Bite sized picture book process - part 4
Where do book ideas come from?
I wish I had one amazing fail-safe method for writing stories, but sadly no.
Sometimes ideas arrive as an image in my head while I am washing up, sometimes they start with a drawing in a sketchbook, sometimes with a character sketch by doing this Character Workshop . Yes, a character sketch I did in that workshop is taped above my desk right now, asking for a story. And my latest book Smelly Peggy arrived when I wasn’t looking, it sneaked up on me, almost by mistake.
So let’s go back to about 2015. Back then I used to visit lots of schools to read my books. I have to tell you that when my first book came out in 1998, and I started visiting schools it was terrifying. No one tells you what to do and you have to jump in and work it out on the job. It felt like proper seat-of-the-pants-stuff and I know some of my early school visits were awful, really terrible.
It took me a while, lots of trial and error, but eventually I found my feet. I discovered, much to my relief, that there’s no need to be a clown or a child entertainer, you just have to relax and be yourself. It’s good to have a plan but be ready to go with the flow. We have a whole podcast about school visits here if you fancy knowing more.
Anyway, one of the things I learned very quickly was that I needed to do something quick and fun at the beginning of each session to get the children excited and engaged, ready to join in, and do some fun creative stuff together.
One day, without any planning, I decided to tell them about my dog Peggy and draw all the naughty things she gets up to. I drew all her bad habits and asked the children what naughty things their pets do. ‘Chewed up my trainers!’ ‘Rolled in fox poo!’ ‘Ate a whole roast beef.’ Kids love stories of naughtiness don’t they?
It became a sort of warm-up routine, a fun icebreaker. And each time I did it I added a bit more detail; drawing and chatting about just how naughty Peggy is. After a while it became one of the most enjoyable parts of my school visits.
After telling the story many, many times, I suddenly had the revelation that this could be a book! So, in a meeting with Deirdre McDermott and Maria Tunney at Walker Books I told them the whole story, pretending they were the school children and drawing all the naughty things as I chatted. They loved Peggy’s smelly adventures, and that was it; we were off!Â
Where do you get your best ideas? 💡
Helenx
P.S.
The doors to my partner Gerry’s Whale Print Private View open tomorrow at 7pm (UK time). Read more about his prints on his substack:
