by Are you having trouble getting to 30 ideas? If you are, the reason is most likely because you are censoring yourself. DO NOT LISTEN to that internal voice saying “No, don’t put that one down. It’s too overdone. Or too bland. Or too half-baked!” (Okay, I did not mean for there to be any food analogies here, but now that there are, maybe I should run with it?)
PiBoIdMo is the one time that I focus on quantity over quality. Your ideas do not have to be irresistible. They can be too vague, too corny, too irreverent, or too __________ (substitute your own preferred flavor of criticism here).
It doesn’t matter!
WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING from soup to nuts!
It does not need to be a hard-boiled synopsis. It can be just a title, a trait, a concept. Any tiny morsel is worth recording. If I waited for a full-blown plot to hit me, I’d never get to #2 on my list.
WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING!
Oh, did I say that already? Well, I’m sure some of you are still going to hesitate. “I can’t just write down a character name, can I?” YES, YOU CAN. And you should.
Think of it as collecting ingredients. The more ingredients you have to choose from, the more concoctions you can whip up.
Once you have a substantial list, then you can get cooking!
Look at your list. Look at last year’s list. Which ingredients can be combined?
In 2009, I was obsessed with Goldilocks. Here are two ideas from my list:
- Fractured fairy tale with a surprise twin? Goldilocks has a twin sister, or Little Red? Little Pink? Tawnylocks? Brownilocks?
- Using fairy tales to teach fractions. Goldilocks and the three and a half bears? How can you have half a bear? Bear in Mommy’s tummy? Could mama bear deliver right in the middle of the story?
Neither idea went anywhere, but those two concepts nagged at me…twins, fraction, twins, fractions…both seemed like topics I wanted to pursue.
And then during PiBoIdMo 2010, it hit me—the perfect way to combine the two!
TWINDERELLA: A FRACTIONED FAIRY TALE
Cinderella and her twin sister share everything. They each do half the chores—the chopping, the mopping, the baking. They each take half the fairy godmothers goodies. But when they each spend half the night dancing with the prince, and they both fall in love, they have a problem. After all, you can’t split a prince in half. Or can you?
So WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING. And let it all simmer.
And soon you’ll be ready to get cooking!
Corey Rosen Schwartz has cooked up a potpourri of fractured fairy tales and rhyming picture books. She lives with her husband and two children in Warren, NJ and as irony would have it, she is utterly useless in a kitchen!
Twitter: @CoreyPBNinja
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CoreyPBNinja
Website: http://www.coreyrosenschwartz.com
Corey is giving away a signed copy of her latest fractured fairy tale, NINJA RED RIDING HOOD.
This prize will be given away at the conclusion of PiBoIdMo. You are eligible for this prize if:
- You have registered for PiBoIdMo.
- You have commented ONCE ONLY on today’s post.
- You have completed the PiBoIdMo challenge. (You will have to sign the PiBoIdMo Pledge at the end of the event.)
Good luck, everyone!
Corey,
It sounds like some of the best ideas come from brainstorming without a critical eye. Thanks for sharing your backstory. Loved it.
A delicious post, Corey! Thanks!
It’s fascinating to see how our minds work with the merest of suggestions. It’s easy to feel that a single word will not become anything but, as you say, one never knows.
Fractured fairy tales really speak to me and I have vague thoughts about doing something with my favourite. Thanks for the post.
PS You’ve hooked me – I am very curious about how you solved the intractable problem in your book. Off to the bookstore.
Quantity over quality for this idea generating month… agreed! Just get the ideas out of my head. :) Thanks!
Thank you for the post Corey! I like the idea of just writing it all down and letting everything simmer. Off I go to do that!
Wait…Twinderella isn’t out yet! Maybe another two years, right, Corey?
I really like the idea of combining some aspects of my previous ideas to see what happens!
Loved today’s blog! While I’ve already exceeded my 30 ideas, more keep coming. They won’t stop. I’m so excited! And I’ve already began brainstorming on two of the ideas. =)
As you know, I adore Ninja Red, GoldiRocks, and The Three Ninja Pigs. (Can’t wait to read Twinderella!) Your fractured fairy tales have inspired me to challenge myself. Each year I decide on a few new styles I want to tackle. 2015 will be the year of the fractured fairy tale. Let the PiBoIdMo fractured fairy tale brainstorm begin! Thanks for the post today, Corey!
Thanks for the tip to write everything down. I’ll try to push back my inner critic (a sumo wrestler) and just DO IT!
I hadn’t even thought of combining ideas from years past. I love it. And it helps to just slooooow down and be patient for that perfect idea.
I must repeat to myself, “Write down everything.” My kids think I’m nuts at times. That’s o.k. because they are nuts too!
I love the cooking analogy. Even a morsel of an idea can become a picture book with the right ingredients. Thanks!
Thanks for the post and for permission to write down any idea. I guess I need to keep track of these ideas from year to year – yikes.
I’m a huge fan of fractured fairy tales! Thanks for sharing some encouragement!
It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who lists just a character’s name and counts it! Great post!
Thank you for the important reminder to write. all. the. things. 😊
Corey,
Thanks for the feast of ideas. Going to cook up some combos 😄