I've stopped waiting and started writing

My small, yet meaningful start to writing picture books 📝

Dear reader,

I hope you’re well!¹ If you live in a pollen-coated area, you might relate to Linus, the rhino in a children’s microfiction story I wrote.

Here’s an excerpt:

Oh, Linus.
He can’t help it.
Another sneeze, another stomp—
the dusty yellow puffs and scatters.
Something took over the air, the mud, his body.
All without him knowing how or why.
Magic?

The story was my entry for a spring kidlit contest this week. I had two hours to write and submitted it shortly before the midnight deadline.² I’m a notoriously slow (I prefer thorough, lol) writer who revises and revises and revises till words stop looking like real words, SO! writing anything at all for the public in that amount of time was obviously easy breezy. 😉

In December, I wrote to you about wanting to give more than skimpy leftovers to my writing and creative work. I’d mentioned that maybe the new year could jumpstart my back-burner dreams, which I saw as a kind of mercy. An invitation to keep trying.

When the year began, I couldn’t stand the thought of writing a 2025 reflection in which I’d admit I sat on my dreams again.³ Enough of the excuses! After researching, I decided to join 12 x 12—a lovely, supportive writing community for picture book writers and illustrators. Members are challenged to write 12 picture book manuscripts in a year and are given various resources, webinars, and opportunities to practice their craft in the company of other like-minded creators. I paid the membership fee and just knew—I HAD to give this dream a chance. So, I have, and I am. I really am! I’m working on my stories for children and their grownups! Finally!

I’m also part of a critique group where we pass manuscripts and revisions back and forth, brainstorm when story elements don’t seem to work, refine pitches and query letters together, and encourage each other in the often solitary act of writing.

Writing PBs (picture books) requires reading and studying LOTS of them!

I’m newer to writing fiction, but over half of my story ideas have sprouted from real life memories or observations. Since joining in January, I’ve written (and rewritten) my first manuscript over a dozen times. It looks like my process is: write for a few hours, feel okay or sometimes even happy about it, return later only to hate everything I wrote, complain to Aaron, get inspired, and then repeat. Picture book writing is complex!

My writing career is like those earnest seedlings you might find in your gardens soon. It has yet to face criticizing aphids or the mighty winds of rejection. There’s not much to show right now. But behind the scenes, I’m working hard and writing from coffee shops, waiting rooms, school parking lots, the kitchen table, and the couch so that—one day, maybe, possibly, hopefully—the tiny words I’m planting can ripen into stories for children (and you!) to enjoy.

Of course, I could change my mind or fail and give up. Or it could work out! Either way, I’m sure I’ll learn something new, and it would be fun to bring folks along this meandering path. That said, I’m no wizard and can’t make time for everything I’d like to. Right now, I don’t have much margin to write long-form essays for Nōto, though I still love that kind of writing. The content of these newsletters will likely evolve some. But if you’ve read Notō for a sec, you’ll know I already keep it pretty random around here.⁴

I know I could wait to share anything till some fantastical, hypothetical day when the book gods decide to give my stories life on earth. Maybe that would be tidier, wiser, more surprising and impressive, I don’t know. But if we’re at all alike, then you probably find it interesting to get a glimpse of other peoples’ budding projects. Anyone? 👀

Personally, I’m so happy to get to devote my time, words, and creativity to this work right now. The process already feels meaningful to me, book deal or not. I look forward to whatever this dream might grow into!

Now back to storyboarding…
—E.T.

1. When I feel like I’m just barely hanging in there, I think about that emoji sloth with its limbs and curvy claws wrapped around a tree branch. Somehow, its inherent cuteness tells me you’ve got this!

(BTW, I just researched more about sloths and ~APPARENTLY~ they have a fancy “tendon-locking mechanism” in their limbs that keeps them from falling off branches when they’re asleep. It saves them energy and they don’t have to actively use their muscles?!?)

🦥

2. The last time I did that was probably 15 years ago for college papers. ha!

3. I’d made excuses for several years and while truly, I don’t think I could’ve managed it in 2024 (one must still know their limits!), I knew I was in a better place.

4. While I hope you’ll keep reading, I understand if Nōto is no longer your jam! You can always unsubscribe at any time. No hurt feelings.