On Friday I decided to treat my youngest son and myself to lunch at McDonald's. And in a totally uncharacteristic turn, I decided we could go IN the restaurant and sit down. You see, usually I just go through the drive-thru and we sit in the parking lot with the mini-van TV playing for him and my phone's Twitter app keeping me amused. Don't judge. : )
Anyway, to get to my point - some of my mom-friends from my son's preschool came in and joined me for lunch. Now this is a totally rare experience for me. Grown-up people to talk to face-to-face! People I like, no less! I was so excited! And inspired.
Just talking about the regular mom-type things of every day life with some of my favorite mom-type people really got my brain going. We talked about trick-or-treating, cooking meals for the highly picky pallets of our children, my "real" job, one of the schools in the area, and so on. Doesn't really sound like picture book idea fodder, does it? But it is. These things that fill our days and we share with our friends are the kinds of everyday experiences we can start with and build from. It is a springboard. And sometimes, we get so caught up in trying to find the "next big idea" that we don't know where to start. Start with a conversation with a friend. And build!!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Award & Weekend Recommendation #9
I'm taking a break from "My ABCs of Inspiration" for Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo) to get my usual weekend recommendation up and also to thank Erica & Christy who have given me two blog awards this week!
First, the weekend recommendation is actually three recommendations. I finally got around to reading all of the Knuffle Bunny books by Mo Willems. I'm sure many of you already know these books because they are very popular and now I know why! I think they are just completely charming. So if you are seven years behind the times, like me, go find Knuffle Bunny. And if you are only four years behind, find Knuffle Bunny Too. And if you are just a few months behind, find Knuffle Bunny Free. All worth it!
Second, on their blog this week, Erica and Christy passed on the Lovely Blogger Award and the Versatile Blogger Award to me. The Lovely Blogger Award can be seen down on my sidebar and I'll be adding the Versatile Blogger down there too. Part of the Versatile Blogger one is to share seven things about yourself, so here goes:
1. I'm fairly certain that 75% of my caloric intake has been candy-related since Halloween.
2. I got my hair cut this past Tuesday and I think I got 10 pounds lighter, so the candy thing is all going to balance out in the end.
3. I make excellent chicken noodle soup in the winter.
4. I spoke in French once to a docent at the Louvre and thought I was the coolest thing to walk the earth.
5. I have a fierce love of office supplies. Is there anything better than brand new folders and highlighters?
6. I secretly believe I'm going to win the lottery some day.
7. I never buy lotto tickets, so I'm not sure how this will happen.
And now to pass this award on (I already passed on the Lovely Blogger before, so I'm just passing on the Versatile Blogger award)! If you get it, you are supposed to reveal seven things about yourself, link back to my blog, and pass it on to a bunch of folks (I think the original number was 15, but I don't have that kind of time!!). Here are some of the blogs I frequent and enjoy:
Write Wild
Write Up My Life
Wistful Wanderings
Cheekyness
Girl, Unpublished
Have a Marlis Day!
Heather Kephart
StoryMonster
Thing 1 and Thing 2
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them)
First, the weekend recommendation is actually three recommendations. I finally got around to reading all of the Knuffle Bunny books by Mo Willems. I'm sure many of you already know these books because they are very popular and now I know why! I think they are just completely charming. So if you are seven years behind the times, like me, go find Knuffle Bunny. And if you are only four years behind, find Knuffle Bunny Too. And if you are just a few months behind, find Knuffle Bunny Free. All worth it!
1. I'm fairly certain that 75% of my caloric intake has been candy-related since Halloween.
2. I got my hair cut this past Tuesday and I think I got 10 pounds lighter, so the candy thing is all going to balance out in the end.
3. I make excellent chicken noodle soup in the winter.
4. I spoke in French once to a docent at the Louvre and thought I was the coolest thing to walk the earth.
5. I have a fierce love of office supplies. Is there anything better than brand new folders and highlighters?
6. I secretly believe I'm going to win the lottery some day.
7. I never buy lotto tickets, so I'm not sure how this will happen.
And now to pass this award on (I already passed on the Lovely Blogger before, so I'm just passing on the Versatile Blogger award)! If you get it, you are supposed to reveal seven things about yourself, link back to my blog, and pass it on to a bunch of folks (I think the original number was 15, but I don't have that kind of time!!). Here are some of the blogs I frequent and enjoy:
Write Wild
Write Up My Life
Wistful Wanderings
Cheekyness
Girl, Unpublished
Have a Marlis Day!
Heather Kephart
StoryMonster
Thing 1 and Thing 2
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them)
Friday, November 5, 2010
My ABCs of Inspiration: E is for Eenie Meanie Miney Mo
This one isn't about putting five story ideas in front of you and randomly picking. That is my strategy once PiBoIdMo is over and it's time to write! ; )
This is about the games kids play. Kids come up with a game for everything. Even the simple act of choosing who is "it" has about 25 different little rhyme games to accomplish the task. Thinking about how to make life more fun, is a great way to generate picture book ideas, I think. Is there a way to make the mundane more kid-friendly?
When I'm in front of a group of kids, I'm always looking for ways to make life a little more playful. For example, when I was teaching (Sunday school) and times popped up when some kids were finished with a project or reading and were just sitting there waiting for the others, I would give them something to do. Sometimes it was making silly faces at me (this was mainly for my own amusement). Sometimes it was hopping on one foot. Sometimes it was trying to pat their heads while rubbing their bellies. While this often had the effect of distracting the kids who were trying to finish (and is therefore not terribly practical in a real school setting), it always served to up the fun factor. And isn't that what a lot of picture books are trying to do?
This is about the games kids play. Kids come up with a game for everything. Even the simple act of choosing who is "it" has about 25 different little rhyme games to accomplish the task. Thinking about how to make life more fun, is a great way to generate picture book ideas, I think. Is there a way to make the mundane more kid-friendly?
When I'm in front of a group of kids, I'm always looking for ways to make life a little more playful. For example, when I was teaching (Sunday school) and times popped up when some kids were finished with a project or reading and were just sitting there waiting for the others, I would give them something to do. Sometimes it was making silly faces at me (this was mainly for my own amusement). Sometimes it was hopping on one foot. Sometimes it was trying to pat their heads while rubbing their bellies. While this often had the effect of distracting the kids who were trying to finish (and is therefore not terribly practical in a real school setting), it always served to up the fun factor. And isn't that what a lot of picture books are trying to do?
Thursday, November 4, 2010
My ABCs of Inspiration: D is for Dessert
I know we all joke about chocolate being our motivator/inspiration/reason for being, but I think there really is something to it for me. I find dessert inspiring because I remember it being a major motivating factor in my childhood! And if I'm trying to connect with my inner five year old, dessert is the way to go.
Candy can trigger memories for a lot of people. Think of how nostalgic folks get over those awful candy button things that make you eat more paper than sugar. Or when people think back fondly on the fear of combining Pop Rocks with Coke in their mouths (certain their heads would explode). Candy is a strong connector to our childhood.
As a side note, I ate some Nerds this Halloween and those things are just not as good as I remember.
Ice cream is a big thing for me. When I was younger, we would go visit my grandparents every summer. Every night after dinner my grandfather would hand some money to one of my aunts and tell us to go get some ice cream. This was in a suburb of Boston and I'm from Indiana, so the ice cream places were all different to me and seemed way awesome compared to our Dairy Queen and Baskin Robbins options in the midwest. We got to go to Brighams to get chocolate jimmies on our cones. And Emack & Bolio's (which we called "We Smack and Blow Your Nose") for the best ice cream ever, in my humble childhood opinion. And there were others too.
See how I just strolled down memory lane via ice cream there? Don't let anyone ever tell you dessert isn't a road to inspiration!
And I'd like to thank a new PiBoIdMo friend on Twitter - @KathleenIsaac - for being the inspiration for my inspiration today! : ) Hope you found that Mars bar!
Candy can trigger memories for a lot of people. Think of how nostalgic folks get over those awful candy button things that make you eat more paper than sugar. Or when people think back fondly on the fear of combining Pop Rocks with Coke in their mouths (certain their heads would explode). Candy is a strong connector to our childhood.
As a side note, I ate some Nerds this Halloween and those things are just not as good as I remember.
Ice cream is a big thing for me. When I was younger, we would go visit my grandparents every summer. Every night after dinner my grandfather would hand some money to one of my aunts and tell us to go get some ice cream. This was in a suburb of Boston and I'm from Indiana, so the ice cream places were all different to me and seemed way awesome compared to our Dairy Queen and Baskin Robbins options in the midwest. We got to go to Brighams to get chocolate jimmies on our cones. And Emack & Bolio's (which we called "We Smack and Blow Your Nose") for the best ice cream ever, in my humble childhood opinion. And there were others too.
See how I just strolled down memory lane via ice cream there? Don't let anyone ever tell you dessert isn't a road to inspiration!
And I'd like to thank a new PiBoIdMo friend on Twitter - @KathleenIsaac - for being the inspiration for my inspiration today! : ) Hope you found that Mars bar!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
My ABCs of Inspiration: B is for Boys and C is for Cats
B is for Boys:
As you can see from my pictures over there (*points to the right*) I have three boys. What you cannot see over there that they NEVER STOP TALKING. Seriously. Never. They all talk in their sleep. They talk with their mouths full. They talk when the others are talking. They talk during TV shows and movies. They talk incessantly.
While this results in a lot of, "Please stop talking just for a second" and "For the love of Pete, I'll pay you $5 to just be quiet for 30 seconds," it also provides inspiration. Listening to children talk (or scream or mumble) is a great way to find a phrase or snippet to launch your imagination.
C is for Cats:
Also in my house are two boy cats. That's right. I have a husband, three boys and two boy cats. I need some girls in my life.
Anyway, the cats (Audi and Alex) are also a source of inspiration. I like to imagine what they are thinking. In fact I often supply their voices for them throughout the day. "Mom, my two-legged-less-hairy brother is pulling my tail again. Please help." "I think I need to bite something. I'll go with Audi's butt." "I've been awake for like 45 seconds...must...sleep...here...(passes out in middle of doorway or half on my keyboard & half on my desk)"
While this is mainly for my own amusement, it is also just the kind of thing that can lend itself to inspiration. Putting yourself in someone (or something) else's head is fun!
As you can see from my pictures over there (*points to the right*) I have three boys. What you cannot see over there that they NEVER STOP TALKING. Seriously. Never. They all talk in their sleep. They talk with their mouths full. They talk when the others are talking. They talk during TV shows and movies. They talk incessantly.
While this results in a lot of, "Please stop talking just for a second" and "For the love of Pete, I'll pay you $5 to just be quiet for 30 seconds," it also provides inspiration. Listening to children talk (or scream or mumble) is a great way to find a phrase or snippet to launch your imagination.
C is for Cats:
Also in my house are two boy cats. That's right. I have a husband, three boys and two boy cats. I need some girls in my life.
Anyway, the cats (Audi and Alex) are also a source of inspiration. I like to imagine what they are thinking. In fact I often supply their voices for them throughout the day. "Mom, my two-legged-less-hairy brother is pulling my tail again. Please help." "I think I need to bite something. I'll go with Audi's butt." "I've been awake for like 45 seconds...must...sleep...here...(passes out in middle of doorway or half on my keyboard & half on my desk)"
While this is mainly for my own amusement, it is also just the kind of thing that can lend itself to inspiration. Putting yourself in someone (or something) else's head is fun!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
My ABCs of Inspiration: A is for Alliteration
I'm going to start a series in honor of PiBoIdMo! Every day I'll give you a letter or two and match it to a way that I find inspiration. Hopefully you'll be able to find some too (whether you are NaNoWriMo or PiBoIdMo or just writing or even just searching for a little inspiration in your daily life).
So, A is for alliteration! I love to play with words to get story ideas and alliteration is a fun and easy way for anyone to play with words. All you are trying to do is come up with words that have the same starting sound. Even if the resulting alliteration doesn't end up in my story (because it rarely does), I can play my way to a story idea. For example, I was at the library yesterday when they were hanging Thanksgiving decorations. One of the librarians mentioned they didn't have many turkeys to hang up. Here is my resulting stream of consciousness: turkey...tom turkey...talk turkey...talking turkey...ten talking turkeys...ten talking turkeys from Timbuktu...ten talking turkeys from Timbuktu, call their kooky cousins in Kalamazoo.
Sounds like the start of a picture book idea, doesn't it?
Tune in tomorrow for "B" and "C"!
So, A is for alliteration! I love to play with words to get story ideas and alliteration is a fun and easy way for anyone to play with words. All you are trying to do is come up with words that have the same starting sound. Even if the resulting alliteration doesn't end up in my story (because it rarely does), I can play my way to a story idea. For example, I was at the library yesterday when they were hanging Thanksgiving decorations. One of the librarians mentioned they didn't have many turkeys to hang up. Here is my resulting stream of consciousness: turkey...tom turkey...talk turkey...talking turkey...ten talking turkeys...ten talking turkeys from Timbuktu...ten talking turkeys from Timbuktu, call their kooky cousins in Kalamazoo.
Sounds like the start of a picture book idea, doesn't it?
Tune in tomorrow for "B" and "C"!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Happy PiBoIdMo!
Today I give you a very short post because I have to get myself organized for PiBoIdMo (which mainly means reading a lot of other blogs and stuff today and then sitting in a corner and pondering).
As I start this challenge, I have to tell you my biggest problem with picture book ideas...the conflict. I am very anti-conflict in my real life, so I find it very difficult to insert any conflict in my writing. I tend to write "slice of life" stories and then I have to go back and insert the conflict. I have this delightful character in mind and then I have to figure out how to mix up their life. It is not easy! I'm a strong proponent of happily-ever-after. But to get there, they have to have overcome something. I sure wish there was some market for non-conflict boring stories!
Write on!
As I start this challenge, I have to tell you my biggest problem with picture book ideas...the conflict. I am very anti-conflict in my real life, so I find it very difficult to insert any conflict in my writing. I tend to write "slice of life" stories and then I have to go back and insert the conflict. I have this delightful character in mind and then I have to figure out how to mix up their life. It is not easy! I'm a strong proponent of happily-ever-after. But to get there, they have to have overcome something. I sure wish there was some market for non-conflict boring stories!
Write on!
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