Yes, it's really this easy.
I purchase a children's book from a local bookstore that tells a story either real or make believe about the city or state I'm visiting. I've done this for about a decade now and plan to continue collecting picture books when I travel. It's a souvenir with a purpose, a tangible memory, plus it also teaches me something new about where I visit.
After having my second child and having made the decision to take a career break to stay home with my kids, I was craving brain stimulation. You know, outside the "How can I get my child to put on their pajamas without an argument?" or strategically packing snacks to offset those hangry moments in the car while out running errands. I needed more and this is where creative thinking comes in.
During the many nursing sessions and frequent nap times, instead of allowing my mind be idle (I wasn't well-versed in mindfulness and meditation at the time) it was having conversations, making lists, telling stories. This is what they call brainstorming. My brain was storming. Lightning would strike and I'd let the thunder roll until it had a complete idea.
Insert the troll. There is an urban legend in our city and I had recently taken my eldest child up the mountain to snowboard for the first time. I told him, "I'm going to open my door to let the troll in." He asked inquisitively about why I would do that and I replied, "He brings us good luck on the mountain." I reflected back on when I first heard about this tradition and it was when I went snowshoeing with a friend. She too said the same thing and we opened our doors when we passed the cattle guard on the road up to the resort, letting the troll in. I wondered why do people only find out about this through word of mouth. I sought out sharing the legend with you via a children's book about a local story.
2. Do your research
Now that I had an idea, I researched the legend with gusto. I scoured the worldwide web. I dug into our local library searching for anything on the subject. I checked out books that mentioned my idea and read and reread again for clarity. I learned about the history of my subject. The point is, do some due diligence to make sure your big idea hasn't been done before and to deeply understand the content you want to write about. It sure helps with the next step.
3. Write!
Becoming an author is not something I thought would ever happen. I have no formal education in writing, never attended workshops, I didn't even enjoy writing papers in college. But, I had an idea for a story that had never been told before; outside of the word of mouth. I simply figured, why not me? Then I put the pencil to the hypothetical paper as in I typed everything on my laptop and on my phone.
Here is what I did:
- General thoughts about the subject
- Imagery I wanted to ensure the illustrations included
- Sources I could go back to
- A story graph to capture the flow
- The voice/point of view
- A sample text from my inspiration for the story
I didn't get it right the first time, so I did what I've been told my whole life, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again" and it took various drafts and revisions to finally get it to where I felt proud.
Am I going to be a best selling author? Probably not. But I sure am happy I saw this through both for myself and for my children. I want them to see me struggle. I want them to see me fail. I want them to know it's okay to put themselves out there. It's a good thing to try new things, learn, be challenged, overcome. I'm honored to self-publish this passion project of mine and I hope you'll give writing a book a try.
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