“I don’t have any ideas,” moaned my middle son. If he were a novelist, he might have said he had writer’s block. He wanted to work on his new boardgame idea but he was in the midst of a creative crisis. He didn”t know how to  get from his basic idea into the drawing stages and from there into the production stages. It seemed overwhelming. And he couldn’t stop thinking that in the end, his idea would not be as good as the games his older brother had created. 
I really detest the phrase writer’s block. It’s such a vague term and sounds like a horrible disease. Hang on – a good disease anaolgy could be made to anemia. Anemia isn’t a disease, it’s a symptom of a larger problem. In the same way, writer’s block isn’t actually the problem, it’s a symptom of a larger problem. In a novel or a story, the larger problem might be a weak plot, characters who don’t want something badly, or not enough obstacles. With enough hard work on those elements it becomes evident that writer’s block is actually a useful sign of a underlying problem that needs to be fixed.

So what was the underlying problem for my son? In his case, since he’s only 8, he was overwhelmed by the number of ideas he wanted to capture and not sure how to outline the elements of the game he had swirling in his brain. When he gets frustrated, this kid can go off the deep end and refuse to listen to any suggestions. Luckily I caught him in time and introduced the spider web concept of brainstorming and capturing ideas. He really got into it. It helped him jot down the ideas he already had AND generate new ones! I don’t want to brag but it was pretty much a parenting win. 

I have known about this technique for awhile but my participation in Kidlit Summer School refreshed my willingness to try new story creation strategies. And it helped with my own version of writer’s block, which again had nothing to do with not being able to write. My version had to do with creating an interesting story with a twist in the end. I wrote about a boy caring for caterpillars. I wrote all of the dialogue and the chronology of events. But like the funny meme on the internet right now, the surprise isn’t that the caterpillar becomes a butterfly.

In order to address the symptom of writer’s block which really indicated I didn’t have a good enough obstacle in my story, I started brainstorming. What obstacles could prevent my main character from reaching his goal?

1. He is grounded and caring for the caterpillars is his punishment.

2. He wants to start a lawn mowing business but can only get this job.

3. He’s scared of bugs and caterpillars and butterflies and doesn’t want people to know.

The story isn’t about the caterpillars now. It’s about the boy and how he changes and overcomes these obstacles. So how could he change?

1. He  learns to love nature and enjoys the caterpillars. He even misses them when they fly away.

2. He realizes how great the job is and begins raising them.

3. He gets over his fear and loves the butterflies. 

Number 1 and 3 are similar. What if he wants a real pet but his test is to keep the caterpillars alive? Or what if they are part of a summer school assignment? 

There are lots of ideas here now. And the problem isn’t not knowing what to write, it’s knowing which one is right. But I won’t sit around pondering. I’ll pick one and write it out because the max word count for my target publication is less than 1000 words. Then I’ll write out another, and maybe a third. 

When you have writer’s block, what is it warning you about in your writing?

How do you beat writer’s block?

Which butterfly boy story do you like best?

(Hey, Butterfly Boy! That’s a good title! I’m liking the boy who is scared of butterflies tackles a job of raising caterpillars…)

 
I’m chugging away on the final stages of my new ebook for kids about dinosaurs! As part of the brainstorm process I made lists and lists of dinosaur words. Need some? Help yourself! 

horns
snout
spike
plate
claw
frill
feather
spine
tails
armor
club tail
beak
bones
fossils
rocks
nest
egg
tracks

jump
hunt
roar
growl
howl
swoop
screech
sneak
leap
stomp
thump
stalk
hunt
tear
stare
rip
climb
prowl

prehistoric
jurassic
fossilized
jurassic
triassic
cretaceaus
evolution
lizard hipped
bird hipped
omnivore
herbivore
carnivore
carrion eater
extinct
What words would you add? Send them to me and I’ll post them! 

Sorry I’ve been absent from the blog lately, but things have gotten hot and heavy this summer thanks to an amazing free online class I’m taking hosted by Nerdy Chicks Rule. It’s called KidLit Summer School: The Plot Thickens.

There are blog posts coming at me every DAY! With exercises! I’ve found all of the posts and exercises to be informative and helpful, even if I learn that the tools and techniques don’t really work for me. I think learning what doesn’t work is often as valuable as learning what does work.

Is this just for picture books? Chapter books? Nope. In fact, I’ve used the exercises for my middle grade manuscript and my current favorite picture book manuscript. I’m pretty sure I’ll use some of the exercises as I plan out my 2015 NaNoWriMo project and refine a second manuscript into submission-ready status.

In addition to KidLit Summer School, I’m also trying to keep up with the monthly goals set by Julie Hedlund’s 12 x 12 Challenge. Can you write 12 picture book manuscripts in 12 months? You can if you want to make it happen! This is my first year in 12×12, and although I’ve been pretty successful at revising manuscripts each month, I haven’t been able to draft a new manuscript every month. I have ideas but I often run out of the time and mental clarity to put down the words.

So what is keeping you busy this summer?

I subscribe via email to Sarah Selecky‘s writing prompts. I don’t always respond to a prompt every day, but I do eventually sit down and write. Sarah’s instructions are to write by hand, in a notebook, for at least 10 minutes, so each piece I share will be relatively short. 

I stared at the wax seal on the envelope, remembering the time we visited that colonial village, a re-enactment village actually, designed to make as much money off the tourists curious about the single mud and log cabin remaining in the field. The cabin itself was a dusty skeleton of it’s former self which was probably never very impressive but a clever group of local citizens full of pride and economic verve knew they could erect a tiny bustling empire around summer visitors. We were there for the food and craft festival, she loved going out of the way for those events and finding something to adore about the earnest enthusiasm of the planning committee’s results even if it barely resembled the product promised in the promotional photos.

We stood in the doorway of the little cabin as the breeze sighed through the holes in the walls. Sunlight stripes drew a parquet floor over dirt and laughter passed through a doorway small enough for children but not much more. Not big enough to dream of full bellies and rich clothes, just enough to get by.

She shivered and said, “Did you see that ghost that passed through me?”

I laughed.

“Harvest time, probably.”

“Probably,” she agreed. “Let’s go find something to buy. I saw a booth selling quill pens and leather books. I’ll write you something and save it to send you when I’m a ghost passing through you.”