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

Picture Book Marathon Day Nine/A Cat Has Nine Lives!

Because today was Picture Book Marathon, Day Nine (and the fact that Cats have nine lives), I took a leap and worked on an idea that had been niggling at me but had never amounted to more than an image.  After about an hour and a half, I landed on my feet, with  a completed (albeit rough) draft!

Now my little cat MC is no longer standing out in the rain and cold, all alone -- he has a home on paper!

I am finding the Marathon to be a valuable and productive tool in moving toward my goals and helping me push past points that I might have just stopped at in the past. This process reminds reminds me of a quote that I would like to share:

"You can't wait for inspiration.  You have to go after it with a club."  Jack London

And though I leave you today, knowing that my little cat likely has at least eight more drafts in him before he's finished, at least he has begun to live his life!

Happy Creating!

Picture Book Marathon Day Eight/I Wish I Were an Octopus!

It's days like today - Picture Book Marathon, Day 8 - that I wish I were an Octopus with 8 arms! Everytime I turned around, someone was knockin', the phone was ringin', or something needed doin'!

Since I started today with a blank canvas, I figured there must be a message in the invocation of an octopus image. So I took what life had to offer me today, and while I answered the door, spoke on the phone and did what needed doing, I let the seeds take root for a picture book manuscript about -- you guessed it: An Octopus.

At present this draft may not be as polished or as brilliant as Kevin Sherry's I'm the Best Artist in the Ocean (as a wanna be illustrator, too, I LOVE that book), and it certainly isn't about an octopus in the way that you might expect, but it's a picture book that has an octopus in it. And, even though I first sat down to accomplish this task at 9:05 A.M. and it's now 4:05 P.M. -- I can finally say MISSION ACCOMPLISHED <3

Here's a quote that speaks to those manuscripts that we may never end up using:
"Start early and work hard. A writer's apprenticeship usually involves writing a million words (which are then discarded) before he's almost ready to begin. That takes a while." David Eddings
So write, write, write, and enjoy the process. Don't worry about which drafts you will ultimately choose and use. That will come later.

Lynne Marie

Picture Book Marathon Day Six and Seven/The Good, the Bad & The Ugly!

Children's Author Lynne Marie and Son Kevin (Now 22) 

Of course, we each want to be a superhero in this Picture Book Marathon, crossing the finish line first, with a satchel of twenty-six publishable picture book manuscripts strapped on our back.

Rather than get discouraged if looks like things are not going according to that plan, I think it's important to remember that in life, there's the good, the bad and the ugly. It's all part of the process.

Taking a look at my manuscripts for the past week, I would say that's EXACTLY what I have in the mix: Good, Bad & just plain Ugly. But I am a glass is half full person, and I must admit that two of my manuscripts drafts are rather darn good and I don't think they would have come out if it weren't for this process. It's like a clogged drain. Unclog it and see what comes out, be it good, bad or ugly. Again, process. You can't fight with it, just let it flow!

And don't be hard on yourself. Andrea Brown Literary Agent Mary Kole said in last Thursday's Writer's Digest webinar that usually only one in every ten picture book manuscripts is saleable, so you have to get your creative juices flowing, write those drafts, and then develop the most promising and publishable of the bunch. Again, that's part of the process. So just flow with it and enjoy it -- all of it, the good, bad and the ugly!

By the way, anyone who even writes one publishable picture book manuscript is a superhero in my book!

Writing Tips/Food for Thought from MG Author Rose Kent

Sweet Inspirations by Rose Kent

Both of my middle-grade novels, Kimchi & Calamari (HarperCollins) and Rocky Road (Knopf Books), have titles &  themes related to food. There is quite a bit of food references & symbolism in my stories too. Kimchi & Calamari refers to not only foods from my character Joseph's Korean birth and Italian adopted family cultures, but how he jokes about himself as an ethnic combo platter. My second book, Rocky Road, about Tess, whose family opens up an ice cream shop in the dead of winter, also captures Tess's spirit coping with her mom's mental health challenges.

I tend to see myself as a foodie -- not necessarily a gourmet cook, but someone who appreciates good food & how food nurtures our spirits. And as a writer I think food is a great tool for "showing" rather than "telling" about my characters' lives.

So of course, I come back to food when the writing gets tough.  When I struggle in figuring out what comes next in my story, I tell myself it's snack time. By that I mean I walk

away from my work-in-progress, put the tea kettle on, and make myself a tasty snack. Then I return to the computer, open a fresh document, and begin an interview with my character as I munch. You know, Q&A, italics for my questions, bold-faced text for my characters' response. I let the questions come naturally, not scripted. This technique relaxes me and doesn't feel as hard work as the writing. 

This starts out simple, even silly, with my character commenting on the weather or his favorite cookies as I eat mine. But like every good conversation, the interview moves about and ultimately returns to the story. More often than not, this foodie break I have given myself results in a breakthrough in my story with my character revealing something gets me unstuck. Of course this can be over done with too much snacking and too little writing, so I try to use this technique only occasionally.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Rose Kent is a former naval officer who now happily writes for children. She has  four children & two stepchildren. She is from Long Island, like MOI, and although she no longer lives here, you can never take the Long Island out of the girl! You can learn more about Rose at http://www.rosekent.com/ (there is a link to her blog there, as well) and you can view her trailer for Rocky Road here:

 http://vimeo.com/11357915

Enjoy!

Writing Prompt/Interviewing Your MG Character with Kat Yeh

On our writing journey, we are often blessed to travel the path and sit a while with many fine spirits. For me, one of them is Kat Yeh, who I am always glad to catch up with, although sometimes she soars quickly on her flying dragon with her magic brush!

Here is her wonderful contribution to my blog, for which I am thankful.

MG Novel Writing Prompt from Kat Yeh:

In the midst of a writing frenzy the other day, a strange thing occurred. The protagonist of my middle-grade novel did something I did not plan. Reacted in a way I hadn't expected. I couldn't decide how to feel about this. Betrayed? Pleased? Or simply puzzled? It made me wonder how well I really knew her. She had always been a decidedly complex and secretive little thing, but I realized there was one way I could at least begin to figure her out. I would interview her.

Ah, but the catch is: I would do it twice.

The first time, I would ask my questions and write down her off the cuff responses.

Then (please don't judge me!) when she wasn't looking, I'd slip her a serious dose of Truth Serum, wait for it to take effect, and then see how her answers changed…

We all have several levels of The Truth within us. Things we reveal to anyone - a reporter, a stranger.

Things we reveal only to some - like family and friends. And things that would only see the light of day if a very liberal amount of Truth Serum were to be administered.

These were some of the questions for my character -- based on what I needed to find out about her…what would you ask yours?

            1) What is your biggest dream?

            2) What are you most afraid of people finding out about you?

            3) Who are you closest to?

            4) What is your deepest, darkest secret?

            5) Who would you tell this to?

            6) Describe your family and your relationship.

            7) If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be? What about your family?

Kat Yeh Biography

Kat grew up reading, doodling and scribbling in Westtown, Pennsylvania. She worked for many years in advertising and sports marketing -- while writing for herself in the wee hours of the night. She currently lives on Long Island where she can see water everyday and explore all the bay and harbor beaches with her family. She is the author of children's books You're Lovable to Me (Random House) and The Magic Brush (Bloomsbury).

About The Magic Brush: 

Combining a heartwarming family story, a magical adventure, and a multilingual primer on Chinese language, The Magic Brush tells the story of Jasmine, a young girl who learns Chinese calligraphy from her Agong, or grandfather. As Jasmine learns how to paint the characters for dragon, fish, horse, friend, and more, she and Agong are magically transported to the wondrous world they are creating. The Magic Brush, beautifully rendered in traditional cut-paper, is perfect for young readers and their parents to share, steeped in Chinese traditions and full of magical adventure.

Picture Book Marathon Day Five!

With four picture book manuscripts under my belt, I'm excited to begin Day Five of the Marathon.

I woke up with a terrible, terrible migraine and had to take medicine that makes me woozy and now can't go to my Saturday morning ice skating lessons (RATS!), but I am not going to let that stop me from my using my brain muscles today.  I'm eager to press on and make the best of my day!

I have a whole stash of great ideas from the PIBOIDMO, but I'm feeling a bit antsy from being steered off my course, so I wanted something new to chew on today. So I headed over to the Picture Book Marathon Blog to re-read the posts and found just what I was looking for, buried under all the snow...

Of course, I always have had an affinity for little scurrying creatures!

No matter what obstacles befall you today, I hope you all can write on...

And be sure to check out previous posts from this blog for some fabulous writing prompts and inspirations from picture book writers like Lisa Wheeler, Tammi Sauer, Kelly DiPucchio and more!

UPDATE: I am pleased to say that despite headache and medicine I have completed PB#5 based upon the afore-mentioned inspiration. So far, it is the most promising of the bunch. This proves that you never know when the good ones are going to pop up (if you are paying attention that is a little pun)! And, at Lora and Jean's recommendation, I have generated three ideas to choose from for tomorrow.

Feel free to guess what my picture book is about.

Lynne Marie