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PiBoIdMo Blog Hop

© 2013 Sylvia Liu

November is challenge time. Next month, I will take part in two writing challenges: PiboIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) and NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). (My challenge to you poets out there: create a rhyming couplet with those words and leave it in your comment. My attempt is at the end of this post.)

First up is the PiBoIdMo blog hop:




PiBoIdMo Blog Hop


Each November, picture book author Tara Lazar sponsors Picture Book Idea Month. The goal is to brainstorm one picture book idea a day for 30 days. I did this last year and came up with 19 ideas. I turned 6 of them into decent drafts this year and a few more are still on my "to write" list. The misunderstood snake on the plane idea has not made it out of the list yet.

Tara started a blog hop, and I was tagged by two of my good online friends, Teresa Robeson and Emily Lim. In this blog hop, I answer four questions and tag three fellow picture book writers.

Q. What are you working on right now?

 I am revising several picture book drafts and preparing sample illustrations for them.

Q. How does it differ from other works in the genre?

 On the one hand, every story has already been told. On the other hand, every writer and illustrator has her own unique take on the world. So three of my recent stories are my take on age-old stories of wanting to be understood, sharing love with a grandparent, and never giving up in the face of impossible odds.

Q. Why do you write what you do?

 I have always wanted to write and illustrate picture books since I was young. I just love the way pictures and words interact to tell a story.

Q. What is the hardest part about writing?

The hardest part for me is overcoming procrastination and actually writing.


Tag, You're It

I've met some really great picture book writers through various online communities. Here are three who you should check out and follow - they are rising stars with talent and heart.

Carter Higgins is a former motion graphics designer turned librarian who writes and blogs. She runs an amazing blog, Design of the Picture Book, where she reviews picture books from a design and layout perspective. She always chooses visually stunning books and has introduced me to so many excellent picture books. She is represented by Rubin Pfeffer of East West Literary Agency, and I fully expect to see her books at a bookstore near me someday.   


Just to make you all feel old, Erik is an 11-year old blogger who writes picture books and chapter books. He is an avid reader who reviews children's books on his blog, This Kid Reviews Books. His latest project is to raise money through a read-a-thon for a friend, Renn Telles, who has epilepsy and is undergoing brain surgery this month. He has also published a chapter book, The Adventures of Tomato & Pea, Book 1: A Bad Idea.


Stacey Byer is a painter and illustrator from Grenada. Her first published picture book, Fun Fun One Crab on the Run, written by Mario Picayo, just hit the shelves. I met Stacey through Susanna Hill's picture book writing class and admire her talent, style, and dedication to art and education. She blogs at Stacey Byer Illustration.






NaNoWriMo


This is my first year attempting the National Novel Writing Month, and I'm sure it will get its own blog post shortly. I'll be working on a chapter book that I've been planning for awhile. The cool part is I am taking part in a local NaNoWriMo writing workshop led by Lydia Netzer, author of SHINE, SHINE, SHINE, which was described by the New York Times as a "stellar, thought-provoking debut."

And... here's my lame rhyming couplet (I know you can do better):


I spent the month of November thinking up stories for PiBoIdMo,
But all that angst just gave my husband grist for his NaNoWriMo.

P.S.  You can leave a comment without rhyming.





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