PicBoWriMo round 2

It's that time again ... today is Halloween. That means tomorrow is November. And for writers November is NaNoWriMo! However, I am not a novel writer; I write picture books, so for me it is PicBoWriMo. It's not national, but it's my way of bonding with other writers out there. Let's be honest, I kinda suck at this whole blog thing and truth be told I've dropped the ball on my writing, as well.But lately, while at work, ideas have been jumping into my head. Perhaps that is my subconcious trying to send me a message. So, I've got a new notebook, new ideas, and tomorrow I  put them together and set free my imprisoned writer. Yea!

Catching Up

     I have been really loving reading lately. Just finished Divergent by Veronica Roth last night: not a kid's book. I am very much into dystopias right now. There is just something about the uncertainty and the chaos; societies of seemingly perfect order and total control masking corrupt leaders. It's addicting.
What can I say? I love the intense build ups and crazy rebels who fight for freedom. Like I said: Addicting.
     As a catch up ... still not pregnant, but happy where we are and headed to our 4th anniversary trip next week. And I am soon to graduate from my children's writing school. Hopefully by the last assignment I should be ready to be published ... somewhere. Won't that be exciting?!

Aren't We All Artists?!

   I am a little behind on my ideas for PicBoWriMo, but no worries ... I will have 30. In fact, last week I found my next book idea and got really excited about it! I told Jason at a moment we were making dinner (so, he was distracted) and he was mildly responsive. When I questioned that - he became over-excited. So, okay. A writer's work is never nearly as exciting to anyone else as it is to yourself. That's ok; an artist's work is often not appreciated until the observer sees the finished product, right. And after all, aren't all writers artists, as well?!

The Son of Neptune

   I just finished another book. The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan. It is the second book in the Heroes of Olympus series. For lovers of Camp Half-blood and Percy Jackson this is perfect. Riordan has more stories and quests for the demigods. The first series was centered around Greek mythology, whereas this new series centers around Roman mythology and uniting the two together.
     In book one a new found hero winds up at Camp Half-blood and a new group of heroes embark on a quest for Hera. In Son of Neptune Percy finds himself at Camp Jupiter, the Roman camp for the children of the Roman gods. As he struggles to regain his memory, Percy travels with two underdog demigods to Alaska to break free 'Death' from the chains of Gaea's newly risen son.
     Lots of adventure, comedy, friendship, and youth discovering their own strengths. Great series for youth ... or to read with your youth. Too bad I have to wait til next fall for #3. Just a good thing that there are so many awesome books out there to keep me entertained.

Princess of the Midnight Ball

    I have rekindled excitement for reading again. Which I am thrilled about. I finished reading Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George. And now I have a few new books sitting on my shelf just waiting their turn.
     This book is a retelling of one of my favorite fairy tales, The Twelve Dancing Princesses. A king has 12 daughters. Every night they go to sleep with beautiful dancing shoes, and every morning the king discovers that their shoes have been worn through. The king wants so desperately to discover his daughter's secret that he offers one of his daughter's hands in marriage - which would give the winner succession to the throne - to any man who can discover their secret. In the fairytale the daughter's love to go dancing, whereas in this book the daughters are cursed to have to go dancing each night, but have no way of breaking the curse. Until Galen, an orphaned soldier enters the picture. He becomes an under gardener to the king and falls in love with the eldest princess. Hand in marriage or not Galen is determined to break the curse and save the princesses from their misery.
     It was a fun read; interesting to take a short fairytale and turn it into an over 200 page explanation and background. Good read for young girls.

NaNoWriMo = PiBoIdMo

     Every November novel writers take on the challenge of writing a 50,000 word novel from scratch starting on the 1st and finishing by midnight on the 30th. If you have the discipline and determination. It pushes them to take a kamikazee approach; take an idea and run with it without inhibition. It gives no time to over think your writing and second guess yourself.

    However, I write picture books. My books are 500-1,000 words and 32 pages long. So, I was looking for alternatives last year per a friend's advice in my writing group and we found one: National Picture Book Idea Month.  It started 2008. I started last year. Instead of us writing a novel we take the 30 days and generate a new idea every day. Some will stink and some, hopefully will be awesome! Some days we may only have a title and others we may write the entire story. Either way by the end of the month ... 30 new options. Which means: Yea!

    So, awesome. I did it last year and it worked out really well for me. So, I'm doing it again come November. I think it's just what I need to give myself a good swift kick in the butt and get back to writing again.

    

Alice the Fairy

      Remember the days of youthful imagination; where everything was possible and reality was something different entirely? That is what Alice is all about in Alice the Fairy. 

     Written and illustrated by David Shannon (same creator as the No, David books),  Alice is a little girl who runs around with a wand explaining to the reader how she is in training to become a permanent fairy. She makes leaves fall from trees, turns her dad into a horse, and can make cookies disappear. And that's just for starters.

     Alice is a true little girl to me. Although her teeth are a little creepy she has a vibrant personality of a small child who likes to dream big and see things better than they are. This book is not traditional story format, but rather focuses on the character. It's simple, yet fun to read to kids. I can just see my daughter being like this one day and look forward to reading it with her one day.