I’ve previously mentioned how much I love the writing community because of how everyone supports each other, but another reason to love the writing community is because of the fun things we get to do together.
I’m participating in my first Storystorm and even though I’m only a few days in, I can already see how beneficial it is. Not only do I get to interact with other writers and learn from successful picture book authors, but I’m also learning that it’s really not that hard to come up with new ideas.
If you’re not familiar with Storystorm, it’s a challenge for picture book authors to come up with 30 new ideas in 30 days. It doesn’t even have to be full manuscripts, just any part of an idea will do (character, title, etc.) and you don’t ever have to share your ideas with anyone, it’s strictly done on the honor system.
When I first started writing picture books, I would wait until inspiration hit me and then go from there. There were times when I would go weeks without a new idea and I would start to wonder when the next one was going to come along.
Now, just two days into #Storystorm18, I’ve already come up with five new ideas. Sure, a few of them I love and a few of them are probably duds (more on that later) but the important part is that I’m not waiting for an idea to come out of nowhere anymore. It’s exciting to think of all the picture book possibilities that are out there if you make a point of looking for them. (And back to the duds, it’s also exciting to think that a seemingly bad idea could potentially turn into something great with a little effort.)
Thank you Tara Lazar for organizing Storystorm and thank you to all of the guest bloggers for sharing your expertise! I can not say it enough that I am so grateful to be part of a community that goes to such great lengths to help each other succeed.
For more information on Storystorm visit Tara Lazar’s website: https://taralazar.com/storystorm
Missy Mack 