NEW CHALLENGE! DOODLE DAY MAY!

Self Portrait created by my daughter - age 5

It is in the last page of her sketchbook - when I asked her why she jumped to the last page, she said because "authors and artists always have their photos on the last page." : )

 

DOODLE DAY MAY
I have been creating a Daily Doodle everyday for the past several weeks and off and on since last summer. In November 2012, I participated in SkADaMo - Sketch a Day Month and it was soo much fun. I didn't spend more than an hour from start to finish on any drawing and some of those sketches found their way into my portfolio for a SCBWI conference a few months ago and they were the ones that the art directors enjoyed the most! I could hardly believe it. They said that they were "light and fun." As a former professional Toy Designer - when drawing became a chore and no fun at all. I vowed after SkADaMo that 2013 was my year to make drawing fun again. I have been doodling a ton and posting many of them on my Facebook page - see HERE. You can also see more of my drawings on my website.



This morning, my 5 year old - who LOVES to draw in her sketchbook and paints every day - told me that she would like to do a "Doodle a Day", too, so together we came up with a NEW CHALLENGE for artists, writers, parents, teachers, children, friends, friends of friends and anybody else who is ready to let their creativity shine.

DOODLE DAY MAY! 

 

 

So here is it in a nutshell. From May 1 to May 31, create 1 or more Doodles everyday. These can take up to 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 mintutes or even an hour from start to finish but if you are spending more than an hour on a doodle, you are trying too hard. Don't overthink it. May 1-7 is also NaPiBoWriWee and this will coincide with that perfectly if you are also participating in that challenge. Come up with your story for Picture Book Writing Week, write it and create a doodle of a character, a scene, the title or any other element of the story concept. Easy. For those of you who tell everyone that you are "not an artist" or "can't draw", I say BUNK! It is a doodle! It can be a squiggle, a tree, a flower, a rainbow, a person, a pet, a pancake or anything else you can think of. No one is grading you. No one is judging you. I have created a FACEBOOK GROUP called DOODLE DAY MAY so join the challenge and the group.

 

 

Now, I know that all of you parents have a crazy hectic month starting - for my kids, school ends at the end of May and we have six zillion events happening between now and then and as an involved parent, I have volunteered for many of them. Don't let that make you think that you can't create a Doodle each day of the month of May. If you need the help, I will post a drawing prompt on the Facebook Group page for each day for those who need a little push. As an experienced art teacher, I remember those students who would stare at the paper during free draw time at the end of class and have this blank look with no clue what to put on the page. A brilliant author/illustrator Peter H Reynolds wrote a picture book about that exact problem - THE DOT. As the book says, "Make a dot and see where it takes you."

 

 

 

Parents, get your kids involved in this one. Doodle together. Take a picture with your camera or your phone and post the pic on the FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE that I will created. Leave a comment to let me know you are jumping in with me and join the Facebook Page. Know this - if you do not create a doodle every day, nobody is knocking on your door about it. NO STRESS is the key to this challenge. Write a word in funky lettering or create an abstract picture of shapes and squiggles if you can't think of something to draw. You can use pencil, pen, marker, crayon, paint, or anything else you like to draw with.

 

 

 

JOIN ME FOR DOODLE DAY MAY AND LET YOUR CREATIVITY SHINE!

 

 

 

LEAVE A COMMENT TO LET ME KNOW YOU ARE JOINING ME ON THIS DOODLING ADVENTURE!

 

IF YOU WANT TO POST YOUR DOODLES ON YOUR BLOG OR FACEBOOK PAGE, LEAVE A LINK WHEN YOU DO IT AND I WILL SHARE IT!


My 2012: A Look Back

2012 has beens my year for challenges and acronyms. I participated in Julie Hedlund's 12x12 all year, Paula Yoo's NaPiBoWriWee in May, Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo in November, and Linda Silvestri's SkADaMo in November. In addition to all of these, my debut picture released November 15th. It was a lot of challenges and a lot of work. In case you don't know what these acronyms stand for, here are some quick definitions:

12x12 - Write 12 picture book drafts in 12 months. I did it. Thank you Julie Hedlund.

NaPiBoWriWee - National Picture Book Writing Week, Write 7 picture book manuscripts in 7 days. I did it and with 12x12, I wrote 18 manuscripts this year. Thank you Paula Yoo.

PiBoIdMo - Picture Book Idea Month, Come up with a concept for a picture book storyline every day of the month of November. I completed this challenge this year and last year. I used many of last year's ideas to create drafts for the first two challenges on this list. Thank you Tara Lazar.

SkADaMo - Sketch a Day Month, Create a sketch every day in November and post them on your blog. I posted 23 sketches on this blog. I actually created one every day but could not post some because they are part of a picture book dummy for a NaPiBoWriWee story I wrote in the 2011 challenge. This was my first year doing  this challenge and it was a lot of fun. Can't think too long when you have to produce a sketch and post it that day. Thank you Linda Silvestri (who also created the 12x12 badge you see at the top of this post.

As if November wasn't busy enough with writing a draft for 12x12, coming up with an idea for a story everyday for PiBoIdMo, and creating a sketch everyday for SkADaMo - a picture book that I wrote and illustrated launched on November 15th. FLAP! is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound, and my website (if you want an autographed copy). See image of FLAP! cover on the sidebar.

Now that I have thanked the four talented women who led these challenges, I need to thank the other writers and illustrators who participated in these challenges with me. Thank you. I read many of your pitches, critiqued many of your stories, reviewed many of your sketches. You are all very talented and supportive and I appreciate the communities created within these writing groups.

But wait! There's more! Because of exposure through 12x12, I was invited to join a group of writer's who had books coming out in 2012 and share marketing advice and efforts. Thank you Picture Book Pluggers. I also created a business called AH Designs in which I create swag for authors and other professionals - including bookmarks, business cards, postcards, coloring pages, book formating, etc... Thank you Susanna Hill for helping to get this ball rolling.

One More Thing! Through the connections I made in 12x12, I also started an online picture book critique group called Flowing Words with several talented writers and illustrators. Thank you to those writers for sharing your manuscripts with me and for helping me polish my writing.

Whew, now I can breathe for a couple of weeks until 12x12 in 2013 begins this January. Are you with me? There is nothing more motivating that a group of writers struggling along with you and telling you that YOU CAN DO IT.

Preparing for NaPiBoWriWee

Brainstorming Session

NaPiBoWriWee begins May 1^st and runs through May 7^th. This odd group of letters stands for National Picture Book Writing Week. The challenge is to write seven picture books in seven days. Maybe you’re thinking that this is crazy or simply can’t be done. It can. I participated in this challenge led by Paula Yoo, last year and had a great time. I met a group of caring, supportive, and motivating writers dedicated to writing for children and I am still in touch with many of them today. I am also participating in Julie Hedlund’s 12 x 12 challenge of writing twelve picture books in twelve months so combined; I should have 18 or 19 new drafts this year.

A key to being successful with both of these writing challenges is preparation.

First, if you haven’t done it yet, go sign up for NaPiBoWriWee. Signing up means go to Paula’s website and leave a comment at the bottom of the post that gives details about the event. You have to log in to Wordpress to leave a comment but don’t have to start a Wordpress site or blog – just create an account which means giving your name and email address and coming up with a password. During the week, Paula Yoo will post interviews with professionals in the children’s writing industry and she'll give prizes at the end. There is also a Facebook Group page and a Café Press store with notebooks, shirts, and mugs with the NaPiBoWriWee logo. Okay, enough about the event – let’s start brainstorming!

Start with making a list of at least 10 events in a child’s life. Be specific to the age of your target audience so think about zero to eight year olds.

Here is my list – make your own– the more ideas, the better. Think about unique experiences you or your own children had.

1. playdates
2. running in a sprinkler
3. losing a tooth
4. birthday parties
5. being line leader at school
6. participating in sports
7. taking the bus
8. joining girl scouts or cub scouts
9. making new friends
10. taking care of a pet

Now come up with a list of 10 locations. Be adventurous.

Here is my list – make your own and add to this one. Again, the more the better.

1. beach
2. doctor/dentist
3. playground
4. zoo
5. hair salon
6. pet store
7. grocery store
8. bus stop
9. museum
10. on the bus, or plane, or train

Now mix it up. Take an experience from the first list and use the location from the second list.

Here are some examples:

What if a child lost a tooth at the beach?

What if a child got to be the Line Leader on the class trip to the zoo?

What if a child went to a birthday party at a hair salon?

After you come up with a list of events at locations, think of what can go wrong. Does your mc forget something, lose something, break something. Is he or she afraid to do something?, etc...?

Try this. You need seven ideas. Come up with ten so that when you get to day seven, you still have choices. The pre-challenge is not to let yourself start writing them yet. Before NaPiBoWriWee begins, you can brainstorm and outline your thoughts but DON’T start writing yet.

Last year, each morning (after I got my little ones off to school) I would sit down at my computer, select an idea off my list, and write it. Try to develop your idea with a beginning, middle, and ending. Don’t worry about how great you think this draft has to be – we are not trying to write seven final drafts. Get your idea on the page. You have the rest of the year to tweak, edit, revise, rewrite, illustrate (if you are also an illustrator). We do not post and share our stories with other participants and nobody is checking your computer to make sure you do it. You are challenging yourself. Remember, a picture book is 0-1000 pages with the sweet spot being between 200-700. It is not a lot of words to get onto a page in one day so if you find yourself laboring over an idea, choose a different one for that day. You can always go back to the tough one or scrap it.

You can do this. You have a week to brainstorm your list of ideas. Have fun with it.

Leave a comment and let me know if this brainstorming session helped you.