NaPiBoWriWee 2012: Day Five – May 5, 2012

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National Picture Book Writing Week is this May 1-7, 2012!

Welcome to Day Five of NAPIBOWRIWEE – National Picture Book Writing Week – as we now ask ourselves if we are NUTS for agreeing to try this ridiculous experiment of writing 7 picture books in 7 days. Always around Day Five, I start to bang my head against the wall and mutter to myself, “Paula, you and your nutty ideas! WHY did you start NaPiBoWriWee? I’m so SICK of writing picture books. I can’t do this anymore. I am burned out. Ooooooh I bet everyone hates me for torturing them with this ridiculous idea!”

Yup. Welcome to Day Five, AKA “Burn-out Day.” This is where some folks start to fall behind and feel badly that they are unable to come up with a fifth picture book draft. This is where some folks wonder if they should just quit.

Day Five is TOUGH. And if it makes YOU feel any better… BREAKING NEWS: I FAILED TO WRITE BOOK NO. 4 YESTERDAY. Absolutely flamed out. I was gone ALL day from around 10:30 AM to 9:30 PM for work meetings and I had to see a friend visiting from out of town. Plus I had a writing deadline for a picture book of mine that is being published (another Lee & Low book but the pub date is TBD) that I had to get done first. By the time I got home, I was EXHAUSTED. I sat on the couch and valiantly tried to write a picture book. But I came up with nothing.

BUT… instead of feeling badly about it… I was PROUD OF MYSELF. Why? Because at least I came up with what I thought was a super cute idea and a fantastic title. So I thought, “Saturday is my day off. It’s the weekend. I’m lucky and have no social obligations and no work deadlines on Saturday. So Saturday will be PICTURE BOOK DAY!” 🙂

And now I want to cheer YOU on. Today’s blog will feature some advice from guest author CAROLYN CRIMI (website: http://carolyncrimi.com/), who has graciously offered to give away a signed copy of her book PUGS IN A BUG (Dial 2012) for our contest. Woo hoo! 🙂

(Keep reading after the break for advice from Carolyn and more updates!)

So for those of you who have posted comments saying that you are falling behind and you are “only” on Book 2 or 3, or you are not writing and feeling burned out…. PLEASE HANG IN THERE! If you are physically and mentally so exhausted that you cannot write a full draft today, at least brainstorm some ideas or do what Julia Cameron in THE ARTIST’S WAY calls “morning pages.”

(If you’re not familiar with JULIA CAMERON, please check out her website here: http://juliacameronlive.com/ She writes these really fun inspirational guides on how to inspire your creative self. Okay, her books can get a little New Age-y, but she is very sincere and I find her books to be a great read when I am feeling burned out or insecure about my own writing. She’s got a three-part series on THE ARTIST’S WAY and I just got another book of hers called THE VEIN OF GOLD: A JOURNEY TO YOUR CREATIVE HEART which is also a fun inspirational read. I wrote a blog about her last year here: https://paulayoo.com/blog/?p=822)

The whole point of this NAPIBOWRIWEE exercise is to make sure that we all at least write SOMETHING every day. As a writer, you need to “exercise” your creative writing muscles! Plus, you should always allow yourself a small amount of time – whether it’s 10 minutes or 1 hour – to treat yourself to just sitting down with a nice cup of hot tea and a notebook and write anything from your heart. I think it’s important for us to do that as writers. 🙂

Now, to help get rid of your burn-out and get you back on track for DAY FIVE, here’s some advice from picture book author CAROLYN CRIMI!

Welcome 2012 NaPiBoWriWee Guest Author Carolyn Crimi

Carolyn Crimi received her MFA in Writing for Children from Vermont College in 2000. Her publishing credits include Outside, Inside (Simon & Schuster, 1995), Don’t Need Friends (Random House, 1999),Tessa’s Tip-Tapping Toes (Orchard Books, 2002), Get Busy, Beaver! (Orchard Books, 2004), Boris and Bella (Harcourt, 2004), Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies (Candlewick, 2005), The Louds Move In!  (Marshall Cavendish, 2006), Where’s My Mummy? (Candlewick, 2008), Henry and the Crazed Chicken Pirates (Candlewick, 2009), Principal Fred Won’t Go To Bed!  (Marshall Cavendish, 2010), Rock and Roll Mole (Dial, 2011), Dear Tabby (Harpercollins, 2011), and Pugs in a Bug (Dial, 2012). When she’s not writing, Carolyn enjoys giving Author Talks to elementary schools all over the country. For more information, visit her website, www.carolyncrimi.com. Be sure to visit her new blog,http://deartabbycat.blogspot.com/.

Carolyn’s advice is short and sweet… just like her advice! She says:

“One problem I see with many unpublished manuscripts is that they are way too long. Most picture books these days are under 600 words. I had an editor once who, after I submitted what I thought was my last draft, would always say, ‘Great! Now can you trim 200 words?’ It drove me crazy but always made the story stronger.”

I’ve mentioned  picture book length in previous blogs. A reminder – picture books can be as short as 200 words (Kevin Henkes’ Caldecott winner KITTEN’S FIRST FULL MOON is only 268 words) but they can also be longer for older readers (up to 2000 words, even!). For non-fiction writers, books tend to be longer anyway – mine clock in around 1600 to 1800 words.

My general rule of thumb is to keep your book to 1000 words or less. That’s five double-spaced typed pages.

But to try out Carolyn’s advice… when you write today, see if you can write a picture book under 600 words. Before you write down a sentence, think about the shortest way to say that sentence.

Speaking of short writing, coincidentally I happened to pick up this writing book at the bookstore. It caught my eye, I was curious, so I bought it. (I’m addicted to writing books!) It’s called WRITE LIKE HEMINGWAY: WRITING LESSONS YOU CAN LEARN FROM THE MASTER by R. Andrew Wilson. It’s a fantastic book that talks about Hemingway’s life as well as how he approached writing. It also gives advice and exercises on how to write succinctly like Hemingway.

For example: “When Hemingway talked about what guided his writing style, he referred to what he called his ‘Iceberg Theory.’ The idea was simple enough: as the visible part of the iceberg suggests an unseen depth below the surface, so writing should show as little as possible to suggest a world more complex than what appears on the page. In a word, the Iceberg Theory commands writers to do one thing: omit.” (p. 43)

The book goes on to suggest leaving out anything “nonessential” to the emotion you are trying to create with the story, leave out the backstory, unnecessary details and “filler” dialogue.

So as you write Book Five (if you have survived this week so far!), let’s focus on keeping today’s book under 600 words and apply this Iceberg Theory to our writing. Let me know how this works out for you! I’m first and foremost a novelist, so I find picture books to be INSANELY HARD, so I will try to keep my book under 600 words as well this time around.

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Thanks again to Carolyn Crimi for stopping by with some SHORT advice. 🙂 Remember, she’ll be giving away a signed copy of her latest book, PUGS IN A BUG (Dial 2012) for our contest. As long as you have commented on a blog or emailed me (paula at paulayoo dot com), I will include you in the contest drawing for Carolyn’s book plus our other fun prizes. (BTW to clarify: Do not worry if you have NOT completed 7 picture books in 7 days. You will still be part of our prize drawing.)

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s DAY SIX blog. I’m hoping to have that posted by 8 AM PST on Sunday because I have a friend’s wedding reception to attend.

Until the next blog, here is your daily KITTY INSPIRATION PHOTO! This time, it’s baby Charlotte. She likes to hang out by my computer while I write. Sometimes she curls up on my right arm, which makes it hard to move the mouse or type. LOL! But anyway, here she is, waiting patiently for you to write Book #5 for her today! How can you disappoint this little adorable kitty? Don’t let her down! WRITE! 🙂

Charlotte waits patiently for you to finish NaPiBoWriWee Book #5 today!

Thanks for hanging in there, my NaPiBoWriWee friends! Remember… HAPPY WRITING! WRITE LIKE YOU MEAN IT! 🙂

 

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52 Comments »

  1. Just finished draft #5. It’s my longest draft yet – 368 words. I just hope they are the right words. Of course, they aren’t all the right words yet, that will take a few more drafts.

    I have a couple “helpful” kitties too. They seem to think that their paws belong on my keyboard.

    • Congrats on finishing Book 5. I think 368 words is a good length especially if you are writing for younger readers. I love that you have helpful typing kitties as well. 🙂 I hope they make an appearance in one of your books!

  2. I know I’m a little behind but I’m still doing a happy dance. Why? Because I finished my first picture book this morning. So I might have sat outside Starbucks with a notebook in my lap telling myself I couldn’t get breakfast until after I finished it, but it worked.

    Not sure how good it is but that doesn’t matter. Years ago, I wanted to try a picture book but I was a little intimidated by the challenge.

    Now with three days left, I need to see how many more I can get done.

    Thanks for the challenge. I hope everyone else is doing well.

    • TRICIA!!!! CONGRATULATIONS ON FINISHING YOUR BOOK!!! Don’t worry about trying to get all 7 done, the best thing is that you discovered your pacing and you were able to discipline yourself to get this book done. I hope you have fun brainstorming and hopefully getting a chance to work on more books this week and keep writing for the rest of the year. YAY!

  3. Done in time to have an unspecified number of margaritas! I decided it wasn’t against the rules to write a book two in a series. The easiest day yet, because I know the character a little already.

    • A book series? That’s AWESOME and that DOES count as another book. Plus you are exploring your character. And you never know – what if this ends up becoming a whole chapter book instead? Enjoy those margaritas! 🙂

  5. Hi!
    All the drafts I’ve written so far are on the short size. I have a feeling that I might need to add a couple of words here and there (the drafts would still be quite short 🙂 )
    No draft today…but I think I’ve got an idea that could be turned into a draft. Better than nothing!
    Thank you!
    Sasha (aka The Happy Amateur)

    • Short drafts are fine because these are first drafts. You can always go back and add more and deepen the story during the revision. But at least you have the foundation built already. Good work! And glad you got at least an idea done for today. YAY!

  6. I’m always so happy when my draft is finished. Don’t even care if it’s good or bad; done is good enough for now. I hand write first drafts so I don’t have a real word count but a quick estimate puts it at around 400 words. Needs a lot of work but what was fun was that the ending came to me in time– endings are often the hard part for me.

    Wishing all the best to everyone. Hang in there! Only 2 more to go. 🙂

    • I love that this time you had an ending you really loved. This is the other thing about NaPi that I try to promote – the more you write on a regular basis, be it rough first draft writing or revising older stuff – you keep your brain sharpened and focused and soon the ideas for the perfect ending of your stories start to blossom in your mind a lot sooner. YAY!

    • Illustration art notes sound good tho – sounds like this time you were focusing on a much more visual book. Congrats!

  8. Good Morning. #5 done. It was actually done by 9:00 AM. Then I felt a need to jump in the pool and have tea with my sister.
    This one is a bit different. It deals with a difficult subject. A rough, rough draft—so we shall see what comes of it.

    It’s quiet here, so I think I will outline the next two days. I can’t believe the week is almost over. Wow

    Thanks again to all.

    Holly

    • Holly that’s great you wrote perhaps a riskier book with a darker idea. There are plenty of picture books out there that deal with tough topics, from the LA Riots to death to other controversial issues. It’s not the subject matter that matters, it’s how you approach writing it with a child’s heart that makes the serious issue work in this genre. Congrats!

  9. Happy Boy’s day, Cinco de Mayo and enjoy the Kentucky Derby! Oh yeah, about that fifth draft…. I just came back from walking my new puppy; walks always help me come up with new ideas and expand on old ones. My new puppy is named Wally Donnatello Beauregard Mumford Rutherford Parker Kazoo (my kids couldn’t decide on a name). He was found with six other puppies in a box in a parking lot at Walmart. If anyone wants to use him for inspiration-please do. 🙂

    • Hooray for puppy idea walks! I too do idea walks, they are very helpful AND healthy. 🙂 Love Wally Donnatello Beauregard Mumford Rutherford Parker Kazoo, that alone is your next book! 🙂

  10. I am way behind but still enjoying NaPiBoWriWee! PBs 1 and 2 are probably more outlines than stories, but at least that gives me something to revise. And yesterday was interesting–as I sat in the coffee shop brainstorming ideas, inspiration hit me about some non-picture book works, and I’m very excited about these nefw ideas! So it’s all good, smile. Thanks for hosting this, Paula!

    • All we care about at NaPiBoWriWee is that your draft is DONE. You can always fix it later. 🙂 I’m sure it’s better than you think! 🙂

  13. Wow, thanks, Paula. Your comments are always so timely. As an illustrator, I’m definitely feeling burned out on the writing. The good news is, when this is over, I can’t wait to get at the dummies! Fell asleep on my manuscript last night, so #4 isn’t finished. I took a bit of a break, but now I realize I was just too lazy to push myself. Going out to work on #5 right now.

    So sorry to hear your day was crammed, but congrats on the TBD contract.

    • That’s so cool you are an artist. Very interesting that you are writing first and then will dummy some these drafts later – great idea. You have an advantage in the industry right now because it’s getting harder for novice writers to get published, they seem to be into writer/artist types more. (Note: All the writers only out there – Don’t panic at what I just said! A good book is a good book and that’s all that we need to focus on!) 🙂

  14. Starting out behind today gave me a push to try something new. I finished yesterday’s draft before noon and wrote my first non-fiction picture book draft EVER after lunch. Dinner should have been cooked already, but 6 hrs later I am done – frustrated with fact-finding, famished and fatigued, but feeling fortunate and fortified! And yes, I will be sleeping IN tomorrow!

    • NON FICTION!!! YAY!!!! I am so excited so many of you are trying NF this year. It’s actually the best area to focus on… it’s always a good market in any year.

  15. How cute. Charlotte is your cheerleader! Nice to have Saturday for your picture book day. I’m done with #5 (I actually wrote it late last night knowing I had a busy day today). My secret is I participated in the PiBoIdMo so I already have ideas. I just need to flesh them out into a story.

    Writing under 600 words is easy. The difficult part is making sure you have all the elements of plot and still be able to show and not tell. That’s my most difficult thing about PB. But I see a lot of pb that tell.

    • Good point Romelle re: books that tell. I have noticed that too. I think there is more telling in PBs only because of the short length. But my theory is that the “telling” in picture books works only because of the voice and the language/word choice. It’s an interesting topic to discuss further…

  16. I also did not finish #4 yesterday – and am a bit relieved to hear that I am not alone! I am nearly done with one today though so hopefully I can play catch up in the next could of days. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

    • Yes Emily you are not alone, I am behind too! But hang in there, we’ll cheer each other on until the end! I have not written 7 picture books in 7 days since 2010 actually (if memory serves me well, I can’t remember what year it was).

  17. Didn’t get to number five until after a full day of casting today. But it’s knocked out, and I can turn on my TV justified.

    • Congrats on casting and getting the book done too. Hope you had fun relaxing while watching TV. Yes, my own TV watching has been on hold during this week as well. 🙂

  18. My medical tests on Thursday completely did a number on my body. The new leg wraps were excruciating and I had to take them off as soon as I got home. The pain was unreal. Called the woman who does my wraps and she redid my legs Friday evening but in the meantime the legs were swollen and very sore. So most of Friday was a washout as far as writing anything, as I spent the day flat on my back in bed to try and keep the swelling down to a minimum. She had to come back this morning and redo them and the legs feel 100 % better even though the toes are still giving me grief.

    I just finished drafts 3 and 4 and am still one behind which I will make up for tomorrow. I like both of these but they need quite a bit of work as they haven’t come together the way that I had hoped even though they will easily fit in with my nature based collections. I like the raindrop one better than the inchworm one and can easily picture the illustrations.

    Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

    • I am so sorry you were in pain and that the recovery process has been difficult. I am amazed by your good spirits and how you still were able to leave a comment here and also figure out your writing plan for the rest of the week. You are MY inspiration. Many well wishes and prayers for your improved health soon. xo P.

  19. I spent the day at an illustrator’s seminar in Simi Valley listening to art director, Laurent Linn. It was an amazing day and very inspirational.

    I Wrote a very simple manuscript that has great illustration possibilities. At only 203 words, “I’m Not A Cat” May be my favorite. Well, at least the subject matter is my favorite.

  20. Ta-da! 390 words. It took me most of the day to come up with my story (I even resorted to housecleaning cuz I had nothin’. Then in the middle of vacuuming the idea came!
    Thank you, Carolyn, for the short of it all! Thank you, Paula, again for this motivation. It’s 11:42 pm Michigan time – I’m off to bed. Blessings to everyone!

    • I love how all writers at some point clean the house instead of write. It somehow provides our brains with gestation time to sort out our writing problems. Glad you were able to finish the writing! AND you have clean floors… winning! 🙂

  21. A little late finishing #5 since I dropped and broke my ipad yesterday but today it is done at 493 words. It’s rough but no time to think about it. On to draft #6 to catch up.

  22. Book five went wonderfully. I tried out a poem. I started with a familiar old children’s song (that’s in the common domain) and changed it up and made it something new. It’s probably my favorite story yet.

    As for the writing short thing, on Day 3, which was a killer, I wrote a story that was way too long, but then I realized that it wasn’t really a picture book. It’s an early chapter book. So there you go. Just as good (maybe even better.)

    • I love that you took a song and used the rhythms to come up with a wonderful story poem. Bravo! And that’s great that your too-long picture book might have the potential to be a chapter book. YIPPEE!

  24. I’m loving the kitty inspirations. I rewrote my second book three times, which kind of counts and four books total. They are all around 1600 words. But, I am not reaching the 7 book goal.

    • But 1600 words sounds like you have written some very in-depth picture book manuscripts which is also fantastic. I think having three solid drafts versus 7 hastily written ones (like mine LOL) will serve you well this year. 🙂

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