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My Journey as
a Writer

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Collecting Ideas for StoryStorm 2017

1/16/2017

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This is my third year of concentrating on book ideas for an entire month with children's author, Tara Lazar. Each day I write down a new idea for a book, any book--fiction, non-fiction, picture books, novels, what ever and wherever my mind wants to travel. It's a brainstorming month, and as in the past, my writing journal is already filling up fast!

Storystorm, previously known as PiBoldMo, is not the run-of-the-mill challenge. It's supported by an entire group of writers, both new and old, who are treated to daily blogs from authors, illustrators, and others. Each blog tackles a new subject based on the author's personal experience. Plus there are prizes! There is also a Facebook group where everyone can ask questions or share their experiences. In other words, it is an entire month devoted to the creativity and business of writing. The only requirement is that each participant write at least one idea for a story in their journal. That's it. One idea. 

This year, however, I am taking this a step further. I am not just jotting down an idea, a phrase, or a title. I found that does nothing for my memory when I am searching through my journals. I need more. So this time, I am fleshing out the idea. If I don't have a simple plot line, a character, or a one paragraph synopsis, then it does not go into my daily diary. Now I have to admit, this has not been easy. In fact, there have been several nights when my entry didn't make it onto the paper until 11:59 pm. That is somewhat scary for the writer in me because I know we all have times when the brain does not feel creative. This happens to me when I am overly tired or mentally consumed by the project I am working on. So when I know my brain needs CPR, I try one of four things:
  1. I go through my books. I have a large collection of both historical fiction and non-fiction and children's books. Sometimes, just looking at the covers will spark an idea.  Other times, it takes a little more digging. That's when I ask--"What if?" of one or more of my books. What if the hero was really the anti-hero? What if the dog found a new home with the coyotes? What if the sky never had a rainbow?
  2. I view images on different subjects on  the internet. That's how I found the idea to use a dragon to represent hunger for my picture book, Oliver's Hunger Dragon.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, a picture can inspire a thousand words too.
  3. I visit my local library. This trip is not to look at the books. I do that enough already. No, this trip is to listen to the chatter around me, and since I write for kids, I sit in the kids reading section. I've learned that all it takes is one overheard comment or question from a child to his/her mother, and I have my idea for the day.
  4. I go for a walk. I don't care where you live, every walk is full of inspiration. I happen to live in the country, so I am always inspired by something in nature that I see or hear. For instance, on my morning walk today there were three squirrels sitting in one of my dogs' dishes. I'm not going to tell you the story line I wrote in my journal, because part of StoryStorm is not to share those ideas but give them time to germinate into a book or an article. 
It's too late to join Storystorm this year. Registration closed last week. However, there is always next year. Check it out taralazar.com/2016/12/19/piboidmo-is-now-storystorm/


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Four Places to Find Inspiration

1/8/2017

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PictureBalloons always inspire me. Photo by Luca Upper/UnSplash

Jack London once said, "You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." Now I am not advocating clubbing anything, but London was right, inspiration does not just appear out of the blue. It takes work!

Take today for instance. It snowed all day yesterday, froze last night, and now we're experiencing freezing rain. It's cold, gloomy, and icy. All I wanted to do was curl up with a blanket and a book, and up until a few hours ago that is just what I did. There was no mental stimulation to do anything. I was not feeling creative nor did I want to get out of my cozy chair and write. I did not feel inspired. Then, I remembered my mini daily goal of 200 words on my work-in-progress. I hit the computer and 2 hours later I had 1,800 new words on my book, a 500 word non-fiction article, and four more ideas for StoryStorm 2017. That brings me to the first place to find inspiration--in your own work.

Pablo Picasso said, "Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working." It's okay to day dream, but when the mind refuses to look for creativity, nothing works better for me than work. Reading what I wrote the day before, or even the entire chapter written over several days gives my brain the needed electrical shock to jolt it into action.

When Albert Einstein said, "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better," I do not think he was talking about writing. However, what great advice for writers. When you need inspiration, why not look to nature. Take a walk. Listen to the wind as it rustles through the trees. Check out the woodpecker tat-tat-tatting above you. Open your eyes, ears, and heart to what is going on around you. 

My favorite place to find inspiration is wherever children are. Their smiles, their eyes, their outlook on life, the games they play, the wonder they find in even the smallest pebble, not to mention the thousands of questions they ask inspire me to write. Eric Hoffer said, "Children are the keys of paradise."  If you are a children's author, then I would say, "Children are the keys to inspiration." If you have young children and are lacking inspiration, read a book together and let them ask their "Why" questions. It takes only one to clear your vision and let your imagination flow. If you don't have children, then spend an afternoon reading to kids at the library. For me there is no better way to obtain more ideas than I can manage.

Lastly, look at life through the lens of a camera. There is something magical about what appears in that small window before you snap the picture. The other day, I was watching photographer Art Wolfe's Travels to the Edge,and he said something that I will never forget. He was taking photos of people in African villages, and concentrating on the faces. He said he liked to get as close to the face as possible so that there is a connection between the subject and the viewer. In other words, he wanted whoever sees the picture to be connected through the eyes with the individual in the shot. Inspiring? You bet! This is how I was inspired to write my non-fiction article today. As I was writing, a Blue Jay flew into one of my dog's dishes. I had my camera, so I slowly took the lens cap off and zeroed in on his lavender blue wing feathers. The structure, the depth, and the dimension of color was almost awe-inspiring. And it provided two new picture book ideas for StoryStorm 2017.

​So next time you are trying to find inspiration, try one of the four ideas I use. Who knows, you might just club the one that will be a best seller.


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Seeing the Forest Through the Trees

1/2/2017

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2017 is a year to stop focusing on the details and to keep an eye on the big picture. As a writer, it is so easy for me to get lost in the details--the thousands of small elements that come into play when writing a book or an article. That's what happened to me last year. I was so engrossed in one tree--my writing skill--that I lost the forest--my books. Here's an example of what I mean.

Last January, I had a short story rejected. I know--big deal. All writers get rejections, and I assure you I have had my share. But this was somehow different. It was a story that my heart was invested in. You know, the one you "need" to tell. Only instead of presenting it as non-fiction, I decided to create a fictional piece based on the true story. The editor was kind, and even included a short note that said, "This should be non-fiction." Here's where I went awry, instead of reworking the piece and sending it to another market, I allowed myself to become deflated. I told myself, "What were you thinking? You can't write short stories." So, in my mind there was only one course left--learn how to write short stories. Now since I started writing again in 2012, I've written dozens of short stories, and have had many of them published, but somehow I forgot all of that. So what did I do?

I signed up for a writing course, and when it was done, I took another, and another, and another, and-- you get the idea. Oh sure, I wrote. In fact, I wrote several non-fiction articles, blogged, and I started four different books. The key word being "started." But I was stuck on one tree--learning to write short stories. My off time from homeschooling my granddaughter was spent immersed in on-line courses. By the end of November, I had a bookshelf full of educational trees perse, but no growth in my envisioned forest. After seeing a new book published every year, I was faced with no book for 2017. What a realty check!

That is when I decided to change directions--or sight--and get back to the forest of books demanding attention. December was my proof month. My writers' group made it easy. We chose our goals for 2017, and I decided mine would be to write at least 200 words on a work-in-progress each and every day. Now since I rarely get more than that written because I self-edit my work to death, I set aside the last two days of the month to edit and revise.  That meant no editing--just writing. A new concept for me to be sure. But I did it. I wrote 6,724 words in December, then edited over 3,000 of them away. I have to admit it hurt at first. The novel I planned for 2017 will require around 50,000 words, so seeing over 6,000 completed was a writer's high. Cutting them was painful, but in the end I am starting January off with a solid setting, protagonist, plot, and subplot. Plus, I have a complete outline for 25 chapters, and a goal to finish the book by the end of June.

One might say that I have just traded one tree for another, but that isn't true. My forest has hundreds of trees. Remember the four middle grade novels I started last year? Well each is another tree for my forest, and so are the 21 notebooks of settings, plot ideas, snippets of conversation, proposed titles, and even character outlines stacked on my writing shelf. (I'm filling out book 22 with picture book ideas this month for StoryStorm 2017). My goal this year is to plant another tree in my forest. What's yours?

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    Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

    Sherry Alexander

    Dreamer, believer, reader, writer

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