12 x 12 in 2012 Blog Party!

 It's time for the 12 x 12 in 2012 blog party! I can't think of anything fun and witty to write the way that my fellow 12 x 12 blog party compatriots have, but I still wanted to have my say about what a great time I've had participating in the 12 x 12 challenge this year.

If you didn't take part in the challenge, you have missed out. I have gained so many benefits from participating.

1. I learned a ton of things about writing picture books that I didn't know before.  I'm putting this as number one because I really did learn so much, and it has all really helped me to progress on my journey to become a published picture book author.

2. I gained a picture book critique group and had some critiques done on a couple of my picture book manuscripts.

3. I gained contacts with people in the picture book industry: agents, publishers and editors.

4. I met other picture book authors, both published and aspiring, who are willing to cheer me on (while I cheer them on). I ca not stress enough how wonderful and helpful everyone in the 12 x 12 community is with each other.

5. I started the Chapter Book Challenge. Yes, the challenge came to me partially as a result of my doing the 12 x 12 challenge. I love doing the month-long challenge of NaNoWriMo and I really enjoyed doing the year-long challenge of 12 x 12, so I decided that I would like to do something that fit somewhere as a middle-road to the two challenges, and I came up with the Chapter Book Challenge. (It was also a result of my having some ideas for chapter books to write with my children in mind.)

6. I gained helpful links for writers of picture books.

7. I won a free book trailer design by Carter Higgins. And it will last for as long as it takes me to get my book ready. (And she has created some wonderful book trailers for other authors.)

8. I've gained the belief that I can succeed at writing picture books and the courage to keep trying until my book is published.

If you feel the burning need to write picture books and want to learn more about how and what to do with them once you've written them, I highly recommend joining the 12 x 12 challenge in 2013.

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The 12 x 12 in 2012 Halfway Blog Party!

 

(I don't know how to embed a link in a picture, so, just in case it didn't work, here is where the above picture should lead.)

I joined the 12 x 12 in 2012 picture book writing challenge way back in December of 2011. It started last January, and the goal is to write one rough draft of a new picture book every month. So far, I have not only managed to do so for the first half of this challenge, but I have written more than one a month because, in the month of February, I joined the Picture Book Marathon and wrote 26 picture book drafts.


This has been a major learning experience for me. I have had the ideas running around my head for these picture books for many years, and this year, at the start of this challenge, is the first time I actually tried to write them down. I joined a critique group formed through the 12 x 12 in 2012 Facebook group, and through them have learned that, pretty much, I am nowhere near done learning about this process of writing picture books.


Julie Hedlund organized this challenge, and she has been amazing. Also amazing is that, with this being the first year this challenge has run, Julie had over 400 people sign up for it! (For the month-long Chapter Book Challenge I organized, there were only 23 of us signed up, but that may grow by next year's challenge.) I honestly don't know how she finds the time to keep everything running smoothly with so many participants and with all of the author guest blog posts, prizes and even aspiring author guest blog posts that she has been posting, as well as keeping up with the Facebook group.


I must admit that, as helpful as all of this has been, I continue to be a bit envious of those picture book authors/aspiring authors who are also illustrators. I would love to be able to illustrate my own picture books and ensure that the pictures portrayed my ideas exactly as I intend them to be portrayed, but alas, my skills do not run in that direction. (You can see examples of my pitiful attempts to teach myself to draw here and here.)

I know that several of the members of the 12 x 12 in 2012 challenge have already been published or have become published during the course of this challenge, and, as we are only half-way through the challenge, I am looking forward to seeing many more of my talented colleagues join the ranks of the published before this challenge completes.

*raises champagne glass* Here's to halfway there already and to another 6 months and 6 more picture books written! Woohoo!!!!

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