Writing for Kids (While Raising Them)

by Laurel Neme

Where do you store your ideas so that you can come back to them later? I used to jot mine down on scraps of paper to make sure I wouldn’t forget them. But inevitably they drifted from my pockets to who knows where.

A friend noticed and bought me a beautiful blank book for my birthday. It was the kind that feels good simply to hold. For about a year, it worked. Except that it ended up not being that useful. First, I only filled about 12 of the pages. Probably because I didn’t have the book handy when I got an idea. Those that did make it into the book were often too brief (I tended to write just a sentence or two), so they didn’t always make sense. And without any hint of where the idea came from (maybe an event or an article) or what I was doing, I couldn’t recreate my process and find my way back to it.

Worse was the fact that I couldn’t search it quickly. Rather, I would have to read each page to find an idea I was looking for—and typically gave up before I did. Eventually it sat on my shelf. Unopened.

In 2020, I took an Intensive Picture Book Workshop with Anastasia Suen and came away with what was for me a key takeaway—the idea of writing “zero drafts” on my computer. The basic idea was freewriting a draft before your first draft. With no expectations or editing. It was a way to get ideas out of your head and onto the page.

I loved the concept and soon expanded it into something bigger—a running journal of ideas. In essence, it was me stuffing my pockets with scraps of paper filled with ideas and inspiration. Except it was electronic, in one place, and easily searchable.

It started when my critique group did Storystorm together. We all shared a Google doc, and each day wrote down ideas inspired by that day’s post. We each had different “ink” colors, and would often comment and feed off each other’s responses.

The camaraderie deepened my thinking. But I also found the process itself helpful. Once I started jotting down ideas, the more I’d think of. Because I didn’t feel like I had to actually DO anything with them immediately, and they wouldn’t get lost, I couldn’t stop ideas from flowing. And in other areas my writing was benefiting from that.

When the month ended, I wanted to continue that regular brainstorming. But my critique partners didn’t have the time, and they wanted to develop the ideas they’d had.

So…I did it on my own.

Thankfully, I got a boost from Non-Fiction Fest—a month-long series of blogs about writing nonfiction for children. For me, it was perfect. Not only was it a continuation of blogs I could use for inspiration, but nonfiction is my jam. I write books and articles for kids and adults, and am also a freelance journalist for National Geographic and other media outlets.

I tried to recreate the same conditions and started another Google doc, just for me.

Each day, I got inspired by the NF Fest posts. And when it ended, I kept at it. Maybe not every day. But many of them.

I used the document as a placeholder for ideas.

Not just for picture book ideas, but ideas for articles, too. I’d cut and paste links and snippets from research papers or news items that I wanted to pitch to National Geographic. Or subjects I wanted to explore for a book. Or a topic I wanted to learn more about. Sometimes, it was a starting point for a volcano of ideas. And I let those ideas flow.

Other times, I knew I wouldn’t use it but it caught my attention. Like an article on Charmin updating its toilet paper to have a scalloped edge. It talked about the history of toilet paper and included a little info nugget that TP hadn’t changed much since 1857, except with the introduction of perforated lines to make it tearable in the 1890s, and again in 1930 to make it splinter free. It also said more than 7 billion rolls are sold in the US every year. Now, I don’t think I’ll ever do anything with any of that information. But I wrote it down.

The point is: I don’t edit myself. Who knows where an idea might lead?

Even as I write this post, I’m still intrigued by the history of TP and now I wonder about the history of other objects. Crayons? Remote controls? Shower steamers?

I like having a place where I can let ideas rip. It’s like a junk drawer that you never have to organize but that’s always easy to search and find things.

Here are some tips I’ve found useful for my own running catalogue of ideas—but try whatever works for you.

1. Start each entry with the date and highlight it in blue. That helps separate ideas.
2. Put key words or ideas IN ALL CAPS. That helps me notice the heart of an idea. It also can get me brainstorming additional related ideas.
3. Highlight in yellow items you want to stand out. It might be ideas you want to work on first. Or keywords. Or a useful website.
4. Every month or so, download the document and save it on your computer. That process will make you realize how much you’ve done and can do.
5. From time to time, scroll through and see what inspires.

Where do YOU store your Storystorm ideas? Take this opportunity to start your own searchable catalogue of ideas. Happy Storming!

Laurel Neme will be giving away two prizes: one 30-minute virtual school visit and one 30-minute “Ask Me Anything” Zoom call to two separate winners.

You’re eligible to win if you’re a registered Storystorm 2024 participant and you have commented only once on today’s blog post.

Prizes will be distributed at the conclusion of Storystorm.

Laurel Neme writes about nature and wildlife for kids and adults. She’s a regular contributor to to National Geographic and is the author of THE ELEPHANT’S NEW SHOE, about the rescue of a baby elephant who needs a prosthetic foot, ORANGUTAN HOUDINI, and ANIMAL INVESTIGATORS: How the World’s First Wildlife Forensics Lab is Solving Crimes and Saving Endangered Species. She’s also writes for New York Times for Kids magazine and other outlets. Visit her online at LaurelNeme.com. Stay in touch via social media: Bluesky @laurelneme.bsky.social and Instagram @laurelneme.