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Story Ideas – Turn Over a Rock
By Deb Gallardo
Children’s book author Anthony D. Fredericks likes to tell students that he goes through the same writing process they are taught starting in elementary school: pre-write, draft, revise, conference, edit, and publish. And he says that for him, pre-writing is the most important stage.
It’s true. Coming up with story ideas can be the most enjoyable part of creating a book, right up there with sealing the envelope and mailing it to your publisher. Oh, yes, and also depositing your advance check in the bank.
In an article about writing his book Under One Rock: Bugs, Slugs & Other Ughs (link opens in new window), Fredericks tells how an after-lecture discussion at an Audubon Society presentation of his led to the inspiration for the story. He wrote down the phrase “under one rock” in his notes and a few weeks later that phrase sparked his creativity. It also became the inspiration for an entire series of books about small-slice-of-nature habitats that are accessible to children.
Notice that he made notes even in the midst of finishing up a presentation. You never know when inspiration will come. It’s true, we can’t always guess what our reaction will be to notes that seem inspired at the time.
But our job as writers is to keep paper and pen handy, or use an iPad, a tape recorder — whatever high- or low-tech device each of us chooses to employ — to keep track of our ideas as they come to us. Once gone, those ideas seldom, if ever, return. Lightning strikes in the same spot more often than an idea does. And you know what they say about lightning…
Just remember you, too, can turn over a rock and find it teeming with ideas. The great thing about rocks or ideas, is they can be found in our own backyards. Happy hunting!
Read Anthony Fredericks’ article at: The Germination of an Idea at the Dawn Publications site.
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