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When I was a kid, creative writing was a way for me to finally be in charge.
Kids are always being told what to do—by their parents, their teachers and other adults. But when they’re writing a story, they can make anything happen!
Creativity is not only good for story writing, it’s good for the brain.
I’ll let Susan tell you more…
Our family homeschooled for a decade, ten pretty magical years, and when our now-adult daughter reached out to me for suggestions for her friends who suddenly found themselves homeschooling, I realized that the important things to learn were not subjects, but skills. And the single most important skill is to think creatively, to generate questions and ideas. Tara Lazar’s Storystorm has been, by far, the best source I know for teaching the brain that skill. You know that feeling at the end of a class, when the lecturer asks “Are there any questions?”—and your brain suddenly goes blank? Storystorm changes that. It sounds impossible, that reading a blog post and writing down an idea a day can change the brain, but it works. Enjoy, and wonder on.
Susan Wroble
susanwroble.com
Thank you, Susan.
And now, here are blog posts about creativity and generating story ideas. Enjoy!
- Katie Davis Illustrates 30 Days of Inspiration
- Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen’s Idea Wheel
- Debbie Ridpath Ohi Bakes a Story Cake
- Zachariah O’Hora Pumps Up His Characters
- Steve Barr’s Idea Chart
- Bonnie Adamson’s Childhood Misunderstandings
- Diana Murray Mashes Things Up and Brews Up Characters
I will be adding to this list throughout the next few days, as others suggest articles I should highlight.
Also, try my lists:
- List of 500+ Things That Kids Like
- List of 500+ Fun, Cool & Interesting Words
- List of 100+ Monsters
- List of 100+ Things Kids Don’t Like
Have fun and be creative!
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Generating ideas comes easily for me. I am participating in my own private PiBoIdMo every day of the year. I jot down ideas on napkins; I write them on my hand; I email them to myself; I leave myself idea voice mails. I’ve got no problem with ideas.
It’s getting those ideas out of my head and onto paper I struggle with.
You’ve probably met people who get an idea on Monday and by Wednesday, have a polished, publishable, picture book manuscript ready to send, right? I’m in a critique group with those people.
I am not one of them.
My process looks something like this.
- Get brilliant idea.
- Decide that I am a genius.
- Jot down a few notes.
- Let idea brew.
- Critique way too early in process.
- Decide that I am not a genius.
- Decide, in fact, that I suck.
- Stuff notes in deepest, darkest corner of drawer.
- Get sudden inspiration while washing dishes.
- Pull notes out of drawer.
- Reread notes.
- Decide that I am genius after all.
- Jot down new inspiration.
- Let brew.
- Make storyboard.
- Revise storyboard 42 times.
- Write first draft.
- Send to critique group.
- Wait for them to confirm genius.
- Get feedback from critique group.
- Decide that critique group doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
- Stew.
- Decide that critique group is genius after all.
- Revise.
- Send to agent.
- Wait for her to confirm genius.
I could probably trim a lot of self bashing and praising from my process, but the other parts, the brewing, story boarding, and revising are really important for me. I get an idea and actively brainstorm it for a bit, but then I need to put it away and let my subconscious work on it.
It gives my idea time to grow. It allows me to make connections I might not have otherwise made.
I used to think of this as a bad thing. I compared myself to the idea-on-Monday-polished-draft-on-Wednesday people and felt lesser, but then realized it’s just the way I work. The time I spend brewing my idea, they often spend looking for one.
The other part of my process that I’d be loath to lose is the storyboarding phase. I get a lot of the kinks worked out here before it ever goes to draft form. I number a piece of paper 1 through 15 to represent picture book spreads. I tentatively write the exposition on the first line and the resolution on line 14. I pace out the major plot points on lines 2 through 13 and the wrap up on line 15.
As I’m playing with the storyboard, I know I’ve got the half-title spread to steal if I really need an extra spread to complete my arc.
I find it so much easier to revise the storyboard than a draft, that I will try things here that I might not try if I went straight from notes to writing. There’s a lot less risk to trying something at this stage.
I congratulate you all for participating in PiBoIdMo, and whether it’s ready next Wednesday or three years from now, I look forward to adding your picture books to my collection!
Janee Trasler has illustrated 19 books and written/illustrated four of her own. Her latest book, CAVEMAN, A B.C. STORY (which by the way, sat in a drawer for six months “brewing”) was published August, 2011 by Sterling. You can catch the book trailer here:
and see Janee’s illustration portfolio on her website http://www.trasler.com.
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 