PiBoIdMo. That stands for Picture Book Idea Month, which it is. November, I mean. This month is PiBoIdMo. So I made a pact with myself to come up with a new idea for a picture book every day this month. Sounds fun, huh? Easy-peasy? Well, I’m here to tell you it’s not nearly as simple as it might seem.

Ok, so I have come up with some ideas that I think would make kids laugh and their parents smile. Ideas. Now I just have to put each of the stories together in a creative way that has a clear beginning, middle and end. A story arc. A conflict and resolution in a completely fresh story that editors will beg me for. Oh, and ideally it will be under 500 words. Yeah. Right.

Fortunately for me, I have plenty of inspiration running around the house. Between Kismet, Roxie and Chance, there is always something going on. Chance stands on the back of the chair and barks at falling leaves outside the window; Roxie’s daily clockwork reminders-“time to go out, time for dinner, time for a walk”  and Kismet’s soft whimpers and running paws while dreaming of his younger, more agile days of play are the simple observations that inspire me.

If you hadn’t guessed, my stories, on the screen and in my head, revolve around dogs. I don’t have kids. I don’t have friends with kids that I see often, and I don’t have nieces and nephews coming for visits. So I write what I know. I write my passion. And if it strikes a chord with my readers, all the better.

Now excuse me while I go let Roxie out and persuade Chance to curl up with Kismet for a while.