Y'all, writing a picture book is so much harder than you think.

Really.

Your words have to dance with the text. You can't tell too much, or you step on the illustrator's toes.

You can't write to little or your story stops moving along.

See! It's almost a rock and hard place. I guess that is why I like little mini writing challenges like Vivian Kirkfield's 50 Precious Words. Challenges like this make me fine tune every single word that I write.

* Is that verb active enough?
* Do I need that adverb?
​* Do my adjective create images? *How does this word choice create my character's voice?

Eeeek! I only have 50 words to tell a whole story, establish a character, setting, conflict, and resolve it! What?!

It's great practice. (I say as I growl and delete another word. Hehe. Really that was a chuckle.) I can feel my writer muscles growing. 

Well, here we go. Here is my attempt to do all of that in 50 Words!

                            Maggie's Blank Page


The sketchbook page laughs at Maggie. 

“Do it.” 

Maggie grabs her pencil. “I will.”

But drops it.

“Whiter than snow I’ll stay!” The paper mocks. “Zippity-Do-BLAH-Day!”

What if I fail? Maggie pokes the page. “Better to try.” 

Maggie sketches.

“Drat!” The page wails, “a work of heart!”




There you have it! Be like Maggie today. Don't be afraid to let your ideas flow!