November is my favorite month of the year because I get to celebrate everything I love all at once: falling leaves, picture books, novel writing…mustaches. I usually float through the entire month on a happy kidlit cloud, jotting down idea after idea and blogging about it, making it look like I know exactly what I’m doing.
This particular November, however, is hard. Life is extremely busy as I balance two book deadlines; work a full time job; pack my entire apartment to move from the city to the suburbs; and plan a trip to California with my husband that we booked before we knew we were moving. When your brain is all over the place playing the balancing game like that, your ideas don’t flow as freely, do they?
I know I’m not alone in having a hard time getting started, but I want to share the fateful event that ultimately got my idea engine revving. To do that I’m going to rewind and tell you a little story from the very first day of this year’s challenge.
November 1st was a particularly windy day here in Boston and I was driving around, running some errands. I had decorated my brand new PiBoIdMo notebook the night before and carried it with me in my purse, because you never know when a brilliant idea will surface. I was feeling rather exuberant as I usually do in this celebratory month, though I hadn’t had any ideas yet. I sang along to some radio pop song as I pulled into a parking space.
Gathering my things, I opened my car door the way I always open my car door…except this time it was stolen from my grasp by the strongest wind gust that was ever known to man. In less than a second, I heard a fast, loud, crunch sound. My door had wedged itself into the car I parked next to.
Everything in the world stood still for a moment….and then, it started to rain. This wasn’t just a normal rain, it was monsoon-grade rain that pelted on the windshield like hail. My immediate reaction was to rescue my door from peril and close myself inside. I tugged and yanked the door free and shut it hard, but instead of locking into place, it bounced. My door had dented on impact because, apparently, this wind was strong enough to bend metal.
As I held the door closed while the storm wreaked havoc, my jaw hung open, my eyes popped out of my head, and I started to think, “What did I do? What DO I do?” And though I am not a horrible person, my inner angel and devil popped in for a visit, saying “Leave a note!” “Drive away!” I might have actually shaken my head like a cartoon character to get my senses back.
I reached into my purse, hands wobbly, fumbling, feeling like a complete idiot for what just happened. I’m looking all over for paper and a pen and the only thing I could find was… my PiBoIdMo notebook: fresh, shining, empty and waiting for ideas. I think I even saw a little sparkle reflect off the cover. With deep, deep, remorse…I opened the blank book, flipped to the back, and ever so sadly tore the last page out to write a note that I would leave on my neighboring car’s windshield. All I could think was “I wonder what idea would have gone on this page.”
I plunged through the rest of the day in complete bewilderment, but by evening, I had straightened things out with the car’s owner and started to feel a little better. While I was explaining what happened to my husband, I proclaimed, “Man, wind is NUTS.”
And then, it hit me. Wind has the potential of being incredibly ridiculous. “Gotta go!” I exclaimed to him as I ran to the other room to jot down the windy scene I conjured up in my head. Out of nowhere I invented a city park scene in the middle of a crazy, unnatural wind gust —people’s pets flying all over the place, hair styles messed up, scarves fluttering, tire swings out of control, birds holding on to tree branches. My main character is a dog that has been waiting for this perfect wind gust so he could fly like a super hero. He’s wearing a cape and goggles and…
Once again in my happy little kidlit cloud, this is where my story fades to black.
What I have discovered is, for idea generation, the busier you are, the better. Billions of things happen to us in our lives. Use them all. Did you throw up in front of your second grade class? Use it. Did you get made fun of for wearing shoulder pads in middle school? Use it. Did you get attacked by one of those inflatable people with flailing arms? Use it. Did you learn something new about the health benefits of smiling? You get where I’m going with this!
The very best ideas can totally come from everyday happenings, all you have to do is pay attention. Write this stuff down all year long because it’s good and it’s real. The more real your story details feel, the more relatable they are to your readers. And the more you practice this habit, the easier it is to come up with new, unique ideas.
Just, for your own sake, try to avoid the really expensive weather-related kind. ☺
Renee Kurilla is a published illustrator, dabbling author, and Lead Artist at FableVision Studios in Boston, MA. She is represented by Jennifer Rofé of Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
Her first picture books, three titles in the CLOVERLEAF BOOKS series for Millbrook Press, will be released in January 2014.
She is currently illustrating TREE DANCERS: ORANGUTANKA, written by Newbery Honor Award winner Margarita Engle and published by Holt Children’s. The book is due for release in 2015.
Tree Dancers: Orangutanka
Her work at FableVision has contributed to multiple honors, including ZEBRAFISH, a Junior Library Guild selection, and RANGER RICK’S TREE HOUSE app for National Wildlife Federation, which won a 2013 Parents’ Choice Award.
Ranger Rick’s Tree House
Renee also co-hosts an illustration blog called Simply Messing About with fellow illustrators Laura Zarrin, Christina Forshay, and Tracy Bishop.
Where to find Renee online:
Website: kurillastration.com
Twitter / Instagram: reneekurilla
Facebook: facebook.com/kurillastration
Blog: kurillastration.blogspot.com
FableVision: fablevisionstudios.com
Renee is giving away an 8.5 x 11 print of your choice from her Etsy shop—to two lucky winners!
Two winners will be randomly selected at the conclusion of PiBoIdMo. You are eligible for these prizes if:
- You have registered for PiBoIdMo.
- You have commented ONCE ONLY on today’s post.
- You have completed the PiBoIdMo challenge. (You will have to sign the PiBoIdMo Pledge at the end of the event.)
Good luck, everyone!
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Creating or maintaining a blog isn’t the same thing as writing one. But you can’t do one without the other, not if you want to do it well. All the time I spent obsessing over managing formatting ate away at the time I could have spent writing it. Or better yet, working on a manuscript. There’s only so much time in a day, and we need to spend it wisely. (Oh, crap, did I just turn into my grandfather?)
Bitsy Kemper is author of six educational picture books and one nonfiction YA that’s due 2014. Interestingly, her passion is humorous middle grade and creative, fictional picture books, but real life (or is it her blog?) has a way of interfering with finding their perfect publisher…
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If you have “signed” the pledge by commenting AND you had also registered, then you are eligible for an “agent prize”—a.k.a. THE GRAND POOBAH OF PRIZES. You will get your 5 best ideas evaluated by a kidlit agent. They’ll tell you which ideas might be the best ones to pursue as manuscripts. (Or not.)
Joan is a Senior Agent with EMLA, working from her home office in Massachusetts as the “East Coast branch” of the agency. She represents all forms of children’s and young adult literature, but is most excited by a strong lyrical voice, tight plotting with surprising twists and turns, and stories told with heart and resonance that will stand the test of time.
Tricia is the “Pacific Northwest branch” of EMLA—born and raised in Oregon, and now lives in Seattle. After 18 years of working as a developmental and production-based editor (from kids book to college textbooks, but mostly college textbooks), she joined the EMLA team in March 2011 as a social media strategist.
Marietta has experienced children’s books from every angle—teaching, marketing, publishing & bookselling. She thrives on working with authors who make readers feel their characters’ emotions and illustrators who add a different dimension to the story. She is also book curator at an independent toy store/bookstore. Read a recent publishing industry piece by Marietta 
Danielle Smith began her agent career at Foreword Literary Agents in 2013 where she represents picture books and middle grade authors and illustrators. Her enthusiasm for children’s literature began as a young child, but grew exponentially when her own two children were born and shortly thereafter she began reviewing books at her top rated children’s book review site There’s A Book. For more than five years she’s been involved professionally with books through print and online publications such as Women’s World and Parenting Magazine, as a member of the judging panel for The Cybils awards for fiction picture books, as well as locally by serving on the board of The Central Coast Writer’s Conference.
Mira Reisberg came to launch Hummingbird Literary following a 25-year history in the field of children’s literature working as an award-winning illustrator, a writer, editor, art director, designer, a children’s literature and art education professor, and a teacher/mentor to many now successful children’s book creatives.
Susan Hawk represents authors who write for children of all ages, babies to teenage.
Lori Kilkelly is an agent with Rodeen Literary Management, founded by Paul Rodeen, formerly of Sterling Lord Literistic, in 2009. After working in sales for a number of years, Lori decided to follow her passion for books. She attended the Denver Publishing Institute, subsequently joining the agency as an intern in early 2010. Ascending the ranks from intern and reader to assistant, she worked with current and potential clients as well as editors and publishers. In early 2012 Lori took on the role of Social Media Manager, creating and maintaining the Rodeen Literary Facebook page as well as Twitter and Pinterest accounts, to provide promotional opportunities for RLM clients as well as keep interested parties informed about books, news and events involving RLM. In December 2012 she began representing her first client, Toni Yuly, and has subsequently taken on an additional four clients. She represents authors as well as illustrators and is actively seeking talented Middle Grade and Young Adult writers.
Sean McCarthy began his publishing career as an editorial intern at Overlook Press and then moved over to the Sheldon Fogelman Agency. He worked as the submissions coordinator and permissions manager before becoming a full-time literary agent. Sean graduated from Macalester College with a degree in English-Creative Writing, and is grateful that he no longer has to spend his winters in Minnesota.
Prior to becoming an agent, Jill Corcoran worked at Mattel, LA Gear, Leo Burnett Advertising and her own company, LAUNCH! New Product Marketing. With an English degree from Stanford University and a Marketing and Finance MBA from the University of Chicago School of Business, Jill has marketed everything from Barbies to Disney toys, Kellogg’s cereal to LA Gear shoes. But when she started writing books for children, and then agenting them, she knew she found her true calling.
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Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 