Friday, February 26, 2016

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:


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?

22 comments:

  1. Congratulations on the release!
    Glad you have the time to help your daughter.
    Stephanie, exercise and playing music are good times to ponder new ideas. Most of mine hit me when I'm watching a movie and require time to form them into something tangible.

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    1. I got an idea last night during discussions on something I posted on Facebook. Luckily I was at my computer, so I just went over to my "Ideas" file. Most of my ideas come while reading ON the treadmill. So I then have to stop and go find a pen and paper to write it down!

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    2. Ooooo...I forgot about the treadmill!! Yes, I also get ideas while walking.

      Thank you Alex.

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  2. Thank you so much for hosting me today, Cathrina! Dinner with your children sounds fun! I wish I liked to clean. I can't say I've come up with any ideas while doing dishes or putting laundry away, but often I'm listening to audiobooks while doing those things. Maybe what I need is silence and boredom to get the wheels churning.

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    1. You're always welcome on my blog Stehanie and I really hope I win the book!!!! And wishing you great success!!!!!

      I do need silence to come up with ideas...

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  3. I'm not a writer except for a few articles and my blog but I find that ideas hits when I least expect it and if I don't jot them down I tend to forget about them.

    Do you ever you looked into some incidents or experience of your own childhood? I've had many adventures when I was young that my kids loved to hear me tell them over and over. Some were daring, some funny, some scary and some were sad.
    Have a fun weekend.
    Hugs,
    JB

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    1. I didn't have all that many adventures that I remember, but I've never been much of an adventurer! It is necessary to call upon childhood when writing for kids, though, if only to try to remember what it was like to be that age.

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  4. Fantastic advice! Looks like a good read too:)

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  5. Exercise and mowing the grass are great unpuzzlers to me. Moments of quiet do give great insight.

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    1. I had a whole string of ideas in the shower this morning. Only halfway through did I remember the whole "showers are great for ideas" thing! Of course, that's the one time you're without a pen to write them down.

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  6. Thanks for sharing Stephanie's great tips on novel ideas!

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  7. Fantastic tips... I always find distance helps a lot. For me, it's long drives always helps me with story ideas:)

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  8. Great tips. I think I'm going to use a couple this week.
    Congrats on the release - both of you!
    And Cathrina - Enjoy the grandchild :)

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  9. Some great tips from Stephanie. Congratulations to you and Stephanie on your new releases.
    Enjoying time with the family is the best :)

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  10. Great post!! My best ideas tend to materialise when I'm doing chores around the house or pulling weeds in the garden. I'm not thinking about writing at the time but the thought of thinking about the task - cleaning the toilet, washing the dishes, IRONING!! (YUK!) seems to send my mind off into creative mode :)

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  11. So happy to hear about your new granddaughter! And yay for your release and Stephanie's too! Coming up with story ideas isn't the problem. Coming up with commercial, marketable, and "high concept" ideas that you truly believe people will love is much harder.

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  12. Great advice! I generally don't run out of ideas (knock on wood!) and get so many ideas from music (the more dramatic the better) and from daydreaming.

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  13. Thanks, Stephanie, for the great tips! Always have a notebook and pen -- that's something I learned the hard way.
    Congrats to both of you on your new releases!
    Have fun with your daughter and grandbaby, Cathrina! Enjoy your family dinner!

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