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!
If I’m being honest, my 10th book was one of the hardest to publish. It had little to do with the book itself, and everything to do with my own motivation…
If I’m being honest, my 10th book was one of the hardest to publish. It had little to do with the book itself, and everything to do with my own motivation.
My goal was to finish writing and publishing Ringo Picked last month…but I was on twelve different planes, bouncing from city to city and it left me feeling overwhelmed.
You’re kind, I’m sure in your head you gave me a pass for not reaching my goal.
But what if I told you that my goal was the same for the last three months and for various reasons I didn’t get there. That changes things a bit.
Obviously life happens, but in reality, I wasn’t making progress because of me.
Sometimes we all need a little motivation to hold ourselves accountable.
I actually made a plan of what needed to happen, set aside an entire day to actually do it without excuse, changed my environment for inspo (cute coffee shops always help me), and planned a reward for myself once I reached my goal.
Whether it’s a bad habit you (or your kids) are trying to quit, or a goal you are trying to reach, visually seeing progress and having a reward to look forward to at the end can help.
I’ve created this free Progress Chart to help your kids (or students) reach their own goals. Get FREE your printable here.
Wondering what my “reward” of choice was? A new coffee mug and a massage! Oh yeah, plus the personal gratification of publishing book ten 😉
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
Extended breaks mean more activities to entertain the kids. Here’s a free video where I read one of my children’s books in its entirety + a fun activity to pass the time
Sometimes you just need something to entertain the kids for a few minutes while you prep dinner or send an email.
Other times you have entire days you need to fill: summer vacation, spring break, illness, weekends, quarantines…you feel me.
So…
I’m sharing a video where I read one of my children’s books in its entirety: Best Trip Ever!
Additionally I’m sharing a free resource to help extend this activity. It’s educational and fun!
After Watching the Video, follow along with the activity below.
I’ve included modifications for different age and learning preferences.
FREE Kids Activity:
Plan your Best Trip Ever using the Five Senses
Opening: You’ve just listened to the story “Best Trip Ever” now let’s plan our own exciting trip! We can do this by thinking about the things we would see, smell, taste, touch, and hear on our adventure. This is called using our five senses.
First let’s brainstorm where we would like to go if you were planning your own Best Trip Ever.
(Jot down a few ideas and pick one)
*For older kids encourage them to choose somewhere they have never been, younger kids will need a point of reference, possibly use somewhere they have been a few times*
Once you know where you would plan a trip, think about what you would see, smell, taste, touch, and hear while there.
Options (pick one – think of your child and how they like to engage):
Ask your child to find an object around the house, or in the yard, that represents what they would see, smell, taste, touch, and hear on their trip – for younger children, walk around with them and focus on one sense at a time
Write the five sense down and make a list under each of the things on your trip
Write out a story of where you would travel and what you would see, smell, taste, touch, and hear while there
Do the same as above, but leave out where you are traveling to and see if a parent or sibling can guess the location based on your sensory description
For more books and activities to help keep everyone happy and sane during extended breaks, follow my Facebook or Instagram @StoriesbyJKCoy
I can now say the last two years have been worth it all. I get to share Love You to Pieces, Beautiful Monster with literally thousands of parents; Parents that just need a good laugh and a big hug after a long day.
For a parent whose memory has gone to mush, I really heart the Facebook Memories feature. Most of the time I can’t believe things happened so long ago.
Seriously?! That concert was eight years ago!
It’s been that long since I’ve been to Europe?!
Wait. What. I used to go out on Thursday nights.
But then again, sometimes we are glad to no longer be in that season of life that we were reminded of. The reality is that it may not have been our best season.
On particularly rough days when I’m sure I can’t possibly endure, I like to remind myself that my track record for getting through bad days so far is 100% … and that’s pretty good. – unknown
Let that sink in.
***
Reflection can be difficult, but it can also be empowering. Anniversaries are the perfect time to think about where you’ve been and where you’re going.
A few days ago this photo popped up on facebook and it reminded me it had been two years since I wrote Love You to Pieces, Beautiful Monster.
Adorable right?! But those days of adjusting to motherhood were tough. Here is the post where I shared my own reflections from the last two years:
“This huge smile takes me back to a really tough time in my life. It was taken shortly after I wrote the first draft of what became the loving children’s book: Love You to Pieces, Beautiful Monster.
I can picture myself sitting in the car, two months postpartum, tears in my eyes. I was trying to figure out the new roller-coaster I had stepped on to. I constantly flowed back and forth between immense love (Did you see that smile?) and silly frustrations (feeling like I was failing at everything).
Reflecting on the last two years, I am so grateful that this Beautiful Monster broke me.
Our highs are insanely high.
We like to get it all out there by silly dancing in the kitchen to Eminem and the Beatles.
Our lows are embarrassingly low. I tell her to go watch Elmo so no one loses their shi….. , even though I hate when she sits there like a zombie.
All in all, we get to practice a lot of love and laughter in our house.
Love You to Pieces, Beautiful Monster”
I can now say the last two years have been worth it all. I get to share Love You to Pieces, Beautiful Monster with literally thousands of parents; Parents that just need a good laugh and a big hug after a long day.
The book is a chance to snuggle up to your Beautiful little Monster and relax knowing that you are doing this parenting thing just fine. Your track record is 100%.
One minute I find myself ogling at every little thing my baby does, talking baby talk with the best of them, and the next minute I am incredibly frustrated because my kids are screaming while I brush my teeth for the first time that day (at 2pm – hello coffee breath). I swear, I often feel like I am the emotional little monster in the house.
But I hope no one confuses my moments of frustration with my true feelings about my children and motherhood, and the joy I get from those precious moments of total sweetness in between the chaos. My babies absolutely know I’m crazy; they also know I am absolutely crazy about them.
Have you been on that roller coaster today?
If so, below is one recent example you’ll relate to, compliments of social media.
There comes a time in every parent’s life where bowel movements are as common a conversation topic as discussing the weather.
After almost ten years of marriage and two young kids, think you can guess the hottest topic is in our household?
If you guessed POOP, you are correct! And if you are disgusted that I would even type that word, you clearly do not have a young child.
Honestly, I don’t know when the turning point came. The point where I lost all modesty on the subject.
Was it…
When the midwife was wiping my *ss during the birth of our beautiful daughter?
During the newborn stage when we were sleep deprived and changing 10+ diapers a day?
When our first daughter went through a phase where she would reach into her diaper and smear poop on her sheets?
When we potty trained our twenty month old and lost all dignity by referring to ourselves as “Poop Coaches” and offering “Poop Treats?” FYI Candy canes and popsicles are our aresinel of choice.
The first time we sent a text message that included a picture of our child’s “achievement”? I’m embarrassed to add that these texts have gone to family and friends at times.
At a recent dinner party where we conspired with friends to hide Miralax in our children’s sippy cups?
There have been so many defining poop moments, I really can’t say.
But the point is, there comes a time in every parent’s life where bowel movements are as common a conversation topic as discussing the weather.
And unfortunately the talk isn’t limited to the four walls of our house anymore. It’s at daycare, work parties, over a nice glass of wine…not to mention living forever on this blog.
And even for me, someone that lost all discretion awhile ago, a new low was recently achieved. Yesterday an acquaintance at church casually asked how I was doing.
Without thinking I responded, “Pretty good, but my daughter just had an explosive diaper on my lap.”
I sent that sentence out like it was a casual text update. After the words left my mouth, I was instantly remorseful. I crossed the line. I dumped my poop talk on someone that was not in the same life stage. That is how normal poop conversations have become. I can no longer see the social line until I’ve crossed it.
Forgive me for having limited social graces these days, but parenting young kids has a way of making you feel like a human Kleenex. I had a shower yesterday morning, but two hours later it felt like it had been a week. In just a few hours I had been spit up on multiple times, wiped boogers with my sleeve, cleaned out our toddler potty five times, changed a few diapers and a blowout onsie, cleaned up all the dog poop in the yard, and had my two year old’s naked butt sitting on me while I tried to get a home workout in. None of which was out of the norm. It was all a typical Sunday.
I don’t know if there is a point to all this, other than I felt like sharing what was on my mind. And these days, my mind has gone to mush. Brown, stinky mush.
Gross.
*********************
Anyone else in that marital stage where you talk as much potty talk as we do?!
So there I was, saving money for my family, and then the Lady Logic creeps in.
You know the rationale you use to validate your crazy?
Well, that’s your Lady Logic.
Let me use myself as an example.
Today I left the house to run errands.
I had showered, and left the house by noon with a newborn. Just for that, I was pretty proud of myself.
Gold star!
Eventually I stopped by Old Navy to make returns. We had some extra outfits that we didn’t end up using for family photos this past weekend. So there I was getting $29.00 in returns done, saving money for my family.
Gold star!
And then the Lady Logic creeps in.
On the way home I stop by a children’s resale boutique, just for a peek.
The kids don’t really need anything…but then again, maybe they do?
And apparently they did.
Browse all the cute kids Toms Here. One of each please!
There were the mint condition kids Toms, because I’ll regret passing up a deal like that…
A long sleeve baby sleeper, because it’s been colder than normal here in SoCal…
The black and white Nicole Miller outfit, because everything looks cute on a toddler…
The final damage came to $32.00. And you know what? I left feeling pretty happy. I made those $29.00 in returns earlier, so it’s like I only spent $3.00 and got all these adorable “essentials.”
My Mom is the Worst 