31 Days, 31 Stories

Happy End of June, everybody... And happy Canada Day Eve to all of my friends up north.

I have decided what I want to focus on while vacationing in Washington state. As I mentioned before, I usually take on a full-length project, like Duck Town and Camp Omigosh. But this time I am going to do a whole bunch of short projects.

So, my lofty goal is to create a picture book manuscript for every day in July.

If you asked me a couple weeks ago if this was possible I would have said NO WAY... Picture Books aren't long... They shouldn't be more than 1500 words in most cases... And usually editors want them between 500 and 1000 words. However, they can be really tricky to write. Normally, I draft a picture book over the course of a week. But even that's not quite true because it often takes a long time just to come up with a decent idea. So, this "A Picture Book A Day" idea is a little bit kooky...

But so far I feel good about it... Probably in the same way Don Quixote feels good about jousting windmills.

I have gotten a head start... In the past two days I've written back to back picture books, and I'm two-thirds of the way through #3.

I'll keep you posted as the project continues... But I realize it might not be the most exciting blog topic... I'll try to just share the highlights.

I have been taking lits of photos, and if the wifi holds up, I should be able to post some of them.

Hey, is anybody out there planning to go to the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Los Angeles conference?

Word Count Wednesday - Summer Edition

Hey Creative Writers... Are you former students still out there? I hope the summer is going well for you, and that your muse has visited you once or twice.

It seems, so far at least, only a few of you are keeping up your blog. But I'm not here to guilt you if blogging isn't your thing. But I do want to tell those of you who have kept posting (especially Jodee) that I enjoy being able read your work now and then.

So, here's my progress report...

What Have Been Working On?

Picture books, picture books, and more picture books, Lots of false starts and half baked ideas, but three days ago  finally finished a fully developed draft of  MEAN SQUIRRELS, and then today I developed a brand new idea and wrote it from start to finsih in about eight hours.

Word Count: 2000 words

How Do  Feel About the Process?

I think I'm getting into the grove of summer break. I'm not writing my best work (not yet at least), but I am starting to have more fun, and the creative juices are flowing. Now that I am vacationing up in Washingtin state,  where I'll have more time to relax and write, I am going to embark on a new project.

I am going to attempt to write one PICTURE BOOK for every day of the month of July. I already got a head start by completing today's manuscript, I am also thinking about doing something on Youtube, since I attended VidCon with the girls. (But I am not crazy about seeing myself or hearing myself on screen, so I don't know if I will bother.)

What Am I Reading?

I started reading Ender's Game, but I forgot to take it on the trip!

I also need to get ready for fall by reading Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE and Ralph Ellison's INVISIBLE MAN.

Dinner with Matt and Emma

The other day, my nephew came to visit us, all the way from China... and he brought his girlfriend, Emma! Emma was born and raised in China (though it should be said her English is excellent). Matt has been living overseas since he graduated college. They are both world travelers, at such a young age. Here's a photo of them back in China, hanging out with friends:

This was her very first visit to America, and to celebrate her arrival we took her to a bunch of American places to eat... You know, like Chipotle and In-N-Out Burger. Those sorts of fine dining experiences you can't find any place else.

To return the favor, Matt and Emma treated us to a taste of their culture... and since I have long ago lost the ability to pretend to like food that I think tastes bad. (Which is usually anything that's not meat, potatoes, or pizza-related items.) Therefore, I was quite worried about this upcoming meal.

I knew I was in trouble when they started wandering down the "International" aisle of the grocery store.

They started shopping for ingredients that have way too much flavor for my taste-buds. I'm lookin' at you, Soy Sauce.

And speaking of soy, I became very worried when they began grabbing stuff from the Tofu section. 

I hate Tofu. I hate it so much that I've never even tried it. Actually, that's not true. One time at Costco, Cheri gave me something that she claimed was a chicken nugget. I ate it and she asked me how it tasted. I said it tasted okay. Then she revealed that it wasn't meat, it was Tofu. So now all Tofu tastes like betrayal. 

Then, the cooking began... and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I liked the smells that were filling the house. 

(of course, anything is better than the odor that comes from the cage of our stinky bunny, Mr. Knightley.)

(Not on menu)

I asked if there were any secret ingredients involved and Matt gave me a karate chop. 

After I regained consciousness, we had a delicious meal. 

So, what do we have here? On the top left is Matt's Americanized version of Chinese fried chicken (A+). In the top center we have Pork (A+) and Green Peppers (didn't try it). In the top corner you can spot the Tofu and Tomatoes (didn't touch). And then, the final dish -- that red and yellow stuff -- is sweet scrambled eggs. That's right, sweet! I tried a bite, and it was too exotic for me, but everyone else seemed to love it. 

All in all, I was delightfully surprised by how much I love their cooking. Thanks, Emma and Matt!

Writing While at VidCon

Last Christmas, Cheri and I got the girls tickets to an Online Video Conference called VidCon.

We're here now. (Well, the girls and I are here -- Cheri is hanging out at home with the dogs.) It's the second day, and we are rather exhausted. My youngest daughter is definitely in her element. We're watching Jenna Marbles and Julien right now. My eldest has been having a good time too. She met the VlogBrothers and Josh Sunquist.

I have enjoyed it too... Although for much of it, I am about 30 years older than the target audience. So whenever the girls run off to meet a YouTube star, I've been trying to write.

I finally finished a full draft my picture book: Mean Squirrels. It's not that good.. But it is a finished draft, and that gives me a sense of closure, even if nothing else happens with it.

My daughters and I are thinkingbof making more video content, so be on the look out for more videos, Maybe next VidCon the girls with be the Next Big Thing.

A Trip to the World's Largest Bathtub

Cheri Rocks!

Today is my new picture book's BIRTHDAY! So, that means I'll be doing my best this month to market the little fella, so that lots of families can experience the joy of Micha Archer's beautiful illustrations (while they tolerate my humble prose).

See how happy I was when the book first arrived on my doorstep?

In addition to shameless self-promotion, I would also like to spend some of my time showing my gratitude to the many people who made this book come to life.

And the first person I'd like to begin this gratitude express is my wife, Cheri Bradford.

As fate would have it, it was HER birthday yesterday. She has given me a constant flow of encouragement not to mention courage, and she's been doing it for almost thirty years of my life. So, since she has given me so many positive words... I wanted to give her some words as well... words set in stone.

For a while now, Cheri has been honoring the New Year by choosing a word... or does the word choose her? The word becomes a theme for the next 365 days. So I've kept track of her words: 

• Dream
• Health
• Journey
• Reach
• Light

And thanks to the magic of the internet I ordered them in rock form, so that Cheri can put them somewhere in her garden.

Well, gotta cut this blog short. We're going to the beach... the classic way to take a bath! 

The Magic of Letting Go

Most of my writing career has been a GRIND. I sit down and force drafts out of me. That's when I'm successful. On my off days, like most of this month, I tinker with things until they peter out and then they remain unfinished, unloved.

But sometimes, I give myself permission to let go of my expectations... I don't always listen to myself when I do this. But there are times, when I let go of the reins... And some great things happen.

Three days ago, I wrote a funny little poem based on an idea I had kicked around for years. It might be doggerel, but who knows, it could turn into something that my agent likes enough to send out as a picture book. Even if nothing happens to it, I finished it! (Unlike so many other projects this summer.)

I've also made good progress with the island-themed play I'm co-writing. We have a very rough draft of Act One, Still lots of work ahead, but we had a read-thru with the comedy troupe, and they seemed to enjoy it.