Storystorm 2020: I’m in!

I just signed up for Storystorm 2020.

If you aren’t familiar with Storystorm, it’s the creation of Tara Lazar–author of so many fantastic picture books. To name just a few you should definitely check out: The Monstore, Normal Norman, and The Upper Case: Trouble in Capital City.

Every January picture book writers sign up to participate in Storystorm and commit to trying really, really hard to get 30 new picture book ideas by the end of the month. Every idea counts–no matter how wonderful or horrible. Personal tip: Do not second guess yourself; just write that idea down! And Tara gives so much support–daily posts from authors and other publishing professionals to inspire, encourage, and kick your brain into gear. Plus prizes!

This year, along with coming up with 30 new ideas, Tara is suggesting we also pay attention to our creative process. 2020 is, for me, all about new ideas. I’ve been working for quite some time on revision, getting ready to query in the next month or so. Now I need to grow my pile of actual stories. So I’ll be watching how I do come up with those ideas, what I observe, what I remember, what direction my brain drifts, and when I hear that *ping* that tells me I at least have something to write down in my notebook for the day. Maybe I’ll post about it!

If you haven’t done Storystorm before and are wondering if it’s for you, I say go for it. The worst that could possibly happen is that you have no more ideas at the end of January than you do right now, as you read this post. And I can just about, 99.99999%, promise that won’t happen. So what have you got to lose?

Don’t forget to sign up for the Storystorm Facebook group, too. See you there!