My husband has this friend, Grant. He is young (relative to us), smart, and incredibly ambitious. David had lunch with him recently and they came up with an idea for a new medical product that they are going to try to pursue.
Then I saw him at a birthday party.
ME: We'd like to do blah blah blah, but we can't right now cause we just did our basement which was very expensive.
HIM: Well, when our new product comes out...
ME: Oh, you mean, when we make our millions?
Grant just looked at me.
HIM: "Why are you thinking so small?"
Ha! Apparently, I need a better attitude!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
The Year of the Monster- and Some Post PiBo Tips
PiBo 2009 was the year of Goldilocks for me. 2010 was the year of the dinosaur. (I had at least a dozen dinosaur titles, though I didn't end up writing any of them!) This year, nearly half the items on my PiBo list are in some way connected to monsters.
Is it because I am dying to write a monster story? Well, monster stories are certainly fun and appealing. But it's more than that. It helps me move my list along if I brainstorm one specific area- whether it's a character, a topic, or a theme. I was able to hit 30 ideas way before Nov 30th, by narrowing my focus.
So PiBoIdMo is over for 2011, now what?
MAKING YOUR LIST. Don't stop just because November is over. I find once I am in idea-generating mode, the ideas continue to flow effortlessly for at least a few more weeks. Keep your list in a handy place so you will have easy access when an idea pops into your head.
CHECKING IT TWICE. Check your list. Twice. Three times. Forty times. Check last year's list (if you made one) Are there ideas that can be combined? Sometimes an idea by itself it too slight but when used in conjunction with something else on your list it's the perfect premise for a PB!
In 2009, I had the following two ideas on my list:
See? I wasn't kidding about the Goldilocks theme.
Neither idea went anywhere, but those two concepts nagged at me. twins... fractions....twins... fractions... Both seemed like premises I wanted to pursue.
And then during PiBo 2010, it hit me!
TWINDERELLA
The perfect way to combine the two.
Cinderella and her twin sister share everything. Each does half the chores, half the washing, half the ironing, and each takes half the fairy godmother’s goodies. But when they each spend half the night dancing with the prince, and they both fall in love, they have a problem.
Is it because I am dying to write a monster story? Well, monster stories are certainly fun and appealing. But it's more than that. It helps me move my list along if I brainstorm one specific area- whether it's a character, a topic, or a theme. I was able to hit 30 ideas way before Nov 30th, by narrowing my focus.
So PiBoIdMo is over for 2011, now what?
MAKING YOUR LIST. Don't stop just because November is over. I find once I am in idea-generating mode, the ideas continue to flow effortlessly for at least a few more weeks. Keep your list in a handy place so you will have easy access when an idea pops into your head.
CHECKING IT TWICE. Check your list. Twice. Three times. Forty times. Check last year's list (if you made one) Are there ideas that can be combined? Sometimes an idea by itself it too slight but when used in conjunction with something else on your list it's the perfect premise for a PB!
In 2009, I had the following two ideas on my list:
25. Golidlocks has a twin sister- Tawnylocks?
34. Use fairy tale to teach fractions. Goldilocks and the three and a half bears? How can you have half a bear? Bear in Mommy’s tummy? Could mama bear deliver right in the middle of the story?
See? I wasn't kidding about the Goldilocks theme.
Neither idea went anywhere, but those two concepts nagged at me. twins... fractions....twins... fractions... Both seemed like premises I wanted to pursue.
And then during PiBo 2010, it hit me!
TWINDERELLA
The perfect way to combine the two.
Cinderella and her twin sister share everything. Each does half the chores, half the washing, half the ironing, and each takes half the fairy godmother’s goodies. But when they each spend half the night dancing with the prince, and they both fall in love, they have a problem.
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