Piper Morgan by Stephanie Faris #childrensbook

My Blogger Friend and Wonderful Author, Stephanie Faris has a new children's book coming out, and I asked her to help me with some interesting ideas.

5 Tips for Coming Up with Book Ideas

by Stephanie Faris

A long time ago, a coworker heard I was an aspiring novelist. He informed me that he has a lot of great book ideas.

“Why don’t we team up?” he asked. “I’ll give you the ideas and you write the novels.”

I laughed it off at the time. After all, coming up with the ideas is the easy part. Writing 40,000, 60,000, or 80,000 words? That’s the real work.

Or so you think. Then one day you realize you’re completely out of ideas. You want to write a great book, but the idea well seems to have dried up.

Most writers realize quickly that ideas don’t simply come to you when it’s time to write a new book. If you’re a novelist, you probably have a list of ideas stored somewhere. Maybe they’re jotted in a notebook or in your Notes app on your phone. Most of us have an “ideas” file somewhere on our computers. But almost all of us have come up with a great idea, only to forget about it once we’re back in front of our computers again.

These five tips could help you make sure that the next time you’re ready to write a book, you have a full list of ideas you can consider.

1)    Make it easy. If an idea hits you while you’re at the grocery store or helping your kids pick out back-to-school clothes, how will you capture it? Hastily-written notes on the back of receipts can get lost. All writers should either keep a small notebook on us at all times or use a tool like Evernote or the Notes app built into your phone to capture those ideas.

2)    Go for a walk. I’ve found some of my best ideas come when I’m getting exercise, especially in nature. If it helps to listen to a certain kind of music, do it, but you may find that music only distracts you.

3)    Read. Some of my best ideas have come while I’m reading someone else’s book. It might be a subplot or a quirk a certain character has. You never know when that idea will hit.

4)    People watch. Go hang out in a coffee shop or the food court of a mall. Pay attention to the people around you. If you write for teens, eavesdrop on one of their conversations. You’ll not only get great ideas, but listening to teens talk can help with dialogue.

5)    Talk to people. I write for young readers, so the children in my life often find themselves answering questions about their friends, the things they like to do, and (especially) what they like to read. Teenagers sometimes will very excitedly tell you what type of book they’d like to see. If it’s something they feel is lacking in fiction today, you may be able to write a book that readers will love.

Writing a novel is hard work, but if you have a great idea, you’ll have a great start. Writers spend a lot of time in front of our computers, but sometimes we have to get out into the world. After all, some of the best ideas we’ll ever have will come from our interactions with other people.

Stephanie hit the nail on the head for me. Going for a walk helps me to conjure up ideas, and believe it or not, I like to clean. Cleaning also helps me.

Here is Stephanie's New Book Cover. 

I definitely will buy this for my new little ones!!!!! 

Piper helps some four-legged friends find the perfect home in the third book of the brand-new Piper Morgan series.

Piper is super excited to help out at Bark Street, a local animal shelter in town. Who wouldn’t want to be surrounded by adorable puppies and dogs all day? And when Piper sees Taffy, the cutest dog she has ever seen, Piper is determined to find a way to bring Taffy home. But it won’t be easy—especially when she finds out someone else wants to make Taffy a part of their family, too!

Stephanie Faris knew she wanted to be an author from a very young age. In fact, her mother often told her to stop reading so much and go outside and play with the other kids. After graduating from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science in broadcast journalism, she somehow found herself working in information technology. But she never stopped writing.

Stephanie is the Simon & Schuster author of 30 Days of No Gossip and 25 Roses, as well as the upcoming Piper Morgan series. When she isn’t crafting fiction, she writes for a variety of online websites on the topics of business, technology, and her favorite subject of all—fashion. She lives in Nashville with her husband, a sales executive. 

You Can Find Stephanie at these Social Media Links:

Website

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**TGIF** 

It's time to Celebrate the Small Things

Hop over to Lexa Cain's and join in this fun weekly Celebration. Lexa's wonderful co-hosts are:

L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge

Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog

I celebrated my Wickedly They Dream book release! Phew!! I'm glad that's over. Now maybe I can get back to actually writing.

I'm spending all my days with my daughter since the C-Section of my new granddaughter. I remember well the pain after surgery and it's rough trying to cope with a newborn and a 20 month child. And I don't mind a bit. I'm Loving every minute!!!!

Also, celebrating~ Going to dinner with my children this weekend, and looking forward to it.

What are you celebrating?