Any of these puns might make a great starting point for a story. I hope this gets your imagination off and punning (sorry)!
Lori Degman is a teacher of deaf and hard of hearing students. She currently lives in Vernon Hills with her husband, John and two sons, Sean, 24 and Brian, 21. Her first picture book, 1 Zany Zoo, was the winner of the 2008 Spoonfuls of Stories Contest and was released July 2010 by Simon & Schuster. For more punny stuff, visit her at loridegman.blogspot.com.
by I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of being little. I am a little sister (my sister is five years older than me). Now that we’re adults and friends that difference is pretty much nonexistent, but when we were young, five years was the Grand Canyon. All I wanted to do was spend time with my big sister, doing the things that she got to do. And all she wanted to do was… anything else. I even wrote a story about it in second grade called “It’s Not Fair!”
That’s where I got the idea for my first picture book The Littlest Pilgrim. Well, truth be told, the title actually popped into my head during a meeting and I thought it was cute and wanted to write a story around it. But it didn’t take long for me to circle back to my memories about being little. So, I wrote a story about Mini who is the littlest pilgrim in her village and she just wants to help. Everyone tells her she’s too little for all the grown-up chores and duties, so she strikes out on her own and finds something she isn’t too little for: making a friend.
After The Littlest Pilgrim came out and hit the New York Times Best Seller list (you still have to pinch me about that one!), I was thrilled to be able to write another “littlest” book. As I started thinking about holiday themes, a picture of me in my first grade Christmas play popped into my mind.
I was one of the stars in the night sky (the yellow star in the green skirt, to be exact) leading Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. I had one line to recite in the play. And I was a very shy kid, so it was kind of terrifying to stand on that big, bright stage and speak my one line. I loved the idea of turning that around and writing about Max (the littlest kid in his class, of course). Max wants nothing more than to be the star of his school Christmas play and have a million lines to recite, but he ends up being the actual star with only one line.
So, as you can see I like to take memories of my own experiences from childhood and turn them slightly to the right or to the left – adjusting the lens a little bit and discovering a different character or story hidden there.
Now it’s your turn. Peruse a class picture from elementary school, dig through that box of handprint turkeys and leaf collages, or just reach back in your mind and find a childhood memory that you can turn to the right or to the left. Who or what is hidden there?
In addition to her two picture books, Brandi Dougherty is the author of three middle grade novels: Miss Fortune (Scholastic, 2010), The Friendship Experiment (Scholastic, 2009), and The Valentine’s Day Disaster (Scholastic, 2008). She worked in publishing in New York for eight years and now resides in San Francisco where she is mom to an adorable and rather spoiled dog. Visit her at www.brandidougherty.com.
Get Out and Live, Your Stories are Depending on You
by Ideas are endless, and everywhere! You can find ideas on a backyard walk, or at a trek to the zoo. You can find them in the news, or in the newspaper. Keep your eyes open and really look around. Listen to the chatter of little children, look at the bark of trees. Discover life around you through the eyes of a child.
Trees have faces if you look closely enough. Clouds can create castles. And in the humdrum of everyday activities, you can find a story just waiting to be told. While on my way to take my daughter to school, I was delayed by turkeys in the road. Instead of allowing a panic mode to overtake me (because we were going to be late), I simply enjoyed that moment.
And my debut picture book, 10 Turkeys in the Road, Marshall Cavendish, 2011, was born. I stopped to smell the roses, or better yet, to watch the turkeys. Soon after, I was awakened with the story of the turkeys in my head.
And after 3 major revisions and a year later, editor Margery Cuyler discovered 10 Turkeys at the RUCCL conference.
A trip to the zoo resulted in my story waiting to be sold, My Gorilla Brother, and an afternoon outing to watch my nephew play football, resulted in my story Touchdown! which won first place in the 2007 Smart Writers Contest judged by Verla Kay.
You can find ideas everywhere! A sight, or a smell, or a sound triggers them, but you must to get “out,” and experience life to find them.
One place that most initial ideas will not be found is in front of a blank computer screen. Ideas must first take root in your soul, and then once they are rooted, they are ready for watering, shaping, and pruning.
Yes ideas are endless, and they are anywhere and everywhere you can possibly imagine. Your stories are waiting for you, so get busy and get outside. Live and enjoy your life so you can first imagine, and then write your stories, as only you can.
Brenda Reeves Sturgis began her writing career four years ago, after meeting Lynn Plourde at a school visit. She bought every one of Lynn’s books and asked the question that would change her life, “How do I become a writer?”
Lynn directed Brenda to the CWIM (Children’s Writer’s Illustrator’s and Market Guide book, by Alice Pope), and also to SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writer’s and Illustrator’s). One of Brenda’s favorite sayings is, “When the student is ready– the teacher will appear!”
Brenda is generously offering a picture book critique as one of the PiBoIdMo prizes. Finish 30 ideas in 30 days to become eligible to win!
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.]
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 