Congratulations on completing PiBoIdMo!
This activity generates such a feeling of abundance. Ideas everywhere! Some of these ideas have great promise, and some of them…don’t.
Photo: Daniel Plazanet (Daplaza)
I characterize ideas as pebbles or seeds. Pebbles are hard and immutable. They might be shiny, or pretty, or just dusty. But whatever they are, they’re rocks. They aren’t going to grow into something different.
Photo: Mrmariokartguy
But seeds…oh, seeds! Some look like pebbles. They seem hard and small and nondescript at first. But if you nurture them with questions, and time, and creativity, the seed ideas can grow into more—like a picture book.
So, how do I sort them out? I ask questions. I play around with answers. I try to be honest, even when I don’t want to. Here are some of the things I ask:
One premise from my PiBoIdMo list this year is: “I Won’t Come Down: Rhyming pb from pov of a kitten stuck in a tree. With a refrain? Who tries to get me down? Kid climbs up, but I climb higher. Fire truck? Where’s the fire? Need a personality for the kitten. Is she witty and clever? Scared to death? Sassy?”
1) Who is my main character?
Does my idea or premise suggest a particular character? Does she fit the situation perfectly? Or totally clash with it? In this case, as I re-read the idea, I know my main character kitten HAS to be a witty, clever girl. She appears to be stuck in the tree, but she’s really perfectly happy up there.
2) What is the conflict?
Easy-peasy. Everybody assumes she wants to get down, but she doesn’t. Sometimes the conflict isn’t obvious. Another of my ideas is about a pet cloud. Just an idea—but I don’t have a clue what the conflict would be (yet).
3) Does it make me ask more questions?
A good idea expands. It makes me want to explore possibilities. My treed kitten does that for me.
4) Has it been done a million times?
Uniqueness is key in publishing picture books. I’ve had manuscripts turned down recently that editors said they loved but that were “too similar” to books already published—even though the similarity is broad at most. In this tight market, publishers don’t want two “pet books” or whatever. I start on Amazon. I find 27 picture books including the words “kitten” and “tree” published over the past 25 years. Dang. That doesn’t mean any of them have the same premise, but I’ll need to do further research.
5) Can I see the book in my mind?
Picture books, of course, need pictures. Does my idea make me immediately visualize tons of images?
6) Is it a seed that will grow a short story instead of a picture book?
It can take years of reading to absorb the intrinsic difference between the two forms. Illo potential is part of it, but there’s more. If your idea depends on a twist/joke ending, it’s likely to be a short story. (The ending of a picture book should be surprising and satisfying, but not a joke/punchline.) If you can picture one great illo for it, but not 14, it’s a short story. If it involves complex plot points and many details, it’s a short story.
7) Does it stand up to repetition?
Will kids want to listen to this over and over? Will adults be happy to read it over and over? That’s a picture book.
As I play around with these questions, a seed idea will grow into the bare bones outline of a picture book. It will feel simple and essential enough to get a draft down in a single swoop. The manuscripts I’ve tweaked and tortured to death have just not cut it as picture books.
I’m not saying I don’t spend a ton of time revising! I do. I change points of view, try different main characters, etc. But if the essence of the conflict and character don’t fall into place quickly, I’ve come to accept that it’s probably just not a fantastic picture book idea for me to pursue.
So, read through your list of ideas. Play with them. Ask questions. Brainstorm conflicts and storylines.
Then, mark the ones that are ready to plant. They won’t all grow. But at least some of them are seeds, ready to bloom in the soil of your creativity, under the sunshine of your words.
As for the pebbles, don’t sweat it! They’ll make a nice little border around your garden of picture books!
Laura Purdie Salas is the author of many nonfiction picture books, but her first love is poetry and verse. Her newest book is BOOKSPEAK! POEMS ABOUT BOOKS (Clarion, 2011), and coming soon is a rhyming nonfiction book: A LEAF CAN BE… (Millbrook, 2012). She is also the author of STAMPEDE! POEMS TO CELEBRATE THE WILD SIDE OF SCHOOL (Clarion, 2009). You can learn more about Laura at her website (www.laurasalas.com), her blog (http://laurasalas.wordpress.com), and her mentoring service for writers site (www.MentorsForRent.com).
47 comments
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December 2, 2011 at 9:44 am
tinamcho
Wonderful advice on how to grow my ideas into picture books. Thanks, Laura! And congrats on your new book!
December 2, 2011 at 9:44 am
Pat Miller
Thanks for some thoughtful ideas about getting our little idea seeds to germinate. Love the idea of even putting the rocks to work!
December 2, 2011 at 9:46 am
Robyn Campbell
Love the pebbles border. *smiling* Great questions and super analogy with the pebbles and the seeds. I have a picture book about a cat stuck in our tree. It is a true story. Not rhyming though. Now for the fun part. Actually writing these stories. 🙂
December 2, 2011 at 9:50 am
Terri Forehand
Great information, I am printing this off as a reminder when I am going back through my ideas.Pebble or Seed, that is the question?
December 2, 2011 at 9:52 am
Sue Heavenrich
Ah, but pebbles…. you crack them open and maybe there’s a glint of pyrite or a brachiopod or …..
Being a gardener, however, I tend to think in terms of germinating ideas and nurturing stories. Thanks for the images.
December 2, 2011 at 9:53 am
Tammi Truax
Helpful, thank you.
December 2, 2011 at 9:53 am
Tammi Sauer
Wonderful post, Laura!
Most of my ideas are pebbles. But one of them turned out to be a real deal seed. 🙂
December 2, 2011 at 10:02 am
Julie
I am going to print this post and keep it on my desk as I go through my ideas. Very helpful!
You have to find a lot of pebbles before you find a seed – 🙂
December 2, 2011 at 10:28 am
Bonnie Adamson
Thank you for the practical advice on how to tell if your idea will take root, Laura–I especially liked your short-story-or-picture-book test: most helpful!
December 2, 2011 at 10:29 am
Sheila O Lindsay
Thank you Laura this is great advice. I’m sure out of a month’s worth of ideas there has to be some seeds mixed in with some pebbles.
December 2, 2011 at 10:33 am
beckylevine
Thanks for all the thoughts about how to work with our ideas. Hoping for some seeds!
December 2, 2011 at 11:09 am
Sue Morris
Love the post. This is a bit scary, for me, but I like writing pet books and I had a kitten stuck in a tree on my idea list. Now what? If I do it now I will feel like I stole an idea.
Has this ever happened to anyone else, and if so, what did you do?
December 2, 2011 at 12:27 pm
Bonnie Adamson
My feeling is that even if we were all given an assignment to write a story about a kitten up a tree, each one would be unique–so don’t worry too much about someone else’s treatment of the same broad idea. But I know what you mean, Sue–I shy away from hearing other writers’ ideas for that very reason. I was horrified to read of a book sold recently that featured not only an idea I’ve been working on for at least five years, but also featured a couple of the EXACT plot points. Bummer! And, lol, I have a story that involves a kitten in a tree, too, though it’s only an incident, not the focus of the plot.
Which goes to prove the point Laura made about research, I think–obviously, kittens up a tree are a common theme in children’s books! So there had better be something REALLY special about the manuscript for a publisher to overlook the similarities with the others already in print.
Decide what your story is about: is it the kitten’s fear of being trapped? See if you can rewrite it from the point of view of a different animal (or child) in a less familiar situation. My kitten-in-a-tree is the catalyst for my main character’s actions–I’ve made a note to come up with a more original “problem” for him to solve. 🙂
December 2, 2011 at 11:11 am
Joyce Ray
Thanks, Laura. I’ll use these ideas to test my seeds. It’s great to have this continued encouragement after birthing PB ideas for a month! I’m looking forward to reading your new book.
December 2, 2011 at 12:03 pm
elizabethannewrites
Great thoughts! Thank you.
Off to do some seed-sorting…
December 2, 2011 at 12:07 pm
Lynn
I wrote a short story of a kitten stuck in a tree, and it happened when I was a little girl. The situation is funny how it actually turned out. I thought it would be a great picture book, but now … hmmm
It seems that with these common stories they have to have a twist or surprise to make the cut.
Thank you, Laura, for the helpful advice.
December 2, 2011 at 12:52 pm
Tabatha
Great post, Laura! Terrific food for thought.
December 2, 2011 at 1:04 pm
Sandi Hershenson
Such wonderful suggestions on how to evaluate ideas! I am going to spend some time today separating my seeds from my rocks! thank you!
December 2, 2011 at 1:22 pm
Jennifer DuBose
Terrific post! Funny thing? My favorite ‘seed’ unearthed during PiBoIdMo actually features seeds! Going to water it now 🙂
December 2, 2011 at 1:58 pm
Wendy Greenley
I love these posts!
Don’t know what it is about them, but I always come away with ideas. Thank you for doing this, sharing your work and words.
December 2, 2011 at 5:06 pm
laurasalas
Thanks for all the nice comments. And I think it’s hysterical how many of us have kittens stuck in trees somewhere among our ideas or works in progress. Good reminder that stealing ideas is rare–coming up with similar ideas is common:>)
December 2, 2011 at 5:14 pm
Terri DeGezelle
Good advice and ideas Laura. thank you for sharing. I can always count on you for fresh way of seeing things.
December 2, 2011 at 7:01 pm
Cathy C. Hall
I love a checklist with questions! Don’t like it so much when my answers are “not a picture book.”
But I think I hear a “yet” on a few of ’em.
December 2, 2011 at 9:03 pm
Kristin Johnson
Great questions to ask, Laura! Love the pebble vs. seed idea. Considering if something has been done a million times before is so key 🙂
December 3, 2011 at 1:05 am
Romelle
I have a problem with #4. Everything has been done before. But what makes it different? That’s the harder question for me. I wrote a story that I thought was “different.” I studied the market…and I still had an editor tell me she’s read it before. Anyway, great list of questions for post PiBoIdMo!
December 3, 2011 at 3:42 am
Loni Edwards
Great post Laura. I loved your suggestions. That is a great idea to look up on Amazon to get a feel for if your idea has been done before. I’ve done that with titles before, but not concepts. Thank you!
December 3, 2011 at 8:30 am
Janet Smart
Great advice. I, too, need to do some seed sorting and see if anything has possibilities to grow into a picture book.
December 3, 2011 at 11:34 am
Jarm Del Boccio
I can sense my little seeds germinating at this very minute…thanks for watering them, Laura!
December 3, 2011 at 4:10 pm
Mary Meinking
Great post my friend Laura!
I loved all your suggestions on how to turn these nuggets into gold! You’re the best!
Thank you!
December 3, 2011 at 5:35 pm
Jennifer Rumberger
Great post. Making sur4e I have conflict is something I forget about sometimes. I also appreciated your easy way to figure out if something should be a short story or pb. Thanks!
December 3, 2011 at 11:58 pm
Marcy P.
I love your comparison of ideas with rocks and seeds. Very appropriate and a fun way to look at it. Now to go sift my collection 🙂 Toss whats left to the health soil, add some love, and see what grows!
December 4, 2011 at 11:43 am
Jennifer Kirkeby
Thank you for this wonderful blog, Laura! You are an inspiration and a fantastic artist!
December 4, 2011 at 4:49 pm
Kathleen Cornell Berman
Thanks for posting Laura. I love your suggestions and the variety of
books that you have published!
December 4, 2011 at 6:53 pm
Lori Mozdzierz
Seeds vs. Rocks . . . great questions you’ve put forth to ask ourselves about our manuscripts! Thanks, Laura ;D
December 7, 2011 at 5:39 am
Dana Carey
This is such a helpful way to figure out what to pursue and what to let go. It’s hard to know sometimes and even hader to let go. Thanks, Laura!
January 27, 2018 at 8:41 pm
Emmie R Werner
Thank you!!!❤️
February 2, 2019 at 1:51 pm
Suzanne LaLiberte Lewis
Wise words from a talented PB writer! Thank you, Laura!
February 2, 2019 at 2:32 pm
kathydoherty1
So true! Every word!
February 2, 2019 at 3:44 pm
Carole Calladine
Great analogy. A pebble or a seed sending out roots for a good story foundation. Thanks for sharing.
February 2, 2019 at 5:40 pm
ingridboydston
Just thinking about running my ideas through this list of questions excites me! Thank you! 👍😃
February 2, 2019 at 7:48 pm
Linda KulpTrout
Great post, Laura. You always break things down in a way that makes sense!
February 2, 2019 at 10:37 pm
M.A. Cortez
Thanks, great post. I’m looking forward to using your system to go through my ideas and see which ones turn out to seeds.
February 2, 2019 at 11:41 pm
Pam Miller
You’ve made the job appear achievable. I’ll take another look. Thank you for urging me to work a little longer. There’s got to be more rocks on my pages.
February 3, 2019 at 7:06 pm
Judy A Shemtob
Your explanation regarding the difference between a picture book and a short story is well stated. Thank you, Laura.
February 4, 2019 at 8:38 pm
Pamela Harrison
I will go back to my ideas and ask these questions. What a great way to see if an idea is worth fleshing out!
February 7, 2019 at 11:51 pm
Robin Robb-Kraus
Thank you Laura for sharing your process! I enjoy your many books and commenting on blogs/FB.
February 22, 2023 at 11:52 am
Angela De Groot
Great advice. And solid steps to take when trying to figure out which ideas to develop into pbs.