More PiBoIdMo

I love this PiBoIdMo process. It really drags the creativity out of me and I enjoy sharing the journey with the other participants. In addition to Tara's website there's a Facebook group wherein people share all sorts of info and news: getting signed by an agent, not being able to come up with an idea, getting an idea and discovering it's already been written, links to articles which are inspirational etc. Two links I've found helpful are one about doodling and one about remembering what it's like to be a child when we write.

My own crazy doodles

The doodle link goes to a TED talk given by Sunni Brown who reminds us that doodling is seen as subversive and pointless by society and yet it's one of the most sophisticated ways to come up with ideas. The other link is a blog post by literary agent, Sally Apokedak, who reminds us that kids aren't interested in topics that obsess adults.

Both of these ideas are simple and yet profound.

---Keep doodling (it's okay, in fact you SHOULD be doodling.... get a prescription from your doctor).
---Never forget what it feels like to be a kid. Read this poem and you'll agree.

Poem by Mary Ann Hoberman Illus. by Marylin Hafner

Back to the Drawing Board with PiBoIdMo

Literally, it's true. I'm back to the drawing board. Although in small increments and not really at the board. Since mine is in the basement minus a leg bracket I can't seem to locate. I am however, back in the saddle... very part time.

Yours truly at old drawing board circa 1992

Household things break, children need tending to, regular work intervenes. You name it, there's excuses up the wazoo as to why I am blog-absent.

But PiBoIdMo beckons. In case you've been hiding under a kidlit rock, Tara Lazar hosts a month-long extravaganza for picture book authors wherein we all get to scratch our proverbial heads and curse at the paper. Really though, in the past two years I have come up with some nuggets for picture books during this sacred November ritual. Hard to believe that there's ideas still rattling around up there, but with the assistance and inspiration of one's fellow writers/illustrators many an idea floats to the top. How many become picture books? Ten percent? Who knows. But it definitely gets the creative juices going and that, my friends, is how I hope to revive my terminal case of creativitis.

If you've never heard of Tara Lazar, she also has a blog, Writing for Kids (While Raising Them). Please stop by and check her out http://taralazar.com/. Even if you're not going to join PiBoIdMo, it's fun just to lurk.

Picture Book Magic

I've been participating in Tara Lazar's online challenge PiBoIdMo,  which is an unpronounceable acronym for Picture Book Idea Month. There seems to be a plethora of online writing and illustrating challenges out there this month. NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), SkaDaMo (Sketch a day month), Illustration Friday (the weekly on-going grandaddy of them all) and even NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) for those who still can't get enough.
I've been tempted to do many of these, but PiBoIdMo is one I enjoyed last year and am doing again this year. The daily posts by guest authors are inspirational, entertaining and sometimes even rewarding (i.e.goodies). It's amazing what does or doesn't come out of one's own brain on a daily basis. I'll be listening to NPR or someone will email an article to me and there it is. Either it becomes a children's version of the topic or it will send me off on a tangent. Guess there's something good to be said about having attention deficit.
Then there are days where I sit at the dining room table in the a.m. and think what can I do with this broken, headless tiny mermaid that my kids left here? There has to be a story in this. Or maybe the lack of a story is a story in and of itself.

After a while I notice themes or (ruts, lol) that I get into. Why do I mostly focus on one character with a problem? Are all stories basically the same? How can Mo Willems write a whole book about a pigeon driving a bus or Jon Klassen a bear missing a hat and have it turn out amazing? Where is the magic book powder that we can use to sprinkle on our creations? Answer: Of course there's no powder you (picture book) dummy.  It's a process, not a product. Something no one wants to hear: put in the hours people! Eventually something comes out of it. You may have to wade through 50 pages of gunk before a little gem pokes through.

But all in all, it's worth it. The online cameraderie is what it's all about.  A little reminder that, no you're not the only one who thinks up whacky ideas and hopes to entertain children and/or make a living. And maybe some little picture book magic develops!