So you have an idea for a children’s book. A very good one I’m sure. Now what? I want you to take one morning and write it down. A super rough draft is fine, but get it down on paper or typed on your computer.
Guess what I am going to challenge you to do next? Write 30 more stories. What? Your goal was one. I know, I know. But this will be fun. Stick with me.
Let your story sit for a month and write some other stuff you didn’t plan on. It’s a good exercise to get your creative juices flowing, and will make you a better writer when you go back to your first story and write draft number two.
Every November writers work on completing a novel in one month (#NaNoWriMo), and us children’s book writers engage in #ChiBoWriMo – where we write a short story a day in November.
Grab your notebook and pen, and schedule in 30 minutes a day in November to use the list of story prompts below to take you from blank page to rough draft in about 30 minutes.
Stick to it! You will be amazed by the book of stories you end up with. You may even find a new favorite. But even if you head back to your original idea, you will be 30x the writer you were just a month ago!
Think of this as your permission from the universe to write.
Each November I participate in a challenge with a daily goal of writing one children’s book a day. Yes, some of the stories stink, most really. But there are always a few bits of magic in there. And those little gems are the ones I try to massage later in to stories worth publishing.
The key is to do the massaging once the month is over. Having a perfect story by month end is not the goal. Creating thirty totally new stories is.
Here’s how the challenge works:
Set aside thirty minutes a day, for 30 days straight
Use one writing prompt, found below, per day
You can go in order, or skip around, but finish every one – even the ones that don’t inspire you at first glance, because you want to stretch yourself to take on new subjects, perspectives, and ideas
Use the hashtag #chibowrimo on social media to see what others are writing
Don’t overthink it. Just print out the list of prompts, put it by a fresh notebook and pen, and set a reminder on your phone to get started on Nov. 1st.
If you want some other prompt options check out these, and pick your favorite.
The universe is ready to hear your stories. It’s time to let them out.
30 Stories in 30 Days, Children’s Book Writing Prompts:
A story about a backpack full of…
A story about an epic hike
A story about a cell phone that only calls one person
A story about an animal that lives abroad (ie: a pigeon in Paris)
A story about a kidpreneur that makes money for someone in need
A story about the Worst Teacher Ever
A story that uses alliteration. Pick a letter of the alphabet before getting started.
A Story about a topic kids find hilarious
A story about caring for grumpy people or animals
A story about how to clean a big mess
A story about Plan B being better than Plan A
A story about caring for something small and fragile
A story about a person with an embarrassing secret
A story about your new world record in…
A story about a letter that gets lost in the mail and found again a year later
Free Day, YOYO (Your on Your Own)
A story about a Holiday with a twist
A story about an adult that needs help from child
A story that is a song, or has a rap in it, to teach something new
A story about a train carrying a special surprise
A story that is under 100 words
A story about a magical item of clothing
A story that is non fiction (but still interesting)
A story about going to sleep
A story that is a sequel to something else your wrote
A story about finding $100 and having an internal debate about what to do with it
A story about how you stopped the “bad guys”
A story about how to stop anger in the world
A story about being the first kid on the moon
A story that includes Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas – bonus points for New Years too!
Just print, color, and cut – to make your own little ghost finger puppets!
I printed on regular paper, but you could also use cardstock if you want to make the puppets more durable.
Suddenly, every weekend in October is booked with a birthday (including mine)! Books make great birthday gift for all ages, but especially kids. Parents really enjoy that a great book is one less large, colorful toy to house and trip over.
Want your own copy of the Lonely Little House Ghost: a book about friendship for kids 3-9yrs? Grab it here.
Boo Hoo from the Lonely Little House Ghost
Share the printable with a teacher for a simple activity that coordinates with the book and ties in the theme of how to make friends!
Download the Beyond the Book activity to make your own Rock Caterpillar this weekend, and get a free kids book about money + creative problem solving!
With a three and five year old, we spend a lot of time at the park.
If your family is in the same boat, you may want to try this simple weekend activity. It will make your park visits more fun, and might even put a smile on the face of a stranger.
The activity – Rock Caterpillars!
You can download the simple instructions and supply list here.
Each time you visit the park you can bring a fun rock to add.
Plus you can “check” on your caterpillar to make sure he’s growing. Hopefully some other people join the fun and you can have new rocks to admire with each visit.
We set up rock caterpillars at various parks across the country during our road trip, and this morning we got to set one up at our very own neighborhood park!
This activity pairs perfectly with my new book that released this week – How to Sell a Rock.
It’s all about a little kidpreneur that has to figure out how to convince his neighbors to buy a rock so that he can afford a new skateboard. Perfect for kids 5-12yrs.
Bonus – the kindle version is FREE on Amazon until Tuesday! Grab it Here, or the paperback here.
Book Description:
Did you ever want something special as a child, but then your parents said, “No – too expensive.”
Your dreams were dashed.
Oh, Sebastian understands. But he decides he won’t take no for an answer once he learns he can make the money himself – even as a child.
When a scrappy little kidpreneur needs money for a skateboard, he’s going to have to learn how to turn his neighbor’s no’s into yeses if he wants to get rich selling rocks.
How will Sebastian convince his neighbors that what they really need is a rock?
This fun kidpreneur story teaches:
Creative problem solving
How to start a business
How to make Money
How to Save Money
Rock Painting Craft Ideas
Social Skills
Self Reliance
Grit
Confidence
Perfect for home or classroom use
Ideal for Ages 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Visit: MyMomistheWorst.com for activities and freebies related to the book
Like all books in the Smart Girl Fairy Tale series, Princess Winnabelle fails often but always learns to solve her own challenging problems. Free today!
Do you have girls, know girls, or teach girls?! Then this is your next read . . .
And it’s FREE today! Just head on over to Amazon and download your free copy here.
This is book three in the Smart Girl Fairy Tale Series. Like all books in the series, Princess Winnabelle fails and learns to solve her own challenging problems. Through her magical adventures she learns teamwork, honesty, friendship, problem solving, and in book three: responsibility and time management when she has to figure out how to care for a pet unicorn AND go to school.
At midnight tonight the ebook will go up to $4.99, so hurry!
The paperback will be out this week.
Princess Winnabelle and the Pet Unicorn (book description):
♥Oh dear!♥ There’s trouble in the magical Land of Five Lagunas.
All Princess Winnabelle wanted was a friend.What could go wrong with that?
Then she finds a baby unicorn in the snow and showers him with love and care. His magical horn grows bigger and brighter each day, UNTIL winter break ends and . . .
Winnabelle quickly finds out that she has no idea how to care for a pet AND go to school. Her perfect pet starts to destroy the castle and Winnabelle is faced with a tough decision.
Winnabelle knows that a princess can be smart, fancy, strong, and fierce. But she still has a lot to learn before she’s ready to rule the kingdom someday.
Can Winnabelle come up with a creative plan to manage her time and responsibilities,
or will the Queen force her to say goodbye to her new friend?
The clock is ticking. Find out now!
The Smart Girl Fairy Tale Series is perfect for girls 3-9 years old.
These modern fairy tales teach important values for raising strong girls:
Time Management
Responsibility
Honestly
Problem Solving
Friendship
Teamwork
Growth Mindset
Independence
Confidence
Positive Self-esteem
Each value is wrapped in a sweet story that will keep readers entertained and engaged.
Great for:
Girls 3-9yrs
Parents
Classrooms
Churches
Bedtime
Collect them all!
★FREE ‘Beyond the Book’ activities at MyMomistheWorst.com★
Last year I wrote THIRTY children’s stories in the month of November.
Want to join me? I made it easy. Just download this list of writing prompts
Last year I wrote THIRTY children’s stories in the month of November.
I was inspired by some friends that were doing #NaNoWriMo and writing an entire novel in one month. Based on a children’s book word count of 500-1k words, I figured I could handle writing a book a day for the month, and thus Children’s Book Writing Month (#ChiBoWriMo) was born .
Kya Mouse, a character created during a writing prompt
I was able to use the stories I wrote last November to publish three books this year (Check out the Smart Girl Fairy Tale Series), and I hope to do it again.
Want to join me? I made it easy. Just download this list of writing prompts here.
Hang it somewhere special and plan at least thirty quiet minutes a day to sit, think, and write.
Trust me, I know a prompt may seem odd when you first read it, but give it five minutes and see where your mind begins to go. Before you know it, you’ll have a rough draft before you.
And a rough draft is all we are going for here. At the end of the month you can read your stories over and pick a handful that deserve a second draft.
Use #ChiBoWriMo on your social posts so we can cheer each other on.
For each negative interaction, we need five positive interactions to balance our emotions and confidence.
And it isn’t just an adult thing. Our kids . . .
Sure, its easy to have confidence when life is good.
But one negative interaction can quickly turn things upside down in your head, and the stinking thinking can creep in.
In fact for each negative interaction, we need five positive interactions to balance our emotions and confidence (Gottman).
This isn’t just an adult thing. Our kids have their own soundtracks in their heads, shaped by interactions and events in their day that even a parent might not be aware of.
So how do you help your kids bounce back faster from negative moments? Teach them how to use positive affirmations everyday to build their confidence.
This will help them to remember the positive things about themselves, and to stay focused on who they are beyond the negative interaction they experienced.
Princess Winnabelle, from the Smart Girl Fairy Tale Series, looks in the mirror every morning and recites, “I am strong, I am smart, I am fancy, I am fierce.”
What an empowering way to start the day for a child!
Mollie: Was it hard to ask your friends for help when you made a big mistake with the Friendship Pies?
Winnabelle: Oh. You heard about that? Yeah that was a pretty big mess…
This fairy tale interview originally appeared at JanaBuchman.com. Check out Mollie’s Magical Tooth to meet Mollie, the interviewer and friend of Princess Winnabelle!
***
Mollie: Hi Winnabelle!
Or shall I call you Princess Winnabelle? I’ve never met a princess before!
Winnabelle: You’re sweet. Winnabelle is fine.
M:I’m so excited to meet you! Tell me more about your kingdom! Do you have ice cream shops there?
W: Ice Cream. Who doesn’t love ice cream?! We actually make our own with a special recipe. You have to try it!
Anyways, back to the kingdom.
I live in the Land of Five Lagunas. It’s named after the five lakes there: Onyx Lake, Ruby Lake, Diamond Lake, Sapphire Lake, and Emerald Lake. It’s a very fancy place, filled with magic and fun!
M: Do you have a pet?
W: Funny you should ask. I recently got a pet UNICORN named Wish. As you can imagine, it was a challenge to learn how to care for a growing pet! You can read all about it in ‘Princess Winnabelle and the Pet Unicorn’ (releasing Fall 2020).
M: Oh, I love unicorns as well! They brought me to Magic Land when I visited it with Miss Pearlwirl. I’m sure you will have a lot of fun together! Does Wish have a stable or does he sleep in your room with you? I’m not sure how big bedrooms are in a castle!
W: We have a unicorn stable that Wish plays at every afternoon, but at bedtime he loves being near me.
I gave him a bed in my room, but he just outgrew it. I have to save up my allowance to get him a new one. I guess that’s what happens when animals are well cared for – they grow super fast!
M: I’ve heard you’re making friendship pies once a year. This sounds like a lovely idea on how to celebrate friendship! What else do you like to do with your friends?
W: My friends are the best. We do lots of fun stuff together, like sleepovers and talent shows!
As long as they’re around, we always come up with creative ideas so we’re never bored.
M: Was it hard for you to ask your friends for help when you lost track of time and jeopardized the making of the friendship pies?
Oh, you heard about that? Yeah, that was a pretty big mess.
Thankfully, my friends are always there for me. With their help, I managed to make things right for the Queen. Afterwards we had a picnic, ate pie, and laughed until our bellies hurt!
I think it turned out alright 🙂
M:As a princess, are you nervous to take over the kingdom one day?
W: Sure, a little. I make mistakes all the time. But every time I make a mistake or try something new, I am better prepared for whatever comes my way.
M: How will you rule your kingdom when it’s your turn? Is there anything you want to change?
W: Actually, the Queen is pretty amazing. She’s fair and kind. I hope I can rule just like her.
Oh wait . . . there is one thing I will change.
When I’m Queen everyone will wear tennis shoes with their fancy clothes!
We’ll be fancy on top, fast on the bottom!
M:You’re a pretty cool princess, I like that you’re smart and strong! I always thought princesses need to follow etiquettes and weren’t allowed to climb on trees or roll down hills. Do you hear this often?
W: Yes! People are always so surprised to meet a princess that doesn’t mind getting dirty and loves solving challenging problems. The Queen often reminds me that she’s preparing me to take over the kingdom one day, and I have a lot to learn.
I learn best by trying things, making mistakes, and improving for next time. But, I ALWAYS have a lot of fun in the process.
M:Thank you so much for spending time with me, Winnabelle! I have a treehouse in our backyard, it’s not as big as a castle but I have all my treasures in it. Wanna see? Let’s go and climb up another tree!
Get your FREE ebook of “Princess Winnabelle And the Friendship Pie” here!
My Mom is the Worst 