START A BOOK

START A BOOK by Jan Godown Annino

How do you start a book? Or story? Let's look at examples of inspiration.

THE WEATHER

Rebecca Colby writes rollicking fun picture books. I found out about

her as I searched for spin offs of that surefire laugh-getting, longtime

fun rhyme, “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.”

Here is her entry, illustrated by Kate McLelland.

BUT I didn’t know about Rebecca Colby’s latest picture book

until I visited the site Teaching Authors, which I think several

Groggers enjoy reading.

 

By following links at TA, I learned that Rebecca Colby’s

inspiration poured for her next book after THERE WAS A WEE LASSIE

WHO SWALLOWED A MIDGIE with a walk in the rain.

As she tells it, she was writerly stuck. And then she and her daughter

went for a soggy soak. And her writing went whoosh! All

the way into a romp of a new book, IT’S RAINING BATS AND FROGS,
illustrated by Steven Henry.

This can also work for non-fiction. If some aspect of weather

has your full attention, consistently, maybe there is a book there.

THE NEWS

Small community television news stations, local weekly papers

and big city media outlets share a common characteristic that is

a big assist to astute writers. They offer a ba-zillion of story ideas.

The trick is to look past the giant lead stories or headlines that

aren’t going to work for our genre. No, not a bit. But find smaller,

less shouting pieces, the sweet or curious human interest stories.

And then ask yourself questions about the story. How might an aspect,

one slice of that event, fit for a children’s book. If you had

more information.

Debut picture book author Katheryn Russell-Brown was fascinated

to hear about a high energy woman musician, an African-American

woman, who played in jazz bands in the 1940s.  

 Melba Doretta Liston worked with Dizzie Gillespie & all the best. 

Later she performed with The Supremes.

She continued composing music into the 1990s. Katheryn became curious

about that talented artist’s child days.

How did she learn about Melba? Well it wasn’t in history class or at a

small club meeting or from an online newsletter. She heard the news one day.

She heard the news the same time a ba-zillion other folks did, via their local 

public radio station. Katheryn heard Melba Liston’s story on public radio – a

national report. I recently interviewed Katheryn  at Bookseedstudio, where she

briefly mentions the radio broadcast as the key tip.

And the author’s own article, offers more detail about the jump from

listening to research and to writing & publishing at KidLit Celebrates Women's

History Month.

Her title is LITTLE MELBA and HER BIG TROMBONE. It is a lyrical

Coretta Scott King honor book, illustrated by Frank Morrision. I think you’ll
like it. For story ideas, try The News.

 

THE FAMILY

Many families are known for at least one sleuth who

dove into research on the story of the ancestors. For two

authors, family connections provided an interest that helped

them conjure up their lively middle grade novels.

Sharon Lovejoy has long been intrigued with her family’s

Quaker past and possible but never proven, abolitionist links. 

Although her acclaimed story, RUNNING OUT OF NIGHT, 

isn’t about her ancestors, treasured old family letters she read and

laboriously copied, and questions about whether

her ancestors had ever assisted in The Underground Railroad,

helped her decide to imagine an atmospheric historical fiction 

tale that is a page-turner.

 

Debut author Lisa Lewis Tyre’s interest in the past and her colorful

ancestors assisted her desire to spin the contemporary

tale, LAST IN A LONG LINE OF REBELS.

It is brand-new to me, having arrived in a batch of books

I ordered for late summer fun, but my reading of it so far, tells me it’s destined

for deserved honors. It features a girl who teams with pals

to save her ancestors’ home, which she lives in. In the process

she is distressed to discover that her family once thought they

owned people, as slaves.

Lisa’s interest in the mysteries of history have lead her to

feature a section at her website called History Fun.

  She offers a free, blank family tree to fill in.

And some of her blog articles are devoted to tidbits of her own

family’s times past

 So, when searching for a topic remember THE FAMIILY.


 

 THE EVENTS

What’s a writer to do if weather, news, and family don’t

equal story ideas? Hunt up some events to attend.

One-time community gatherings, such as an annual

day to celebrate the local food product or significant

animal, could produce the spark of an idea. Look into

taking lessons. Here I am, wet in the middle of a coastal

systems class this summer. The course is doing double

duty for this writer, informing children’s poetry and

a middle grade novel. So sign up or schedule THE EVENTS.