Picture Book Marathon Day Ten / Top Ten Places to Get Ideas

Due to planning an extremely last-minute vacation which my little one sorely needs, I am behind with my agenda, so please pardon me while I play catch up with Marathon Updates and Guest Author Blogposts. Thanks!

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On this Tenth day of Picture Book Marathon, I thought it might be good to throw some kindling wood on the fire (for anyone who is struggling for ideas) and discuss my Top Ten Places to Get Ideas.

I'll begin by discussing "Hedgehog Goes to Kindergarten," which will be my first published picture book from Scholastic (coming April 2011).  This idea for this book was inspired by the real experience of my son going to school and being worried about having someone to sit with on the bus, and owning hedgehogs. Hedgehogs tend to be very nervous if they don't feel safe, and, they spike up if they are jostled or hear loud noises, so this fact added further tension to my plot, and provided the perfect main character. Thankfully, I was able to add a lot of other fun and favorite things in this book. Please visit http://www.hedgehoggoestokindergarten.blogspot.com/ in April to find out more about it!

So, back to discussing the places where I often get my ideas:

1.  Real life problems and experiences

    *Like in "Hedgehog Goes to Kindergarten" above

2.  Talking to people I know / Listening to Conversations

     *I got my idea for "Tooth Truth" from a story my sister told my daughter about something my niece and

     nephew did when they lost their teeth

3.  Reading Non-Fiction Books

    *I got the idea for "Pig for President" when I read some factual information about how smart pigs are!

4. Real-life Pets

    *"Jump" was inspired by an African bullfrogs we raised from an egg in a kit

5. Holidays

    *"Woodchuck Woes" was in part inspired by Groundhog Day

6. Reading Classics

    *I tried my hand at rewriting "There Was an Old ____" with my own unique spin on it!

7.  Giving stories to Characters in other Books

     *Chomp the Crocodile, who quietly appears in "Hedgehog Goes to Kindergarten," has her own story to

        tell in "Chomp's Picture Day Countdown."

8.  Sequel

     Spike the Hedgehog gets off the bus and enjoys Kindergarten in "Hedgehog's 100th Day

    of School" and other stories

9.  Sometimes, I just put words (characters, props, actions, dialogue snippets, settings) on little

slips of paper and put them into a fish bowl. I'll draw them out one at a time, and build a story

from them gets its own momentum. You would be surprised how it works. And you can always

cheat a little if you have to!

10.  The ideas just pop into my head! Sometimes I play around with them, sometimes, I let them simmer.

Bonus: Take a walk, read a magazine, do some yoga, exercise, soak in the tub! You would be surprised at what ideas can sneak up on you when you relax your mind and aren't looking!

I hope you all find this helpful. Please feel free to leave your comments and share any other ideas you may have.

Lynne Marie

[PiBoIdMo] November 8th/Where Did They Get Their Ideas?

 So far it's been a very odd month for me. I feel like I got catapulted into November and that I landed in a Wonderland where I'm operating both ahead and behind at the same time!  I've started my Christmas shopping, taken my daughter for her picture with Santa, and even I've had our family holiday portraits taken!

This early seasonal checklist is part of gearing up for a "less is more"  holiday and new year, with a focus on less stress and more output. 

Today, I'm going to serve an important tip in writing (and life): If it doesn't serve a function in the story, get rid of it!  And that's what I'm doing, little by little each day. Using it, or losing it!

So, to that end as I "eat" my way through the towering stack of library books which need to be read and returned, I'm going make them serve as food for my blog this morning.

Whether or not you're participating in Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo, if you're having trouble coming up with ideas, just take a look at how these published authors may or may not have come up with their ideas (of course, beware of plot spoilers):

WHEN GORILLA GOES WALKING by Nikkie Grimes, Illustrated by Shane Evans
Scholastic/Orchard, 2007
Summary: In this story told in a series of rhyming poems, Gorilla the cat enjoys answering the telephone, eating soul food, and sharing mischevious adventures with her young owner.

My comments: Sounds like the author got her idea by remembering getting a new cat as a child or an adult, or perhaps watching someone with a new cat. I think the unique factor her was that the story was written in poems, and had a soul flavor.

COWGIRL ROSIE AND HER FIVE BABY BISON by Stephen Gulbis
Little Brown, 2001
Summary: A cowgirl loses her five baby bison one by one while on a walk one day, only to discover then were stolen by outlaw Snakey Jake.

My comments:  A clever twist on the five little ducklings story. The outlaw hides the bison in a flour sack which turns them white. When the cowgirl cries, the bison are revealed.

MOLE AND THE BABY BIRD by Marjorie Newman, Illustrated by Patrick Benson
Bloomsbury, 2002
Summary: Mole rescues a baby bird, cares for itand loves it until the day he realizes it is because he loves it that he must set it free.

My comments:  This very well could have been inspired by the quote "If you love something set it free. If it comes back, it's yours. If it doesn't it never was." Or, just from finding a bird that has fallen out of a nest, and wanting to keep it.

I NEED MY MONSTER by Amanda Noll, Illustrated by Howard McWilliam

Flashlight Press, 2009

Summary: When a litte boy's monster under the bed goes fishing, several replacements just will not do!

My comments: This idea was an absolutely innovative twist on a monster under the bed keeping a child from sleeping, to just the right monster being necessary for a kid to go to sleep. Well done!


THE THREE SILLY BILLIES by Margie Palatini, Illustrated by Barry Moser
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2005
Summary: Three billy goats, unable to cross a bridge because they cannot pay the toll, form a car pool with the Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood, and Jack of beanstalk fame to get past the rude Troll.

My comments: MP went further than the rest when dealing with the Norwegian Fairy Tale of the Billy Goats Gruff and the crossing of the troll bridge by combining several fairy tales and providing a twist. It's obvious where she got the ideas for her additional characters LOL!

I SAW AN ANT ON THE RAILROAD TRACK by Joshua Prince

Illustrated by Macky Pamintuan

Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 2006

Summary: Jack, a railroad switchman, frantically tries to save an ant who is heading east on a westbound track, straight into the path of an oncoming freight train.

My comments: Well, I don't have to surmise about where the idea came for this cute book, because on the jacket flap it says: Joshua Prince lives in Wesport, Connecticut, but rides a train daily to his life as an advertising writer in New York. A brief encounter with an ant at his regular station inspired this story, which is his first book.

MOOSETACHE by Margie Palatini, Illustrated by Henry Cole

Hyperion, 2007
Summary: A moose's mustache is too big to control until he meets Ms. Moose who has her own hair problem. They conquer each other's hearts and their problems.

My comments: This is dedicated "To my dear with the five-o-clock shadow" so may have been inspired by an actual person with a long mustache or a lot of facial hair.

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I hope you can see from the above random selections that the authors may or may not have been inspired by people, place, events and/or books they have read in their childhood. You can look to these same things and bring them to another level, add a cultural flavor and/or twist them to come up with your next winning idea. Good luck to you!