Start New Year with a Storm of Story Ideas

~by Sue Heavenrich 

I love the beginning of a new year. It gives me a great excuse to buy pens and notebooks and sticky notes... and inspires me to list my writing goals for the upcoming twelve months. And then... I eat chocolate and split wood and procrastinate.

But not this year because Tara Lazar - the very Tara of PiBiIdMo fame- has a brainstorming challenge to get us going for the year. It's called Storystorm and it happens this month! 

If you participated in PiBoIdMo - aka, Picture Book Idea Month - you'll remember it was during November. The idea was awesome: jot down an idea or two for picture books every day during the month - kind of like NaNoWriMo but with way fewer words.

The timing was not so great. "Over the years I kept hearing the same questions," Tara said. "Why November? It's always such a busy time, what with Thanksgiving." She paused, musing that she never meant it to be a burden. "So I got to thinking, what month could I do it?"

The answer: January. It's a new year and what better way to start a new year than with a month of new ideas!

"People probably have some writing resolutions to begin their new year. So I figured I'd make a challenge that would fit in with that. It would be like going to the [writing] gym," Tara said.

 But wait! There's more! Tara wanted to open the idea-generating challenge to any kind of writer or artist, whether picture book or novelist, illustrator or fine artist. "Putting aside time everyday to think about projects is a good habit," she says. "I see the Storystorm challenge as an opportunity for people to unplug and take time to think about their art." 

Storystorm is a month of brainstorming, Tara says. At the end of the month participants should have their brains filled up with ideas and be ready to go. Tara has a month's worth of guest bloggers lined up: novelists, picture book writers, nonfiction writers, artists, and experts in creativity. Registration is open through Saturday, January 7  here, where you'll also find a link to the Facebook discussion group. Check Tara's blog daily for Storystorm posts.

"It takes 30 days to make a habit," says Tara. She hopes people will continue this daily habit of catching ideas for the following eleven months.

When Tara isn't rounding up story ideas, she's busy writing and raising her children. She's a member on the Rutgers University Council on Children's Literature conference committee and also a mentor for We Need Diverse Books. She's written a bunch of picture books (The Monstore, I Thought This Was A Bear Book,    Little Red Gliding Hood, Normal Norman,Way Past  Bedtime, 7 Ate 9: The Untold Story) and she’s busy on her newest project: The Whiz-Bang Word Book - an illustrated dictionary. You can find out more about her at her website, taralazar.com

Wordless Spreads in Picture Books ~ by Patricia Toht

And now, for a few words (well, more than a few) about wordless spreads in picture books...

In my newest PB manuscript, I'm choosing to ignore two strong suggestions for picture book writers:

1) DON'T write in rhyme!

2) DON'T include illustrator notes!

I'm a published poet, so I feel I have some justification for writing a rhymed text. But what about those illustrator notes? As Deborah Underwood once said, "It's not the illustrator's job to tell you what to write -- just as it's not your job to tell her [or him] what to draw." I agree, whole-heartedly! So...why the notes?

Long-time readers of the GROG may recall my fondness for making picture book dummies by laying out my text in spreads that mimic a finished book. When I did so with the new book, I discovered a spot where I could cut lots of text by letting an illustrator go crazy with a wordless spread.

Before hitting the "submit" button, I thought it wise to study up on picture books that contained just one or two wordless spreads, to see if my suggestion made sense. I knew of several books to consider, and a shout out to members of PiBoIdMo bolstered my list.

A few of the books I studied.

I discovered some interesting things:

From my sampling (16 books), a wordless spread was more likely to occur in the second half of a book.

Wordless spreads were as likely to occur in books authored and illustrated by different people as those by author/illustrators. 

In many of the books, the spread served as a pause or slowing of pace, a chance for the reader to reflect. 

The spreads served other functions and conveyed varied messages (sometimes more than one, which is why the percentages below add up to way more than 100%!).

• 50% were humorous (many LOL). A majority of these happened in the second half of the book.

I love the "naked centerfold" in Peter Brown's MR. TIGER GOES WILD!

 • 50% demonstrated change, either within the character or in his/her situation.

• 33% portrayed setting out on a journey or adventure

The zoo animals hop aboard a bus in
A SICK DAY FOR AMOS McGEE
by Philip and Erin Stead

• 33% showed a difference in size or scale. This contrast between two characters, or between a character and the surroundings, elicited a variety of emotions from fear to loneliness to sweetness to wonder.

• 25% portrayed the culmination of a quest/resolution of a problem.

• One book introduced the main conflict through a wordless spread early on (pages 10 & 11).

Watch out, Billy Twitters! A blue whale is coming your way!
BILLY TWITTERS AND HIS BLUE WHALE PROBLEM
by Mac Barnett and Adam Rex

• The spreads were all worth their weight in wordless gold-- with the illustrations doing the work of many, many words.

Tara Lazar mentioned that her upcoming book, I THOUGHT THIS WAS A BEAR BOOK, contains a wordless spread. I asked her about it.

Me: Where does it occur?
Tara: The wordless spread is in the second-to-last spread in the book, right before you make the final page turn.

Me: What's its purpose?
Tara: It restores a sense of calm to the reader and conveys that everything has been settled. (Or has it????) It gives the bears some time to return home.

Me: Did you request the wordless spread?
Tara: This wordless spread was not in the original manuscript. It was suggested by my editor and illustrator after we made changes to the resolution. It helps with the pacing and sets up the final guffaw.


In the end, I feel a bit bold to suggest the wordless spread, but I feel it's the best vehicle to show lots of activity and a passage of time. Reassuringly, my sleuthing uncovered QUEEN VICTORIA'S BATHING MACHINE by Gloria Whelan and Nancy Carpenter. 

Like my manuscript, this story
1) is written in rhyme
2) is rooted in history
3) contains a wordless spread at the same spot that I am considering 
4) shows the resolution to a problem



And so I am emboldened to go where manuscripts are suggested not to go -- to submission, WITH illustrator notes! Wish me luck!

Thank you to Tara Lazar! (Visit Tara here.) Thanks also to PiBoIdMo members for your suggestions!

Mining Your Ideas by Pat Miller

It was the third week of January. I had asked my kindergarten students what special day was coming up on February 2. They guessed Valentine’s Day, Halloween, and Mother’s Day. I gave them a hint, “It’s the day when a small, furry animal pops up out of its hole to tell the weather.”

The five year-olds were stumped. Suddenly, one boy pumped his arm and said, “I know! I know!” When I asked him which animal popped up, he replied with enthusiasm. “It’s the armadillo!”

Not surprising for a child from Texas where there are no wild groundhogs. When the class left, I quickly jotted the conversation in my idea book. It remained there for two years until I needed to write a manuscript for credibility in my local SCBWI. After 33 rejections over two more years, Substitute Groundhog popped up out of its hiding place in my writer’s journal and went on to become a Junior Library Guild selection. It was reissued as an audio book, and was translated into French. Not bad for a “wrong” answer!

Perhaps you have a notebook or file of ideas, especially if you participated in Tara Lazar's Picture Book Idea Month. You've jotted down a lot of ideas and sparks of stories. Perhaps you’ve even earned your PiBoIdMo Badge of Completion. Now what?

First, let me ask if you know the story of Petunia. She was a goose who thought that carrying around a thick book under her wing was enough to make her smart. It wasn’t till she deciphered the word “dynamite” as “candy”, that the disastrous results blew open the book. Only then did Petunia realize that she had to begin the hard work of reading the book to become smarter.

For us writers, it's not enough to be content with capturing ideas. Now it’s time to begin the hard work of writing or illustrating the book. It’s not enough to be smug about the ideas we have tucked under the wing of our writing journals. Today is the perfect day to take the next step.

Turn back to your idea(s) and add something to the first story that catches your imagination. Extrapolate a plot point. Describe the main character. Write down what could go wrong for the character. No need to fully flesh out the story—unless it insists you do so. Repeat the process tomorrow with your second idea. In spite of the holiday busyness, keep going to your desk each day, fanning each spark a little more until one catches fire.

This is the process that will take your ideas and carry them through to possibility. Mining your ideas each day will eventually lead you to gold. You never know what will pop up out of the ground until you dig for it. Good luck with your own armadillos!

A version of this post first appeared on December 1, 2011, Tara Lazar's Picture Book Idea Month.

ORGANIZE, WRITE, & BREATHE!

Okay, so November have arrived. The challenges are in full swing. PiBoIdMo! NaNoWriMo! Thanksgiving! Family wants! Family needs! Family drama! And the fifty more challenges that will guide your writing career. (Yes, we do not want to forget those.) So how do you keep yourself from getting overwhelmed? The answer is simple. ORGANIZE! ORGANIZE! ORGANIZE!

If we do some simple pre-planning strategies, we can limit the frustrations and cruise through the month of November like a sailboat on a calm sea. Here are some tips.

PiBoIdMo ~ Picture Book Idea Month

CALENDAR

•  PiBoIdMo - Get a calendar and jot down your ideas for PiBoIdMo. Write a title, character description, plot synopsis, setting, theme, or any detail that will enable you to draft a manuscript.  jot down the word
• NaNoWriMo  - Use a calendar to track word-count progress. For instance, if you add 1667-words for the day, add it to the previous day word-count. So according to NaNo standards, you should have 11, 669-words to date.
• So sit in a quiet place (Mine is the laundry room. No one does laundry during the week.) WRITE down your idea for PiBo.
• WRITE your new chapter for NaNo.
• WRITE your shopping list for Thanksgiving.

FAMILY

• Do not forget to take care of your family. Plan your writing around them. Make time to question their day.
• Walk With Them ~ Take a walk in the neighborhood.
• Cook their favorite meals.
• Help with homework, projects, spelling words.
• BREATHE! BREATHE! BREATHE!

In conclusion, simple planning can alleviate the stress that finds us in the month of November. Get that calendar and organize your days and times. Then sit back. Brainstorm. Generate ideas. Write. BREATHE! BREATHE! BREATHE!

PiBoIdMo - Picture Book Idea Month- WARNING: Pie Might Be Involved by Kathy Halsey

No matter how you say it phonetically, "Pie. Bow. Id. Mow." it's time to sharpen those pencils and minds (wait, that would hurt) for a super challenge, Picture Book Idea Month! Find all the info you need at Tara Lazar's blog/website.

This is my second year for the challenge and this year Tara is even including instructions on how a classroom of kids could signup. What fun for all! 
"November?"you say. Yes, we are all busy come November, but one of last year's suggestions fueled a story that snagged me an agent...just saying...

Here's the 411...
1. It's' a daily challenge to come up with a new idea for 30 straight days.
2. There are great prizes, fabulous camaraderie, and it's free.
3. On Tara's blog, writing luminaries host and share their process to stay energized and find new ideas. You can hang out with Molly Idle, Aaron Reynolds & others!
4. Sign up is October 25-Nov. 4 here. 

Here's are tips to keep you organized...

1. AM is the best time for me to do this before the day takes shape. I always feel accomplished once I've written.
2. Blog posts come via my email and I create a folder for them in mail so I can always refer to them later.
3. I use a graphic organizer for each day to cover these areas: Doodle, Date, Idea, Title, Concept/Storyline (no more than a graph unless I'm on a roll), Themes that fit story.

4. No worries if you can't fill all the requisite days or spots on your graphic organizer! Some days will flow better than others. Just keep up momentum!

#173132360 / gettyimages.com

REWARDS!!!! 
1. New writing buds.
2. New discipline. 
3. Oh, and maybe pie...

#105658189 / gettyimages.com

How Do Writers Spend Their Time? -- By Christy Mihaly (and Cheddar)

Join this Writer’s Organization! Try that Challenge! Take another Course! EEK! Writer friends urge me to participate in this course, that workshop, these Facebook groups, those writing challenges. What am I missing? How can I ever find the time? 

Photo by GROGGER Suzy Leopold

Time for a reality check: I turned to my GROG colleagues --  serious writers all, ranging across continents, occupations, levels of experience, and numbers of publications. I asked them: "How do you spend your writing time?" I asked them to estimate how many hours they spent drafting, revising, reading, doing research, conferences, courses, social media, marketing, etc.  

And now, I'm happy to share these thoughts and recommendations, from my informal GROG survey.  

Bottom line: None of us has time to do it all.  We have day jobs, spouses and loved ones, social obligations, volunteer work, children, grandchildren, friends in need. We want to "give back" to the writing world. What’s a writer to do?  

We know the answer: WRITE. The GROGGER responses reminded me that when it comes to all those “writing-related” activities, we have to stick to the ones that are helpful enough to warrant taking time away from actual writing. 

I boiled my colleagues' responses down to these three points: 

1.  Write!  Carve out “writing time” every day.  Make writing your top priority during that designated time. Maybe it’s a half-hour before the rest of the household awakes. Maybe it’s an hour after everyone else is asleep. Whenever it is, make it sacrosanct.  No internet surfing.  No opening mail. “Writing” means drafting and revising. If inspiration isn’t coming, try writing a poem! A journal entry, a cover letter . . . just write! GROGGERs' writing times vary considerably, depending on where they are on a particular project (or other aspects of their busy lives) but range from about an hour a day to 30 hours or more per week.  (And we all spend more time revising than drafting!) 

GRAB THAT PENCIL, CHEDDAR!

2.  Everything else is extra. Select only those “extras” that really help your writing. Want to refine your craft?  Maybe a course or studying a book on craft is your best bet. Are you feeling isolated?  Then join a community, whether it’s an in-person critique group or an online writing group, or volunteer to work with kids. Has your inspiration dried up? Maybe you need to hang out with the grandchildren, or maybe just going for a walk is what you need! You’ll never be able to do it all . . . so choose what inspires you, and nourishes your writing.

Sniffing out new inspiration . . . 

Here's some collective GROGGER wisdom about setting priorities,  from among all those “other” activities:

Research: If you write nonfiction, this is a major element of your process . . . though fiction writers need research too. For our nonfiction GROGGERs, research can take MORE time than writing.  When we're in that "research groove," that's all we want to do. The consensus: Go for it!

                        

Challenges: GROGGERs have tried various online challenges, and concluded it's best to choose one, or at most two, per year. Favorites among GROGGERs are 12x12, WOW, and PiBoIdMo.

Reading: Do it! Study mentor texts, read books on writing craft and the business of writing, adult fiction and nonfiction for pleasure, YA for the heck of it, poetry, The New Yorker – read it all. GROGGER Pam Vaughan suggests that, if you’re stuck in the car a lot (chauffeuring kids, anyone?) try books-on-tape! GROG members agree, reading is a high priority. Most of us try to get some reading done every day.

 Hey, I get great ideas in my dreams!

Conferences/workshops: We can’t afford to attend all the conferences we’d like, but agree that two or three a year is good. SCBWI is the standard. A pointer: Figure out which format – National? Regional? Small? – works best for you, then focus on that type of gathering. For more GROG thoughts on conferences, check out these posts: 21st Century NF; SCBWI LA; SCBWI New England; write conference for you.

Critique groups: Serious writers must share drafts and revisions with trusted writing buddies. Online groups work well for many. Some are lucky enough to find supportive face-to-face groups. Crit groups are well worth the time -- though most GROG members find that one, or two, of these is the most we can responsibly handle.

Algonquin Round Table members 

Art Samuels, Charlie MacArthur, Harpo Marx, Dorothy Parker, Alexander Woollcott 

circa 1919, from Wikimedia commons, photographer unknown.

Warning!  Warning!  LIMIT social media!  

Sure, there are some wonderful Facebook groups, and FB can be a great place to share information and support other writers. Twitter provides valuable connections and information too . . . but GROGGERs find social media can consume too much precious writing time. All GROGGERs participate in social media, and we agree a little can be good (a half-hour to an hour a day?).  (See these prior posts:  Facebook groups; more Facebook groups; Twitter tips; more Twitter tips.)  But it's also true that too much is . . . too much.

Try setting a timer!

By Hustvedt (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

3. Keep track of how you spend your time 

(see above). 

Some of my GROG friends could tell me exactly how much time they spent regularly on various activities . . . others, not so much. Try this for a week or a month: record your hours. If you feel you're not getting enough writing done, you’ll see exactly what’s taking up too much time. You'll get a more realistic sense of how long different tasks take. And when you meet a writing target or a goal – celebrate!

Bottom line:  Remember Jane Yolen's essential rule:  "Butt in chair!" And write on. 

That's BUTT in chair, Cheddar!!

Special thanks to Marcie Atkins, Todd Burleson, Tina Cho, Suzy Leopold, Pat Miller, Janie Reinart, Patty Toht, and Pam Vaughan.

Facebook Groups YOU Should Join by Kathy Halsey

Back in my college days, it was cooler not to join a sorority than to join one. We proudly called ourselves "GDI's." Now, as a pre-pub writer with a year and a half under my belt, I created my own college curriculum for free by joining a plethora of writer-driven Facebook groups. Yup, now I'm a joiner! I am so enthusiastic that I belong to FIFTEEN groups. I am featuring some of these groups so you can pick and choose what's best for you.

FYI for Writers' Facebook Groups

Writers' groups have several characteristics in common. 

1. They are usually "closed" groups so you must be approved by an administrator or invited by a friend to join. Don't worry, it's not like sorority rush, you will be accepted. (Vetting folks keeps spammers out.) 

2. Most groups have rules about what can be posted. Self-promotion is usually not accepted. Sure, share your successes but make sure you contribute useful content for all.

3. Sometimes, a group is formed for a specific month, such as PiBoId Mo (Picture Book Idea Month in November) or  RhyPiBoMo (Rhyming Picture Book Month in April).  

4. Some groups require paid subscriptions, but they offer so much. 12x12 hosted by Julie Foster Hedlund is worth every penny. I joined at the "newbie" level, but "Little Golden Book" members have the privilege of submitting to agents monthly! 

Great Groups One and All

In no particular order, here are some of my favorite groups. Note that I'll continue with this list next Tuesday, June 10.

1. Agent/Editor Discussion from their page: "This board is for picture book authors. We discuss agents/editors, sending manuscripts, cover letters and queries. We support the successes and celebrate the rejections (that means we are one step closer to a yes). For those asking to join: If you are a writer, it would be helpful if your Facebook timeline or profile (if available to public) indicated that you are a writer. Writers only please."

2. Sub It Club from their page:" Sub It Club is a support group for writers and illustrators who are submitting (or thinking about submitting) their work. Writers of any genre are welcome to join us! We do check all requests before approving members so if you are hard to find online send us a quick message at subitclub(at)gmail(dot)com to help expedite the process and please check your message folder (including your others folder). We will send you a message either before or after approval. You can find out more about Sub It Club at subitclub.wordpress.com." This is a great place to get feedback on pitches, queries, or synopses and members offer detailed feedback.

3.  Platform Building for Children's Authors from their page: "This is a site for those who write for children to learn from one another, share resources and assist one another in building and expanding their platforms. The site is set up to allow members to invite and approve new members. Feel free to share as you see fit. I look forward to working with you." Advice about creating web sites, blogs or even if a platform is really necessary...it's all here and very helpful.
More to come next Tuesday! In the meantime, check out these groups and share some of your favs in the comment section!