Looking for this year’s Picture Book Marathon?

While there’s no “official” marathon this year, it’s easy to write your own. 

Your Goal: During the month of February, write (or, for illustrators, create thumbnails for) one picture book a day, until you get to 26. This gives you two “rest” days, or, in a leap year, three. 

A writing buddy helps you get through the month productively! If you don’t have one, line up some non-writing friends to check on your progress and provide encouragement.

The Basics: For the marathon a picture book is defined as (1) a story or narrative, (2) with a  beginning, middle, and end, (3) for children, and (4) intended to be illustrated. They’re generally, though not always, meant to be published in a 32 page format. Given the speed of the marathon, your picture book DRAFTS (for that’s what they’ll be) will be very rough. What you hope to capture is the basic plot, characters, and emotion of each story.

Why Do It:

• Generate a lot of material in a short amount of time.
• Get your creative juices flowing by forcing yourself to write daily.
• Circumvent your internal naysayer, who won’t have the time to be criticizing.
• Practice a writing practice.

Think about YOUR PURPOSE for doing the Marathon. Is it to generate material that you’ll spend the rest of the year revising? Learn the ins and outs of a new type of story (say, fairy tales)? Get really, really good at writing plot? Learn how to develop characters quickly?

Pick what’s important to you at this juncture in your writing career. Then, start writing. 

Does a month-long marathon seem overwhelming? One of the benefits of doing it for that length of time is to really focus your mind on picture books. When you need to write 26 in a row, you’ll be looking for ideas all the time, and the smallest encounter can trigger a great manuscript draft.  

But, if you feel you really can’t commit to a month, try starting with a mini-marathon week!

Good luck!

The Finish Line

A big "HOORAY!" going out to 2014 Picture Book Marathon finishers today! Time to sit back, relax, and take credit for a job well done.

Since you're well on your way to establishing a daily writing habit, perhaps you want to continue.... You don't need to generate an idea for a new picture book each day, of course. But what would daily practice do for your writing life?

If you haven't quite gotten to the finish line yet, no worries, nobody will be taking it down. Keep going at your own pace. You'll get there when you get there, and be glad that you did.

After a few days, it'll be time to take stock of what you've written, and decide which manuscript to work on first. Good luck! And remember, you don't need to wait for February for a picture book marathon. Consider a mini (or full-fledged!) marathon any time you feel your writing needs a kick start.

The Halfway Point

If you've been writing a picture book draft daily up to this point you're up to lucky 13 -- halfway there. Keep it up! And, if you've fallen behind? Time to buckle down and catch up.
Use a different part of your brain for some story-starting action --  try creating some story stones. And then, write it down.....

A Quarter of the Way There....

My tea bag tag this morning said "chances multiply when you grab them." So do ideas, and, particularly relevant this month, picture book ideas. Don't let them float away looking for another home (or if you do, send them here!). Grab those fleeting ideas and see what you can make of them.
  In the book Smarter Than You Think; How Technology is Changing our Minds for the Better, Clive Thompson quotes science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon as saying "Ninety percent of everything is crap." Which may be true, or at least partially so; what you hope to achieve, by doing the Picture Book Marathon, is to write through that 90% to the 10% that is gold.
  It gets harder as you go because you've already grabbed the low-hanging fruit. Now you have to reach higher, or dig deeper.
  So, grab those ideas as they float by, and dig deeper for the gold!
A story starter: think of a child you know, and write a story especially for them.

Groundhog Day

Day 2 of the marathon - you've probably already got two done, and only 24 more to go! Are you feeling like you're on a roll, or a rusty wheel needing a push? A story starter for today: include a groundhog and a football....

Final Training Tips....

#4:
Make a commitment to complete the marathon -- see this post for instructions.

#3
You get to carbo-load the day before a marathon, right?

#2
Get your writing gears going - sit down and write three pages without stopping.

#1
RELAX -- and get ready for a fun and challenging month!

How the Picture Book Marathon Works

Hello Authors and Illustrators! If you’re unfamiliar with the marathon, here’s how it works. 

Your Goal: 

Between February 1 and February 28, write one picture book a day, until you get to 26. This year, you get two break days, which you get to pick. 

The Basics: 

For the marathon, a "picture book" is defined as (1) a story or narrative, (2) with a beginning, middle, and end, (3) for children, and (4) intended to be illustrated. They’re generally, though not always, published in a 32 page format. Given the speed of the marathon, your picture book DRAFTS (for that’s what they’ll be) will be very rough. What you hope to capture is the basic plot, characters, and emotion of each story.

Why Do It:

• Generate a lot of ideas/material in a short amount of time.
• Get your creative juices flowing by forcing yourself to write daily.
• Circumvent your internal naysayer - they either won’t have time to criticize, or they’ll be too tired.
• Develop a writing habit.

A Few Other Notes

• The marathon doesn't host a place where you can post your work.
• See today's separate blog post for instructions on signing up (optional).