Need a New Children’s Book Idea? Here’s How to Find it

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Do you ever wonder how people come up with endless ideas, while you sit there and NOTHING comes to mind? How can you find a new children’s book idea that hasn’t already been written about?

I’ve got you. Here are the little tricks I’ve learned to master the game of brainstorming so I never go without having a list of ideas to pull from.

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Need a New Children’s Book Idea? Here’s How to Find it:

Inspiration is all around you, if you know where to look. When you really need a new children’s book idea, here’s how you can turn yourself into an idea generator.

Where can inspiration come from?

The easy answer is everywhere. But here are some places to start:

• At home
• With your kids/family
• In line at the store
• At work
• Outside in nature
• A funny thing someone said or did
• An image you found online

And the list can go on. Story ideas don’t have to come to you in a complete package. Sometimes a small image or sentence can form into a full children’s book idea after it sits in your brain for a few weeks or months. (I got my idea for my first children’s book from a Highlights joke.)

What should you do with your ideas?

All of your children’s book ideas should be kept in one place. For me, that’s a journal I keep in my office. However, when I’m on the go and think of an idea, I record them on my phone. Then, I come home and add them to my journal.

If you need a journal, here are some beautiful ones to get you started:

• The Classic

• The Dreamer

• The Believer

• The Creative

You can put words in your journal or even little sketches. There are no rules. It’s whatever will work best for your creative juices.

Also–don’t filter yourself. Just because something doesn’t sound good, doesn’t mean it can’t blossom into a good children’s book idea later.

How can you get started?

Maybe you have a character that you love or a sentence you want to start with, but it isn’t enough to make a complete story. That’s ok! There’s one trick I like to use to get my brain thinking:

Ask yourself “What if . . . ?”

This is a powerful question that will get your creativity going. And it’s one of the fun parts of a children’s book. Literally, ANYTHING can happen because kids have such great imaginations. Use that to your benefit.

Try a new POV.

There are 3 main points of view you can tell your story in:

1. 1st Person – IE: Me, My, I
2. 2nd Person – IE: You, Your, Yours
3. 3rd Person close – IE: She/her, He/his, They/them

If your story isn’t quite working and you don’t know why, try switching up your point of view for the story. This is a GREAT trick when you don’t know who your main character should be.

Use your list as a refresh.

Sometimes we get stale in our writing or don’t feel like anything we write is any good. That’s when it’s important to come back to your journal and thumb through your ideas.

You’ll be surprised at how quickly you can spark your imagination. And you’ll be glad that you have this reserve of information for the times when you are struggling to come up with a fresh idea.

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Not everything we write will be good, and not every children’s book idea will sell. However, it’s ALWAYS good to stretch our brains and work our creativity. That’s the only way to come up with new story ideas that will sell.

Be sure to keep a journal to jot down ideas or funny snippets from your day, then reference your bullets when you’re looking for a new idea. And use that list to refresh your brain and get creative.

For more writing advice, check out these other articles around the blog:

• How to Find a Really Good Story Idea
• How to Know if You have a Bad Story Idea
• How to Write a Children’s Book
• Reason to Write the Book You Want, Not What’s Trending
• Why You Should Keep Your Story Lips Zipped

Brainstorm a New Children’s Book Idea Today!