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Dudes, it’s new Tammi Sauer! YES!!!! *Jersey fist pump*
Ya know Tammi, right? She’s the most prolific picture book author this side of the Atlantic! (And that side, too.)
An annual contributor to Picture Book Idea Month, Tammi has dispensed invaluable picture book pointers about story structure, celebrating the weird stuff in life, and putting a twist on the familiar. She’s also a regular PiBoIdMo participant, and NUGGET AND FANG is her success story from the November 2009 event!
So the unlikely underwater duo are here today to chomp away! (Don’t worry, Tammi’s here, too. Fang didn’t gobble her up.)
Tammi, what about unlikely friendship stories makes them so fun to write?
If two characters are at odds in some big way, that immediately builds in tension and offers real deal conflict. This can provide great opportunities for humor, too. That’s fun stuff! Some unlikely friendships deal with issues such as neatness versus messiness or quiet versus loud. The quandary that my characters face is clear–sharks and minnows aren’t supposed to be friends because everybody knows sharks EAT minnows.
Sharks are popular characters these days! What makes FANG stand out in the world of storybook selachimorpha? (Yes, that is a real word. I looked it up. Honest.)
Michael Slack’s first sketch of the carnivorous chums.
I love that I have a contender in storybook selachimorpha. It sounds super sophisticated. As for Fang, he stands out among regular sharks because he has a huge heart. Yes, he’s toothy, but, holy mackerel, my guy is irresistible. If I were a minnow, I’d be honored to be his friend.
What are some of your favorite unlikely friendship stories/books?
My Favorite Unlikely Friendship Story of 2012 was BOY + BOT by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino. That book is brilliant in 2,465 different ways. Plus, Ame has blue hair. (Tara’s note: sometimes it’s pink or purple, or even rainbow leopard.)
A fun and endearing unlikely friendship story that just came out this past February is WOOBY AND PEEP written by my oh-so-fabulous critique partner Cynthea Liu, illustrated by Mary Peterson. (Hey, WOOBY AND PEEP are coming soon to a blog near you. Umm, this one.)
If NUGGET and FANG could endorse their book personally, what do you think they would say?
Nugget: Holy mackerel! Get your fins on this book. It’s FANG-tastic!
Fang: Sink your teeth into our book. It’s a total NUGGET of awesomeness!
Well, I’ve got a nugget of awesomeness for you, dear blog readers: a “NUGGET AND FAN” (not a typo–you’re a fan already, right?) prize pack, including a signed first edition, a teacher’s poster, and adorable tattoos you can slap on any fin (or bicep). Just leave a comment or question for Tammi to enter and a winner will be chomped up later this month! In the meantime, go visit these seaworthy sidekicks!
By: Genevieve Petrillo,
on 12/30/2012
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Today, we’re counting down Our Year in Review.
My Highlights in 2012
3. My picture was in a book! Chuck Sambuchino wrote a political humor book called Red Dog / Blue Dog, and he used my picture to illustrate one of the pages! I looked adorable.
2. I learned how to dance. Mom taught me to twirl around on my hind feet for a cookie.
1. I forgot how to bowl! I learned bowling using empty water bottles…..
 But then Santa brought me a bowling set, and I have no idea how to bowl. So I just take a pin and bring it on the couch.
16. I found some bread that the birds dropped in front of my house. It was delicious!
Mom’s Highlights in 2012
3. Mom’s story Fly Fishing was in the final issue of Stories for Children Magazine in November. There was no dog in the story, but there was a trout.
2. Mom’s story Waiting for Petey was in the November/December issue of Turtle Magazine. there was no dog in the story, but there was a teddy bear (I love teddy bears).
1. NWEA bought Mom’s poem Talking Goldfish to use in their online test prep program. There was no dog in the poem, but there was a fish.
42. Humpty Dumpty Magazine is holding Mom’s story Show and Tell Surprise for possible publication in the May/June 2013 issue. There was no dog in the story, but there was a hermit crab.
67. Mom completed 3 challenges this year – 12x12in’12 (3 of her 12 stories featured a dog), PiBoIdMo (9 of her 30 ideas are about dogs), and Goodreads. (about 30 of the 214 books she read had a dog in them).
2012 is in the rear view mirror. Bring on 2013. Happy New Year!
By:
sketched out,
on 11/1/2012
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Hare and hyena.
A quick sketch for e-book I’m currently working on. I’m also experimenting with digital pencil lines, where I typically sketch with traditional pencil and scan. Saves time and trees, I figure.
……………………………….
Why a sketch all of a sudden after a couple month hiatus? Ya see, it’s November and all the cool challenges are well under way. There’s NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) and PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month), of which I am a participant of again this year.)
There are probably a bunch more, but suffice it to say, November is a busy month for some.
Last year, I thought just to heap even more onto my plate, I’d make November a “sketch a day month” or SkADaMo, for myself. Just trying to get back to the early days of my blog when I feverishly posted just about every single day. When my synapses seemed to be firing on all cylinders and ideas where presenting themselves to me faster than I could sketch or write them down.
Sigh. Those were good days.
This exercise may not have gotten me back to that place completely, but it did get the ole synapses firing again. And I figure between attempting a picture book idea a day and a sketch/blog post a day, I’ll at least have a notebook/sketchbook/blog filled with chicken scratches of some sort or another again this year.
Better than blank pages and outdated blog posts, I say.
I even made a badge for myself last year and one again this year. I may be the only participant, but by golly I have a badge.
If anyone wants to join in, they are more than welcome to grab the smaller badge, off to the side here and start sketching. No rules, just that.
It starts today.
Ends November 30.
Mom and I were pretty lucky. Hurricane Sandy took away the power and hot water at our house, and knocked down a couple of trees on our street, but we were fine and our home was not damaged at all.
I had to wear my sweater and stay under my blanket because of no heat, and we had to go to bed early with flashlights because of no light.
Mom said I was a brave little soldier the whole time. (Plus, I think I looked adorable in my sweater.)Â Many of our friends had a lot worse trouble than we did, and we hope and pray they’re doing fine.Â
Through it all, even though we couldn’t write on our blog, or look at anybody else’s blog,  Mom got started on PiBoIdMo, all on her own, right on schedule. There are still mostly numbers on her Iconic Notes page, of course, but the first five numbers are filled in with five brand new ideas.Â
So here’s to a wonderful new month filled with ideas and opportunities and productivity and success and no more charging the phone in the car…
and no more gas lines….
and no more scary wind that sounds like a baby screaming. And no more Hurricane Sandy!
A couple of days ago it snowed. Snow! Right after the hurricane! There was wind that made my ears stick out like wings,
cold that went right through my pink parka,
and about four inches of the white stuff that made my feet freeze.Â
Guess what else is frozen. Mom’s brain. It’s been two days since she wrote an idea in her PiBoIdMo list. The numbers are still there, but there’s nothing next to the newest ones. Â
After the snow, I got a surprise. It was a package in the mail from my friend, Rumpy.
He had a contest-giveaway, and I won! I won some Frosty Paws dog ice creams, and the Frosty Paws stuffed animal! I love ice cream! And I LOVE stuffed animals! Thanks, Rumpy! What a wonderful surprise.Â
Maybe Mom will get a surprise inside her head – some surprise ideas so she can catch up in her PiBo challenge. She needs 30 ideas by the end of the month. Come on, ideas!
Today I picked a toy out of my toy box for the very first time. All by myself. I stuck my head in and pulled out …. none other than the dreaded mechanical hamster.  I wasn’t confused by the toy box , and I wasn’t afraid of the hamster. Mom said, “Look at you!” and “What a smart, brave girl!” and “Now what?”Â
Nothing. That’s what. I didn’t actually DO anything with the hamster. I just sat with it. But it’s a start.
Mom is a first timer, too. This month, she joined a bunch of other writers in PiBoIdMo. That means she got a story idea every single day in November. It’s her first time ever doing that and she did great at it, except for writing down the same idea twice. Luckily she caught the double yesterday, and got a final idea just in time. She didn’t DO anything with her ideas. She just sat there with them. But it’s a start.Â
Someday soon, I will pick another toy out of the toy box. Maybe I’ll even play with it. We’ll see….
Someday soon, Mom will pick out one of her new story ideas (probably the one she wrote down twice) and make it into a story. Maybe it’ll be Book #2. We’ll see….
I finished November's PiBoIdMo challenge with 37 new ideas... from pretty well fleshed-out to just a word or two. What a great exercise for my usual early morning routine. Especially given that life is very busy lately and the days fill up before I know what's happened.
I gathered the ideas in a new notebook...
...with a pretty cover...
...much different than the utilitarian grocery store cheapo one I usually use. Plus now it will be easier to find them.
And now,
there's this! I'm really liking these deadliney-writing challenges.
And this quote, recently discovered:
"Miles, if I just change the way I look at things, I'll never run out of ideas," said Hugo. – from
Hugo and Miles In I've Painted Everything! by Scott Magoon (Houghton Mifflin Co., 2007)
I’m a bit behind on everything theses days. Can’t believe I forgot to brag that I finished the PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) challenge, which makes me a winner!!
Winners get this cute-as-a-lightening-bug’s-ear winner’s badge, created by Bonnie Adamson and also a notebook full of at least 30 picture book ideas!
Myself, I have exactly 30, no more and no less and I am thrilled! This is the biggest cache of ideas I’ve had in… well… ever! Thanks to Tara Lazar, creator and host of PiBoIdMo and all the participants who became quite the community of cheerleaders for each other.
Due in large part to all these terrific folks I now have at least 5 ideas that I am pretty excited about, another 5 or 6 nuggets that have potential. The rest I consider “seedlings” or “meh” ideas that might possibly turn into or perhaps lead to ”aha!”  ideas somewhere down the line.
So now, just to keep the ball rolling, myself and several others will be participating in 12×12 in 2012, clever brainchild of Julie Hedlund. We’ll be taking our 12 favorite picture book ideas from the 30 and drafting them out through the year. One a month is the goal.
Can I do it?
That remains to be seen. But my guess is, I’ll have a lot more done by the end of this year than I would have without these challenges and the wonderful support of the kid lit community participating.
Weeeee! It’s going to be a productive year, I can feel it!
November was an incredibly productive month for me. I revised a middle grade novel--now it's fully polished and ready to go. Yay! I also revised more than eleven picture book manuscripts. Six are fully polished and ready to go. Double yay! Plus, I have three that should be ready to sub fairly soon and a few others that are in pretty good shape--the rest are in various stages of revision. On top of all that, I won the
PiBoIdMo challenge (Picture Book Idea Month) and came up with 87 ideas. Wow--I still can't believe that number! I honestly didn't think I'd get more than thirty or forty at the beginning of the month. It's amazing how many ideas you notice once you get used to looking for them!
I absolutely LOVE writing challenges. It's amazing to see how much I really can do when I keep a goal in mind. Plus, it's fun to work toward a goal with writing friends. That's why I was thrilled when Tara Lazar had asked me to write the
kick off post for the event, and I can't wait to see how many gems will come out of these ideas! Thanks for the inspiration Tara, guest bloggers, and participants--I'm grateful for everything you've done to make PiBoIdMo such an incredible, fun, and productive event. You all rock!
Here are a few tricks that helped me come up with so many ideas:
* I looked for inspiration online, like
Jean Reidy suggested.
* When the ideas seemed to slow down a bit, I created characters I'd love to write about, which sparked several of my story ideas.
* I used
Tammi Sauer's suggestion to come up with settings and brainstormed what could go wrong in each one.
* I also used the suggestion from
Aaron Zenz to come up with story ideas after looking at pictures drawn by kids.
* I wrote down all the possibilities that hit me. But I didn't want to have those tiny nuggets sprinkled around my more fleshed out ideas, so I created a section at the bottom of my file for random thoughts. Some of them are just titles, a funny phrase...anything I think I might be able to use in a future manuscript. The amazing thing is that I fleshed out many of my random thoughts throughout the month and had to move them into my main file. I happy danced every time that happened. The ideas started off so small, I probably would've forgotten about them if I hadn't jotted them down. For all I know, some of them could end up in bookstores in the next few years!
Here's the breakdown of my ideas:
41 fleshed out ideas (two of them already have series possibilities jotted down)
44 random thoughts
Two nuggets that could end up in a future picture book or middle grade novel
What will I do with all these ideas? I'm going to flesh them out more this month, do some character sketches and interviews, and see which ones scream for my attention the loudest. Then, I'll be ready to tackle two upcoming writing challenges. In January, the
By:
Emma Walton Hamilton,
on 12/9/2011
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This week I had the joy of interviewing my friend and picture book hero, Peter H. Reynolds, for the Children’s Book Hub. As usual, Peter said a million inspiring things and shared a number of jewels about writing. Among them was a reference to his own writing process that set off lightbulbs in my head. For those of you who have been participating in PiBoIdMo, or 12X12, or just find it hard sometimes to move from idea to story (as I do), this may be useful.
Once an idea comes to him (as they do all the time, because he has such highly developed Story Radar!), Peter asks himself, “Who could help me tell that story? What character and what situation can help demonstrate that idea?”
My ideas often start with theme – with the take-away, so to speak. But good storytelling is all about character, after all. If the characters aren’t compelling, believable, interesting, then the reader doesn’t care… and if the reader doesn’t care, the take-away usually ends up being didactic or lost altogether.
Who can help me tell this story? What character, in what situation, solving what problem, can illuminate this idea?
The Art of Friendship in Children’s Picture Books
I really enjoyed this workshop at the FL SCBWI Conference in Miami led by Tamar Brazis, the Editorial Director of Abrams Books for Young Readers and Amulet Books. She has focused on picture books and middle-grade fiction for the past seven years, and has worked on the New York Times bestselling Jellybeans series by Laura Numeroff, Me, Frida illustrated by David Diaz, City I Love by beloved children’s poet Lee Bennett Hopkins, and Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes, a debut novel by Jonathan Auxier.
She loves comforting picture books, and ones that she has a strong emotional reaction to. Her favorite book is Frog and Toad. She also shared other friendship stories that she loves, and I can see why they resonated with her (and me). One of my favorites is Waddles, by David McPhail. It's such a sweet book filled with 'aw' moments and it brought tears to my eyes by the end. I also had a huge emotional reaction to Making a Friend by Alison McGhee, and enjoyed City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems, and The Gift of Nothing by Patrick McDonnell (which gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling by the second to last line...and the very last line was a wonderful surprise).
A couple of the stories she shared with us were framed by seasons, which worked really well. She told us that friendship stories can be between two children, a child and a stuffed animal, or two objects like a sock and a mitten (I never heard of Smitten before, but I can’t wait to read it).
Tamar spoke about creating dynamics of relationships in a very human way. She gave us a great exercise to help create memorable characters. Really think about a friendship you had when you were younger, and write down all the details. I LOVE this exercise! Not only does did it tap into great details I can use in my manuscripts, but I can see how it could spark great new picture book ideas. Besides using it to flesh out existing manuscripts and the new ones I’m writing for the 12 x 12 Challenge, I’ll definitely use it during the next PiBoIdMo.
She also did a great second exercise, and explained a third right before the time was up. I can’t give out all of Tamar’s secrets though—so definitely take her picture book workshop if you have a chance! It was full of information and inspiration, and many of us left with ideas or scenes we'd like to use in future picture book manuscripts.
It was great taking the picture book workshop with Nancy Viau. I met her for a few minutes at Rutgers in 2005, and have been online friends with her for years. I loved having a chance to see her again and have her sign my copy of Samantha Hansen Has Rocks in Her Head, which Tamar Brazis edited…and Nancy also has a picture book coming out with her in the spring of 2013 entitled I Can Do It!
*If you're looking for more awesome picture book info, check out
By:
Tara Lazar,
on 9/7/2012
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The Picture Book Idea Month success stories just keep pouring in!
The latest news is from lucky Penny Klostermann who was named runner-up for the 2012 SCBWI Barbara Karlin grant! This makes THREE YEARS IN A ROW that a PiBoIdMo story either snatched the grant or was named next in line.
Without further ado, I’ll let Penny tell you all about it!
In the fall of 2011, my wonderful critique group, Picture Bookies, made me aware of Tara’s brilliant concept, PiBoIdMo—30 picture book ideas in 30 days! My very first PiBoIdMo idea was to do a rewrite of THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. I know….holiday stories are hard to sell. I know….rhyme done right is hard to write! But, it was November…and Christmas was just around the corner…and I love the original. By the end of November, I had three different ideas for rewriting THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS.
From the time I wrote the first line for my 25th idea, MARS NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, I knew it was my favorite.
Then, in December, Susanna Leonard Hill hosted a competition on her blog for a rewrite of THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. This brought my idea to the forefront, and I decided to work on it right away. I read every version of the story I could get my hands on. I researched Mars and Space! I got excited as words and phrases from my research enhanced my manuscript.
February 26, 2012, I emailed my manuscript to my critique group. As usual, their comments were incredible. I revised and revised and revised some more. Then on March 12, 2012, I mailed my manuscript to the Barbara Karlin committee…and waited.
I got the call/voicemail at 6:36 p.m. Friday, August 3rd. (Of course I took a picture of my call log!) I didn’t listen to the voicemail until 10:30 p.m. The caller said she was with the Barbara Karlin Grant, and could I give her a call. COULD I GIVE HER A CALL?????? I live in Texas. She was in California. It wasn’t too late! When she told me I was runner up I just couldn’t believe it. Uncontained happiness!!!
I have to say, Tara, that PiBoIdMo is out-of-this-world awesome. As I look through my list of ideas for the next manuscript to tackle, I am amazed. Your organization of the event with inspiring posts and interaction among so many picture book writers took my mind to places it wouldn’t go sitting alone in front of my computer. Thank you.
I just have to brag on my critique group, Picture Bookies. Rebecca Colby was the winner of the 2011 Barbara Karlin Grant. Also, in 2011, Mona Pease received a Letter of Merit. The other members are just as incredible. I am lucky to be a part of this group.
Congratulations, Penny, and thanks so much for sharing your success story! You can visit Penny online at her blog: “A Penny and Her Jots“.
Now folks, you know the old rhyme: “Find a Penny, pick it up, all day long you’ll have good luck!” So let Penny’s story sprinkle some good fortune on you.
PiBoIdMo guest bloggers and badges will be revealed on October 1st, with registration to begin on October 24th right here on this blog. Subscribe via email (â†Â see left column) to make sure you don’t miss PiBoIdMo updates!
If you have suggestions about who you’d like to see guest blogging this year, please leave a name (or two or three) in the comments!
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By: Caroline Starr Rose,
on 10/31/2012
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This year I'm joining author Tara Lazar for PiBoIdMo, Picture Book Idea Month. It's an alternative to National Novel Writing Month that also takes place in November (something I tried once and failed at miserably).
Tara started PiBoIdMo in 2008, after realizing there was nothing for kidlit authors and illustrators who don't write novels. Since then, she's had hundreds of others join her. Here's what she has to say:
***Registration is open NOW through November 4th. Click here.***
Tired of novelists having all the fun in November with NaNoWriMo, I created PiBoIdMo as a 30-day challenge for picture book writers.
The concept is to create 30 picture book ideas in 30 days. You don’t have to write a manuscript (but you can if the mood strikes). You don’t need potential best-seller ideas. You might think of a clever title. Or a name for a character. Or just a silly thing like “purple polka-dot pony.” The object is to heighten your picture-book-idea-generating senses. Ideas may build upon other ideas and your list of potential stories will grow stronger as the days pass.
Daily blog posts by picture book authors, illustrators, editors and other kidlit professionals will help inspire you. By the end of the month, you’ll have a fat file of ideas to spark new stories.
PiBoIdMo was first held in 2008 by a party of one—me! Then I hosted it on my blog for the first time in 2009. Each year the number of participants has doubled. In 2011 we had over 600 writers following PiBoIdMo. And now 2012 promises to be bigger and better!
Registration begins on October 24th and ends on November 4th. Then in early December you will be asked to take the PiBoIdMo Pledge stating you have completed the challenge with at least 30 ideas.
Writers who register and pledge will be eligible for prizes:
- Feedback from literary agents
- Original sketches by picture book illustrators
- Picture book critiques from published authors
- Signed picture books
- Jewelry
- Other Cool Stuff
I'm the sort of writer who has to fight for new ideas, and while a month seeking them out will be a challenge, it will also be a wonderful opportunity to stretch and learn with the support of other writers doing the same.
Please let me know below if you too are participating!
Thanks to
Ward Jenkins for the fun PiBoIdMo banner.
Today marks the start of Picture Book Idea Month, or as it's more widely referred to:
PiBoIdMo.
Tara Lazar created this event,
publicly, in 2009. Each November, she puts together an amazing line up of guest bloggers, asking all participants to come up with at least one picture book idea a day for the month. There are prizes. There are inspirational posts. There is a supportive and fun community. But at the heart, it's a way for all of us to get the ideas out of our noggins and onto paper. To dig deep and come up with the start of something special.
It might seem intimidating - I'm a little jittery, and it's my second time around! - but I encourage you all to dive in head first.
Visit Tara's blog for
the details, and read the first official post by
Amy Dixon.
And with that, I'm off to find an idea or two!
I'm excited to say I completed Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo Challenge in November: 30 picture book ideas in 30 days. I ended up with 35!
I'm not a person who's ever short on ideas--it's the time to execute them that I find lacking. So I didn't expect this process to be so cool. But here's what I loved about it. Sure, I have plenty of ideas knocking around my head, and I never stare at the screen with no idea what to write about. But just because I start someplace doesn't mean it's a good place! When I get 2-3 cool picture ideas per month, I assume they're good ideas if I can just make them work.
Wrong. |  |
Now, when I read over my whole list of ideas from November, here's how they play out. About 5 of them are just plain bad. They're desperate, I-must-put-down-an-idea-today-in-order-to-stay-on-schedule ideas. I will never write them because, um, they don't really deserve to be written.
And about 25 of the ideas are good ideas. If I can write them well enough, find the perfect structure and the just-right words, they might be able to truly make fun picture book manuscripts. Maybe.
And 5 of the ideas make me giddy to start writing. Actually, I wrote a draft based on one of them and it flowed out more easily that any pb ms I've ever written. In less than an hour. And my tough crit group loved it. My agent said that it was really cute and might have legs. She asked for a specific revision, which I did and sent back to her--fingers crossed.
What makes those ideas different is that they contain new plot twists, unique characters or points of view, or concepts I haven't seen done in picture book form. They are the cream of the crop.
Having so many ideas to choose from makes it clear to me that picking the very best from that huge list is so much better than trying to force into life every "oh that could make a good picture book" idea that I have.
Which is why I've started two new documents and challenged myself to come up with a brand new idea for either a picture book or a poem every single day. I'd call it PiBoIdFo (Picture Book Idea Forever), but that's kind of intimidating. So I'll just say I'm going to be a more determined idea catcher from here on out.
Thanks, Tara!
It’s official, teachers can get credit for going to the Write2ignite conference!
From our website: One (1.0) Professional CEU is available to interested Write2Ignite! registrants though the University of South Carolina. Great for teachers, child care providers and college students.
For more info, check out this link: https://www.write2ignite.com/Cont.htmlÂ
IÂ also need to give a shout out to our kenynote speaker – MaryBeth Whalen! She’s a mom to half a dozen youngin’s – yet still finds time to write numerous books and speak at conferences all over! We are blessed she’ll be joining us at Write2ignite February 18-19!
One more thing: If you haven’t yet checked out the latest blog entry on the Write2ignite blog, please do! Today’s post is our Thrift and Gift series by Linda Andersen. She highlights a different free or low cost writing resource every week.
And this week Linda highlights Tara Lazar and her fab PiBoIdMo contest. Linda also shares her experience with Tara as a critiquer. (Hint, she’s fabulous at that aspect of the writing business, too!) You can find the post HERE. (And while you’re surfing, check out Tara’s site HERE.)
I hope to see some of you in February at the conference. If you have any questions, let me know!
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4 Comments on CEUs, MaryBeth Whalen and Tara Lazar, last added: 1/30/2011
I owe a huge thank you to Tara Lazar for holding PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) in November. After I finished NaNoWriMo mid-month, I tackled her amazing challenge and wasn't sure if I'd be able to come up with 30 new picture book ideas that fast. Well...I ended up with 38 ideas by the end of the month, and can't wait to flesh out my favorites and tackle them in Paula Yoo's NaPiBoWriWee challenge in the beginning of May, where I'll write 7 picture book drafts in 7 days.
Not only did Tara inspire me to come up with some amazing new picture book ideas, but she also held a wonderful contest. Look what I got in the mail:
I love receiving surprises in the mail. Thanks so much for the fun prize, Tara and Alyson Heller from Simon & Schuster!
Nineteen years ago, Hubby gave me a huge Valentine's Day surprise when he proposed to me. I'll never forget how he ordered champagne and made the most beautiful toast. But he acted kind of strange when I sipped the champagne. He asked if it tasted okay, and I said it was great. Sip, sip, sip. Then, he held up his glass and said you can tell a good champagne by the effervescence of the bubbles. I thought the bubbles looked fine. Sip, sip, sip. And then our waiter came over, took my glass, and tipped it toward me saying that sometimes champagne can have a bitter taste because of a metallic sediment on the bottom. That's when I finally saw the ring--good thing I didn't drink it! :)
Here's our engagement picture (sorry that it's a little fuzzy, but I had to scan it in).
Hubby fished the ring out, dried it off, and proposed to me...what a wonderful Valentine's Day memory! I hope all of you have a fantastic Valentine's Day, and make special memories that will stay with you forever.
Yay! Official sign-up for PiBoIdMo starts today! Check out the cool event badge created by my illustrator friend Bonnie Adamson.
The challenge:
Create 30 new picture book ideas in 30 days.
You can find out more info in Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo sign-up post.
By:
Darcy Pattison,
on 11/1/2011
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Logo art by http://bonnieadamson.net/
After flirting with the idea of doing NaNoWriMo, I decided instead to do PiBoIdMo, or Picture Book Idea Month, the 30 days of November in which I am supposed to come up with 30 picture book ideas.
It makes sense. I am attending the SCBWI Eastern NY Falling Leaves Master Class retreat where five picture book editors will talk to 30 lucky people, including me. Editors attending are Kate Fletcher (Candlewick), Dianne Hess (Scholastic), Sylvie Frank (Holiday House), Marilyn Brigham (Marshall Cavendish) and Kelly Smith (Sterling). Since I had decided to devote part of my fall to picture books anyway, the PiBoIdMo is right up my alley. Focus my efforts. And the writing exercises we do at the retreat will hopefully add to my ideas list. Late next week, look for reports on the retreat.
Meanwhile, I am visiting the dentist this morning, so I’ll think about a tooth fairy story. Not.
I'm signed up for the Picture Book Idea Month challenge over at Tara Lazar's blog again this year. All through the month of November we try to come up with at least one idea a day for a new picture book that could be worked on and written in the coming year. I did it last year and came up with a list of ideas for books... none of which got written as yet. But still... those ideas are brewing.
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sketched out,
on 11/8/2011
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By:
sketched out,
on 11/11/2011
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Do you need to come out of your shell a little more? Well, Mr. Turtle’s dress shop has just the thing for you.
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Alright, it wasn’t done for specifically for SkADaMo, but here’s a detail of a little rough sketch I’m working on for a client.
A sketch a day is a sketch a day, I figure.
Also, still keeping up with PiBoIdMo. Should have quite the cache of picture book ideas by the end of the month!
November is Picture Book Idea Month (better known around the blogosphere as PiBoIdMo), and this is the first year I'm participating. Like the other 300 or so writers and illustrators taking part, I've been busy trying to come up with 30 new picture book ideas before the month is over. Luckily, I've been finding tons of inspiration on
Writing for Kids (the official PiBoIdMo blog) and on a new website celebrating November as the first annual
Picture Book Month. But I'm always looking for more...
Given this context, November seems the perfect time to talk about the picture book
I Love to Dance, by Australian author and illustrator
Anna Walker. The words in the book are few (only 88 of them) and the illustrations quite simple, but the book resonates with me strongly and inspires me deeply.
My six-year-old thinks the main character of the book, Ollie, is a zebra. My four-year-old thinks he's a dog. I'm not quite sure what I think he is, but perhaps this is one of the reasons I love the book so much. When I read it, I pretty much forget about...or don't even care...whether Ollie is a zebra, a dog, or some other creature. I only care that he loves to dance, and I feel happy for him that he dances so easily and with such abandon.
Ollie loves to dance loudly, and to dance quietly. He loves to dance like jelly. He loves to jump, roll, and flip. And he loves to hop! However, I think it is really Anna Walker's illustrations that let readers get to know Ollie and how creative he can be. When he jumps, rolls, and flips, the illustrations show him doing it all inside of a cardboard box. And when he hops, he doesn't hop the way you might expect he would. He does it upside down--in a one-arm handstand!
I love that Ollie thinks up new and exciting ways to do classic movements...kind of like the way picture book writers and illustrators must think up new ideas and angles for telling stories that have probably been told in other ways many times before.
Picture books and the ideas behind them can inspire. They can touch the hearts of readers and make them feel connected to the characters in a book and to themselves. That's how I feel about Ollie, and that's what makes me want to read more about him and the activities he loves. For now, though, I'm going to take the inspiration that Ollie has already given me and try to come up with some more picture book ideas of my own!
I Love to Dance
For the sparse amount of free time I've had this is the most productive I've felt in at least a year! I've been loving the PiBoIdMo challenge this year. Not only the amazing posts from all the guest authors and illustrators (thank you Tara Lazar!) but the actual results! Halfway through the challenge and I'm going strong. I feel like once I took the pressure off myself to finish certain goals, the ideas are just flowing out for the challenge. I know hard work is ahead when I try to revisit these ideas and write picture book drafts, but I'm looking forward to picking from so many different directions.
I'm also happily working away in my Sketchbook Project. Another place that I've just let loose without worrying too much about the results. I really have been missing out by not painting in my sketchbooks. It's really quite freeing!
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Sammi and I had fun baking brownies (our best batch yet) and delicious mini cheesecakes.
We had a fantastic time yesterday! Our cousins found this adorable kitty cowering in their backyard just a few hours before. She's adorable! We took turns snuggling her all day. Unless someone claims her soon, it looks like she found a forever home with my cousins. I'm sure she's thankful she wandered into the backyard of such a loving family.
A day like this makes me think about how lucky I am. Yes, there are things I want that I don't have...like being able to spend time with my parents, brother, and other relatives who have passed away. And I'd love to have my middle grade novels and picture books published (after all my hard work, I'm definitely going to have a huge celebration when that dream comes true).
But even though my life isn't exactly the way I'd like it to be, I'm thankful for so many things. I'll share a few here:
I'm grateful for...
* My family, friends, and adorable dog.
* All the things that are easy to take for granted, like living in a nice house, having enough food, being able to go on vacations where we can have some uninterrupted family time and make lots of memories.
* I'm glad my girls are as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside. They're sweet and thoughtful...and I'm really trying to enjoy every moment with them because they're growing up way too fast!
* Critique groups and challenges that help push me to be the best possible writer. I already revised one novel this month and am about to dig into another. I'm loving the
PiBoIdMo challenge, and have come up with over 65 picture book ideas this month! Thirty-five of them are more fleshed out than the others, and I think quite a few of them have potential. I wonder if there's a way to come up with an idea week or so for novels, too! It's much easier to find gems when you have a mountain of ideas to sort through.
* Being a writer--I can't even begin to explain how much writing has helped me. It's such an important part of who I am, and has always been (I still remember writing poems and stories from the time I was fairly young, and how they helped me get through tough times). I can't imagine my life without seeing myself as a writer. And I'm incredibly grateful that my love of writing led me to meet incredible friends who mean so much to me! (((Hugs)))
What are you thankful for?
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Where has the sunshine gone?
Have a playful weekend 
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Tammi’s the BEST! Can’t wait to sink my teeth into NUGGET AND FANG:)
WOOBY AND PEEP by the awesome Cynthia Liu as well:)
GO Genius Girls, Go!
This is inspirational and a great example of a PiBoIdMo testimony! I’ve heard lots of great things about Nugget & Fang. Can’t wait to get our fins on it. We do have beta fish who might not like it. Great interview, Tammi and Tara!
Wow! Tammi, you are amazing. Can’t wait to get a copy and share it with my kids and the school librarian!
A new picture book that I can get excited about! Can’t wait to read it and share it with my kids!
“Carnivorous chums”? . . .Is this a Freudian slip?
Congratulations to Tammi and big thanks to Tara.
Hooray for PiBoIdMo successes!
Cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of Nugget & Fang! It looks wonderful, and I’m quite partial to unlikely friendship stories! (Plus, my daughter is fascinated with sharks.) Thanks for a great interview and for the chance to win such a cool book.
Congratulations! Great interview. All this fishy talk is making me think of sushi for lunch.
Super fun
This sounds like perfect reading for all shark phobic surfers! Check out ‘Gilbert the Great’ for another great shark picture book.
great stuff
Cath
Love Tammi and love unlikely friend stories. My all time fave is A Visitor for Bear. Thanks for the post, Tara and for the links to Tammi’s past posts. Tammi, my son and I really enjoyed Me Want Pet. (we had to pay a library fine to keep it around)