Archive for May 2025

Writing isn’t just about having ideas—it’s about finding the uninterrupted mental space to develop them. Look at your week, honestly. Where are your interruptions coming from? How long does it actually take you to reach your creative “zone”? Where can you create space for your writing? What boundaries must you establish? What signals tell others (and yourself) that your writing time is sacred? What small rituals might help you re-enter your creative flow more quickly when interruptions are unavoidable?
Consider creating a picture-book character who struggles to complete a crucial task because of constant interruptions. How might their journey mirror your own creative challenges and reveal strategies for reclaiming your time?
Remember: Defending your writing time isn’t selfish—it’s necessary. The stories you need to write won’t exist unless you first create the conditions that allow them to emerge.

Nonsense has a way of shaking up our perceptions of the world, expanding our frame of reference and enlivening our thinking. Without lifting your pen off the paper—or your fingers off the keyboard—make a list of fifteen absurd ideas. Here are some that come directly from Dr. Seuss: A chariot pulled by a flying cat, flying cat pulling a Viking ship, Viking ship sailing up a volcano, Volcano blowing hearts, diamonds, and clubs. (Yours will probably be very different, but you get the idea.)
When finished, circle three ideas that spark joy or curiosity. Choose one. Set a timer for twenty minutes and see how far you can take the idea.
Now go wake up those brain cells!

We speak of spring, summer, autumn, and winter as if each season is a cohesive, homogenous entity. But each month of the year has specific qualities and characteristics.
Take nine minutes to freewrite and capture the essence of one specific month. What activities, events, sights, sounds, scents, and rhythms belong only to March? What emotional landscapes are uniquely October’s? How does the light fall differently in August?
Focus on the subtle qualities that distinguish this month from its neighbors. What happens in this month alone? What transitions are occurring? This is all about paying close attention.
Outline a manuscript that leans into the specifics of a particular month, or examine one object, place, or event and follow it throughout the year.

We all have quirks—those oddities that make us uniquely ourselves. For five minutes, list your personal quirks—whatever they are and however you perceive them to be.
Now choose one quirk and imagine it amplified in a child character. How would they navigate the world with this magnificent weirdness? What challenges might they face? What unexpected superpowers might this quirk grant them?
The most memorable picture book characters aren’t perfect—they’re perfectly peculiar. Your own weirdness is the key to creating characters who feel authentically alive on the page and show children the beauty of being unapologetically themselves.