Day Seven of NaPiBoWriWee--Wheeeee!!

YOU’RE ALMOST THERE! JUST ONE MORE PICTURE BOOK TO GO!

You should be darn proud, peeps! Give yourself a pat on the back and an extra glittery gold star. A brownie with a scoop of Ben and Jerry’s might be in order, too. Rewards are important! Here in the coop we keep a vat of bean dip for just such occasions.

For this last assignment, think of something in your childhood that made you extra proud. Were you the winner of the spelling bee in first grade? Did you stand up to the biggest bully on the block? Were you the best jacks player in the neighborhood?

Think of those moments today and see if you can craft a story out of one of them. Or use the above photo for inspiration.

Still stumped? See if you can use at least one of the following words in your title:

Sock
Rabbit
Zesty
Penny
Stomp

We heartily recommend the blog www.teachingauthors.com for your next venture—revision! The authors on this blog are all teachers, too, and have excellent advice for writers of all genres. Don’t stop now!

Day Six of NaPiBoWriWee

At this point in the week we kind of sort of hate picture books and everything that has to do with picture books. This includes:

Pictures
Books
Children
Writing utensils
Walruses

We don’t know why, we just hate walruses today.

But we will keep on keeping on! Just two more picture books to go! We’re in the final stretch! People are handing us cups of water as we limp towards the finish line hugging our pens and notebooks to our chests and gasping for air!

In the spirit of NaPiBoWriWee, try writing about a contest today. See if you can include the above picture somehow, or try using two of these words on the first page:

Dawdle
Pinch
Butter
Sun

Day Five of NaPiBoWriWee

Do you hate Paula Yoo as much as we do now? Why did we ever agree to go on this odd odyssey with her? Are we nuts? Is she?

Unfortunately, we’re in too deep now, Peeps. Onward!

Today’s “assignment” is to poke through old family albums. Look at the pictures and try to remember how you felt when the photos were taken. Think back to those important moments in your life—first day of kindergarten, first lost tooth, first time you tied your own shoes. See if you can craft one of your memories into a story.

Really think about the child you were. What did you love to do? Did you play with dolls or make tree houses? What did you love to read? Write for that child. You'd be surprised at how many stories are lurking in your own childhood.

Or brainstorm a list of:

Favorite toys you played with as a child
Favorite foods
Favorite games
Favorite (and least favorite!) teachers
Favorite pets

See if you can base a story on something from one of your favorites list.

Day Four of NaPiBoWriWee

Today is “Get Out of the Freakin’ House” Day. Write somewhere new! The wonderful thing about writing picture books is that they are completely portable—all you need is a notebook and a pencil. So take your act on the road and see if your Muse visits. Try writing at one of these places:

A diner
A museum
A park
The zoo
The beach
Under a tree
On top of a tree

One silly chick has had great luck writing in airports—go figure!

You can use the above picture to get started today, or try using two of these words for your title:

Spot
Hoop
Nasty
Kitten
Sour

Use a pen with purple ink. Seriously. It helps.

Day Three of NaPiBoWriWee

One surefire way to come up with a new picture book idea is to go to a bookstore (preferably an indie!) and read the newest picture books. We swear this isn’t cheating and we guarantee it works! We have no idea why, but think that perhaps it has to do with feeding our heads with fun images and words.

Speaking of fun images and words, try working with today’s picture. Or use this phrase somewhere in your story:

“She spoke to warthogs all the time, but had never met a warthog quite like this one.”

Day Two of NaPiBoWriWee

Have you ever seen something happen in the grocery store or at the bank and thought, “Gee, that would make a good story!” If not, keep your eyes and your ears open this week, because now that you are in Picture Book Mode, you just might see more stories. It’s kind of like when you learn a new word, and suddenly it seems as though everyone is using that word. Be aware of story possibilities all around you.

To help you with opening yourself up to stories, take some pictures at the park. Make notes about overheard conversations while you ride the bus. (You do keep a pen and a notebook with you at all times, right?) One fun exercise we’ve heard of is to sit down at a cafe and use snippets of conversations from different tables and incorporate it all into the same story.

“But that’s eavesdropping!” you might say. And to that we say, “Why yes, indeed, it is.”

See if you can incorporate at least three of these words into today’s story:

Tangerine
Mammoth
Tingle
Snoop

Or use the above picture to start your story.

Or, hey, do both!

Or neither!

Day One of NaPiBoWriWee!

It’s Day One of NaPiBoWriWee and we thought we’d start it off with a loud “peep!” To help you get your creative juices flowing, we are giving you a new chickie pic to use as a story starter every day this week. Look at today’s picture closely and see if you can answer these burning questions.

What are these chicks doing?

Why are they doing it?

Your first answer might be, “They’re crossing the road.” Go beyond your first answer!

If you’d like to make this more challenging, see if you can include the following words in your picture book:

Shoe
Idaho
Skinny
Mob

Have fun!

Calling All Picture Book Writers!

Boot up your laptop! Sharpen your pencils! Then pour yourself a nice big mug of....coffee. It's time for NaPiBoWriWee, or National Picture Book Writing Week, and you're all invited! We'll be doing it and we hope you will, too!

Our fabulous friend, Paula Yoo, is the mastermind behind this. We'll be posting tips and story starters all week. We've copied the rules from her website below. Have fun and get ready, peeps!

In the spirit of National Novel Writing Month ("NaNoWriMo") where
people across the country try to write a complete novel in one month,
the fine folks at www.paulayoo.com have decided to start the first
ever National Picture Book Writing Week, affectionately nicknamed
"NaPiBoWriWee."

The goal? To write 7 picture books in 7 days.

All NaPiBoWriWee participants should register on my website http://paulayoo.com
and comment on my blogs every day with your own progress.

For those of you who participate in the first annual NaPiBoWriWee, I
will select a winner at random on the 7th day - that winner will
receive an autographed copy of my latest picture book, "SHINING STAR:
THE ANNA MAY WONG STORY" (Lee & Low Books, 2009).

(For more info on the book, go here: http://www.leeandlow.com/books/368/hc/shining_star_the_anna_may_wong_story

The basic rules? Just write 7 complete and separate picture books in
one week. Each picture book must have a clear beginning, middle, and
end. There is no required minimum word count because picture book
lengths can vary from 50 words to 2000 words, depending on the genre.

I will be posting a blog every day for seven days with picture book
writing tips and encouragement and updates on my own progress, plus
links to The Three Silly Chicks who will also be providing similar
helpful blog tips.

For everyone who has a website or blog - you are encouraged to promote
NaPiBoWriWee on your blog/website/myspace/Facebook/Twitter. I only
request that you provide a link to my website - http://paulayoo.com.

And for those of you attending the national Society for Children's
Book Writers & Illustrators http://scbwi.org conference in August,
let me know and I'll arrange for an informal gathering during the
conference so we can meet in person and celebrate our first
NaPiBoWriWee!

For more info, contact me at paula@paulayoo.com.

To summarize, the basic rules:

1. Midnight May 1st to 11:59 p.m. May 7th: Write 7 separate and
complete picture books.
2. You are NOT allowed to write the same picture book in 7 variations.
Each book must be complete and separate.
3. No minimum word count. Instead, each book must have a clear
beginning, middle and end.
4. You are allowed to brainstorm and research book topics before May
1st.
5. You are NOT allowed to write a single word of your draft until
midnight May 1st.
6. There is NO minimum word count required. The fine folks of
NaPiBoWriWee require nothing but your word of honor. We will embrace
the Honor Code. If you say you have written 7 complete picture book
drafts in 7 days, we will believe you. Besides, why would you lie to
us? You're writing picture books for little children! Picture Book
Authors are nice, honest people who would never lie!
7. Please register on http://paulayoo.com in order to write comments
on Paula's blog every day with your progress and questions.
8. If you plan to blog about your NaPiBoWriWee journey, please include
a link to: http://paulayoo.com
9. A winner will be chosen from random of all the people who comment
from May 1-7 on http://paulayoo.com/. That winner will receive an
autographed copy of Paula Yoo's latest picture book biography,
"SHINING STAR: THE ANNA MAY WONG STORY" (Lee & Low Books 2009) by June
2009 when the book is released.
10. For those of you attending the national Society of Children Book
Writers & Illustrators conference in August, let
me know and I'll arrange for an informal gathering during the
conference so we can meet in person and celebrate our first
NaPiBoWriWee!

Good luck and I look forward to writing 7 picture books in 7 days with
everyone!