One Way for Picture Book Writers to Increase their Productivity

One of the most difficult parts of being a writer is making yourself sit down and write.  The reality is that we all have many demands on our time — family, friends, and paying jobs, not to mention volunteering, church, or hobbies.  Whatever and whenever you try to write, there are 10 other things you could be doing.

The obvious solution is to set a goal but if you are like many of us, goals that you set yourself don’t stick.  Sure, you should be working on that story you wanted to finish in January but why can’t it wait until February?  It isn’t like an editor is hanging over your shoulder.

That’s where external goals come in handy.  Novelists have NaNoWriMo in November when, in a fit of mass insanity, we all try to rough out a novel.  During that same month, picture book writers have PiBoIdMo or Picture Book Idea Month in which we are challenged to come up with one idea a day.

But once you’ve got them, they tend to just lie around in your files unless you do something with them.  Hence, 12 x 12.

In 12 x 12, writer Julie Hedlund challenges participants to write 12 picture books in 12 months.  This isn’t a quest to create perfect manuscripts but simply a push to get something down on paper, something that you can then rewrite and shape into a workable manuscript.

Unlike NaNoWriMo there is a fee, but if you are anything like me, a fee will get you off your butt and get you moving.  ”Hey, I paid for this.  I need to write.  Wash your own jeans!”

Take a look and see if this is the thing to help you ramp up your productivity in 2013.

–SueBE

 

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