Let’s explore where ideas come from. For my book, Storm Trucks, my son was obsessed with cars and trucks. We watched Cars on repeat, read Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site and Little Blue Truck every night, and played with toy cars and trucks all the time. Trucks were always on my mind.

Living in Oklahoma, where thunderstorms can be intense and scary for kids, I wanted to help my son feel less afraid. I came up with a story about the thunder being caused by construction trucks in the sky. This idea not only comforted him but also showcased the beauty of a child’s imagination.

My idea was born from combining two unrelated elements to solve a problem: my son’s fear of thunderstorms. I asked myself, “Why are storms scary?” The loud, mysterious noises like thunder, rain, hail, lightning, and power outages all contribute. Noticing that construction trucks make similar loud noises, I combined the two concepts and created Storm Trucks.

Generating a good idea involves brainstorming in various ways. Here are some tips to help you brainstorm:

1. Look for inspiration everywhere. My kids give me a lot of ideas, just listening to them and the questions they ask about the world. I also find inspiration in music and movies and art and nature. Once you start looking for ideas, you’ll find them!
2. Keep an idea file or notebook: Write every idea down. You might not be ready to use them yet, some ideas need time to grow, but you don’t want to forget them, so write them all down.
3. Write down every idea: You might get an idea while on a walk, or driving in your car, or in a dream. Our brains are bood at making ideas, and terrible at remembering them. Write them down! I use my notebook app on my phone, since it’s always with me.

Here are some brainstorming methods that can help generate ideas:

• Question brainstorming: Spend 10-15 minutes writing down every question you have about a topic.
• Mind Mapping: Start with a main idea and branch off with related ideas.
• Starbursting: Ask Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How about your topic or problem.
• Crazy 8’s: In 8 minutes, write or sketch 8 solutions to your problem. Great for children’s books where the MC tries and fails multiple times before succeeding.
• Reverse brainstorming: Ask, “How can I make this problem worse?”
• Word Banking: Write down every word you can think of related to one or two words.
• S.C.A.M.P.E.R.: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, and Reverse your ideas.

Check out these resources for more brainstorming tips:

• StoryStorm is Tara Lazar’s annual challenge where authors share their idea generation processes. Every January authors share their ideas for brainstorming, and the older posts are available year round to give you inspiration anytime!
• Another resource is Writing Picture Books by Ann Whitford Paul. In this book, Ann gives exercises to refine your story idea by changing POV, setting, structure, and so much more. It’s a great book to read to learn about writing Children’s books.

Now that we’ve gone over some great brainstorming ideas, I hope you try them and let me know if they worked for you! Remember, the first step in creating anything is the idea. Take your time to choose the best one. Play with your idea until it’s something you and others will love, something interesting and new.