Writer's block is common to professional and non-professional writers alike. Here's a way to brainstorm picture book ideas, whether you're hoping to publish a children's book or simply write one for your own child!
1Think of a particular child you know.
2Think of that child's problem behaviors. Choose one.
3Consider possible short-term negative outcomes resulting from the problem behavior. In other words, think of something unpleasant that you can imagine happening because of the behavior - but nothing too traumatic. For instance, if the child insists on sleeping in his parents' bed, maybe you imagine his friends no longer coming over because they feel he acts too babyish.
4Now work backwards from the imagined outcome. For instance:
- Your son's friend stops coming over. Why?
- Because your son no longer has his own room. Why?
- Because Dad turned it into an office. Why?
- Because bedrooms are for sleeping and your son is no longer sleeping in his!
5Take the story arc you've just defined, add a beginning (start with a happy child unconcerned with the problem behavior), and an ending (in which the child chooses, as a result of the negative outcome, to self-correct the behavior), and you should have a complete story ready for writing!
- If this was a project for home use, you can 1) illustrate the book yourself or 2) let your child illustrate so it's a something you've created together. Put just enough text on each page to describe one colorful scene.
- Additionally, since the book refers to an actual problem behavior, you might be able to use it as bibliotherapy for your child.
In other languages:
Español: obtener ideas para hacer un libro ilustrado para niños, Русский: устроить мозговой штурм в поиске идей для иллюстрированной детской книги, Italiano: Trovare Idee per un Libro Illustrato per Ragazzi, Português: Ter Ideias para um Livro Infantil
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