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All children's writers have looked for story ideas, just like writers of other genres. Today I have a guest post by Deb Hockenberry that sheds some light on how to find story ideas for children's books.

The Ongoing Quest

by Deb Hockenberry

There’s an ongoing quest happening all around us and all the time. What is that quest you ask? It’s writers looking for children’s story ideas. Actually, this isn’t that hard since there are a treasure trove of ideas everywhere you look!

See the maple tree in your backyard with it’s leaves changing colors? It just doesn’t mean that you have to go outside to blow the leaves and acorns away. Oh, no. It could mean a children’s story idea about a family raking a big pile of leaves together and jumping in them. Maybe it could turn into a children’s story about Halloween and trick – or - treating. Maybe you can have the main character in your book try to make his/her own costume which turns out all wrong! Or maybe your character thinks he’s too big to go trick – or – treating. You can get so many kinds of children’s story ideas at this time of year!

Halloween leads into Thanksgiving. Maybe you could write a children’s story about the time everybody in the family showed up for Thanksgiving dinner. There wasn’t enough room at the table. Remember? Or how about the time the dog jumped up at Mom’s perfectly set Thankgiving table, got his collar caught on the tablecloth and pulled over all her good china! This is a good story idea for children too. You know what Thanksgiving leads into, right? The biggest day in kid – dom…Christmas!

Christmas holds so many children’s story ideas in itself. There’s the Christmas parades in your own hometown with the entrance of Santa Claus. There’s the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping not to mention decorating for the holiday. Then you have the baking and decorating of Christmas cookies or the making of hot chocolate. What about the different ways you tried to drop a hint in order to get that Christmas present you really, really wanted! You can’t forget watching the night sky for sounds of jingle bells and the sight of Rudolph’s nose.

So, where do you get story ideas for children who don’t celebrate Christmas? Write about Kwanzaa and explain what all the symbols mean. You’ll surprise your young readers when you tell them that Kwanzaa has it’s own answer to Santa Claus! You can get also get story ideas for children about Hanakuh.  Remember the time Jake and Betty played the driedel game with Mom and Dad? That game seemed to go on forever. This would be a good story idea for children. Actually, any holiday is good fodder for children’s story ideas!

Story ideas for children are everywhere! All you have to do is look around you. You can even get children’s story ideas at rummage or garage sales and even flea markets. Watch the kids as they help their mothers sell things. I went to a flea market where I bought a couple of children’s books from a mother and her son. The little boy, who was no more than ten – years – old, took my money and gave me the books. While doing this, he puffed out his chest and got the proudest look on his face as he raised it to me.

Yes, ideas for children’s stories are everywhere. Especially, at this time of the year! Actually, they’re everywhere at anytime of the year. All you have to do is look around!

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