Do you ever feel you don’t have time to do anything – because you are too busy doing everything?

I’m feeling that way this month. I’m participating in Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo) – reading inspiring daily posts from authors and illustrators on Tara Lazar’s blog and trying to come up with at least one sparkling spark of an idea for a new picture book story. It’s going pretty well…I’ve got way more than 15 ideas – and the month is only half over.

I’m also taking Mira Reisberg’s Illustrating Children’s Picture Books because I had a crazy idea that maybe one day I might be able to illustrate my own stories!!!! Last week I had to create thumbnails for one of my stories – a kind of a storyboard with a small sketch for each scene. This week I had to develop some character sketches for my main character, a little boy who wants to catch a bug to be his pet. I’m putting my work up here to encourage every person who reads this post that it is okay to try things that are out of your comfort zone – you won’t break the world, your computer, or yourself – and you just might discover something that you love doing!

Now, if you can all stop rolling on the floor in laughter, I can Continue reading →