I feel that I am much more of an illustrator than a writer… if anyone reading this feels the opposite about themselves and thinks they can write the story for a children’s book, drop me a line with your ideas! I wrote a couple of outlines but I haven’t been that happy with the specifics.
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What age group are you aiming for? Also, do you have all the artwork done and just need a story to go with it or are you looking for a story to illustrate?
you should get your daughter to help write the story. i always love childrens books that kids themselves help to write.
You are a very good writer. If you can keep adults enthralled, and it’s evident that you can, children should follow suit. Is it ideas you seek or the actual meat and potatoes to fill out the meal?
I would love to help you Shannon! I’m going to college specifically to write, so if you want my help, feel free to ask for it.
MM&I – I’m aiming for age 4 – 8 probably. I’m looking for a story to illustrate.
Jasmin – I am asking for it :)
I actually have a kids book written, with no illustrations because I am not artistically inclined. I can send you the draft if you’d like – I’m not sure it’s your kind of thing though.
That said, even though I envisioned the illustrations in black and white ink, your style would probably look awesome.
BUT I think you’re a fantastic writer.
I’d love to see your outlines if you’re willing to share! I’m sure you’re a brilliant writer, Shannon. You’re very intelligent!
I too, would be interested in writing a children’s story. I have wanted to for a very long time, but the whole trying-to-get-published thing intimidated me so much I never wrote one.
I would like to third the “hey show me your outlines” vote, if only to be emailed to us so we can make suggestions / work with them / etc. I too am a creative writing major, and I’d love to try to work with you on something.
I’m sure this comes out of my current magazine-writing internship (bragbrag), but what’s the angle you’re looking to go for? Are you trying to do something educational? In what vein? Or do you just want to make kids happy with a good story and pictures? I’d want to know what sort of angle you’re going for before I try to actually pitch anything to you.
I agree with Melissa. If I can see an outline, I can email you a rough draft story.
The two stories I’ve been tossing around are one that’s sort of inspired by “I know an old lady who swallowed a fly” in which a kid’s drawing with chalk and some innocuous drawing comes to life and starts chasing them around… they draw a cycle of beasts and creations to defend them from the previous one until it spirals out of their control but then the rain saves them.
The other book I want to do is a cyclical book, that would be spiral bound, and could be read starting from anywhere… The concept is that it’s a cycle of life, with one thing being born and then consumed by the next, and then at the end of the cycle, eventually reborn and the cycle repeats.
haha, loving the first idea, get your child to help, yeah…definately
The cyclical book would work really well if it was done loosely based on seasons, or even just a story that happens over the course of a day.
The first idea is very similar to ‘Harold and the Purple Crayon‘…
…Though it’s still a great concept. I loved the book as a kid.
I think the cyclical book would be more interesting, and more challenging. I think the biggest decision you have to make would be if it would be the life-cycle of multiple species or the life cycle of one species? I think one species might be a little more kid-friendly, simply because you can avoid the nasty business of carnivorous creatures; however, one species would be more difficult to make cyclical. Have you ever played the flash game “Sprout?” That’s what I’m thinking of for this book. (It’s a fabulous game, you should play it!) Of course, dinosaurs are the obvious theme here, but maybe a dinosaur could talk to a tree? (Tree would be easier because it goes through distinct phases and you can tell its age easily by rings. You could talk about each ring being a growing season, and why it looks like rings, but that’s a more educational direction than you might want to go in. On the other hand, that could be really cool, because each ring is kind of a layer / image that the tree moves through.)
I’ll drop you a mail on Snowrail when I’m less rushed off my feet, dude :)
Got a few things I’ve been working on myself.
*n
I love the idea of the cyclic book. Hope you get it figured out soon!
I love writing, and creating stories and have always wanted to create illustrated books but lacked the artistic ability to make it work. . I wouldn’t mind trying a collaborative project, and the cyclical book idea sounds like so much fun (and trippy)
Ideas sound great. I’ll be graduating in the spring with a Creative Writing degree and I’m looking for ways to get my name out. Also, I had a cousin die (she was young) a couple years ago and my aunt (her mom) would like to see me get some children’s books out in her memory. I’ll drop you an email too (sorry if I’m really late, hadn’t come to this blog in a bit). If you’re looking for someone with a ton of experience writing for publishers…it’s not me. But if you’re looking for someone young who’s willing to try hard to have some material that’ll be seen, well that I can do.
Just a quick thought, why don’t you create a book about tattoos. There are tons of parents with them, but not any books that tell children about them. I have a couple of basic story lines if you’re interested.
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