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.   
 



 

final day...HOORAY!

  A huge round of applause to all those writers and illustrators out there who are streaming across the finish line of the 2011 Picture Book Marathon. Whether you’ve got 26 manuscripts you like or one illustration that you’re in love with, congratulations on the effort you've invested.

  Don’t forget to fill out the tally survey that should have arrived in your email inbox on Saturday or early Sunday. The survey will close at noon (MST) on Tuesday, so be sure to get your final count in before then. Remember to add your email on the last question if you’d like to be eligible for a drawing for a marathon travel mug. We’ll post final results on Wednesday.

  Finally, looking for somewhere to start polishing those manuscripts? Take a look at the many excellent regional SCBWI conferences, or, check out the Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers conference this June on Utah's Wasatch Front.  

  Look for more on the topic of revisions tomorrow. And, in the meantime, celebrate!

Day 26 - Plan Your Celebration!

Counting today, we're only THREE days from the finish line!  Discipline, determination, and commitment can only keep you motivated for so long.  

So today take a few minutes to plan your end-of-marathon extravaganza.   How will you celebrate?  How will you indulge yourself?  

• Gorge on chocolate?  
• Sip champagne? 
• Enjoy a writing-free “vacation?” 
• Snub your computer for a day?
• Buy a new CD?  
• Nap?  
• Read a grown-up book?

Now take that celebratory energy and write a wildly outlandish story.  Or wildly, outlandishly rewrite one of your previous stories.

Day 24 - Hoping for a "Pooper-Scooper"

Years ago when my family participated in the annual AIDS Walk, a “pooper-scooper” picked up walkers who were too pooped to continue.  This week I found myself looking over my shoulder to see if I could hitch a ride on a pooper-scooper. Alas, one never appeared. 

But then yesterday I stumbled upon a PB story idea while watching an outrageous stand-up comic with my daughter.  It turned into my favorite PB during this marathon. 

Today tap your friends, neighbors, family members, co-workers, grocer (?), hairdresser, letter-carrier, etc. for their PB ideas.  Who knows, one of their stories may be a gem worth stealing. 

Or think big!  Take one of your previous stories and write a sequel.