Most of my story ideas do not begin with anything particularly clever.
They usually begin with something silly.
A strange name. A funny character. A ridiculous situation. Something that makes me laugh and then sticks around in my head a little longer than it probably should.
And eventually I start wondering:
What if there is actually a story in this?
That is pretty much how it starts.
First Comes the Silly Part
When I get an idea, I try not to overthink it straight away.
Kids do not need every story to begin with a grand lesson or an important message. Sometimes a funny idea is enough to get things moving.
Maybe it is a pirate with an unusual name.
Maybe it is a puppy getting herself into trouble.
Maybe it is a character, a place, or even just one sentence that makes me laugh.
At that point, I usually have no idea where the story is going.
That comes next.
Then I Start Asking Questions
Once an idea refuses to leave me alone, I start asking questions about it.
Who is this character?
What do they want?
Who are their friends?
What could possibly go wrong?
And, probably most importantly:
What would make a kid want to know what happens next?
One question leads to another, and slowly the silly little idea starts turning into a world.
Characters get personalities. Places begin to feel real. Problems appear.
Sometimes completely new characters show up along the way that I never planned for.
Those are often some of the best ones.
The First Version Is Usually a Mess
There is something people probably do not see when they pick up a finished children’s book.
The story did not always look like that.
There are lines that sounded great in my head but were terrible when I read them aloud.
There are scenes that went on too long.
There are jokes that were not actually funny.
There are characters that changed completely between the first idea and the finished book.
And there are plenty of moments where I look at something I wrote and think:
Nope. That is not working at all.
So I change it.
Then I change it again.
That is part of writing.
Reading It Out Loud Changes Everything
Children’s books are meant to be heard as much as they are meant to be read.
So one of the most important parts of writing for me is reading the story aloud.
That is when I notice whether a sentence feels awkward.
It is when I find places where the story slows down.
And it is when I discover whether a funny line actually sounds funny.
I also try to imagine a parent reading it for the tenth, twentieth, or maybe fiftieth time.
If the child is saying, “Again!”, I want the grown-up reading beside them to still enjoy it too.
That is always part of the goal.
Then the Characters Start Feeling Real
This is probably my favourite part.
At some point, the characters stop feeling like something I am making up.
I start knowing how they would react.
I know what they would say.
I know which character would run straight toward the adventure and which one would probably stop and think about it first.
And occasionally I realise that something I planned simply does not suit the character anymore.
That is when I know the story is starting to come together.
The Story Usually Finds Its Meaning Along the Way
I do not normally sit down and say:
Today I am going to write a story that teaches children an important lesson.
I would rather start with the adventure.
The funny moments.
The characters.
But somewhere along the way, something usually appears underneath all of that.
Friendship.
Courage.
Helping someone.
Trying again.
Working together.
Being curious.
Doing the right thing.
The message grows naturally out of what the characters experience instead of being forced into the story.
For me, that feels much more like the books I loved as a kid.
And Eventually... It Becomes a Book
There is a strange moment when something that began as a tiny, ridiculous thought finally turns into a real story.
It has a beginning.
It has an ending.
The characters have gone somewhere.
Something has changed.
And that silly idea that once existed only in my head is suddenly something another person can hold, read, laugh at, and share with their child.
That part never gets old.
So if you ever wonder where stories come from, I am afraid I do not have a very sophisticated answer.
Sometimes they begin with inspiration.
Sometimes they begin with a character.
Sometimes they begin with an adventure.
And sometimes...
They begin because somebody thinks of something completely silly and cannot stop laughing about it.
A. F. Sparks