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| badge created by Loni Edwards |
Does this look familiar?
[Character] who [a unique, special, or defining characteristic of said character] wants/needs [goal] more than anything but can't get it because of [obstacle(s)].
Simple. Classic. Elegant :)
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to write an awesome pitch (or 2 or 3) for a picture book. The fun part? It doesn't have to be for a book you've written.. or even intend to write... :)
It can be a pitch for something you think up right here right now this very second! Or a pitch for a work-in-progress! Or a pitch for a bit of an idea you've been ruminating on since breakfast! Or a pitch for someone else's published book - you take the story and boil it down into a pitch! Or take the idea from someone else's published book, or a nursery rhyme, or a fairy tale, and change a detail of the plot, setting, character, POV etc. and make it into a new pitch idea! Anything goes!
Just make it as interesting as you can so we all want to read it! And if enough people put up pitches, I'm guessing we'll all get loads of story inspiration ideas! The great thing? Even if 14 people wrote a story off the same pitch, it would probably come out 14 different ways!
In case you're feeling overwhelmed and stymied, here are a few options for each category: ( you can do the old pick a number from 1-10 and don't peek routine if you want to be random, or just pick whatever blows your hair back :))
Character:
1. Sophie
2. Max
3. Rover
4. Stinky Pete
5. Tiger
6. Isabella
7. Lasso Larry
8. Stegadora
9. Two-Toed Ted
10. Sugar Brown
Defining/Unique Characteristic:
1. is afraid of loud noises
2. hates to get wet
3. is a pirate
4. loves licorice
5. is a princess
6. comes from Venus
7. is a ballerina
8. always has her/his nose in the air
9. is a tightrope walker
10. is impatient
Goal:
wants a sister
wants to ride a two-wheeler
wants to lose a tooth
wants to live in the jungle
want a best friend
wants to be brave
wants to be first
wants to go to school
wants to be famous
wants to go camping
Obstacles:
hmmm.... you may be on your own for this one since it's hard to think of obstacles that can apply in any situation - they kind of need to be specific... but:
1. natural disaster (forest fire, flood, tornado, volcano, earthquake, hurricane, blizzard etc.)
2. injury (physical)
3. injury (emotional)
4. sibling interference
5. parental control
6. friend betrayal
7. lack of talent or ability
8. rules/laws
(feel free to add anything else generic you can think up in the comments and I'll edit and add here :))
Here are a couple examples from yours truly to set the mood :)
1. Goldilocks, who is tired of porridge and bears, heads for Paris to open a cafe, but she hasn't the slightest idea how to cook!
2. Harold, who is a master of truth-bending, wants a job to earn money for a new baseball glove so he can make the local team, but nobody trusts him.
3. Stinky Pete, a pirate on the foul ship Treasure Stealer, longs for a kitten but is afraid he'll be made to walk the plank if he gets one.
So, are you ready?
Pitch!
Just for a change of pace, I am on my way to Vermont as we speak, so I will have to check in on you from afar, and probably read your awesome posts very late tonight, but I can't wait to see what you all come up with! Give it your best shot. Remember, this is for Pitch Olympic Gold! :) (BTW, I had an awesome graphic I was going to use for this. I found an Olympic image on google images and Renee personalized it using her amazing photoshopping abilities, but after all the talk about fair use, I'm afraid to put it up! But, maybe just for a day or two so you can see it... :))
Have a great weekend, everyone, and tune in Monday for a special post and giveaway (assuming I manage to return from my travels and actually write it! :))
