Tag Archives: writing for children

Jan 28 2019

How to store and Sort your Story Ideas

If you are a writer of picture books, young fiction, children’s chapter books or short stories and poems, you are probably someone who has lots of story ideas. If you’ve been writing for many years or taken part in StoryStorm and the PB 12×12 challenge, you may have hundreds!

Where do you write them down? In a note book, on sticky notes, on your phone or perhaps in an App or Word type document?

Over the years, I’ve jotted my ideas down all over the place, but more recently in Notes on my phone – it’s always with me and I back it up. But a list becomes unwieldy and cumbersome when it numbers in the hundreds, especially as I have a fair few plot musings too.

So, when a writing competition asked for an original funny Christmas picture book text, I had to scan through 150 or so ideas to find the ones that might work. Not ideal. Wouldn’t it be great, if all my ideas were in a simple database, where I could store, sort and filter them at the touch of a button?

Before I had children, I was a marketer for food companies. One of my responsibilities was coding food databases, inputting all the new competitor products, analysing the data and monitoring how they sold. A similar concept to Nielsen BookScan, which analyses the book market by genre and type.

Using Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel you can create a very simple database.  In fact, lots of authors use Excel or Sheets to plot their novel, scene by scene, it helps to keep track of the detail when it comes to editing. I think our stream of ideas deserves the same orderliness.

For those who are not Sheets or Excel savvy, I promise the database functions are easy to use and when your ideas are neatly organised, you’ll be amazed at what they’ll teach you about the way you think creatively.

So how do we categorise ideas?

These are some of the headings I use:

Title: Sometimes fully formed, sometimes just a vague idea – it doesn’t matter, write what comes to mind.

Category: Picture Book (PB), Non-Fiction PB (NF-PB), Young Fiction 5-7yr (YF), Chapter 7-9yrs {Chpt), Middle Grade 6-12 (MG), Young Adults [YA), Adult (A), Poetry (P)

Main Character (MC): Bear, Witch, Alien, Girl, Boy, Dragon, Vegetable…

Secondary Character (SC): (foe or friend) Giant. Santa. Fairy. Dad. Monster.

Place: Space. Home. Town. Garden. School. Great outdoors. Fairyland. North Pole. etc.…

Theme: Night fears. Friendship. Female Empowerment. Responsibility. Imagination. First Experiences. Whodunit. Loss. Environment. etc.…

Style: Humour. Heart. Mystery. World view. Interactive

Series? Yes, No, ?

Notes: A general brain dump of problem, plot and character.

How to set up your database of ideas:  

  • Open a new worksheet and save it: Story Ideas
  • Type in your categories/column headings across the top.
  • And your title ideas in the first column.

headings

Excel Spreadsheet

NOTE: I have used published stories from my bookshelf to illustrate how a spreadsheet database might work. These story ideas have all been done!

  • Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move from cell to cell.
  • Fill out the columns as best you can.
  • You can widen the columns by clicking on the line at the top e.g. click between A & B and drag them to the width you need. The same for the rows.
  • To wrap text (that means contain all text in one cell) highlight the cells. Click on Format>Cells >Alignment, and tick Wrap Text. 

Once you have inputted all your ideas and you want to use the database functions, there are two options:

sort function

  • You can SORT the information by alphabetical order. First, click and drag to highlight your list of ideas.
  • Click on Data, Sort, Columns.
  • Decide which column you want to put in alphabetical order.

AND/OR you can FILTER the information. E.g. view only the Christmas PB ideas in the list.

filters

  • Click on Data > Filter.
  • Arrow buttons appear next to your column headings.
  • Click on one of these at a time and remove the ticks from the categories you do not want to see. Only data for the ticked category will remain.

You can also colour code your best ideas and the ones you have already written – see the fill (bucket button) at the top of the page – and use Sort to put them at the top of your list.

Once you are all set up, play with the filters and take a look at your ideas by category.

What are your strengths?  

Where do most of your ideas fall?

If a few ideas have the same theme, could they be combined? This theme is on your mind for a reason. What do you want to say and why do you want to say it?

If you imagine lots of YF adventure stories, perhaps this is the genre you should specialise in – after all, you’re a natural.

What are your weaknesses?

Do you initially struggle to come up with a strong title or plot? Or is character a problem? Do you write humour and avoid heart? Or have only male protagonists?

A database can clearly illustrate your brainstorming weak points but once you know what they are, you can seek out inspirational material that helps you address them.

How many ideas do you have before you hit on a good one?

My rate is around 1 in 10 for picture books, so for every StoryStorm (30 ideas in a month), I generate around three really good ideas that are likely to become fully fledged manuscripts. These ideas are more fully formed than others, with a title/character/ problem/world that is both original and commercial.

It doesn’t mean they’ll sell though, alas. But it’s always heartening to look at my long list of ideas and see how many great ideas I have waiting to be written.

Kate Peridot. 

 

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Nov 15 2018

Finding your Funny Bone

Ten types of humour PB writers need to know about

About a year ago, I started writing funny picture book stories. I’m not sure where this sudden burst of subversive humour came from but one idea soon followed another. After I finished Storystorm 2018 (write down a PB idea a day for January) I had a raft of them.

I knew humorous picture books sold well – but were my stories the right kind of funny? Were they funny enough!

I realised I knew absolutely nothing about comedy writing, so I did what all author/book lover types do, I read up on it, watched a lot of funny TV, and passed a critical eye over the picture book market.

There’s actually very little guidance on writing or performing funny stories/sketches for young children, so I have adapted and ad-libbed taking the best advice from adult comedy writers and applied it to the PB market. I hope this will help you find your funny bone.

So, what makes you giggle?

Physical Humour

Were you a fan of Tom and Jerry or Road Runner when you were a child? Slapstick/accident prone humour definitely appeals to the young, after all they do fall over and get gunk on their faces a lot. Funny expressions also come into this category.

Vehicle or journey themed stories are a natural fit. BEEB BEEB, HONK HONK! One of our favourites is Mini Racer by Kristy Dempsey, a rhyming whacky races concept. On every page, one of the crazy cars (there is a rabbit driving a carrot) crashes out.

Also, in Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins, the fox has one mishap after another as he stalks Rosie around the farmyard. Note: almost always in these stories, the little guy outwits the big guy, though The Squirrels who Squabbled by Helen Bright, is a good example of a double act.

 

 

 

Gross humour

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If you laugh when someone farts then this one’s for you (along with most 2-5-year-old boys!) It’s an extension of physical humour but deserves its own category due to massive popularity. Farts, bums, wee, poop, bogies and all potty-training books, line up here!

Surreal (or just plain silly) humour

This is the heartland of picture books and when exaggerated for comic effect can be very funny indeed. Of course, in real life aliens don’t wear underpants, a book cannot eat a dog and you wouldn’t usually find a shark in your bath. But wouldn’t it be hilarious if you did! This humour either has a normal character in a comic world or a comic character in a normal world.

What if… that’s the question. Let your imagination fly.

 

 

 

Witty Wordplay

Do you love a pun or chuckle at a silly rhyme or playground joke? There are so many wonderful picture books in this category, it’s hard to choose only three examples.

Dr Seuss and Alan & Janet Alhberg of course, and the recent viral phenomenon, Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith, originally based on a playground joke: What’s a donkey called if he only has three legs? Click here to watch the funny clip to find out how a giggling Scottish Granny can boost book sales!

 

Improvisation

I almost rejected this one as an adult live action comedy technique but then one picture book came to mind. Of course, a book cannot literally improvise, but it is possible to make the characters sound as if they are improvising, with witty repartee and timely page turns.

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In Oi Frog! by Kes Grey, the frog persistently asks the somewhat superior cat whichanimal is allowed to sit where. The cat refuses to be out questioned and comes up with increasingly funny answers. The story is part witty wordplay, part surreal humour and part impro

Spoofs, Tropes and Parodies.

I think this humour is aimed more at the adult reader than the child. One of our favourites PBs is Traction Man is Here by Mini Grey. My son doesn’t remember Action Man or his overly macho gear, but I do – my Action Man and Sindy were great friends. I also love Nuts in Space by Elys Donan, which not only sends up the sci-fi series Lost in Space but also features the Death Banana and a Darth Vadar lookalike.

 

 

 

Twisted or fractured fairy tales also fit into this category and are popular with publishers.

Rebel humour

Do you cheekily challenge authority, commonly held beliefs or the set way of doing things? Do you think why when someone asks you to do (or not do) something? Or perhaps you are a mischievous saboteur or heckler! Rebel humour is satisfyingly subversive.

 

 

 

Observational

This technique is all about finding the humour in everyday life, focusing on a common moment or problem and retelling it in a hilarious and unexpected way. I could list most of Lauren Child’s, Charlie and Lola series… Lola is also a fantastic rebel!

 

 

 

And Mr. Panda is very good at teaching manners!

Self-deprecating

This is not a sense of humour young children understand easily, nor do we want them to as it’s based on negative feelings and a lack of self-worth. Plenty of picture books, however, flip this negativity on its head and deliver, in a humorous way, a positive message about self-esteem.

 

 

 

Giraffes can’t Dance by Giles Andreae is a triumphant story about a giraffe who finds his own tune. Thelma the Unicorn by Aaron Blabey is about learning to love who you are, even if you don’t have sparkles.

Dark humour

Do you have a wicked dark side? Throwing light on fears and antisocial behaviour in a comic way makes these sometimes embarrassing and difficult topics easier to talk about. Most picture books have a reassuring happy ending, but in darkly humorous tales the main character might just meet a sticky end.

 

 

 

A few extra tips

Exaggeration and surprise are the keys to comic writing. Trouble comes in threes, make no. 3 an inappropriate (funny/surprising) response. e.g. The cheeky little fish thinks he gets away with stealing the hat once, twice, but not thrice!

The best stories have a mixture of humorous elements that appeal to both the parent and the child.

I love comments.

Please share your favourite funny picture books.

Dec 10 2016

Six Reasons to Write a Story Map

Despite attending writing classes, which herald the benefits of properly planning a novel, I still dive straight in, ‘pantsing it,’ with only a broad three act overview and a couple of character portraits. Why? Because I’m enthused. I have the dramatic first few scenes in my head and I want to get them down on paper before they become diluted by doubt or distraction. There’s nothing like a good start – or so I think.

pantser

So 15,000 words into my second novel, a middle grade children’s fantasy set in today’s contemporary world with a parallel fantasy world, I get writers block. And not just for a day or a week but many weeks. My word count shrivels to a pathetic few hundred a day. I write, rewrite, rejig, leave it, come back to it and repeat (there are more words on my cuttings page than in the manuscript). I still love my story, I know there’s something charming about the idea, but I’m fed up. I’ve lost my flow and doubt I can write chapters. Perhaps I should stick to picture books and short stories. Maybe novels aren’t for me.

Crit groups are rather good at providing perspective (and a timely kick up the rear). Fellow SCBWI’s pointed out: my action was great, my fantasy world had potential BUT (there’s always a BUT) my world lacked specifics and my heroine didn’t know who she was, both literally and metaphorically, so neither did the reader.

I had to admit what I already knew deep down; I could only ‘pants it’ so far – it was time to write a proper story plan.

The very first question I asked myself was:

1.What kind of story am I writing?

A fantasy adventure, I thought. Hmmm. Turns out there’s more than one kind. I flicked through Ronald Tobias’s, 20 Plots & How To Build Them (Readers Digest), and discovered that my story borrows elements from a Quest, Adventure, Pursuit and Discovery plot. And to make matters even more confusing my story is a potential trilogy, therefore, should there be an overriding plot and different individual book plots? Common sense suggests, yes. The first book, on closer inspection, is an adventure pursuit plot. My heroine is running away at the beginning of each act, headlong into even more trouble, and there is also an overarching goal of personal discovery – she’s trying to find out who she really is. Pursuit plots work best when there are lots of unexpected twists and turns, and the purser, or his/her emissaries, should always feel close behind, which keeps tension tight. This gave me a basic structure and style to work to.

2. Every scene is complex and every paragraph, sentence and word should moves the plot forward.

Spreadsheets aren’t my favourite piece of software due to many years looking at company budgets, but they do force orderliness and empty boxesimages-6 scream:

HERE’S A GAP IN YOUR THINKING!

There’s also the dining room wall and lots of sticky notes, but I’m worried about children tampering with it or a puff of wind scattering them, so spreadsheets it is. I am also told Scrivener is very good and this in on my Christmas list.

So how to build your story map:

List chapters/scenes in the vertical cells. Separate them into three acts.

Horizontally, across the top, list all the things a sensible writer needs to consider in every scene. Here are the headings I use for each column. Adapt to suit.

  • Chapters/Scene title
  • Word Count
  • Plot summary (Briefly)
  • Editor’s notes (detail changes/things to check in next draft)
  • Setting
  • Character (list)
  • Reveals – signposts/clues/info (pacing exposition is crucial for tension)
  • Chapter/scene arc – three acts (cause/action>>> effect/emotional fallout>>>decision)
  • Conflict/tension – (should include change of polarity within scene e.g happy opening>>> tense ending.)
  • Hero’s character arc (growth/change)
  • Secondary character(s) story arc or notes
  • Meaning and symbolism

Suffice to say, it’s a lot easier to draft and edit a manuscript if all the important elements are listed and of course the map evolves as you write and rewrite.

3. Do you really know your world?

  • What does it look like?
  • What are the beliefs/values of your world?
  • What’s its history and law?
  • Who are its leaders: – religious – political – scientific – economic?
  • Does it have a different language or original/quirky phraseimages-12s or sayings?

I cannot recommend storyboards, paper or digital (pinterest), enough. We cannot feasibly visit and know all our locations, especially if they are only loosely based on reality. There is some beautiful photography and fantasy art on the Internet – endless free inspiration! You can also build mood boards for key scenes.

4. Do you really know ALL your characters?

Categorise them into:

  • Protagonists/POV characters
  • Allies
  • Antagonists – primary and secondary
  • Mentor
  • Ambiguous (good turns bad or vice-versa)
  • Subordinate/minor characters (friend or foe) that inhabit the world and make it feel real.

After I finished my story map, I listed all my characters and summarised their plot purpose. I have 21 characters, 14 have more than one scene and are important to the plot. I have two POV characters, therefore, I need to consider their understanding and reaction to all the other characters they come into contact with in the context of each scene, as well as each other. In addition, I need to map secondary characters behaviour with each other. This is why I got stuck. I simply hadn’t appreciated the number and complexity of these relationships.

Start a second excel sheet and name it ‘characters.’ List their relationship and attitude, e.g. Captain of the Guards, subordinate to King, loyal, brave, blinkered, will use blunt force, but not a brute.

Casting and interviewing your characters, finding pictures of them and including clothing and personal props, really helps to bring them alive. And it’s good fun.

Another blog post about interviewing characters will shortly follow this one.

5. Have you considered your sequel, series or prequel?

If we spend a lot of time world and character building, it’s a shame not to put all that research and effort to good use again. Drop in unresolved sub plots, interesting secondary characters or other dimensions that can be later explored. Tolkien and J.K Rowling knew how their series was going to end and the broad theme of each book, before they finished writing the first instalment. Use the different sheets in Excel to build a story arc for each book.

6. Clarity of pitch and positioning

In a covering letter, an editor will want to know what kind of book they are about to read. Clarity of purpose leads to clary of pitch, and a story map will also help you write a tight synopsis.

Best wishes and happy mapping.

Oct 22 2014

Good Picture Book Advice from Pippa Goodhart – Keep it short!

I jumped at the chance to meet Pippa Goodhart and listen to her words of wisdom at the recent SCBWI Author Masterclass on Writing Picture Books in London. My children love her book You Choose; it’s so well thumbed it’s fallen apart! You Choose is a concept book with just 220 words. The words are mostly page titles or captions around Nick Sharratt’s catalogue-style illustrations. In the Q&A session I asked Pippa how she pitched You Choose to publishers. “It wasn’t easy,” she replied. “The concept was rejected by nine publishers. If you believe in your idea you have to be persistent.” The book went on to become a bestseller.

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The number of words in picture books was a recurrent theme during the workshop. Publishers want manuscripts from zero to five hundred words; less is definitely more. Newbies like me tend to overwrite, and I admit, sometimes I only think about the pictures once I have drafted the story.
Pippa explained the story is in both the pictures and the words, and sometimes in the gaps in between such as a page turn or a change of pace. Thinking about how the child participates in the story is very important.

Pippa showed us some favourite picture books of hers, This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen, Mr Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown and Handa’s Surprise by Eileen Browne. Writers, she advised, should think about a story in pictures and let the pictures do the ‘showing,’ reducing text to a minimum. There can be considerable power in no words at all. It feels rather brave as a writer to leave a page blank with just an illustration note, but many of the best writer/illustrator picture books do just that to create impact. Pippa also recommended rough sketching the twelve double page spreads to help visualize the book.

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All workshop attendees had the chance to request a short one to one with Pippa to discuss their own works in progress – or to workshop them briefly in the class. Pippa critiqued my story Ming’s Dragon. The basic idea was fine, but it needed a complete rewrite. The story was too long and the character motivation and story message weren’t crystal clear. I plan my longer novels and the short stories I write for magazines, but with picture books there’s a tendency to think, ‘It’s only four hundred words. Why do I need to plan?’ Pippa explained a picture book should have one, maybe two clear themes. Character, motivation, plot and emotion all have their place, as in any story. Concept, pictures and words must work together intuitively to resonate with young audiences. Idea evaluation and story planning is essential.

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Later in the afternoon, Pippa set a group creative writing exercise to rework an old fairytale. This was fun, writing is such a solitary occupation it’s great to bounce ideas around with other writers. SCBWIs are a creative bunch; there were some impressive narratives and near meter-perfect rhymes, all generated in under an hour.

And yes, they were all appropriately short!