First posts welcome here

Ok, I am having trouble putting up a linky thing. I will try to get it up by tomorrow. In the meantime, if you want to do a post about your plans for Picture Book Month, you can add a link in the comments!

I am going to start writing tonight at midnight, so I may get on then and post something.

I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

~Jane~

Does it have to be a easy readers book? can it be an children or adult novel with pictures?

Yes, I would say that it can be any age level, but you have to be careful to make sure you're still writing a picture book. If it is mostly words with an occasional illustration, or even with one small illustration on each page, it is no longer a picture book but more of a chapter book. Remember to keep the pictures in a good balance with the words.
I will probably be doing one full page picture on each page, with a small amount of the story at the bottom. I may try to do some for slightly older kids, but it might be difficult to hold an adult's interest with mostly pictures. If you want to try it, though, then go for it! I can't wait to see what you can do!

Remember that you aren't bound by my rules! Yes, if you want to link to this blog, then it should be a real picture book, but if you are inspired to write a longer story, don't let this challenge hold you back! My goal is just to get people writing, so even if you decide not to participate in Picture Book Month, if it gets you to start writing then I have been a success.

I will be putting up the Mclinky tomorrow instead of Saturday so that your first posts can be about what your plans are for the month. I don't exactly have a plan, but I do have a few ideas.

A book about the snake who snuck into the library,

An epic fairy story,

One of my books will rhyme,

One of them will feature a main character you wouldn't expect,

A book about the main character going on a quest with a friend and a dwarf to find a treasure, (for older readers- based on a story I told to my siblings once.)

At least one will have real photos instead of drawings,

One where the words are the pictures,

One called "Five Pairs of Boots,"

One about Neverland or something else Peter Pan related,

A story about a girl and her grandma,

A story about writing a story,

A modern story about kids that is based on the plot of a classic,

One called "What's Wrong With My Emu?",

At least one of them must have pirates in it,

At least one will be about an inanimate object.

There's fifteen ideas! I may not use all of them, but at least now I have some guidelines for making up the stories. Some of them could even be combined. I could do a rhyming story with photos instead of drawings.

Tomorrow, post your own list of ideas! Or you could post about what your routine for writing them will be like. Will you draw pictures first for inspiration, or will you write a story and then illustrate it?
I'm looking forward to seeing your ideas!

~Jane~

Sounds interesting. Just what is a picture book exactly?

Good question!
A picture book is a story that is supplemented by pictures. Usually it is full page pictures with a small amout of text at the bottom of the page, but there are all sorts of variations. You can use pictures done on computer program or by hand or actual photographs, or a mixture of different things. One of my favorite picture book authors, Lauren Child, uses hand drawn pictures mixed with photographs, which gives it a really cool effect.
Really the only requirements are that it has lots of pictures, and that it tells a story. The rest is up to you to decide.

~Jane~

May is almost here

Just four more days left until the month begins! Are you guys ready?

I know, I'm not ready either. : )

May 1st I will put up a Mclinky thing so you can link me to your posts about Picture Book Month. That is always optional, you don't have to give me a link. You don't even have to post if you don't want to. In fact, everything is optional. If you feel like you'd rather only do 5 picture books in May, set your own goal and do it! You don't have to do 15 just because that's my goal.

~Jane~

Are you allowed to have help coming up with ideas?

Of course! Every challenge is more fun if friends do it with you, and sharing of ideas is always encouraged. I will probably be meeting with a friend on May 1st to work on writing and exchange ideas. 
Even if you don't get any new ideas, talking about your own ideas with someone else may help get you thinking about other possibilities.

Two weeks left

Two weeks from today will be May 1st, the start of picture book month! What are you doing to prepare? I started planning my pictures in a graph paper journal, but haven't gotten very much done due to lots of homework. I also bought a bunch of cardboard and was planning on making some blank books to put my picture books in, but I haven't been able to find paper big enough, so I may have to do something else.

I am getting increasingly excited and increasingly nervous. I am going to put a "frequently asked questions" page on here soon. The only question I am frequently asking myself is,
"Are you insane?"
The answer is apparently yes. In a good way. Everybody needs a little insanity in their lives, right?

Do they have to be a certain number of pages?

Nope, the only requirements are that it tells a story and that it has pictures. If you feel like it counts as a picture book, then it counts.

What do you put in a picture book? Grace from Grace's Garden Walk

Anything you want! My first book is going to be about a snake who is cold so he sneaks into the library to read a book. The janitor eventually sees him and puts him back outside, but the last two pictures will be him slipping back in when the janitor goes inside and curling up to read.

That idea was inspired by a true story... well, a snake did sneak into the library, but I don't know if he read anything!

Do picture books with actual photographs instead of drawings count?

Sure! Sounds like a great idea!

Ask me anything

Project idea

I am thinking about making fifteen simple cloth covered books like these in preparation for Picture Book Month. I will make the covers now, and as I write the books I can put them together. I'm not sure where to get paper big enough that it can fold in half and still be picture book sized. Maybe I can find some online.

You don't have to be a writer or an illustrator to join the challenge! It's fun to make up stories, it doesn't have to be perfect. I am no artist, and I'm still planning on illustrating all of the books myself.

~Jane~

Picture Book Month

The Goal

Write and illustrate 15 picture books during the month of May. This idea was inspired by National Picture Book Writing Week. There are 31 days in May, which leaves 2 days to work on each book and one extra day just in case.

I will be posting about my progress throughout the month, and anyone who wants to participate in the challenge can post about it on their blog and then put the link on here.

I’ve put a question box on the sidebar, but please only ask questions that are polite and related to Picture Book Month.

The Rules

1. No writing before 12am, May 1st. You can plan and outline your books as much as you want, and you can practice drawing the pictures as long as you draw them again during the month of May. In other words, the final books can only contain words and pictures created during the month of May.

2. This is a kid friendly site! If you post a link to your blog, please keep it clean or your link will be deleted.

3. Anything goes! As long as you consider it a picture book, it counts.

~Jane~