Writing for Kids (While Raising Them)

Storystorm 2023 Day 10: Justin Colón Consumes Cartoons

January 10, 2023 in STORYSTORM 2023 | Tags: IMPOSSIBLE POSSUMS, James Rey Sanchez, Justin Colon, THE QUACKEN | 867 comments

by Justin Colón

Many of us look upon cartoons with a sense of childhood nostalgia, reminiscing upon the good ol’ days when we sat mesmerized in front of our television sets for hours while watching Sunday morning cartoons. I myself loved watching Nickelodeon’s “Hey Arnold!,” “The Wild Thornberrys”, “The Fairly Odd Parents” and “The Rugrats”; Disney’s “Gargoyles”; PBS’s “The Magic School Bus”; Cartoon Network’s “Dexter’s Laboratory”, and so many, many more that it hurts to leave them out. Yet, until recently, I had left cartoons behind. So why did I return to them?

Before Covid arrived, my acting career was gaining traction after nearly a decade of rigorous training, booking co-starring roles on television. But then the pandemic sidelined me. The idea of sitting at home watching television shows that I could no longer audition for stung. So, I leaned into something that didn’t sting . . . beekeeping. Seriously, I did. But the other thing I leaned into was cartoons.

In many ways, cartoons are like picture books. They’re often dismissed as being solely for children, and thus abandoned in adulthood, when in reality they can be enjoyed by all ages. They’re a highly-visual storytelling medium packed into a condensed format.

While the stakes may be high for the characters within them, cartoon shows are generally low stakes for viewers. These low stakes can help us unplug from reality and tap into our imagination, thus inspiring new ideas. In fact, sometimes I’ll watch an episode of a cartoon show and find that the tiniest moment or element within that show could be expanded into an entire picture book concept. The low stakes and high entertainment value combined with the color and music helps me slip into a childlike state that benefits my own storytelling as a writer. And it might do the same for you!

Watch a modern-day cartoon and you’ll likely find a substantial amount of heart, emotionally compelling stories and character arcs, and fresh takes on familiar concepts and layered themes with wonderful language (filled with fun repetition and sounds) that can inform your own craft. Interestingly, many cartoons often have a takeaway lesson, and yet it’s delivered in an entertaining, non-didactic way, very similar to effective picture books.

And for those of you interested in developing your humor skills, cartoons are excellent for this! Afterall, they’re exaggerated, eccentric, and over the top in comparison to reality, often making them ripe with humor. Keep a close eye on the pacing, structure, situations, and character relationships and interactions with each other and the world around them. You can take this exercise to the next level by observing cartoons intended for different age levels to see how the humor differs in approach and execution. How might you translate this into your own ideas, writing, and stories?

Go check out some picture books by Tara Lazar, Tammi Sauer, Josh Funk, Ryan T. Higgins, Adam Rex, and Julie Falatko, and others, and I bet you’ll find that they all share a cartoon-like quality (and I say that as high praise).

When Tara Lazar mentored me, one of the first things she noted was that my stories had an ACME-like quality to them. This is evident in my books THE QUACKEN (Simon & Schuster) and IMPOSSIBLE POSSUMS (Disney-Hyperion), both written during my cartoon-filled pandemic lockdown and debuting fall of 2024. Here’s the pitch for the latter:

When a lonely possum with a flair for villainy attempts to create his very own henchman but ditches the instructions to his new possum-making machine, it leads to a series of mishaps as it pops out all the wrong creatures, each with a chaotic agenda of their own.

While writing it, I wasn’t yet watching cartoons, but I was thinking of this book playing out in a manner similar to the over-the-top mischief, mishaps, misunderstandings, and mayhem often found in cartoons. I knew I wanted to combine the over-the top voice of Plankton from Spongebob Squarepants with the loveable villainy of MINIONS. Thinking back to those “mentor texts” provided lots of new ideas to explore while drafting and revising. Something as simple as a character’s voice (the style of it, not necessarily the sound) or an image might inspire ideas for your own work.

Shortly after selling the manuscript, a fellow writer who wrote for the cartoon series Pinky and the Brain excitedly reached out to share that my story reminded him of the series (though it wasn’t a mentor text). Well, once the illustrator and humor extraordinaire James Rey Sanchez signed on, he mentioned that this book gave him Pinky and the Brain vibes, a show he watched as a kid. And, because it’s a sparse text manuscript with LOTS of action, our editor sent him all the art notes . . . all 16 of them! And the story is being brought to life with a style that matches the cartoon-like quality of it.

In short, cartoons are safe and comforting and can help us release tension while easing anxiety and depression and improving mental health. But they can also inspire new ideas and take our craft to new levels. Now go watch some cartoons!

But first, let me know in the comments below . . . What were/are some of your favorite cartoons?

Justin Colón is a Latino author with several forthcoming picture books, including IMPOSSIBLE POSSUMS (Disney-Hyperion, 2024) and THE QUACKEN (Simon & Schuster, 2024). He is also the owner/director of The Kidlit Hive (kidlithive.com), a new program offering webinars, workshops, multi-week classes, and mentorships for picture book creators. In his other life, Justin is a professional, formally trained voice and on-camera actor and has co-starred in shows such as Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Gotham, The First Wives Club, Sneaky Pete and Limitless. He is represented by Jennifer March Soloway of Andrea Brown Literary Agency. To learn more about Justin, you can visit JustinColonBooks.com and follow him on Twitter at @justinrcolon.

Justin is offering one lucky winner a webinar package consisting of passes to attend three webinars, free of charge, via The Kidlit Hive, as well as a 30-minute AMA session to discuss querying, submission, ideas, etc.

You’re eligible to win if you’re a registered Storystorm 2023 participant and you have commented only once on today’s blog post. ↓

Prizes will be distributed at the conclusion of Storystorm.

Storystorm 2023 Day 9: Natalie Rompella Embraces Tough Topics

January 9, 2023 in STORYSTORM 2023 | Tags: Alessia Girasole, COOKIE CUTTERS AND SLED RUNNERS, Issue Books, MALIK'S NUMBER THOUGHTS, Natalie Rompella, OCD, Tough-Topic Books | 609 comments

by Natalie Rompella

I adore Storystorm month. I have participated for seven years and have over 550 ideas written down. I’m always surprised which Storystorm posts end up sparking the best ideas for me. I am excited to share my own suggestion with you.

Consider brainstorming ideas for stories that deal with social, mental, or physical issues (often referred to as issue or tough-topic books). For examples of tough topics, here is a list from the Association for Library Service to Children.

My first issue picture book, MALIK’S NUMBER THOUGHTS: A STORY ABOUT OCD, came out with Albert Whitman & Co. in September 2022 (illustrated by Alessia Girasole).

The topic of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is close to my heart as I have personally dealt with it since seventh grade. In 2009, I wrote a nonfiction book for teens on OCD. I then used my personal experience and the extensive research I had already done to write a novel with a main character who had OCD titled COOKIE CUTTERS & SLED RUNNERS (Sky Pony Press). I was able to really dig into the emotions the character felt, the treatment, and the protagonist’s path to improving her OCD episodes. As well, I got to add in high-interest topics: baking and sled-dog racing.

But recently I wanted to write a book on OCD for younger children. Writing a picture book on this subject matter was a different ball game:

My storyline needed to be tighter.
The wording/medical jargon had to be age-appropriate.
The scope of what was discussed about the disorder had to be smaller.
I wanted it to have a fun element that appealed to four- to seven-year olds.
The story had to show different things happening on each page for engaging illustrations.

I knew from writing my novel that it is difficult to show a character with an undiagnosed problem see a professional, receive a diagnosis, begin treatment, and get to a point that they are temporarily symptom-free/improving. I hadn’t even attempted all of these stages in my novel, and I didn’t feel it would be possible in a picture book. (Note: I was not writing a nonfiction book about OCD where the scope of the disorder was the focus). Instead, I needed to begin the picture book with the character already receiving treatment.

My next thought was how might this disorder interfere with an early-elementary-aged child’s life? Although their schooling may be affected, what other aspects of their life would offer engaging illustrations and be something kids like to do?

I referred to Tara Lazar’s wonderful list of “500 Things That Kids Like.” My thoughts went right to something I loved as a child as do my own children: mini golf.

This topic worked well for my story because the character, Malik, feels the compulsion to do things in sets of four. In mini golf, you want as many hole-in-one scores as you can get. But would his “Number Thoughts” get in the way? And to amp up the tension, I created a friend who is having a party at a mini-golf course, which Malik really wants to attend.

Here are a few tips I learned from writing my issue picture book:

Brainstorm issue topics that you have encountered in your life: maybe you have personally experienced it, one of your family member or close friend has, or you have dealt with it as a teacher.
Consider the timeline. Will you focus on a character discovering the issue? Going through treatment? Living with a change? Living with a disorder? Don’t try to do too much. Check out other issue books and study their timeline (it doesn’t have to be the same issue as the book you’re writing about).
Think about the tone of the book. Play with it. What is your objective for the book? Is your goal to help a child feel less alone? To make the topic less scary? Is there a way to lighten the tone?
Can you add an engaging setting or activity as part of the storyline? See Tara’s list above.
Think about ways the issue impacts a child’s life. What are some different aspects that are affected? You may want to address only one. (For instance, I focus on how Malik’s OCD would affect playing mini golf.)
Avoid overloading the story with facts and information. You can add them in the backmatter.
Research publishers of issue books. Note the tone of these books and whether it matches the tone you’re using. (When I find a book with a style or topic similar to what I’m writing, I flip to the title or copyright page to find the publisher. The year is also important as approaches change with the times.)

I hope this gives you some ideas for writing a book that shows a character dealing with an issue or tough topic. I have had the pleasure of presenting to a camp for children with OCD. It was very rewarding to hear their reactions to a book that addressed an issue they faced. Hopefully, you can find a topic that you have a strong connection to and create an engaging and helpful picture book for children.

Natalie Rompella is the author of more than sixty books and other resources for children, including MALIK’S NUMBER THOUGHTS: A STORY ABOUT OCD, a picture book addressing obsessive number thoughts and COOKIE CUTTERS & SLED RUNNERS, a middle grade novel about OCD. She is a former elementary school and middle school teacher. Natalie lives with her two kids, husband, and dog in the Chicago suburbs, where she enjoys playing pickleball, baking, and hanging out with her family. Find out more at NatalieRompella.com or follow her on Twitter @NatalieRompella.

Natalie is giving away a copy of MALIK’S NUMBER THOUGHTS: A STORY ABOUT OCD.

You’re eligible to win if you’re a registered Storystorm 2023 participant and you have commented only once on today’s blog post. ↓

Prizes will be distributed at the conclusion of Storystorm.

Storystorm 2023 Day 8: Kathleen Doherty Exercises Intertextuality

January 8, 2023 in STORYSTORM 2023 | Tags: DON'T FEED THE BEAR, Kathleen Doherty, THE THINGITY-JIG | 809 comments

by Kathleen Doherty

Happy Eighth Day of Storystorm!

One of my favorite topics is INTERTEXTUALITY—a literary theory that whatever you create, is influenced by something you’ve heard, seen, or read before.

In other words, intertextuality is borrowing ideas from another piece of literature and using them to shape a new text. It’s not lifting another person’s work word-for-word. As you know, that’s called plagiarism.

Mark Twain said, “There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely; but they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages.”

Some examples of intertextuality:

The main plotline of Disney’s The Lion King is borrowed from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” borrows from Romeo and Juliet.
Tara Lazar borrows from Mother Goose and other fairy tales in her picture book, LITTLE RED GLIDING HOOD.

So how can you apply intertextuality to your writing? Well, I’m suggesting you look at your favorite pieces of children’s literature and think of the plots, themes, concepts, and ideas that resonate with you. How many of those can you rework to make them your own?

CHANGE THE SETTING AND SEASON

In 2012, I was impressed by George Cooper’s use of personification in his poem “October Party.” Cooper used characters like Miss Weather, Professor Wind, and Misses Maple. I borrowed the idea of personifying a month. I kept the idea of a party, but changed the season and activities. I kept the same rhythm and beat and wrote the following poem which was published in “Spider Magazine”:

REWORK A TV SHOW OR MOVIE

I used intertextuality in my three picture books. DON’T FEED THE BEAR is based on Yogi Bear always getting into trouble with Ranger Smith. (Yeah, I’m that old. I watched Yogi Bear.)

REWORK A PROBLEM, SOLUTION, AND ENDING

In my picture book, THE THINGITY-JIG, I reworked the story line from THE LITTLE RED HEN. In my book, none of Bear’s friends want to help him bring a couch back to the forest that he finds in people town. Bear figures out a way all by himself. But Bear lets his friends jump on the couch when he finally gets it home. My ending is a bit kinder than the one in THE LITTLE RED HEN.

In THE THINGITY-JIG, I also borrowed the idea of making up words. I used to read THE BFG by Roahl Dahl to my fourth grade students. In his book, Dahl made up words like trogglehumper, snozzcumber and bellypopper. In my book, I made up rolly-rumpity, lifty-uppity, and pushy-poppity.

My forthcoming picture book, THE TWIST-A-ROO borrows from THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE ANT. In Aesop’s story, the grasshopper is so busy playing a fiddle, he doesn’t store up food for winter and goes hungry. In my book, Badger is so mesmerized by a kaleidoscope, he doesn’t prepare for winter. But my ending is not as harsh as Aesop’s.

FLIP-FLOP A STORY

In THE WOLF WHO CRIED BOY by Bob Hartman, Little Wolf is tired of his mom’s cooking. It’s the same old thing night after night, Lamburgers and Sloppy Does. How he wishes his mother would serve up a nice platter of his favorite dish—Boy! He dreams of boys-n-berry pie and a steaming plate of boy chops.

But Boy is hard to come by. As Little Wolf trudges home from school one day, he decides to postpone his boring dinner by shouting “Boy! Boy!” But when a real boy finally comes along, do his parents believe him? Of course not. Little Wolf learns the same lesson the boy who cried “Wolf!” did so many years ago.

Kathleen Doherty is a former Educational Specialist/Reading Specialist. Her first picture book—DON’T FEED THE BEAR—is featured on Kirkus Reviews’ recommended list and is in its sixth printing. Her second picture book—THE THINGITY-JIG—received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews and is being published in nine languages. Her third picture book—THE TWIST-A-ROO—is forthcoming in November 2023. Her work has appeared in TIME Magazine, The Mailbox, Highlights for Children, Highlights High Five, Highlights HELLO, and Spider Magazine. She’s won the Highlights Pewter Plate Award, the Highlights Celebrate National Poetry Contest, and a Letter of Merit in poetry from the SCBWI Magazine Merit Awards.

You can learn more about Kathleen and her work at KathleenDohertyAuthor.com and follow her on Twitter @Doherty60 and Instagram @kathleendohertyauthor.

Kathleen is giving away a picture book critique, fiction, up to 650 words.

You’re eligible to win if you’re a registered Storystorm 2023 participant and you have commented only once on today’s blog post. ↓

Prizes will be distributed at the conclusion of Storystorm.

Storystorm 2023 Day 7: Laura Zarrin Tricks Herself

January 7, 2023 in STORYSTORM 2023 | Tags: Fran Manushkin, Heather Alexander, KATIE WOO's NEIGHBORHOOD, Laura Zarrin, WALLCE AND GRACE TAKE THE CASE | 655 comments

by Laura Zarrin

When I started participating in Storystorm in 2012, I was completely convinced that I was not a writer. I was an illustrator and storytelling was not in my wheelhouse. Color me surprised when I managed to come up with 30 ideas that year and every year since. Where had they come from?

Deciding that maybe I was a writer after all, I started writing. Just a bit here and there. I went on to write a few stories that went out on submission. One that made it to an acquisition meeting, but no sales so far. That’s OK. (It’s not really OK, it’s annoying, TBH, but I digress.) I wish I could say that I look forward to sitting down with a pad and pencil and some tea to happily write, but that would be a bald-faced lie! I have to be dragged kicking and screaming into it. Just ask my critique group. Currently looking for a better ritual, ahem.

When I started writing, I noticed that my art began telling more of a story than it had previously! What a wonderful surprise! A critique partner recently told me that my illustration ideas should come with a Powerpoint presentation to get through all the story I’m packing into my descriptions.

I have found that the only way I can get a story out of my head is to take a blank piece of very non-precious copy paper, start playing the story out in my mind like I’m watching a movie, and draw it out in scribbles. It’s been surprisingly helpful to do it this way. Words almost always come last for me. My drawings are doing all the heavy lifting. I seem to draw everything out like it’s a graphic novel without any boxes or lines. Any type of formatting or layout stops me in my tracks. I completely freeze up. Even though I don’t really read graphic novels (except for the early reader ones), and that I swore I would never make one, it turns out that that format is very conducive to my way of working. Even my picture book dummies have a bit of comic formatting. (Sadly, I still can’t binge while doing this.)

Next I cut up the scribbles and arrange them in order, adding or subtracting where needed. As I work on the story, I refine the sketches and start to add words and formatting. After a lot of trial and error, I have a completed dummy.

I’m becoming more and more of a storyteller every year and I owe it all to Storystorm and a very patient critique group who listens to my whining. I am currently working on three early reader graphic novels that started as Storystorm ideas!

Laura Zarrin is the illustrator of the WALLACE AND GRACE series by Heather Alexander and the KATIE WOO’S NEIGHBORHOOD series by Fran Manushkin.She’s now writing her own sweetly subversive stories. Laura has illustrated over 30 books for children including board books, picture books, and chapter books. She’s happiest illustrating characters with subtle and not-so-subtle humor.

Visiit her at LauraZarrin.com, follow on Twitter and Instagram @LauraZarrin. You can find her art in her Etsy shop here.

Laura is giving away a hardcover copy of WALLACE AND GRACE TAKE THE CASE by Heather Alexander, Bloomsbury.

You’re eligible to win if you’re a registered Storystorm 2023 participant and you have commented only once on today’s blog post. ↓

Prizes will be distributed at the conclusion of Storystorm.

Storystorm 2023 Day 6: Picture Book Junction Calls, “All Aboard!”

January 6, 2023 in STORYSTORM 2023 | Tags: Picture Book Junction | 882 comments

Today we have a steam train packed with Storystorm advice rolling your way, from the authors of the Picture Book Junction group!

Ana Siqueira:

I list all important memories of my life as a child or as a parent or grandparent. For each one, I list all the problems and write all the feelings. Then I decide on one to be the inspiration for my new story—and remember, your story will be based on this memory and feeling, but it doesn’t need to repeat all that happened. To make it more kid-friendly and fun, I read at least twenty books with topics related to it. Then, I go for walks, while recording ideas on my phone. Finally, I mix some fun, humor, and fantasy to create a book with heart but also kid friendly. My book Abuela’s Super Capa is based on my mom’s and son’s relationship and my mom’s death. Still, I added a little intruder (sister) and cupcake criminales (pets) to make it less heavy, more illustratable, and relatable. And in this story, my mom didn’t die. I wish we could rewrite our real-life stories, right?

Check my bio at our website and my books and more at AnaFiction.com and follow me on Twitter @SraSiqueira1307.

Marie Boyd:

When my son was little, I frequently told him “It’s just a worm” when he saw worms on the sidewalk. I imagined how a worm might respond if it could understand my words. This led to my debut book, JUST A WORM, which I illustrated with quilling, a cut-paper technique. I’d never seen a quilled picture book, but when I imagined Worm’s Garden it was quilled. The plants in my and my parents’ gardens inspired many plants in Worm’s world.

For craft ideas and more, follow Marie at MarieBoyd.com and on Instagram @artistscholar.

Vicky Fang:

My book ideas are often two ideas mashed together. THE BOO CREW NEEDS YOU! started as a little phrase that snuck into my brain without a story to go with it: “There’s a hitch! There’s a glitch! Something’s screwy with this switch!” It sat there for two years. Then one day, I was writing a story about Halloween monsters working together and I remembered that line. Mashing these two ideas together, my rhyming, interactive picture book was born!

Visit Vicky at VickyFang.com.

David McMullin:

I often take a more mechanical approach to finding ideas than most. Yes, some ideas appear to me like little sparkling balls of light from time to time, but usually, I simply sit down and brainstorm. I go for volume and then the special ideas rise to the top. My book, Free to be Fabulous, combines a million different experiences from my growing up as a dance-loving LGBTQ+ kid.

Visit David online at DavidMcMullinBooks.com and follow him on Twitter @davidmcmullinpb.

Suzy Levinson:

One of my favorite ways to spark ideas is to take two things that don’t belong together, smoosh them together anyway, and then make it all make sense. I once did this and wound up writing a poem about a cat wearing pants, which was so fun that I wrote another poem about a spider wearing pants, and so on and so on until voilà, Animals in Pants (Cameron Kids) was a book!

To find out more about Suzy, check out her website at SuzyLevinson.com and follow her on Twitter and IG @SuzyLevinson.

Sarah Hovorka:

The inspiration for Same Love, Different Hug was like a wildfire spark. I was reflecting on how carefully my young, enthusiastic kids had to show me physical affection after three months in the hospital and an ostomy bag on my torso… a lyrical phrase popped into my head and a couple of hours later I had a sweet book about conscientiously sharing affection with others in all kinds of situations. Inspiration doesn’t usually strike so easily as with this book, but when it does, run with it!

You can read more about Sarah’s works and connect with her at SarahHovorka.com and follow at Twitter @HovorkaSarah & @authorsarahhovorka and on Instagram @authorsarahhovorka.

Aimee Isaac:

Some story ideas spill onto the page. Others simmer in my head for years. The idea for my debut began as a cumulative story about litter but it lacked heart. Over time, I stirred in childhood memories, inspiration from a letter my father wrote, tree-planting with my kids, and a theme that drives my writing: interconnectedness. These ingredients plus time were just right for creating THE PLANET WE CALL HOME.

Connect with Aimee at AimeeIsaac.com and @IsaacAimee on Twitter.

A.J. Irving:

I will always remember the day I started writing THE WISHING FLOWER. I’d just had a call with my agent and was inspired to go on a hike. The first lines came to me in the Wyoming wilderness. I rushed home and wrote a draft about my first crush in my notebook. Sometimes you get this electrifying feeling when you know you’ve written something special. This was one of those moments.

Connect with A.J. at AJIrving.com or @aj_irving on Twitter and Instagram.

Carrie Kruck:

I’m always looking for magic and possibility in everyday objects. My upcoming book WHAT FRANCINE FOUND was inspired by an ordinary fishing rod and the question: “What magic might it hold?” (Spoiler: it’s attached to the drain plug of a lake that holds the town’s secrets!) Try it yourself! Look around you now and choose an ordinary object. Pay extra attention to it. What magic might it hold? Could it be used in an unexpected way? Does it have a little-known history? Surprise yourself!

Find Carrie on Twitter @KruckCarrie, Instagram @Carrie.Kruck or CLKruck.com.

Helen Taylor:

I find that I’m drawn to unusual combinations. They have inherent tension, and you never know where they’ll lead you. The spark of inspiration for my debut picture book was an article I read about growing lettuce on the International Space Station. I started by researching that super-specific topic, then broadened my search and found tons of great info so I decided to expand the scope and that’s what became HOW TO EAT IN SPACE.

Connect with Helen at HelenSTaylor.com or @heyhelentaylor on Twitter and Instagram.

Lisa Varchol Perron:

I feel most creative when I step away from the computer and spend time outside. Patterns Everywhere was inspired by a family hike. My husband (who studies the formation of landscapes) was teaching our daughters about the even spacing of ridges and valleys, and I had so many questions! If I find something intriguing and want to learn more, I know I’ll enjoy writing about it and can do my best to share that sense of wonder and joy with readers.

Connect with Lisa at LisaPerronBooks.com or @LisaVPerron on Twitter and Instagram.

Jack Wong:

Each person’s strategies for inspiration will be different—from rummaging through memory to spending time in nature to reflecting on life events at the moment (hint: mine includes a bit of all the above). Once you have your go-to strategies, though, a second challenge arises: deciding which ideas are worth your time to pursue. I try not to think about this too much at the beginning, when the birth of ideas should be acts of free play, but as I get further along the process, I try to only invest in a story if I really, really, really care about it. It’s hard to stay inspired if I don’t!

You can find Jack at JackWong.ca and connect with him on Twitter and Instagram @jacquillo_.

Dominique Furukawa:

I have probably five different book ideas swirling around all the time! What tends to happen is that one idea will start to write itself in my head. Whole sentences will come together and then I’ll know that’s the book I need to sit and focus on! Sometimes those initial sentences don’t even make the final cut, but it gets me excited and gets me started.

You can connect with Dominique at DominiqueFurukawa.com and on Twitter @domfurukawa and Instagram @dom.furukawa.

Gabriela Orozco Belt:

My greatest inspiration comes from the experiences that I’ve had growing up. I love the feeling of reading a story and being able to connect to it on a personal level, it’s extremely validating to my experiences and feelings. I think if stories can make me, an adult, feel that way how awesome it is for kids to feel the same thing.

You can learn more about Gabriela at GabrielaBelt.com and follow her on Twitter and Instagram @thegreatgabsie.

Astrid Kamalyan:

My happy childhood spent in Armenia is a constant source of inspiration for me. It’s a part of me that never grew up and stayed eyes wide open, heart full. I tune into my emotions. They don’t always have to be happy, but when they are strong, I know a story is to be born. It might turn into a book or an essay, but regardless of form, it must get written down or it will keep my head noisy, writing itself. My debut BABO: A TALE OF ARMENIAN RUG-WASHING DAY is based on one of those happy memories of washing rugs with my siblings and grandmother. There’s a sense of joy, community, and childhood whimsy woven into so many of these memories, and all revolve around our traditions. And with this book, I wanted to share just that, the little beam of light, shining straight from childhood.

Learn more about Astrid at AstridKamalyan.com, get in touch through Twitter @astridkamalyan and IG @astridkamalyan.

There are also many prizes Picture Book Junction is giving away! A dozen, in fact!

You’re eligible to win one of these 12 prizes if you’re a registered Storystorm 2023 participant and you have commented only once on today’s blog post. ↓

Prizes will be distributed at the conclusion of Storystorm.

David McMullin – PB critique
Lisa Varchol Perron – Poetry bundle (3 children’s poetry anthologies: Things We Eat, Things We Feel, Imperfect II: Poems About Perspective)
Ana Siqueira – PB critique (fiction and non-rhyming) or Zoom “Ask Me Anything”
Suzy Levinson – Children’s Poem critique (rhyming)
Aimee Isaac – picture book critique
Marie Boyd – PB critique
A.J. Irving – Fiction PB critique in prose
Carrie Kruck – “Ask Me Anything” Storystorm edition! 30-minute Zoom/phone call to review your favorite StoryStorm ideas, discuss marketability, brainstorm hooks & pitches, prioritize & plan manuscript development…anything and everything Storystorm related!
Gabriela Orozco Belt- PB critique
Astrid Kamalyan – 30-minute Zoom “Ask Me Anything” focusing on the process of creating PBs, from idea generation to getting published
Sarah Hovorka – “Anything Goes!” 30-minute Zoom talk and/or critique of PB, query, first five pages of CB or MG, or outlines/prep work.
Jack Wong – Publisher/agent query critique (claimable March 5th onwards)

Storystorm 2023 Day 5: Megan Litwin Pays Attention

January 5, 2023 in STORYSTORM 2023 | Tags: DIRT AND BUGSY: BUG CATCHERS, Megan Litwin, Nneka Myers, Shauna Lynn Panczyszyn, TWINKLE TWINKLE WINTER NIGHT | 765 comments

by Megan Litwin

Whenever I think about writing, or how to teach writing, or how to give advice to people looking to start writing, I think of some favorite lines from Mary Oliver. In her poem Sometimes, Mary Oliver gives the very best instructions—meant for living, but equally inspiring for writing.

Pretty good advice, isn’t it?

Direct. Succinct. True.

If you’re looking for something to write about…pay attention. In your own tiny corner of the universe, what beautiful, curious, astonishing things are happening? No doubt there are many. Another thing about reading Mary Oliver is that she reminds you of the countless fascinating things happening right under your nose.

So, pay attention!

Be astonished!

And tell your idea notebook all about it.

I try to live these words. Like Mary Oliver, I pay attention to this wonderful world we live in—finding inspiration on trails and beaches and in magical moments of outdoor solitude. But I also pay attention during the everyday moments of life, too. In the car. Listening to music. Watching my kids play. Cleaning out closets. What surprises me? What delights me? What sticks with me?

I love starting off January with Storystorm because it is a concrete reminder to pay attention, or as Tara so aptly puts it, a time to “heighten your idea-generating senses.” I create little thought bubbles in my notebook at the start of each Storystorm year, filling them in with all kinds of things I notice. Words, phrases, sights, sounds. And when those bubbles are all filled, I make some more.

I don’t worry about what I’m going to do with these thoughts right away. It is the habit of noticing that is important. And sometimes, the act of noticing even weaves itself into a story.

My first picture book, TWINKLE, TWINKLE, WINTER NIGHT (illustrated by Nneka Myers), was inspired by a car ride where my young son was captivated by the many kinds of bright light filling the December darkness. As I worked and reworked drafts, trying to capture the magic and wonder we both were feeling at that moment, I wanted to also capture the importance of his noticing to begin with. Here we were, on a simple car ride, but to him it was as if we had front row seats to a magic show. He was mesmerized by the world. “Look up, look down, look all around” is a line in the final text that was there pretty much from the start. Yes, this is a book that celebrates winter as a bright and beautiful time of year, but it is also a book celebrating the idea that there are astonishing and amazing things all around…if you take the time to look for them.

This February and June, I have two early readers coming out that feature a pair of best buds who love to catch bugs. DIRT & BUGSY: BUG CATCHERS and DIRT & BUGSY: BEETLE MANIA (both illustrated by Shauna Lynn Panczyszyn) are directly inspired by happenings in my own corner of the universe—my two boys and their friends and endless hours spent investigating insects. Children, as it turns out, are inherently good at noticing things. The adventures Dirt and Bugsy have in each book are both simple and complex. They don’t go very far. They don’t use high-tech tools or toys. They just dig into what is right in front of them. And that is enough! If you pay attention, a backyard is a fascinating place to be.

And so, fellow Storystormers, let’s take inspiration from Mary Oliver and Tara Lazar and children everywhere…

As we begin a fresh new year and open fresh new notebooks, let’s all get in the habit of paying attention. Let’s aim to slow down, to look up and down and all around, to check our own backyards, and to dig into the here and now and wonderful. You just might be astonished at how many things you want to tell that notebook.

Megan Litwin is the author of the picture book TWINKLE, TWINKLE, WINTER NIGHT (Clarion/HarperCollins, 2022) and the forthcoming early reader series DIRT & BUGSY (Penguin Workshop, 2023). Megan holds a Master of Arts in Children’s Literature from Simmons University, and is a former classroom teacher who loves visiting schools to work with young readers and writers. She lives in Massachusetts with her family. Visit her at MeganLitwinBooks.com or connect with her on Twitter at @Meg_Litwin or Instagram at @meganlitwinbooks.

Megan is giving away a signed copy of TWINKLE, TWINKLE, WINTER NIGHT or a half-hour virtual visit for a K-3 classroom—whichever the winner prefers!

You’re eligible to win if you’re a registered Storystorm 2023 participant and you have commented only once on today’s blog post. ↓

Prizes will be distributed at the conclusion of Storystorm.

Storystorm 2023 Day 4: Abi Cushman is Obsessed

January 4, 2023 in STORYSTORM 2023 | Tags: Abi Cushman, WOMBATS ARE PRETTY WEIRD | 837 comments

by Abi Cushman

Are you stuck? Don’t have a single good idea today for Storystorm? Well, worry no longer. All you have to do is ask yourself, “What am I obsessed with right now?” And that’s your answer.

Think about that thing that’s been on your mind lately. You know… that thing you can’t stop thinking about. The one where your spouse/friends/cat just nod along absent-mindedly and/or scratch the furniture when you start talking about it again.

“Oh, but Abi, I’ve been thinking about 13th-century button fashion a LOT lately. Is that a good story idea?” you are most likely wondering. And the answer is, YES! Probably! Maybe!

See, this is where it gets fun. What do you do with the topic you’re obsessed with? If you’re writing for kids, then the first thing you need to figure out is if the topic is kid-relatable or if you can find a way to make it relatable to kids. Can you make medieval buttonry (yes, I’m going to make that a word) fascinating for kids? Maybe! You just have to think of a creative way to tell that story. And if you really do find the subject so compelling, chances are other people/your cat will too.

Is it a Book Idea?

My upcoming book, WOMBATS ARE PRETTY WEIRD, due out on May 23, 2023 from Greenwillow Books, came about because I’ve been obsessed with wombats ever since I studied abroad in Australia in 2001.

When I first arrived in Australia, I went on a guided hike where we happened upon a pile of cube-shaped poop. The guide told us that they were left there by a wombat, and that wombats were the only animals in the world that had cube-shaped poop. That was just the weirdest thing I’d ever heard. How do they even make it that shape? Do they have square-shaped butts?

I ended up thinking about this cube poop fact a lot, and in 2018, I made this graphic and posted in on social media:

I wasn’t sure if there was enough there for a book. Or if a book was really the right format. I considered making a website devoted to wombat facts or strange animal facts in general.

But I thought I’d try it as a picture book just to see. I researched and organized more weird wombat facts and put them together in a book dummy where the wombats talked and made jokes about each factoid. I added in a snake character as a stand-in for the audience also learning these bizarre facts for the first time. I thought it was great! It was funny! It was wombatty! There were poop jokes!

I decided it was time to get feedback, even though I was pretty sure I’d nailed it. The reaction I got was…

“Hmm… well it is funny, BUT…”

“Are wombats a strong enough hook? People don’t really know what they are.”

“I don’t know where this would go in a bookstore. Is this fiction or nonfiction?”

“What age group is this for? Is the audience too old for picture books?”

“Can you make this just a story with a wombat in it?”

Is it a DIFFERENT Kind of Book?

After that feedback, I tried rethinking how it might work as a book. I tried it out as a fictional picture book with some facts loosely peppered throughout. I tried it as a young fictional graphic novel as well. There was a lot that I liked about these versions, but I couldn’t quite make them work.

My agent ended up submitting the original informational picture book version to Greenwillow. And I had a phone call with an editor there who asked if I’d mind turning it into a young graphic novel. I asked if it was okay if it was still informational and if I still kept the same voice of the narrator, and she said yes! So I went to work and provided a 20-page sample that had the information and jokes paneled out. It meant adding more jokes and reformatting how I set some of the jokes up visually, but I liked it!

Thumbnailing before making a new dummy.

She ended up taking the sample to Acquisitions, aaaand… I got an offer! For the original picture book version! Yes, in the end, after trying it out as a fiction picture book, a fiction graphic novel, and an informational graphic novel, it was the original informational picture book that won out.

So the moral of the story is that if you’re obsessed with something, and you can make kids love it too, then this IS a good book idea. And, in fact, this idea may actually turn into several different possibilities. Play with the age group. Play with the format and the voice of the book. Perhaps you write it as a funny, informational picture book. Perhaps you write it as a heartfelt graphic novel story. Perhaps it’s a whole chapter book series! You don’t have to give up on an idea just because it might not work in one way or in one format.

So go ahead and brood about that thing you’re obsessed with. You just might end up with more than one Storystorm idea with potential.

Abi Cushman is the author-illustrator of SOAKED!, ANIMALS GO VROOM! and WOMBATS ARE PRETTY WEIRD. She has also worked as a web designer for over 15 years, and runs two popular websites of her own: MyHouseRabbit.com, a pet rabbit care resource, and AnimalFactGuide.com, which was named a Great Website for Kids by the American Library Association. In her spare time, Abi enjoys running, playing tennis, and eating nachos. (Yes, at the same time.) She lives on the Connecticut shoreline with her family.

To learn more about Abi and her books, visit her website at AbiCushman.com. If you like secrets, exclusive sneak peeks, wombats, and special giveaways, subscribe to her newsletter.

Abi is giving away a signed copy of her book, WOMBATS ARE PRETTY WEIRD, upon its release (pub date scheduled for May 23, 2023).

You’re eligible to win if you’re a registered Storystorm 2023 participant and you have commented only once below.

Prizes will be distributed at the conclusion of Storystorm.

Storystorm 2023 Day 3: Monica Acker Shops for Ideas

January 3, 2023 in STORYSTORM 2023 | Tags: BRAVE LIKE MOM, Monica Acker | 903 comments

by Monica Acker

Sometimes lightning strikes. An idea hits fully-formed. Beginning, middle, and end flow on the page.

That is what happened for BRAVE LIKE MOM. A family member was sick and the emotion overflowed into a story.

Brave Like Mom cover: young daughter and mother embracing while sitting on the girl's bed, a small stuffed lion sitting nearby. Illustrated by Paran Kim.

But what do you do when lightning hasn’t struck for a while? You could wait for a storm to roll in, but weather can be very unpredictable.

Or you could go shopping.

Hear me out.

A trip to Target, the mall, or an online retailer could yield you a new sweater, that throw blanket you didn’t know you needed but totally completes the room, and a few story ideas.

The trick is to check out the children’s section. The images on the graphic T’s, dresses, sweatshirts, and bathing suits are rife for the imagination. Bonus: someone has already done the market research so the images will likely appeal to children.

Let’s do some online story shopping.

A painting polar bear creating the aurora borealis. This gets my imagination stirring with questions. I want to know more about this polar bear. Are there other things the polar bear paints on the sky? Is this their masterpiece? Does the polar bear like playing with color because their fur is devoid of color? I think there’s a story here.

This “Positive as a Proton” t-shirt has my neurons buzzing. What has this proton feeling so optimistic? What happens when it comes across an electron with its negative charge? What obstacle might a proton come across? Is it looking to bond with another? I’m positive a story or two might spark from this shirt.

Two childhood favorites combine in this one. What happens when you mix a popular camping treat and a dinosaur? Apparently, the result is a S’more-o-saurus Rex. This king of the dinosaurs has to figure out how to be fierce and sweet. Will they cover the land in gooey footprints? Is this creature the result of a preschooler who just wants to play s’more with their dinosaurs? Are there other s’more creatures out there? I know I want to know s’more. What’s your story?

So, when it feels like lightning hasn’t struck in a while, go shopping. Grab a warm beverage, the to-do list, and your idea notebook. You never know what idea is lurking on a shelf waiting to spur something inside you. You might find a two-for-one deal; something cute for the littles in your life and a shiny new story idea.

The best thing about this post-holiday shopping is that shopping for ideas is 100% free.

Monica Acker is the author of BRAVE LIKE MOM, an educator, and mother of three. She loves writing, reading, baking and scoring a good deal. When not writing, she can be found strolling the aisles at Target turning a trip for paper towels into an hour-long adventure. Visit her at MonicaAcker.com, follow her on Twitter @MonicaAcker1 and Instagram @MonicaAcker1.

Monica Acker is giving away a non-rhyming picture book critique under 600 words.

You’re eligible to win if you’re a registered Storystorm 2023 participant and you have commented only once below.

Prizes will be distributed at the conclusion of Storystorm.

Storystorm 2023 Day 2: Mirka Hokkanen Crafts the Perfect Tetris-Pizza-Supreme

January 2, 2023 in STORYSTORM 2023 | Tags: Mirka Hokkanen, MOSSY AND TWEED | 937 comments

by Mirka Hokkanen

Now that the holiday season is over, it is time to get off the couch, stretch and get those idea-generating muscles warmed up again. Let’s get ready to rumble with Storystorm 2023!

Today I’m sharing about how Storystorm helped me on my journey to becoming a published author, and my recipe for generating irresistible tetris-pizza-supreme books. I hope that my story inspires you to show up every day for the next month, flex your idea-generating muscles, and write down those ideas, no matter how good or bad, because you never know where the next idea might lead you.

Roughly seven years ago I started on a journey to become a picture book illustrator. I spent my time soaking up everything I could about picture books and the publishing industry; reading, going to classes/webinars/conferences, joining SCBWI, meeting with peers and critique group(s), and even getting agent representation. Things were going great by all measures, but it still felt like actual illustration work was impossible to come by. My work was good, but never the best in the room, so I felt like someone else was always going to get picked over me.

As I learned more about the industry, I figured that if I could write stories, it would be a shorter path to publication. But that was a major roadblock for someone who never understood creative writing or book reports in school, and always teetered on the brink of failing assignments. Rather than write, I drew as a teenager, and my mom kept telling me that I should create comics and make that into a career. Great idea, if I could only come up with a viable plot! I tried a few times, but never got past the middle. Eventually my little sister cut pages I’d started into confetti and I gave up. By the end of middle school, I had lost my will to read and write all together, and just wanted to make art and ride horses.

Fast forward about 20 years, and 2 young kids later, I knew if I wanted to make it in publishing, I should probably figure out how to write. So I took some more classes and wrote and illustrated several stories… and let me tell you, they turned out fantastic!

Just kidding—my stories were terrible, because I didn’t have good ideas. But I kept trying because I had a burning desire to publish work that would bring joy to readers like I’d felt reading with my own kids. Then I heard of something called PiBoIdMo, and thought it couldn’t hurt (even if I couldn’t pronounce it). I made it through the month and had 30 ideas. They weren’t the greatest, I was a skeptic, but that was still 30 more ideas than I had the month before. Done is better than perfection!

I showed up for PiBoIdMo, now Storystorm, every year and packed those ideas in. I read the posts and some resonated with me more than others. As time went on, I noticed that ideas started trickling in on their own. What started out flowing like dry oatmeal, started to ooze like syrup from the cracks of my life, until the dams broke open. Ideas jumped at me from all over the place, from things I saw online, in my life, in books, etc.

And now we get to the juicy part: What I didn’t realize at first, when doing the prompts, was that I was starting to use my idea generating muscles. And like with all muscles, when you use them, they get bigger and more developed, and easier to use.

Mechanical became organic, and I figured out how my brain likes to generate ideas and what makes it tick. So if trying to generate ideas gives you a cold sweat, I want to encourage you to stick with it. Exercise and nurture those muscles, because when you get them built and warmed up, they are a gift that keeps on giving.

As a second half to generating ideas, I encourage you to read prolifically in the genre for which you are writing. It’s kind of like the protein drink that helps those muscles grow stronger.

This year is special for me, as I am not only debuting one, but three books that I have written (and illustrated) and I wanted to share how the idea for the first book came to be. It came on a Storystorm month, during which I am always really busy turning things around in my head and more sensitive than usual to prompts bubbling up in life. We were living in Hawaii, where coconuts grow on every street corner. For me as a girl who grew up in Finland, that was pretty exotic, and I would often hum a tune from my childhood that told the story of a guy wrecking his house trying to crack a coconut.

I thought that it would be a pretty funny idea for a picture book, and then used my skills learned in Storystorm, to develop the idea further.

I would describe the way I develop ideas as “pizza tetris”. I start with the main theme or frame for the book, like “impossible-to-crack coconut,” which is like the frame for different-shaped pieces. Then I start fitting pieces in and out of the frame to see which ones fit the best. I often first think about how to turn an idea upside down, and if I can’t think of anything good, then I toss that idea and start shuffling unexpected locations and characters in and out of the frame to see what looks interesting. Once those are figured, and you have a frame of pieces that fit, that’s like having a pizza base and tomato sauce, but then we need toppings.

For toppings, I jot down anything that can add extra layers and depth into the story: possible plot points, scenes or lines that I want to add in, additional themes or concepts, target audience, class curriculum tie-ins, etc. At the end, my goal is to have a delicious, well balanced, tetris-pizza-supreme, that is irresistible to editors, educators, parents and most importantly, we all know who loves pizza the most, kids!

So to illustrate: My completed coconut-tetris-pizza supreme consists of two bickering gnomes and an impossible-to-crack coconut as the base, and then a forest backdrop, a surprise character reveal, friendship, trying again after failure, creativity, early readers as target audience, rising graphic novel format, a heap of humor to top it off, and a side order of sequel ideas.

And it worked! MOSSY AND TWEED: CRAZY FOR COCONUTS was sold in a two-book deal, with the first book releasing on January 10th, and the sequel coming out later this year! I am so excited to bring these books out into the world, and hope they will inspire kids to pick up a book and learn to read.

Thank you so much for going on this journey with me. I hope that you keep showing up and working those muscles!

Mirka Hokkanen is an author and illustrator who cannot think of 7 impossible things before breakfast. She generates ideas much better after a pitcher of tea. Her best ideas wait for her in the worst times of the day; usually when driving or right as she is falling asleep. When not writing or illustrating, Mirka likes to relax at home with her three young kids. Mirka is also a teacher on Skillshare, a licensing illustrator and a printmaker. Find her online at Mirkah.com.

Mirka is giving away a copy of MOSSY AND TWEED plus a picture book critique to one lucky winner.

You’re eligible to win if you’re a registered Storystorm 2023 participant and you have commented only once below.

Prizes will be distributed at the conclusion of Storystorm.

Storystorm 2023 Day 1: Tara Lazar Presses “Play”

January 1, 2023 in STORYSTORM 2023 | Tags: Frozen Charlottes, Tara Lazar | 1,014 comments

by Tara Lazar

December 2022 will forever be known to me as “The Month of YouTube.”

In the afternoons, I’d settle into my comfy blue couch and flip on the Smart TV, which now lives and looms above my fireplace mantle. You can’t escape its Black Mirror pull.

At first, I watched videos of dog and cat rescues, my own adopted kitty Phoebe purring upon my lap. But then, the algorithm would serve up other items of interest, like tours of available New York City apartments, reviving the search from when our daughter moved this summer.

Cue the artsy stuff. Maybe NYC brought it forth.

I found videos on pottery throwing and watercolor painting, convinced I could do both with aplomb, but I resisted the urge to purchase a wheel and expensive sable brushes, knowing the experts just make it look easy.

Then I discovered a talented man who sculpts curvaceous, realistic animal figures out of wood and epoxy resin while wielding a chainsaw. He even conjured a majestic eagle out of Styrofoam and old bicycle tires (free from any repair shop, as the shop has to pay to recycle them).

Turning wood on a lathe also became a favorite watched pastime. (Relaxing in time-lapse!) Creators even epoxy colored pencils together to turn the whole kit and caboodle into kaleidoscopic jars and bowls that have leaped onto my wish list.

I’m a fan of mid-century modern design, so furniture restoration videos surfaced. I got a thrill when a battered Lane Acclaim coffee table was purchased at a thrift store for a few dollars, then repaired and refinished into the iconic 1960’s masterpiece it once was.

Thrifting finds is what perhaps led to the treasure-hunting videos. I located a rock hound who filmed the “green sand beach” in Hawaii. The sand is actually tiny gemstones, green peridot, that have eroded from the lava rock and compressed ash surrounding the beach in horizontal striations. Perfect geological conditions formed this fascinating phenomenon.

Photo via @viespinoza Instagram

All the way across the globe, in Scotland, a British mother-daughter team of mudlarks visited a similar beach where red garnets dot the black lava granules. The beach, however, isn’t red sand, for the gemstones are less plentiful and much more evasive. You slide your hand along the top layer of dark stones to spot a tiny crimson glint.

I know what you’re thinking—“what’s a mudlark?” I thought the same, so I visited their channel, Northern Mudlarks, to find out.

Back in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, mudlarks scavenged for items of value to resell. These items were embedded along the muddy banks of the River Thames, detritus buried from garbage dumped into the water. Mudlarking was an occupation for the poor and destitute, often orphans who lived in the streets and scrambled into the water whenever a passerby tossed a coin to tease them.

If your face is all screwed up in disgust, I beg you to reconsider. In modern times, mudlarks are amateur historians. The foreshore holds onto a plethora of secrets mudlarks unearth.

In Scotland, not only do mudlarks ramble along river banks, but they roam former bottle dumps that have grown decades of forests atop them, covering pressed glass and spongeware pottery with verdant landscape. With a few scoops of a shovel and a scrape of trowel, cobalt blue poison bottles featuring molded bands and the warning “not to be taken” reveal themselves. Heavy ceramic marmalade jars roll into view along with embossed bottles disclosing names of defunct Victorian companies who peddled strange elixirs and medicinal tinctures lost to time (and scientific sensibility). Metal jewelry like Albert chains, watch bezels, dress clips, brass rings and sterling silver Chatelaines mix within the mud and glass.

But my favorite mudlark find? No, not the gold sovereign. Frozen Charlottes!

Photo via Northern Mudlarks

Photo via Northern Mudlarks

Frozen Charlottes were small, inexpensive bisque porcelain dolls, molded in one piece, without articulated, movable limbs—sometimes referred to as “penny dolls” or “pudding dolls”. (“Penny dolls” because of their modest cost; “pudding dolls” because they were baked into the Christmas pudding as a holiday treat to “unwrap”.)

They are truly the “needle in the haystack” discovery, some no bigger than a pinky finger. Occasionally a Frozen Charlotte still displays glazed pink cheeks, ruby lips, and raven hair—a glossed beauty starkly contrasting the dirt and rubble in which she was found.

But why is she named “Frozen Charlotte”? The 1843 poem A Corpse Going to a Ball by Seba Smith reveals the morbid (and yet slightly humorous?) answer.

And thus, “Frozen Charlotte” became my final picture book idea of 2022.

I completed a podcast interview with author Mel Rosenberg a few days ago where he mentioned that he doesn’t believe our conscious minds can fully understand from where we get ideas. I try to explain it like the 1980’s pop hit by The Fixx, “One Thing Leads to Another”.

Or, perhaps, one YouTube leads to another.

Some people are rattled by browsing privacy and online algorithms; I, instead, embrace them. They pique my curiosity, which in turn, leads to surprising discoveries and new story ideas. Instead of digging through decades of dirt, I’m digging through dozens of videos.

Today, idea hunters, press play—and play around.

Tara Lazar is giving away a fiction picture book critique to one lucky Storystorm winner.

You’re eligible to win if you’re a registered Storystorm 2023 participant and you have commented only once below.

Prizes will be distributed at the conclusion of Storystorm.