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by Gabi Snyder
Hello, Storystormers! You’ve made it to day 24 and I suspect you’ve already collected several shiny new ideas. Hooray!
BUT, alas, what about those old ideas that won’t leave you alone, that haunt your sleep and follow you everywhere? Maybe you have one particular idea that’s near and dear to you. You’ve tried writing it three, five, fifteen different ways and nothing quite works. You’re tempted to bid that idea a forever farewell, and yet you know there’s a reason you keep coming back to it. There’s something there. But how can you discover the perfect way to turn that beloved idea into a stellar story?
Well…no promises but try these sideways approaches to discover a new portal into your story!
THE MIX AND MATCH APPROACH!
Compile a list of old ideas that you still love but have not yet been able to write into a winning story. Write each idea on a sticky note for easy mixing and matching.
Look at your list. Do you see any ideas that seem to go together, perhaps complement each other? If so, create a list of five ways you could combine those ideas into a new idea.
Now look for ideas that seem worlds apart from one another. What would happen if you combined those disparate ideas? Can you create something new and surprising?
THE UNEXPECTED APPROACH!
For a particular idea, create a list of at least five ways you could write the story in wholly unexpected ways – the stranger the better. For instance, if your idea is “octopus Houdini” inspired by the true story of Inky (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/160414-inky-octopus-escapes-intelligence), what are five unlikely or unusual ways to approach that story? For example:
- The octopus hypnotizes her audience, including the reader!
- Instead of focusing on the octopus’s amazing escapes, the story focuses on the octopus’s amazing appearances. She unexpectedly appears in surprising places.
- The unlikely friendship between the octopus and the person charged with recapturing her.
- The octopus escapes through a magic door and enters a world of mythical creatures.
- The octopus is actually another creature disguised as an octopus.
I imagine your list will be totally different. Have fun with it–play!
THE BALDERDASH APPROACH! (for a group)
“Balderdash” is one of my all-time favorite words (and it’s also on Tara’s list of 500+ Fun, Cool, and Interesting Words). Balderdash is also one of my favorite boardgames, and that’s probably because it involves making things up—but within parameters. During gameplay you invent answers to particular questions in an attempt to fool your opponents. For our StoryStorm purposes, let’s tweak the usual Balderdash categories into these three—
- Unusual words: You and your critique partners take turns sharing unusual, important, or intriguing words from your ideas or stories that you have not yet shared with each other. You know why a particular word is important to your story, but your CPs don’t. In guessing the why behind the word, your CPs might come up with potential connections you hadn’t considered!
- Characters: You might have an idea or story that involves a key character. You have an idea of who this character is. But your fellow players/writers aren’t familiar with the character, so when you give them the character name, they’ll make up completely new character descriptions. You might end up liking one of their descriptions enough to borrow it for your story!
{One of my favorite characters–the cat from TWO DOGS ON A TRIKE, illustrated by Robin Rosenthal!}
- Titles: If you have a story titled “The Bridge,” your critique partners would share one-line descriptions of what they think your story is about. And again, one of their ideas might inspire a new approach to your story. In the game of Balderdash, sometimes the simplest answer ends up being the right answer. If your story has become overcomplicated, you might find a simpler idea among your critique partners’ answers.
I hope these suggestions give you some fodder for play. Take what resonates with you and ignore the rest! Happy idea generating!
Gabi Snyder is giving away a choice between one 30-minute “Ask Me Anything” Zoom or one picture book critique. The winner will also receive a copy of her latest picture book, TODAY (out January 30, 2024).
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.
Gabi (rhymes with “baby”) Snyder is a fan of the unexpected and the author of several picture books including TWO DOGS ON A TRIKE, illustrated by Robin Rosenthal; LISTEN, illustrated by Stephanie Graegin; and COUNT ON US!, illustrated by Sarah Walsh. Gabi is also the author of the upcoming picture books TODAY (coming January 30, 2024) and LOOK (coming April 16, 2024).
Gabi studied psychology at the University of Washington and creative writing at The University of Texas. When she’s not writing, she loves taking nature walks and baking sweet treats. She lives in Oregon with her family. Learn more at GabiSnyder.com or connect with her on Instagram @gabi_snyder_writer.
by Shannon Stocker
Mega thanks to my mentor and friend, Tara Lazar, for hosting the cover reveal of my upcoming non-fiction picture book, LISTEN: HOW EVEYLN GLENNIE, A DEAF GIRL, CHANGED PERCUSSION (April 12, 2022, from Dial Books).
About three years ago, after listening to an SCBWI speaker talk about the importance of writing what you know and the #OwnVoices movement, I felt moved to write a book about a musician who’d overcome something huge. A musician who’d beaten the odds, defying the expectations of the world around them.
I, myself, am a pianist, a guitarist, and a vocalist. Music has fed my soul since the day I was born. But I also spent two years in a wheelchair due to a chronic illness called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. For seven years, I fought for my life. Countless physicians told me I would not survive, my condition would not improve, I would never have children, and that my husband should put me in permanent care. Countless people gave up on me, insisting I should accept my fate.
But my husband never gave up on me. And, more importantly, I never gave up on me.
Shortly after that conference, I started doing Google searches for potential subjects. The very first person who popped up was Evelyn Glennie. She is the first person to ever have a full-time career as a solo percussionist. She’s won two Grammy Awards, and been knighted by the Queen of England. And she is deaf.
I continued looking for other potential artists, thinking Evelyn would be too big, too famous, too difficult to reach, but her story kept calling me back. It felt like home. So finally, on February 9, 2019, I wrote to her team to ask if she might have an interest in speaking with me about a potential non-fiction picture book. Only two days later, they replied in the affirmative.
Within a month, Evelyn and I had our first Skype. Although she had a translator attend, Evelyn’s lip-reading abilities and speech made communication simple and clear (she lost her hearing as an older child). Not only was she talented, determined, and kind, but she was also one of the most humble people I’ve ever met. Her story poured from my fingers like the most familiar piano concerto, and within two months it was written, revised, and had its first offer for publication.
Shortly after the book sold to Dial, my editor wrote to tell me Devon Holzwarth would be illustrating. It took me all of three seconds to fall in love with Devon’s work, which I often describe as “music on the page.” I contacted Devon, who currently lives in Germany, and she told me that Evelyn was scheduled to play in the “September Special” classical music event close to her home only two days later! I wrote to Evelyn, who provided Devon with tickets and later met her during a break at the concert.
The entire process felt magical.
At this time, LISTEN will also be published by Penguin UK, and I just recently learned that it’s been selected by the Junior Library Guild as a book club pick. I’m immensely proud to have been a part of this book’s creation. I’m grateful to Evelyn for trusting me with her story. I’m grateful to my agent Allison for seeing something in me beyond this story. I’m grateful to Jess, my brilliant editor, for her insights. And I’m grateful to Devon…who gave my words life and emotion beyond anything I could’ve dreamed.
How beautiful, Shannon! I love the movement of the music depicted in florals, streaming from the drum. It’s lovely; congratulations!
LISTEN: HOW EVELYN GLENNIE, A DEAF GIRL, CHANGED PERCUSSION will be published by Dial on April 12, 2022.
Shannon is giving away a non-rhyming picture book critique in celebration. Leave one comment below and a random winner will be selected next week. Good luck!
Shannon Stocker is an award-winning author and proud word nerd who lives in Louisville, KY, with her husband, Greg, and their children, Cassidy and Tye. Her debut picture book, CAN U SAVE THE DAY (Sleeping Bear Press), released in 2019, her nonfiction PB bio about Evelyn Glennie comes out with Dial (Penguin/Random House) in 2022, and several of Shannon’s nonfiction essays have been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul. Shannon currently serves as SCBWI social co-director for Louisville, a judge for Rate Your Story, and she created the blog series, Pivotal Moments: inHERview, highlighting transitional life stories of female picture book authors. Cool facts: Currently writing her memoir, Shannon is a medical school graduate, a coma survivor, an RSD/CRPS patient and advocate, and a singer/songwriter who once performed two songs, including one original, as part of an opening act for Blake Shelton. Shannon is represented by Allison Remcheck of Stimola Literary Studio.
Visit Shannon at shannonstocker.com, Facebook, or follow her on Twitter @iwriteforkidz and Instagram @iwriteforkidz.
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 