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Penny Nolan

Step Three - Sit Down and Actually Write

By Penny Nolan


Blog two was about what to include in your story and now you need to sit down and actually write. There are a lot jokes about how writers seem to find a plethora of ways to distract themselves from writing. That’s because it is true for many of us. It’s hard to get started.

 

Finding time. Find a time of day when you are most creative, wide awake, or just plain available. That can be the hardest part of writing. We all have super busy schedules, especially if you have kids. Kids are a catch-22. They’re the ones you are writing for and yet they’re the ones who make it difficult to find the time. Try to set aside that time every day. I’m not always in the mood to write and I have to trick myself. I tell myself, just five minutes. That five minutes always turns into more, but it feels good knowing I have given myself the option to only write for five minutes. This works for exercising too.

 

How to start writing. You may find yourself sitting and staring at the computer for a while trying to figure out what to write. Those first words of the day can be a real stumper. Then it’s time to warm up your brain. I’m heavily right-brained. My left, logical side is asleep, like a lot. So, I find it helps to just start typing anything to get the brain engaged. It can be the first thing that comes to mind or complete gibberish. In fact, go ahead and deliberately write a terrible idea, just get it out of the way. Have no fear. There’s a delete button.

 

Make a draft. The idea is to just get out a first draft. That draft will not be your last. It is only a starting point. I revised my first book over fifty times. My second book, only twenty-two. You get better. Just get your ideas out. They can be rearranged later. In fact, by the time you are finished, your story may be completely different than it started.

 

A book Dummy. After you have your story down, pull out a typical 32-page picture book and note how the pages are laid out. Then make a simple dummy of your book to make sure it works. You want to make sure you have enough action for the illustrator. If there is a lot of standing around and talking, that can make for boring pages. Think about how many words are on a page. Huge paragraphs can be off-putting.

 

Have fun with page turns. You can stop on one page and turn it for a surprise. Maybe the font gets bigger to create excitement.

 

Revise, revise, revise. Make it as perfect as you can. By the time it is ready, it should have gone through many critiques. Fix anything that gives you pause. Read it out loud. If you stumble, there’s probably something that needs to be fixed. Picture books are meant to be read aloud. Make it fun to do so.

 

You will get lots of advice, but it is your story. Don’t let anyone lead you astray. Take only the advice that feels right. Keep the heart of the story. Ask yourself, why did you want to write the story in the first place? What does it mean to you?

 

Keep each draft! You may need to refer back to your original ideas.

 

Beware of trying to put your friends and family in your story. Many times, writers try to add nonessential characters that don’t work. Remember, the story comes first!

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