new posts in all blogs
Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: picture book writing, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 26 - 50 of 90
How to use this Page
You are viewing the most recent posts tagged with the words: picture book writing in the JacketFlap blog reader. What is a tag? Think of a tag as a keyword or category label. Tags can both help you find posts on JacketFlap.com as well as provide an easy way for you to "remember" and classify posts for later recall. Try adding a tag yourself by clicking "Add a tag" below a post's header. Scroll down through the list of Recent Posts in the left column and click on a post title that sounds interesting. You can view all posts from a specific blog by clicking the Blog name in the right column, or you can click a 'More Posts from this Blog' link in any individual post.
By: Genevieve Petrillo,
on 11/3/2013
Blog:
Cupcake Speaks
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
kidlit,
pets,
acceptance,
writing,
children's literature,
dogs,
ideas,
revising,
rejection,
picture book writing,
submitting,
Add a tag
Mom and I went geocaching again last week. Geocaching is like treasure hunting. Mom holds the phone that shows the GPS and compass. Then we walk and walk and walk and walk.
Then she decides the phone is upside down, so she turns it around and we start over. We walk and walk and walk and walk some more – the other way.
The phone tells her when we’re getting close, and then we start searching and scanning till we find the treasure.
Sometimes, Mom says, “No acorns.”
and “Don’t eat the pine cone.”
and “Yikes! Hornets!”
Geocaching is fun!
Mom does treasure hunting when she wants to submit a story, too. She has too many stories to count inside her computer and some more inside her head (that’s what’s up in there…). She is sure that one of them is a treasure and will be Book #2. Whenever she reads about a publisher or an agent that seems to be looking for the type of story Mom writes, she starts treasure hunting. She opens up story after story, revises them a little, talks to herself about them, and decides whether she’s headed in the right direction, or needs to turn around and start over.
Mom says, “No garbage.” a lot. I’m not allowed to lick the floor or eat from the garbage pail (I can barely reach it, anyway).
When we walk around the neighborhood or go to the park, I’m not allowed to eat banana peels or sunflower seed shells or pick up empty pudding cups or coffee lids. I’m not allowed to have candy wrappers or eat goose poop or sniff around by the dumpster.
Apparently, garbage is a bad thing. Sometimes, Mom writes a word or a sentence or a story that’s garbage. She doesn’t mince words about it. She says, “This stinks!” and “What am I talking about?” and “Are you eating a napkin?”
Mom is not worried when she writes garbage. She thinks if she “gets the garbage out” the good stuff will come next.
Let’s get the garbage out!
I know this is true because after Mom and I took the garbage out once, we walked around the back of the dumpster, and I found the good stuff! Macaroni noodles!!
Before Mom could say the word, “Leave it,” I ate one!
Garbage. Mmmmm…
By: Genevieve Petrillo,
on 10/20/2013
Blog:
Cupcake Speaks
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
children's literature,
ideas,
school visits,
picture book writing,
dressing,
PiBoIdMo,
five words,
halloween,
pets,
school,
writing,
Add a tag
Today’s five words are about autumn.
1. Leaves – Leaves are falling everywhere. Some of them are dull and brown. Some are gorgeous and brightly colored. They remind Mom of ideas. Ideas come in all shades, too. Some are brilliant. Some crumble when you touch them.
2. Cool – Mornings and nights have been cool lately. Sweater weather for sure.
3. Ready – Fall reminds us that winter is coming. We need to be ready. Mom is getting ready for PiBoIdMo. It’s a whole month when she has to write down a new picture book idea every single day. She’ll type them into her phone, and then try to make each one into a story.
4. School – Kids go back to school in the fall. That means I go back to working at Read-To-A-Pet-Night at the library. Sometimes, Mom and I listen to 7 or 8 stories. Some are awesome. Some are …meh.
5. Halloween – Halloween is in the fall. Mom got me 2 costumes. One of them is a turtle costume. We used to have a turtle named Leave-the-Turtle-Alone. I hope Mom doesn’t change my name to Leave-the-Dog-Alone. That would be too lonely!
Does anybody want to play with me?
Starting on November 1, Mom will be a part of PiBoIdMo.
Yep. November is Picture Book Idea Month. That means she will have to get a picture book idea in her head every day for 30 days. Last year, she wrote 30 ideas, and 8 of them are now either stories or poems. And one of them will be Mom’s first ever eBook, called What If I Don’t.
Ideas are a way of life when you’re an author. They are also a way of life when you’re a dog. Here are some ideas I have for stories….
Cupcake, the Best Dog in the World.
Cupcake Gets Unlimited Treats
When Cupcake Went for a Ride
Cupcake Looks Pretty
Read to a Pet Night Starring Cupcake
Street Naps for Cupcake
Cupcake Turns Seven Years Old
That’s a week’s worth of ideas, right there! What’s the big deal? I wish November was named DogIdMo. I could totally do this!
By: Genevieve Petrillo,
on 10/6/2013
Blog:
Cupcake Speaks
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
kidlit,
halloween,
poetry,
pets,
photo,
writing,
children's literature,
characters,
ideas,
picture book writing,
writing class,
Add a tag
I have a lot of costumes. Costumes turn me into a character.
Mom has a ton of characters inside her head. She saves them up and puts them into her stories. She studied about developing her characters by writing character sketches of them. The character sketch helps Mom get to know her characters really well. Really, REALLY well.
Really??
She needs to know things like: their favorite color, their best talent, their favorite food, their secrets, their favorite words to say, and a million other things. Once Mom knows about her character, then she knows how that character would work best in a story. If I were one of Mom’s characters, this is what she’d know about me….
Favorite color – Pink, what else? I’m a little girl.
Talent – Bowling. Dog bowling…
Favorite food – Bacon treats. And dog food. And MilkBones. And yogurt. And chicken. And pizza. And apples. And peanut butter. And goose poop. And cigar butts. And paper. And dirt.
Secrets – I’m not as dumb as I look. Sssshhhh.
Favorite thing to say – “Wait! What??”
Wait! What??
By: Genevieve Petrillo,
on 9/29/2013
Blog:
Cupcake Speaks
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
kidlit,
poetry,
literature,
writing,
children's literature,
ideas,
poem,
picture book writing,
PiBoIdMo,
Add a tag
Every day when I am halfway through eating my dinner, I slide the bowl around the kitchen until I’m able to pick it up in my mouth. Then I carry it onto the little rug in the living room. Once I get it settled there (IF it doesn’t flip over and splash food everywhere), I finish eating my food and then try to eat the bowl. So far, I have been unsuccessful with that goal.
The other day, I decided to try a new strategy. It’s called eating-on-the-leather-chair.
Mom was happy and excited when she saw me. She said the things she always says when I impress her with how smart I am – like, “Oh no you didn’t!” and “What did those jackasses in your head tell you to do now?” and “You’re going to get a spankin’.” I love when she says that. It sounds so much like, “You’re going to get some bacon.” Bacon. Yum….
I’m ready for my bacon, Mom.
Mom is trying a new strategy with her writing this week. Each day, she works on a story for a half hour and then she works on a poem for a half hour. Her idea lists from PiBoIdMo and her other lists are getting too, too long. She thinks she can use them up faster if some of them become poems. Also, she wants to enter a poetry contest, so she needs some new poems to submit. She said, “Poems are fun.” and “This one is about you, Cupcake.” and “Some of these ideas are too stupid to live another day.”
We should put those bad ideas in the garbage. Let me check and maybe clear out some of the more delicious… I mean bulky trash to make room….
By: Genevieve Petrillo,
on 9/21/2013
Blog:
Cupcake Speaks
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
kidlit,
acceptance,
editing,
writing,
children's literature,
revising,
critique group,
picture book writing,
submitting,
writing class,
Add a tag
Today, the park was chock full of surprises. I chased a butterfly whose name was Don’t-You-Dare. I tried to eat a bottle cap, which tasted like sand. I ran in circles on the baseball field till Mom was dizzy and my feet and legs turned brown from kicking up dirt. And I even saw a purple jelly bean and a cigar butt.
After all that excitement, I cooled off on a pile of dirt in the shade of a bench.
Mom got a super-fun surprise last week. Back when she was studying in her Making Picture Book Magic class, she wrote a story called What If I Don’t. Her teacher, Susanna, and all of her online classmates helped her and encouraged her while she worked on it. She also brought it to her writing group called DavidLaurieandOtherDavid. They said, “Fix this, change that, move this, cut that, let’s have more coffee.” Last week, Mom got a contract for her story from MeeGenius! What If I Don’t is going to be Mom’s first ever eBook! Surprise!
MeeGenius is a free app with tons and tons of cute books for kids to read on the iPad and iPhone. Pages turn with a swipe, and there’s also a Read to Me option, in case you’re like me and can’t read.
Mom, I don’t think these glasses are working….
By: Genevieve Petrillo,
on 9/16/2013
Blog:
Cupcake Speaks
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
PiBoIdMo,
inspirational quote,
12x12,
kidlit,
writing,
children's literature,
ideas,
revising,
critique group,
picture book writing,
submitting,
quote,
Add a tag
But there was one other thing that the grown-ups also knew, and it was this: that however small the chance might be of striking lucky, the chance is there. The chance had to be there.”
― Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
I struck lucky when Mom found me a few Decembers ago. Purrs n Pups found me in Georgia in a kill-shelter, where my puppies had been adopted…
….and I was left behind.
They brought me to foster care and my foster-mom brought me to an adoption event where Mom found me.
She said some bad words like, “Too small.” and “Too old.” But then she said some good words like, “I’m taking her home!” and “This is my new dog!”
My first day at home, I said, “This is my new couch!”
Mom is always waiting to strike lucky. She works on stories, revises them and revises them, makes cover letters, signs them with her lucky pen, and submits story after story to magazines, book publishers, and agents. Whenever Book #2 gets accepted, that will be her lucky day.
PiBoIdMo is helpful. Mom gets a new idea every single day during that month.
Mom’s 12×12 Challenge is helpful. It keeps her writing new pieces every month.
The class she took named Making Picture Book Magic was helpful. It taught her about planning a story to make sure it has all the parts it needs.
Her writing group named DavidLaurieandOtherDavid is helpful. They help her stories get better and better.
Where’s the work? This looks like a party!
Her computer friends at RateYourStory help her by giving her a reality check about what she writes.
And of course, I help her by taking her to the park to clear her head,
staring at her while she’s working,
and sometimes, I fall asleep on the iPad and type LLLLLLLL with my ear.
By: Genevieve Petrillo,
on 9/8/2013
Blog:
Cupcake Speaks
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
kidlit,
pets,
editing,
writing,
children's literature,
ideas,
revising,
picture book writing,
five words,
12x12,
Add a tag
Today, I am listing 5 words from Mom’s August 12×12 story. She didn’t like this story very much, but she kept on writing it all the way to the end. (It’s not about me, so I’m not crazy about it either.)
When Mom finally wrote the last sentence, it made her laugh out loud. Mom said, “Well, that was worth the trip, I guess.” and “This story doesn’t sound like me at all!” and “Technically, that’s still a street nap, even though you’re sort of on the sidewalk…”
1. Dance – I dance for treats.
2. Head – My head is tiny. So is my brain. Ummmm…I’m not stuck under there. I’m fine. …Really.
3. Bounce – Mom is teaching me to sit on my mat, so that (in between dancing), I will not bounce around too much. Someday, I will learn that whole sitting still thing….
4. Dripping – I don’t like getting wet.
5. Peanut Butter – Peanut butter, yogurt, a smashed banana, and some honey make a yummy ice cream treat. Mmmm….
We had an awesome snowstorm, last week. Mom took me for a lot of walks, and each time we went out, it got deeper and deeper. Here I am trudging through the snow.
It was almost up to my my belly, but not quite. That would’ve scared me! It was deep enough to make walking slow and difficult, but FUN!
Mom is working on two new stories at once. She’s in deep, just like I was. Each day she works for a little while on one of the stories and then she works a little while on the other one. It’s slow and it’s difficult, but she’s having fun. That’s because being an author is a blast! It’s just like being a dog in the snow!
By: Genevieve Petrillo,
on 3/3/2013
Blog:
Cupcake Speaks
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
writing,
children's literature,
video,
ideas,
award,
revising,
picture book writing,
quote,
writing class,
inspirational quote,
Add a tag
There’s a crack in everything – that’s how the light gets in.
~Leonard Cohen~
There seems to be a crack in the head of my laughing dog. Plus his ear is missing.
I think his head accidentally cracked open because Mom turned on the switch and he started laughing too much. I’ve heard of “laughing your head off,” but I’ve never heard of “laughing your head open so the light can get in.”
Mom is always looking for where the light gets in. She says if her story is tight enough, nothing can crack it open. So she checks it and checks it. She says she’s troubleshooting. I don’t like trouble and I don’t like shooting, so I hope she is just kidding. But she reads her story out loud to herself all the time. She says, “Does the ending match the beginning?” and “Is my character believable?” and “How much does the problem really matter?” and “Where is the laughing dog’s ear?!”
Mom keeps deleting and rewriting sections of her story trying to make it perfect before she brings it to show her writing group named DavidLaurieandOtherDavid. She says, “Am I telling too much?” and “Am I showing enough?” and “I guess I’ll have to sew up the rip in his head.”
Mom might be able to make her story perfect, but as you can see, the laughing dog’s head will never be perfect again. I wonder where his ear went…..
Click the video to hear the laughing dog laugh.
Thanks to our writer friend, Chelsea at Jenny Mac Book Blog for giving us the Sunshine Award and to Bubba and Mumma and the gang at Bumpy Road to Bubba for giving us the Why I Love Thee Award. Click here for our Sunshine questions and answers, and here or here for the story of how Mom and I found each other. We love all our sunshiny blogging friends, so feel free to take an award or two and list your own Sunshine answers or Love Story.
Mom has been workin’ at her writing class every day, except on the weekends. So far she is keeping up and doing fine. She is writing a story she likes and talking about it with people she likes and learning things she never thought she would like.
One thing she is learning about is called plannin’. Mom never did plannin’ before. Usually she gets an idea, thinks about it in her head, and then starts writing a story. When she gets to the end, she fixes it up and shows it to her writing group named DavidLaurieandOtherDavid.
I’ve been plannin’, too. Last week, I got my nails cut….
and got a new jacket.
On Saturday, Mom picked out a dress for me and brought me to see my friends at the Veteran’s Home.
I sat on laps, gave kisses, ate treats, danced, and got lots of hugs and cuddles. Whew. That is what I call workin’.
When Mom finishes workin’ she isn’t tired at all. She puts her coffee cup in the sink and then goes shopping and out to lunch and does other fun things.
When I finish workin’ …. Well, see for yourself…..
Mom loves a happy ending. When she writes a story, she makes sure there’s a problem, and then her characters try to solve it, but they always face obstacles trying to get it done. Mom struggles with the conflict in her stories. She says, “I don’t like trouble.” and “Why can’t things just go smoothly?” and “GET DOWN!!”
I LOVE trouble. Sometimes I surf the top of the piano to see if there’s anything for me to play with or eat. Mom said, “You’re going to get a spankin’!” I thought she said, “You’re going to get some bacon.” I ran into the kitchen so fast, I crashed into the cabinet. No bacon. Why does life have to be so difficult?
At the end of Mom’s stories, the conflict is gone, the obstacles are overcome, and the problems are solved. I love a happy ending.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I love love. I could kiss, cuddle, and snuggle 24 hours a day. Mom should’ve named me Valentine.
Even though Mom loves me a lot, she apparently does not have time to kiss, cuddle, and snuggle with me 24 hours a day. She says, “Sorry, Sweetie. I have things to do.” and “Go play with your toys.” and “Why are you staring at me?”
Mom loves her work, so she needs time to do that, too. When she was a teacher, she thought it was the best job in the world. Now that she supervises student teachers, she thinks that’s the best job in the world. She also thinks being an author is the best job in the world.
Somebody (Mom thinks it was Kathy Lee Gifford, but it was actually Confucious) said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” I guess Mom has never worked a day in her life! Isn’t she lucky?
Have a super-special Valentine’s Day filled with lots of love, kisses, cuddles, and snuggles. xoxo
By: Genevieve Petrillo,
on 2/10/2013
Blog:
Cupcake Speaks
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
picture book writing,
writing class,
kidlit,
pets,
photo,
writing,
children's literature,
dogs,
ideas,
Add a tag
We had a blizzard this weekend.
The snow got really high, the wind blew really hard, and it was really cold. Even though I wore my heaviest jacket, I had to run around in a lot of circles to keep warm. And when the snow was deep enough to touch my belly, I wanted to come inside right away!
The 1st inch…
The 9th inch…
I couldn’t sniff the grass, because it was covered with snow. So I sniffed the snow instead. And guess what I found! An empty potato chip bag. It was hidden under the snow! Mom said the word, “Leave it.” before I could investigate and possibly taste some frozen potato chip crumbs, but it was an exciting find, anyway. In the morning, I tried to find the bag again, But the snow was too deep and I couldn’t even breathe in there.
Sometimes, Mom has a blizzard of ideas. But sometimes, her ideas are hidden. They’re not under the snow, or frozen, but they are buried in the back of her brain. When she studies at her online writing class, the hidden ideas start to pop out of her head. Mom says, “I’ve never tried that before.” and “That’s why this part wasn’t working.” and “Stop barking at the snowblower!”
By: Genevieve Petrillo,
on 2/4/2013
Blog:
Cupcake Speaks
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
kidlit,
dreams,
poetry,
acceptance,
school,
writing,
magazines,
children's literature,
school visits,
picture book writing,
Add a tag
Last week, we reached 10,000 views on our blog. I’m not much with the math, but 10,000 seems like a lot, seeing as how Mom only lets me post once or twice a week. I am excited that so many people and pets wanted to see what we were up to.
Of course, about 9,000 of the views were probably Mom, looking for mistakes and reading comments and stuff. She is my biggest fan. I am her biggest fan, too!
A long time ago, Mom got a fan letter from a little girl who read one of her poems in Spider Magazine. The little girl said that Mom’s poem made her laugh.
I’d like to say Mom was excited about the fan letter, but excited doesn’t even begin to express how she felt. That letter was her favorite piece of mail of her life, until she got the contract for her first book years and years later.
Even though Mom’s book had a ton of good reviews and won The Moonbeam Award, she has never received a fan letter from any of her readers. She has lots of thank you letters from the kids at the schools she visited…
….but no fan letters.
If I could write, I’d send her one, but paws aren’t much good with a pencil.
Thanks to all my fans for visiting Cupcake Speaks. Every Visit, every Comment, and every Like feels like a fan letter to me!! xoxo
Long ago, when I was littler and naughtier, I used to eat the rent bill. Every single time the man slipped it under the door, I yanked it out of his hand and ate it – the bill, the envelope, the carbon copy and the return envelope.
Mom kept a few xeroxed copies on hand so she’d have something to mail back with her check.
I have learned that the rent bill isn’t delicious because it isn’t food. I stayed home alone with the bill on the floor all morning, and I didn’t even taste it. I learned.
Outside
Inside – See how I’m not eating it?
Today, Mom will start learning at Susanna Hill’s class called Making Picture Book Magic.
MAGIC! That might be what’s been missing around here! Mom has all her supplies ready, like it said in the introduction email. She got some picture books from the library, made computer folders, bought index cards (in case her iPad index cards aren’t allowed), and she is getting her brain geared up to get started. Mom likes learning.
I don’t really like learning, but when there are Cheerios involved, I can learn. I am finally learning to fetch, just like Mom planned in her New Year’s resolution.
MAGIC!
Mom finished her January story for 12×12. Whew! That was the closest she ever came to the end of the month. Her story is a first, first, FIRST draft, and it will need a LOT of editing before it sees the light of day. Mom said, “You have to start somewhere.” and “Writing it is the first step.” and “Do NOT eat the hat!”
Soon (Eventually), Mom will look closely at her January story and fix it up till it’s ready to show her writing group named DavidLaurieandOtherDavid. She said, “I’ll probably have to cut about 100 words.” and “I’ll streamline the dialog.” and “The ending needs lots of work.”
Bob said my picture didn’t need too much work. I guess that’s because of my extreme cuteness. Check here to see Bob’s comments about what he did to it. Also look here to see more of Bob’s work, or here to enter his Sunday Frameable Keepers Challenge.
Mom said the new picture is brighter and sharper and my fur and the teddy bear’s fur look fluffier. Thanks, Bob!
Here I am enhanced!
The original is on the left and the enhanced version is on the right. Cute and even CUTER!
I guess because of my super cuteness, my friends at DogDaz gave me the Super Sweet Blogging Award this week. I’ll keep it displayed on my Awards page. Thanks, DogDaz!
By: Genevieve Petrillo,
on 1/24/2013
Blog:
Cupcake Speaks
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
pets,
photo,
editing,
writing,
children's literature,
dogs,
revising,
picture book writing,
submitting,
Add a tag
Mom’s friend Bob at Northwest Photographer is an artist. He is crazy-skilled at taking pictures, and goes around to a lot of places getting amazing shots of animals and scenery and all sorts of wonderful things….including a cat named Jack! Bob is having a challenge called Frameable Keepers every Sunday at his blog. He wants to see photos that you’d love to see framed, and then he will fix them up so they look perfect.
I have begged and begged Mom to submit a picture of me. She says I can’t compete with all that beauty. That’s a good thing, ….right? I think it means I’m ….um…extra-pretty….??? And she should give me bacon….???
Anyway, I finally talked her into it, so here I am.
I hope Bob will work on my picture and make me look even cuter. (Can I GET any cuter??) He’ll fix and figure and change and correct and enhance and elevate.
Each time Mom finishes a story, she ALWAYS works on it some more, like Bob does with his pictures. I think she’s trying to make her stories even cuter, like me. She rephrases and revises and cuts and clips and elaborates and embellishes. When mom thinks her picture is frameable, then she’ll talk about it at her writing group and maybe submit it.
I wonder what she’ll do when my picture is frameable…. She framed this one, so I guess anything can happen!
By the way, check my Awards Page to see my newest bling. It’s the Shine On Award from our friends at Angels Whisper. Thanks, A.W.!
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”
~Stephen King~
I’m pretty sure this guy Stephen King knows a thing or two about writing. Mom believes him and takes his advice. She also forgives him for Cujo. I am not sure I do, though. *shiver*
Mom reads a lot and writes a lot every day. Well, maybe not a LOT…. But some every day. Well, maybe not EVERY day, but most days.
Mom reads children’s books, young adult books, grown-up books, blogs, magazines, websites, email, reviews, and books about being a writer. She takes some time to play bowling with me, take me for walks around the neighborhood, throw my toys, clean up piles and piles of dog hair from around the house, and dress me up.
She also works on new stories, old stories, stories about dogs, kids,and animals, stories from her November idea list, and poems. She takes some time out to cuddle with me, brush my teeth, give me treats, teach me tricks, and take me to Petco to have my nails cut.
It’s times like this that I wish she’d concentrate on her work…..
Don’ t these gingerbread men look yummy? I waited nicely with them, so Mom could take my picture. I expected she’d toss a nice big one to me after the photo shoot. But she didn’t. She ate a couple of them herself and gave me one little gingerbread head. I ate it so fast, I barely tasted it. I checked the floor to see if it fell.
It didn’t.
Mom and her friends ate gingerbread men day after day, and all I ever got was an occasional leg or arm, except in my dreams when I got to eat tons of them.
And now they’re FINISHED. I’m sure more Christmas cookies are around here someplace, but the gingerbread men are finished.
Besides the gingerbread, Mom also finished her Goodreads Challenge. In January, she challenged herself to read 212 picture books in 2012. She actually read and rated 214. Some of her favorites were: Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake, I am the Dog, Kindergarten Rocks, Dinosaur vs Santa, Playing War, and Stuck. She liked a whole bunch more, too. They made her say, “Awesome!” and “Hilarious!” and “Why can’t I write like this?”
Some of the books she read made her say, “Wait. What?” and “THIS is published?” and “I want that ten minutes of my life back!”
I want the gingerbread men back.
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?”
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.
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….
Somebody named Hurricane Sandy is coming to my house soon. I like getting company because then people will say I’m cute and they’ll pet me. But Mom says when Sandy comes, I have to be ready. Like this….
On Saturday, I worked at the Veteran’s Home. Mom got me ready to celebrate Halloween there. Here I am ready in the car….
and ready when we got there…
Mom wanted me to stand by the giant eagle for my picture, but I was suspicious. That thing looked ready to peck my eyes out and claw my face off! This is close enough!
Mom is ready, too. She’s ready for PiBoIdMo which will start on November 1st. She didn’t really DO anything to get ready, but she got ready inside her head, and typed on the computer a little bit. She will have to think of a bunch of ideas that she could maybe, possibly write about sometime. I think she has to get 30. Or 50. Or 9,000 ideas in a row. She will type them into her Iconic Notes App on her phone. That’s what she usually does when she has an idea, but in November she will start a brand new page of Iconic Notes ideas. She already put the numbers in – from one to nine thousand …..or whatever. So she’s ready.
Now it’s time to get ready for dinner. This is my favorite kind of ready! Yum!
Prizes! Yay! We have won another award or two or three. We were given the One Sweet Blog Award from our friends at Hutch a Good Life and the Super Sweet Blogging Award from our friend Clowie and the whole zoo at Dog Daz. Take a look at them!
Cupcakes! Like my name! Mom named me Cupcake because I am so sweet and now my blog is also sweet, just like me!
Mom bakes cupcakes sometimes. She mixes up butter, sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla, flour, and baking powder. She says, “Baking is like writing. All the ingredients need to be in there.” and “If I leave anything out, the cupcakes won’t be any good.” and “Get your head out of the oven!”
When Mom writes a new story, she has to get all the ingredients into it. Right now, she’s working on two stories at once. Each one needs original characters, an interesting setting, some scene changes, a fun plot with lots of conflict and a satisfying resolution, opportunity for illustration, poetic language, humor, tension, and dialogue. And vanilla and eggs. (I’m lying about that last part.)
After Mom gets to the end of the story, she has to leave it alone for a while. That’s like when the cupcakes have to cool off. When the story cools off for a while, Mom will put frosting on it. Oh no! That’s the cupcakes. She’ll revise the story A LOT. She’ll cut words that slow the story down, add words that move the story along, read it out loud ten million times, do everything she can to make it better, and cover the top with sprinkles. Wait. What? I love sprinkles. And frosting. And cupcakes. And stories!
There are no rules for the One Sweet Blog Award (except to be sweet). For the Super Sweet Blog Award the rules are:
1. Give credit to the person who chose you.
2. Answer the ‘Super Sweet’ questions below.
3. Nominate a “Baker’s Dozen” (13) blogs.
Super Sweet Questions:
1. Cookies or Cake? Both. And bacon. And anything from the garbage pail. And goose poop.
2. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate is poison, for dogs, so I’ll say chocolate. I like eating poison every chance I get.
3. What is your favorite sweet treat? Mom’s homemade frozen yogurt dog pops.
4. When do you crave sweet things the most? Every minute of every day.
5. If you had a sweet nickname, what would it be? I already have a sweet name!!
Now I will name 13 blogs that I like. If you already have the award, then congratulations. Either way, we picked you because we like you, and want lots of other people to like you along with us.
1. Jenny
2. Charlie Eve
3. Bubba
4. Mollie
5. Misaki
6. Sammy
7. Susanna
8. Hamsters
9. Doggy
10. Collies
11. Bassa
12. Marcie
13. Donna
I wish a baker’s dozen was 100, because we really like a LOT of blogs!
Mom shopped online a whole bunch last week. Now, packages keep coming to our house. Each one is a surprise. Mom says, “Yay!” and “I wonder what this is!” and “Stop barking at the UPS guy. He is our friend.”
One of the surprises was not even something Mom ordered. It was a gift from my bloggie- friend, Mollie. Her awesome Mom made me a bandana with cupcakes on it to match my name. I think I am very cute in it. Thanks, Mollie!
Sometimes surprise ideas pop into Mom’s head. She gets ideas from people-watching, kids talking, names, signs, games, shopping, the newspaper, driving, the park, the neighborhood, the laundromat, the garage, ….everywhere! She gets ideas from spider webs, eyeglasses, the broom, flowers, baseballs, the ice cream man, ….everything!
Once, she thought she was fresh out of ideas, but then – SURPRISE- something on the news made her think of an idea. She googled it, got more ideas, thought about it in her head and got MORE ideas, and now she’s writing it into her computer and getting even more ideas. Surprise! She wasn’t out of ideas after all.
One more surprise Mom found on my blog was that I FINALLY have 100 followers. 101, actually. After blogging for so long we thought we never get to 100, so yay and thank you to everyone who clicked the follow button! I wanted to celebrate with 101 treats, but that was a no-go.
What kind of a celebration is this??
View Next 25 Posts
) They even have a song about, from Los Del Rio: Dale a tu cuerpo alegria, Macaroni
hugs Fozziemum xx
Love your new coat . Have a wonderful day xx00xx
That’s an interesting tree. I’m glad you found the cache.
That would so be my Mom, having the phone upside down bawahwhhahwhhaa xxooxxx
Mollie and Alfie
That’s an interesting way to use the phone, I will try that too. Butt maybe you have to walk backwards then?
Sounds like me with a roadmap…a tad dangerous while driving heheeh I am sure mum has her stories right side up Cupcake
hugs Fozziemum x
Hi Cupcake! You had fun geocaching huh? Bravo! My Mom says she thinks writing is a lot like a treasure hunt too…..we hope your Mom strikes gold with her next book. By the way, I think your collar is quite fetching – but then you ALWAYS look fetching!
Kitty Hugs, Sammy
Was there a cookie inside? That would be a REAL treasure!
Mom wants to try that with us!
Does your Mom participate in NaNoWriMo?
Monty and Harlow
The few times typist has tried to geocatch it has ended in disaster!
Woot! You’re getting to be a really great geodog Cupcake and I’m so proud of you…Don’t tell anyone but my momz gets us lost all the time…but I don’t care cause it just means longer walks for me
I love your stories, Cupcake! And I know that there is treasure in your Mom’s stories, too!