Oliver goes to school

 

Oliver hated Owl School. First of all, the school was in the day. Whoever thought owls could go to school, and even if they did, in the morning. Owls were supposed to sleep during the day, didn’t they?

Clipart can trigger a non-fiction story too. Take this one for example –

Some titles that came to my mind are:

• What do vets do?
• How do you care for your pets?

 

Book titles and covers

Usually, the advice would be to read as many books as you can before you begin to write. This advice is a little different. Pick up a few books from the library or a bookstore and write down the titles. Now think up stories for these. Words are too restrictive? Try the cover picture of the books you pick up. Don’t turn the pages! Just imagine a story to suit the illustration.

Let’s take a classic storybook. “The Emperor’s New Clothes” What comes to your mind? Can you think of a historical story? Maybe even a contemporary one?

Here is what I got when I thought of this title.

Can you think of non-fiction articles from the same title? Here are some interesting ideas from a title that is almost a cliché.

a)      On what occasions did emperors make new clothes?

b)      What were emperor’s clothes made of?

c)      What happened to the royal tailors and dressmakers after monarchy began to disappear?

Nursery Rhymes

Pick up any rhyme you like and add a “What happened next?”. Create your own story to go with characters that jump off the nursery rhymes.

Here is a (badly written) prequel for Old Mother Hubbard

Old Mother Hubbard

Bought a new cupboard

To store food for hungry mutts.

She stocked it full

With juicy, meaty bones

But she left the door locks undone.

Old Mother Hubbard

Went to the cupboard,

To give the poor dog a bone:

When she came there,

The cupboard was bare,

And so the poor pecker had none.

Can you think of non-fiction articles when you read rhymes? Let us take this one for example.  London Bridge is falling down!

You got it. London Bridge can be the subject of many non-fiction articles. Here are some ideas.

• When was the London Bridge built?
• Who built it?
• Any interesting anecdote that happened on the London Bridge.

Writers, who create for children, are seldom stuck in the abyss for want of ideas. The problem is the abundance. There is so much to write about and what does one write?

All you need is a thought-broom, to wipe away the cobwebs and to focus your creativity on one single thing. That’s what these hidden treasures are all about. When you are stuck with a blank screen, open a clipart picture or glance at the title of a book or recollect a nursery rhyme. There is no stopping your words, then.