Writing A Great Book For Children: A Little Imagination Goes A Long Way

Have you ever considered filling you time byboring, uninterested and uninteresting. Do you
writing? There may never be a better time.paint with water colors or oils; do you knit or
I don't need to tell you about the phenomenalcrochet; do you create beautiful flower
success of J.K. Rowling (Joanne Murray) and herarrangements from the garden you tend. Do you
Harry Potter books. She ranks as the 12th personjust vegetate?
richest in Great Britain with her 400 million copiesWriting has long been my passion. But for most
in print.of my adult life I shoved this desire aside:Too
What an imagination! And there seemed to be nobusy with work, with family, with home projects,
end to it.But is Ms. Rowling more imaginative thancivic clubs, volunteer work--you name it. I had one
the rest of us? Probably not.excuse following another for not to unfetter my
As children we possess an innate, vividpassion.
imagination. We had imaginary friends, weBack in 1986 I had a flash of imagination--a
day-dreamed of imaginary places, we created ourstoryline crept into my consciousness. The idea of
own secret worlds. But then we grew up anda spy thriller took shape and I began to scribble
reality set in--the reality of school and careers;words onto the pages of a spiral notebook.
husbands or wives; children and eventuallyThe following year I bought my first computer
grandchildren.and pecked out several chapters. But I lost
So where did our dreams disappear to? Did theyinterest and only returned every so often to
simply fade into oblivion? No ... dear friend--I don'tthose fading pages. It took a divorce and a
believe they are gone at all. Our dreams live on insecond marriage to revitalize my writing. With the
the electrical impulses of our inner brain--likehelp of a very patient wife I added more and
electrons stored in a capacitor, waiting for amore content to my novel. For nearly two years
connection to allow their current to flow oncewe tried to find a publisher. That failing we tried
again.to interest literary agents. And finally we just
We don't mean for it to happen--it just does overgave up.
time. Our thoughts are redirected to everydayBut in 2007 I stumbled across a book
life: The mortgage is due, the automobile needspublisher--not a very well known one--but a real
new tires, the furnace is worn out, the roof leakspublisher none the less. My novel, "Surrogate
and little Sandy needs braces. At the end of ourWarrior," is now available from most major
day our minds are like a thick, overcookedbooksellers.
vegetable soup--everything in it tastes the same!My point here is that creativity needs to be
What is your passion in life? I mean if you couldexposed to the fresh air. Do you have a story,
change your situation, your lifestyle, the way youmaybe even a novel, drifting around you gray
fill your days--what would you do? Are therematter? Or is the thought of writing a book too
moments during your day when you just want tointimidating?
plop down in a chair, take a long, deep breath andI wanted desperately to find a publisher. That
let out a sigh? Well take comfort then, becausequest clouded my judgement. My advice to you is
you are not alone.to write for your own satisfaction. Write a story
In addition to my belief that imagination justfor you kids. Write a story for your family. To hell
doesn't shrivel up and die, I also believe thatwith the publishers--just get it written.
every human being--with at least averageEver heard of Robyn Opie. Robn is a bestselling
intelligence--has a creative streak mixed in withauthor of 76 children's books with six more due
those neurons drifiting aound inside our head.to be published this year. She has written two
Think about it! Creativity is given to each of us atscreenplays and is negotiating with two Australian
birth, It's the fuel that helps us to learn how toproducers for movie rights. What you may not
eat with a spoon and then a fork. Creativity helpsknow is that Robyn has written a comprehensive
us to tie our own shoes and to find our way toHow-To-Guide for new authors. Her book, "How
the playground.To Write a Great Children's Book" is available for
Creativity strengthens our adulthood in moreimmediate download.
ways than I can list. So why don't we use it?So if you are serious about wanting to write
Some of us do. How are you putting yourchildren's books then make the effort to learn
creativity to some good purpose? Without somefrom an expert. Drop in on Robyn right now.
sort of creative outlet, we become stale, bored,