PiBOLDMO is a 30 day picture book challenge originated by children's author, Tara Lazar. Conceived in 2008, Tara opened the challenge to everyone interested in writing picture books in 2009. I discovered it in 2012, but didn't participate until last year.
The idea behind the challenge is to write something down each day in the month of November that could be used to develop a new picture book. It can be a title that reached out and grabbed you in the middle of the day, a character that floated through your mind while making dinner, or even a word you heard on the kids' playground while you watched your daughter try her new trick on the monkey bars.
According to Tara, the idea is to "heighten your picture-book-idea-generating senses. Ideas may build upon other ideas and your list of potential stories will grow stronger as the days pass". To help generate those ideas and keep the juices flowing, Tara's blog offers daily insight from children authors and illustrators.
Last year, I came up with 37 ideas. I chose two to work on, and my book, Oliver's Hunger Dragon, was one. The second one is still in the works. This year, I hope to discover two more gems to develop.
If you have ever thought about writing picture books, check out Tara's website at http://taralazar.com/piboidmo/. Maybe you will decide to join us next November.