A Blog Pivot

Since my day job is at an academic medical center, I thought I might change the flavor of this blog from children's writing to children's health and activities. This main focus pivot will align better with my daily thoughts and perhaps lend itself to posting more often. 

So... have you heard about the various healthy activities available for kids during the summer months? I spotted this extensive list and wanted to pass it along. The fun includes artistic, indoor/outdoor, exploration, local trips and more!

Let me know your favorites. I love biking/hiking, drawing/painting, and dreaming up new juice pops and smoothie flavors! - Q

On the Road with Alphabet Puke - Join the Fun!

Tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. I'll be doing a book reading and signing of Alphabet Puke: Monsters' Medicine A-Z at the Museum of Health and Medicine in Houston, Texas. Wahoo! I can hardly wait. 

The museum gift store is aptly named, The Amazing Body Shop and has a variety of fun medical and health goodies. I plan to check out the plush microbes!

What is you favorite health letter? Mine is "G" for germs! But "H" for hiccup is a close second! 

Come visit me tomorrow and we'll compare health letters and other medical fun with word finds, mazes, and coloring pages. I'm bringing my 3-headed monster stethoscope so we can listen to our jazzy or slumbering heartbeats. See you soon!  -Q

Summertime Fun for Writers

Since most writers are told to write what they know, you would think it a simple process, right? Well, not really... since what we know might not be applicable to the age group or genre we are targeting in our writing. OR we may have exhausted the topics we know well and need fresh ideas.

What to do? I try to get out during the summer and discover new ideas, destinations, and activities that stimulate my writing. 

Never learned how to swim, knit, or play checkers? Take lessons, read a DIY Pinterest post or get a friend to teach you. New experiences help you gain new ideas and insights that stir the creative pot. 

I call it creative cross-training. I take one day off from the day job every week or two, grab my camera, and explore an activity or place I am unfamiliar with. It's a blast and gets the wheels turning. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. -Q

New Year's Resolutions for Blogging

Okay. I know good intentions and a nickel will get you... well, a nickel, but I am trying to update my fiction and non-fiction websites to simplify my online life. I will just have to give myself a pass and let you know that I am thinking about writing, actually writing, and occasionally updating all the social media sites for both writing personas. Whew! Just writing that makes me tired.

Anyway, I regularly blog about science, here. I "pin" about fiction and non-fiction topics here and here daily. (Don't judge.) Oh! and I've also resurrected my love of photography. You can check out some of my latest images on Dreamstime, here.

If I learn something amazing and/or simply have to share someone's great book news, I will be sure to do it. In the meantime, I am paddling like crazy to get organized with all the writing social media outlets. Thanks for hanging in there. Hopefully everything will get pared down in the next couple of months. -Q

Into the Fray

My new picture book, Alphabet Puke - Monsters' Medicine A-Z is coming out in March and I need to jump on the internet marketing highway in a major way. Yikes!

Do I know all the things you need to do to get a book noticed among the thousands of children's books published each year? Nope, not even close. Am I going to throw up my hands in defeat? (maybe) I mean, NO! 

I am going to assimilate all the marketing wisdom shared by children's authors and other online experts to guide my forays into advertising and "horn tooting" territory. I may even buy a bigger horn! (Probably not, but I may get one with more bling or maybe a steampunk horn. I'll let you know.)

Got any marketing pearls to share? Pass them forward and I'll do the same. 
-Q

Why Now?

Its Day 20 of PiBoIdMo and I'm still on schedule. Ideas are flowing with little or no effort. It's fantastic. The only thing that puzzles me is why now? In the past few years, I've  polished and re-polished a few stories and really didn't look much beyond those. Now during my first PiBoIdMo, they arrive right on cue singly or in twos and threes. Again, why now? Was giving myself permission to open the tap? Perhaps, but I'm thinking that it goes back to being prepared, being receptive, and doing the groundwork. Working on my craft for weeks and years brought me closer to the point where ideas are recognized and accepted as valid. It's exciting! How about you? On track? Ahead? Lagging? It's all good.
-Q

Creativity...Opening the Tap

It's Day 12 of Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo) and surprisingly I'm on schedule. Some ideas came in a flood and others dribbled in on the day they were needed. The key seems to be me. 

Let me repeat that. I am the key to my creativity. Who knew?! 

Making the decision to tackle the 2012 PiBoIdMo challenge allowed a creative cog to slide into place and OPEN THE TAP. 

My part was easy. I just had to commit time every day to soak up the ideas and write them down. Simple.

The hard part will be to work the best inspiration into stories I love, stories true to my writing voice.
How are you coming in this or other writing/illustrating challenges? Has the cog clicked? Share your successes and dry spells. 
-Q

A Matter of Perspective

Being a strong visual learner, I love discovering a children's illustrator who possesses a bright spark of childhood. Sometimes like an writer changes a story's voice, I imagine a picture book recreated in a different style.

Think of Diary of a Wimpy Kid as illustrated by Maurice Sendak. 
       

Or how about: Click Clack Moo, Cows That Type as illustrated by Dr. Seuss?
      

Just like changing illustrators, when I'm at a creative impasse I imagine what the story would be like told from a different viewpoint. It often gets me moving again. Whatever works!
-Q

Read, Read, Read

I just ran across the American Reading @ Home website. Their idea of matching a child with the right book at the right level made all the difference when my children were learning to read. From simple board books, Dr. Seuss, and Captain Underpants, to the Jedi Apprentice and Harry Potter series, my children went from literary toddlers to avid swashbuckling, light saber wielding readers. The key was to meet them at their reading level and allow days/weeks/months for them to gain confidence. They always knew when they were ready for the next adventure. I had as much fun as they did discovering a new series and applauding their developmental leaps.

-Q

What Was That?

Another great poem in the I Am the Book collection.

What Was That? by Rebecca Kai Dotlich

What was that
that made me blink?
Made me wonder,
made me think?

Turned me inside
upside down;
under, over
all around?

What was that
that I just heard?
A treasured tale,
a magic word?

A breathless thought
inside my head--
what was that
that I just read?

I Am the Book

I just discovered a picture book of selected poems at my local library called I Am the Book by Lee Bennett Hopkins.  Check it out and find your favorite. Here is one of my mine.

Wonder Through the Pages by Karla Kuskin

So I picked out a book
on my own
from the shelf
and I started to read
on my own to myself.
And nonsense and knowledge
came tumbling out
whispering mysteries,
history's shout,
the wisdom of wizards,
the songs of the ages,
all wonders of wandering
wonderful pages.