Now For Something A Little Different • Lynne Garner

I was recently asked to visit a school as part of their 'aspirations day' and talk about being an author. As I have close ties with the school I agreed. The day came and I was led to the second year room and sat in front of 20 or so year two children. After introducing myself and telling them about my typical writing day I asked if there were any questions. The first question I was asked was where do you get your ideas from? My response was anywhere and everywhere. Including:

• Seeing random objects whilst I'm out walking
• Sitting in a pub or similar, especially when I overhear an interesting conversation     
• On the train, again overheard conversations are wonderful generators of ideas   
• In the car as a passenger when I'm watching the world go by
• Reading snippets in a newspaper, when I should be cleaning out hutches

My last example received a giggle or two. I admitted my last flash of inspiration was whilst sitting on the loo of a very quaint tea room. Among the many photographs was this one of a donkey, wearing a fab utility coat full of pockets and interesting items. I have a few ideas floating around but nothing concrete, yet.

I was then asked how random objects could generate a story. I replied things can spark different ideas based on our life experiences and our imagination. So here is the 'now for something a little different' part of this post.

Below I've inserted a few random objects I've photographed whilst out walking. I'm inviting you to give one of these objects a story, a life of it's own. Go on give it a go. I'd love to read what life you think these objects had prior to being lost or discarded in the grass.

If you've taken the time to write a few words thank you. I hope you enjoyed the process and fingers crossed it may even give you an idea for your next piece of writing.

Regards

Lynne

Now for a blatant plug:

NEW RELEASE

Hedgehog of Moon Meadow Farm

UK - ebook and paperback

US - ebook and paperback

SALE - bit.ly/BrerRabbitTales

Tweak or Give Up? - Some dodgy advice from yer uncle Jon - by Jonathan Allen

Finally sending an idea out to an agent or a publisher is always an act of faith. Faith in your own ability and in your own judgement. The trouble is that when ideas get turned down it can make this faith seem completely misguided. . . That depends on your mental resilience of course. I always say, somewhat flippantly, that there are two ways people react to rejection, one is to conclude that they are total rubbish and have rubbish ideas, and the other is to take the attitude that 'the fools don't appreciate my genius'!
The latter is probably better for your sanity, but rather too close to delusion perhaps, and the former is just defeatist.
Having faith in your own judgement is a big part of being a writer, (and any other kind of creator or maker) and that faith is a fragile thing so you have to look after it ;-)
Easier said than done, I know.
Rejection is part and parcel of being a writer, it's not pleasant, but its a fact of life and has to be accepted as such otherwise no one would ever send their precious ideas out into the world at all.

So us writers and illustrators work hard on our ideas, tweaking and revising to make them into something a publisher can look at and see how they would work as books. The difficult bit is knowing when an idea has reached that point, knowing when to stop tweaking the idea and submit it. Knowing when to jump. . . Is it underworked or overworked? Too loose or too prescriptive?

You hope you have worked hard enough and got the idea as 'right' as you can get it because once something has been turned down, you can't really tweak it and send it in to the same person again to see if they like it with your added 'improvements'. They won't have the time or patience for that.
There are no doubt exceptions to this, but generally, if a publisher or agent is interested in an idea they will make some allowances, and will often suggest ways to make it work better if such is needed. If they aren't interested, they won't be willing to spend their precious time analysing it and telling you why it doesn't appeal.


So, do you tweak your idea and send it to someone else?
The trouble is, it is impossible to know why an idea gets rejected. There may be two people in a meeting who are mad about it, but three who weren't keen. There may be two really good ideas on the table and only one slot in the Spring list, so someone has to lose out. Or it may be because your idea is rubbish and nobody in their right mind would touch it with a barge pole. . . It's unknowable, so really it's not useful to speculate too much. Also, to complicate things still further, your 'improvements' might not enhance the idea at all, and the next person to see it may have preferred the first or untweaked version had they seen it. . . Or not. . . You could drive yourself nuts with this stuff.

So really, you have to put the effort in and have faith. Get an idea to the point where you like it and you think it 'works', then let it go knowing you have done your best. If it doesn't find a publisher, move on. You will keep having ideas.


Some might be rubbish ideas, as writers can easily be too close to an idea to fully judge its value, and of course the last thing you'll have wanted is to have spent your precious time and energy in the ultimately futile pursuit of a rubbish idea. But on the other hand, often the only way you can get an idea to the point where you can make some kind of judgement of its worth, is by putting the time and energy in and seeing how it turns out. 'Wasted' time is a given. It's part of the deal.

Only you can decide if your continued faith in an oft rejected idea is misplaced. You may get a flash of inspiration and find the perfect way of making your idea work, or you might find that you have just added more wasted time to time previously wasted. Are you being laudably persistent or are you flogging a long dead horse? I've been in both situations so I can't really offer useful advice on how to tell the difference other than by the result, or lack of it.

Basically I think we are all winging it and hoping for the best, argubly from an increasingly informed perspective as time goes on, but don't quote me on that. ;-)

Good luck btw. . .

Setting a Challenge

I teach a distance learning course How to Write A Picture Book for Women On Writing (do take a look it's a great site and eZine) and they sent me a link for Picture Book Ideas Month.

The concept is to come up with 30 ideas for picture books over a 30 day period. Thankfully those who take part don't have to complete 30 manuscripts in 30 days or even write a potential best-seller. You simply have to come up with an idea that can be used in a picture book. Perhaps a title, a character, an idea based on something you overheard or a fact. The idea was devised by children's author Tara Lazar and is meant to 'exercise' your writing muscle and create a pot of ideas you can plunder when you need to.       

I must admit having to coming up with 30 new ideas over a 30 day period scared me and excited me. I debated for a week or so if I should take part but finally took the plunge. I'm now 14 days into the exercise and have surprised myself by coming up with a new idea each day. So far I have ideas that involve something to do with:

• A young hare (inspired by a book written by Dennis Hamley called 'Hares Choice' - well worth a read)
• An apprentice fairy who loses her powers (inspired by a news piece about apprenticeships)    
• An old dog being taught new tricks by a younger dog (inspired by my dogs new best friend, who is six years younger than her)

I'm hopeful by the end of the exercise I'll have 30 ideas scribbled down. I realise some will never become a manuscript and those that do may never be published. However I'm enjoying the process and if I get just one published title based on one of the ideas generated I'll be a very happy author.

Lynne Garner

I'm also part of the blogging team on:

Do Authors Dream of Electric Books?

An Awfully Big Blogging Adventure

Using The Five Senses To Inspire Your Writing - Lynne Garner

A few months ago I was asked to create a new course for WOW (Women On Writing) as a follow on for my beginners course 'How To Write A Picture Book And Get Published.' It was decided we'd set a challenge for our students, to write five books in five weeks basing each one on one of the five senses.

In order to help support the students I started researching the five senses. Also as part of that research I asked my writing friends how they'd used the five senses in their stories. These are just a couple of the replies I received:   

A story inspired by sight: 

Written by Pippa Goodhart and illustrated by Andy Rowlands.

The story as described by the author:

"Little Nelly's Big Book plays on the lack of any pictures in her big book. Little Nelly is an elephant, but the description in her book of a mouse being grey, having big ears, and having a skinny tail, leads her to the conclusion that she is a mouse. So she tries to make herself at home with a family of mice. When her friend Micky, who really is a mouse, reads the description of an elephant (exactly the same attributes as the other one) he concludes that he's an elephant, but they decide they can still be friends, even though they are different.

Quote kindly supplied by Pippa Goodhart (visit Pippa's website).

A story inspired by sound:

Written by Jane Clarke and illustrated by Chrystyan Fox.

The inspiration behind the story as described by the author:  

"Creaky Castle was inspired by a childhood sleepover in a creaky old house. My friend and I stayed up all night, terrifying each other by suggesting what the noises we heard in the house could be. The text began with ideas for lots of spooky noises, and what could be making them, and developed from there into a funny rhyming picture book."

Quote kindly supplied by author Jane Clarke (visit Jane's Website)

A story inspired by smell:

Written by me and illustrated by Mike Brownlow

This story was inspired by the many dogs I've shared my life with, the occasional smell the create, mixed with the words our family will utter when this happens, "Sorry, the dog did it!"

So next time you're stuck for an idea why not use touch, taste, smell, sound and sight to inspire you. You never know where it'll lead you.

P.S.

If you're a writer and have a book inspired by the five senses I'd love to hear about it. And with your permission I'd include in the reading list of my course.

Lynne Garner

My blog: Fuelled By Hot Chocolate

Unashamed plug for my distance learning writing eCourses that start 6th October 2012

How To Write A Picture Book (six week course)

Write Five Picture Books In Five Weeks  

Why We Write – Alison Boyle

Question 1: Why should we write?
Answer 1: Because we must. 
Question 2: But why must we?
Answer 2: Eco-nomic necess-i-ty?

For most writers across the world it's flying in the face of economic necessity to spend time on writing.

Question 3: So why keep going in the face of hours of commitment that may end in a rejection?

I refer you back to Answer 1.

Balaclavian public art. Was it a Sassie who swooped on
the Northern Quarter in Manchester, England,
to paint this street furniture, then disappeared?

If we write picturebook texts and they move from the realm of our personal computer or notepad to the public realm of a printed book or eBook or app etc, our ideas and the way they're expressed have the potential to be remembered. They can get people thinking and talking and can provide the foundations for so much more.

If you are fortunate to have had one book published you'll know the thrill of either seeing it discovered by a 'new' reader or re-discovered by an 'old' reader.

PICTURE THE SCENE World Book Day 2012. A four year-old girl waits patiently for an exceedingly long snake of young children to be guided into the classroom for a Visiting Author session. I am the Visiting Author, I've brought some books with me that the school wants to buy. They're in my bag...

Four year-old Girl: What do you do?

Me: I write books, including for children.

Four year-old Girl: [Long pause, looking round at her classmates]: We're children.

Me: You are.

Four year-old Girl: Have I read any of your books?
[If she can read she is doing well for her age, and if she can't then I enjoy knowing that the grown-ups in her life are valuing her contribution]

Me: Maybe.
[Visiting Author scans the classroom, and seeing two healthy-sized wooden boxes of picturebooks, walks over with a mixture of trepidation and hope. Four year-old Girl watches Visiting Author with that question hanging in the air.

In under ten seconds a book by Visiting Author is located, and it's a well-thumbed edition. Four year-old Girl, who looks intrigued]

Me: I wrote this book.
[I did, I did, and it's in my top three and I've never fallen out with it, and I really liked the editor and the illustrator - this, as all published picturebook authors will know, is not guaranteed - and it's been borrowed thousands of times from libraries across the UK]

Four year-old Girl: [Smiles]

Me: [First I listen to an introduction by the teacher, then I launch into my World Book Day session, telling the story of a classmate who incited me to rummage through the class's book box.]

PICTURE ANOTHER SCENE A close friend I met in publishing leaves to qualify as a teacher and build a school in a remote part of Ghana with an inspirational Ghanaian woman. Literally build it, cement scooped into the boot of the Head's car to avoid it being syphoned off overnight before water can be added and bricks can be stuck together to make some walls.

Whilst over in Scotland my friend volunteers at a local primary school helping children who have additional needs, often due to their family circumstances.

The Volunteer Teacher asks a Seven year-old Boy to go to the bookshelf and choose five books...

Volunteer Teacher: 'Oh, you've chosen a book written by one of my friends.' [Note: No product placement involved]

Seven year-old Boy: [Looks askance at Volunteer Teacher] I don't believe you.

Volunteer Teacher: No, really.

[They read all of the books together]

Volunteer Teacher, friend, and biased-towards-me person: Which is your favourite out of those five?

Seven year-old Boy: This one.

Of course the chosen book is the one I wrote. If it hadn't been I wouldn't have heard the story. I protest to my friend that the boy was trying to impress his new teacher, whom he likes. The response was that the boy never chooses anything just to go along with the teacher. I don't think she's completely right, but I don't think she's completely wrong either. (By the way, it's the same book as in the first example.)

All writers have stories about how their words and ideas get people thinking and talking. Whether shared or not, these experiences bring sporadic energy to the ongoing labour of writing. Many authors are strapped for cash and finding it increasingly hard to make a living out of their art, due to fewer offers, lower advances and unsettled routes to market. But this is also a time of opportunity.

Writers need to survive for new writing to happen. I write because I have to, but it isn't just about me. Many children who are keen to read our books can't even get to school. If they can get to school and the schools are good ones, our books can make a difference.

Question 4: What can we do to reach readers?
Answer 4: We can write.

Question 1: Why should we write?
My Right Honourable Friend, I refer you back to the answer I gave some moments ago - Answer 1)

There's a story or two you might like to read on this website. If you look deep enough you will find the foundations.

On the side wall of a car park in Manchester, England,
an enormous bird perches; cement supports the painting's base.