Story Storming

The prolific Rick Walton, author of picture books such as Baby's First Year and Mr. President Goes to School, contributed this "story storming" idea:


"Let's get started. What are you afraid of? No, that's not a rhetorical question - I'm not suggesting you are afraid of writing a manuscript a day. But really. What are you afraid of? List all of your fears, all of the frightening experiences you have ever had. Add to that list the fears and frightening experiences of your children, your siblings, your friends. And then, start asking questions.


For example, I am afraid of walking home alone at night in the dark. During the day, no problem. I can see that that bush is just a bush, that there is nothing behind that tree, that on the hill next to my driveway there are no mountain lions ready to pounce on me. But at night, oh my! Is that a bush or a bear? Is there a tiger behind that tree?


So I decided to write a story about someone walking home alone at night in the dark. The first question -- who? The next -- why was she walking home alone at night in the dark? What did she see? How did she respond? How did the story end? Step-by-step, question by question, I wrote the story. It was published by Putnam. A Very Hairy Scary Story.


Now, pick one of your ideas and start asking questions. Who? What are the problems? What are the goals? What are the obstacles to achieving them? Who else is involved? How do they achieve their goals? Writing a story is like piecing a puzzle together. You do it one piece at a time. As long as there are questions unanswered in your story, keep asking. When there are no more questions, your story is done. (Hint: don't skimp on the brainstorming! One prompt might keep you going for several days.)"

Thanks Rick, for that story prompt that many of us probably sorely need by now!

If you've been anxiously waiting for the 2012 t-shirts, totes, and mugs featuring Will Strong's fabulous "Leap!" logo, check the now-updated marathon store. But don't spend too much time there - get back to writing!

Ways to Creativity, Monday, February 6

Margaret Peot, author of the kids' book Inkblot: Drip, Splat, and Squish Your Way to Creativity, might make a good picture book marathoner. She writes, "many people say that it is important to cultivate playfulness, and to do so regularly....When your body and mind get in the habit of being creative on a schedule, you are much less likely to be creatively blocked." Peot points to inkblots as a way to expand your creativity, pointing to Victor Hugo, who "used his drawings to inspire his written work." Enhance your writing this week with some inkblots of your own - take a peek at Peot's website to get started, or check out the book!
Have any ideas you'd like to share with your fellow marathoners? Post them in the comments section!

Ready! Set! Leap!

Runners,

Good luck!  Share any tips or encouraging thoughts in the comments.  We'll all be needing a little encouragement as we leap along. 

Here's a quick reminder about what we're challenging ourselves to accomplish:

Your Goal: Between February 1 and February 29, write one picture book a day, until you get to 26. This year, February has 29 days (thus, Take the Leap!), so you get a bonus break day. 

The Basics: We define a picture book 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 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.
• Practice a writing practice.

Yikes! TOMORROW!

Is everyone ready to "take the leap?"  The big day is TOMORROW!  Yikes.

Good luck!

Lora and Jean

 

PBM 2012 -- Take the Leap!

Picture Book Marathon 2012

Take the Leap!

Hello Authors and Illustrators -- Welcome to the 4th annual Picture Book Marathon!

Your Goal: Between February 1 and February 29, 2012, write one picture book a day, until you get to 26. This year, February has 29 days (thus, Take the Leap!), so you get a bonus break day. 

The Basics: We define a picture book 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 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.
• Practice a writing practice.

Notes on this Year’s Marathon: Many thanks to illustrator Will Strong for this year’s Marathon logo. You can check out his efforts from last year’s marathon here. We'll let you know when T-shirts and mugs featuring the logo are available at CafePress - neither we nor Will profit from these, so only buy them if you actually want one - you’re not supporting anything by doing so.

Due to events in our personal lives, we are scaling back our marathon effort this year. We won’t be blogging daily or keeping weekly tallies. We will be posting a weekly blog entry, and encourage you to post your comments there. 

You can access last year’s training tips here, or post your own tips in the comments section of the blog.

Once the marathon starts, we’ll be adding a weekly blog post on Mondays. Please post comments on your progress and the marathon there.

A Final Note: This year, we encourage you to 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, Take the Leap!

Sincerely,

Lora Koehler and Jean Reagan

Marathon Organizers

Marathon Stats

The numbers are in! 126 people reported their final tallies for the February 2011 Picture Book Marathon. Forty people created 26 picture books in February, and another 10 ran the extra mile, creating a few more. Those 50 finishers represent 40% of the final tallies reported.

Also, from the final tallies reported:

• 14% (17) created between 20 and 25
• 20% completed between 13 and 19
• 20% completed between 5 and 12
• 6% completed between 1 and 4

Twelve percent of the original 425 people who signed up for the marathon “ran” the distance. Thirty percent ran all or part way (or at least, reported that they did).

If you’d like to know how that stacks up against last year’s marathon, 150 people originally signed up for the 2010 marathon, 45 reported final tallies, and 24 completed 26 or more picture books.

An evaluation of the 2011 marathon will be landing in your email inbox sometime today. We would truly appreciate your feedback, as we use it to try and improve the experience. When you finish the survey you’ll be given a link to print out a completion certificate. 

Some of you may also be interested in a “finisher’s” sweatshirt that was added to the marathon shop.

The winner of the travel mug was Linda Hoffman Kimball. Congratulations Linda, and thank you to all who sent in your final tallies!

The Next Step

Congratulations!  Sure felt great to flip the calendar to March, didn't it?  But, now what? 

JUDGING and REVISING these new PBs seem impossibly daunting, right?  Here's what I did last year to transition from running the marathon to revising the marathon.  Perhaps it'll work for you also.


I revisited each manuscript and wrote a one or two-sentence synopsis.  This exercise helped me see if there truly was a coherent story within what I had written.  Some of the results surprised me.  Next I chose my top ten ideas and submitted the synopses to my critique group (and agent) for comments.  I then chose three to focus on for intense revisions.  Only after that did I consider the other manuscripts.  If this process sounds feasible, give it a go. 

BTW--Nathan Hale (the illustrator and PB author who designed our marathon logo) is inviting folks to "vote" for a favorite PB amongst the ones he created during this marathon.  Good luck limiting yourself to just one!  Check out his blog at http://spacestationnathan.blogspot.com/

It's been a pleasure running with you.  Good luck with your gems! 

We hope you'll join us again next February.