by Stacy
I survived the Picture Book Idea Month challenge in November.
Last week, I used this post to give a shout out to PiBoIdMo mama Tara Lazar.
Today, I wanted to share what I did over the 30-day challenge.
My stats:
- On index cards, I scribbled 55 ideas.
- On my iPhone, I tapped out 153 ideas onto the yellow-looking notepad app.
- In a random spiral notebook, four ideas are outlined.
Before anyone freaks out, let me explain. I wrote down every idea.
- If it popped into my head, I wrote down my thoughts.
- If I began writing and thought it could be a repeat idea, I ignored the thought.
- If I continued to write, I added a new angle or details.
My love of six-word stories shows through in a few ideas as that’s all I have. For others, I wrote until no more words fit on my index card.
Some common themes involve dogs, family and rules — well, a child breaking rules mostly. The presence of several flag ideas indicates that November was a windy month.
While I managed to meet my idea goal, I failed to finish reading and work my way through Ann Whitford Paul’s book Writing Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide from Story Creation to Publication. A few excuses are involved with this one — the baby ate my homework. Well not exactly, but I’m sure Enzo would eat the book if given the opportunity. Several nonfiction titles I had on hold at the library arrived and I needed to read them, so I could pass them on to the next reader.
I also:
- dabbled in some goal setting for 2012
- wrote a first draft of a personal essay
- wrote a devotional for my church’s Advent devotion book (My first one! Yikes!)
I was honored to have these wonderful ladies share their time and talent here. I’m grateful they wrote guest posts on picture books:
I still have a lot of work to do with my ideas — sorting, deleting, writing, thinking, deleting again, etc. I have to stay focused, because Julie Hedlund at Write Up My Life has a 12 x 12 in 2012 Picture Book Writing Challenge — an effort to spur us on to write those ideas (or at least 12) into manuscripts.
See I really need to read Ann Whitford Paul’s book!
Thanks again to Tara Lazar for organizing the challenge. If you missed a post during the challenge or need another dose of inspiration, visit her blog Writing for Kids (While Raising Them). I’m so thankful I participated in the challenge this year.
So, how did your November writing challenge go or just with your writing in general?
by Stacy
Picture book and middle grades novel writer Robyn Campbell joins us today to talk about the tough business of picture books:
By Robyn Campbell
Stacy, thank you for this opportunity and a huge thanks for your month of PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) posts.
Writing Picture Books is Not for Wimps!
“Writing a picture book is like writing ‘War and Peace’ in Haiku.” Mem Fox (Isn’t that cool?)
As I talked on the phone with a man (who is in publishing and shall remain nameless), he mentioned that anyone could write a ten page picture book. (He doesn’t understand that ten pages makes for a long picture book.) This man thinks it is the novel writers who flex their muscles daily. To say I was not amused is a definite understatement. I mean, I write novels too. But. I know that not everyone can write a picture book. Over these last few years I’ve met a lot of folks who think they can though. Have you ever told someone you write picture books and heard them answer with, “I’ve been meaning to sit down one afternoon and write one?” *cringe*
Let’s face it. The majority of the population will never write a picture book. Never. And of those who do, most will not be published. I saved this onto my computer to look at every so often about a year ago. It reminds me of why I write and who I write for. If I didn’t love doing it, I definitely wouldn’t. It’s from the site of Elizabeth O. Dulemba:
- 81% of the population feels they have a book inside them . . .
- 20% would do a picture book, cookbook, etc.
- 6 million have written a manuscript.
- 6 million manuscripts are making the rounds.
- Out of every 10,000 children’s books, 3 get published.”
- – Jerrold Jenkins. 15 May 99.
More tough news. A common misconception is that all published authors must be rich. So, is there money in it? The stats are as follows. In all the arts:
- 3% make the ‘big bucks’ (these are the creators most people have heard of).
- 12% make enough to live on (and boy is that relative).
- 85% make under $10,000 to $12,000 a year.
This should show us that we are not in this to make gobs of money. *sob* We’re doing it because we love the little kiddies of the world and because we love to write. That’s it, period.
Yet most people feel they have a picture book inside them. Go ahead. Ask some folks you see at the grocery store or doctor’s office. You will soon discover that a lot of folks think our job is easy peasy.
So it’s PiBoIdMo! We’re reading all these excellent posts about ideas and coming up with about fifty new ones every day. *wink* We’re dreaming about our $50,000.00 advance on our next picture book that we’re going to write and how Nickelodeon will turn our book into the next big preschool cartoon. And that’s more money. *slaps face* Sorry. I have this dream every day.
I am going to ask you a very important question in a moment. But first, think back to the man I talked about at the beginning of this post. He said that everything you work for, every story you write, can be easily written by someone else. Not just someone else, anyone else. I don’t think he had the right to say this. If I told you who he was we could always go all ninja on him. *evil smile* But I won’t. What I will tell you is this. Never let anybody dis what you do. Just politely remind them that if they think they can write a picture book then that is what they should do. Do suggest they be prepared for a lot of criticism and a lot of rewrites. Tell them that writing picture books is not for wimps.
And now for that question: What are you going to do with all those ideas?
Robyn Campbell writes picture books and middle grade novels. She lives on a farm in North Carolina with her family and assorted farm creatures. When she is not writing down at the barn, she is sure to be found on one of her horses or taking an early morning run. Robyn believes boys need more books and has several of them stirring and whirling in her computer and in her head. You can find her blogging at Putting Pen To Paper.
Stacy here — So glad Robyn joined us today. You can also find her on Twitter @authorswrite.
by Stacy
Here’s your final photo prompt for Picture Book Idea Month. I was thinking about my NaNoWriMo friends when I chose this one.
I hope the photos have been helpful. You’ll find another prompt on Facebook too.
On Wednesday, picture book and middle grades novel writer Robyn Campbell from Putting Pen to Paper will visit to talk how writing picture books is not for wimps!
Good luck turning all those picture book ideas into stories.
by Stacy
I’m joining in Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Book series. Visit her site to see the other books recommended.
The Twelve Days of Christmas in Colorado —
Written by Linda Ashman and Illustrated by Dawn Beacon, Sterling Children’s Books, 2011
Suitable for: Ages 5 and up
Theme/Topics: Holiday, educational
Opening: The book begins with a letter to Sophie about her upcoming visit to Colorado from her “favorite cousin” Zach.
Brief Synopsis: From the dust jacket —
“Ready to greet you are 12 skiers swooshing, 11 horses prancing, 10 covered wagons, 9 woven baskets … and much more from the Centennial State.
Zach is so excited about his cousin Sophie’s visit to Colorado that he gives her one of these VERY unusual gifts on each of the twelve days of Christmas, and Sophie writes lively letters home to tell her mom and dad all about her trip. Lucky readers are in for a wild Christmas countdown!”
Link to resources: In addition to the information provided about Colorado through Sophie’s letters to her parents, the book includes Colorado facts such as the state tree, bird and fossil as well as some famous Coloradans. Linda Ashman shares some thoughts about the book here.
This book is part of a series called Twelve Days of Christmas, State by State from Sterling Children’s Books.
Why I chose this book: This is actually the second time I’ve chosen this book. When Julie Hedlund interviewed Linda on her blog recently, I raised my hand saying “Pick me! I want this book.”
Why? I attended a picture book retreat Linda taught in July. She’s great at rhyme and storytelling. Plus, I’m not a Colorado native, so I knew I would learn something. Christmas arrived early at my house when I received this book.
For now, Enzo and I are skipping the letters Sophie writes. They are packed with a lot of information and intended for an older audience. At 18 months, my son is amused by the shorter parts. He follows the gifts through the twelfth day without a problem.
This book will make a fun gift year round to other families, who are new to Colorado. You might be able to find one in the series focusing on your state.
If you get a book, please let me know if your state has a state fossil. I’m excited to know Colorado’s fossil is the stegosaurus. This detail just makes me smile.
by Stacy
Here’s my entry into Susanna Leonard Hill‘s Thanksgiving Contest. Writers are linking their entries to this post. So, get a little Thanksgiving cheer by stopping by and reading the stories.
By Stacy S. Jensen
They were supposed to go to Grandma’s for Thanksgiving, but the blizzard came in fast.
Henry popped his head from under his covers. “What?”
“We can’t make it to Grandma’s house,” Mom said again.
“ That’s what we do,” Henry cried.
“We can’t,” Mom said.
“I can,” Henry said jumping out of bed and looking out the window to see the streets empty and everything covered in snow.
Henry dressed in his long johns, sweatshirt and snowsuit.
He fixed a ham sandwich, potato chips and water.
“Where are you going?” Mom asked.
“To Grandma’s” Henry said.
“You can’t,” Mom said.
“I can,” Henry said pulling his backpack over his jacket.
In the garage, Henry put on his snowshoes.
Dad walked by and asked. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to Grandma’s,” Henry said.
“You can’t,” Dad said.
“I can,” Henry said grabbing the rope to his sled.
Dad shook his head at Henry. “Wait a minute,” he said and returned in his own snowshoes.
“We’ll go together,” Dad said.
Father and son walked down the neighborhood through piles of snow. Henry slid down the hills.
It took a while, but Henry made it to Grandma’s house. She hadn’t fixed a meal as all the family stayed home due to the storm.
“I don’t have anything,” Grandma said.
“I do,” Henry said. “We’ll share.”
After lunch, Grandma made hot chocolate with a white frothy top for Henry.
“Now this is Thanksgiving,” Henry said slurping his drink.
A note:
I sought snow guidance from Hubby, who grew up in Iowa. He was quite the Debbie Downer on how to get Henry to Grandma’s house in a blizzard. Henry would be featured on a Dateline Special/news drama show had I used Hubby’s realistic advice.
I know I’ve been a bit wacky with my posts this month as I’ve been focusing on picture books and participating in a few extra events. I promise to return to my regular three posts a week in December.
