I am pleased to host guest blogger and children's author, Deb Hockenberry with...
WHAT INSPIRES ME TO WRITE
by Deb Hockenberry
What inspires me to write? That's a tough question for me to answer, but I think I can answer it with one word: kids.
Kids give me so much inspiration and story ideas. Kids take me back to my childhood. Remember Christmas, Halloween, Memorial Day, and the other holidays when you were a kid? You get to see the magic of Christmas when you look at a kid. You get to share in their excitement of a picnic on Memorial Day. Do you remember what you did and how you felt on those days? Holidays have so many stories in them. Kids inspire these ideas!
I think kids are amazing! They're able to adapt to new things a lot easier than adults. They face the scary times better than we adults are.
I feel that in this day and age, kids desperately need books that entertain them. If it teaches something, I hope it's so far behind the scenes that they don't suspect at all. There's so much 'bad news' being flung at them every day. Now, they have new rules to live with because of this virus that has the world in its grip. I mean, the mask-wearing, frequent handwashing, and social distancing. This has to be harder for kids to do than it is for adults. But kids have inspired me here too!
Did you ever move to a new city or town and start a new school? I did this at a young age so I can tell you from personal experience that it's scary. If you did, stop and think back. How did it make you feel before you moved? How did you feel standing in your new classroom and introducing yourself to a lot of strangers that were staring at you? Kids remind us of this.
Did you ever have a table at a rummage sale? I did. A little boy, no more than five-years-old, came up and desperately wanted an item, but didn't have enough money. He was petrified telling me what he wanted and how mu he had. There's a story there, and this little towhead inspired it!
Yes, kids inspire me to write!
Deb Hockenberry
Deb's bio: Deb has always wanted to write stories for children since she was a kid herself. She has taken two courses from The Institute of Children’s Literature and is a member of the online and ongoing children’s workshop, The CBI Clubhouse to keep up on the ever-changing field of children’s writing.
You can find out more about Deb at her website, on her Author Facebook Page and at Twitter as @DebHockenberry
Interested in staying connected beyond the Internet? Please feel free to opt-in to my Write What Inspires You Newsletter! I promise not to fill your email inbox, for I send out my emails no more than 1-2 times per month.
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Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Multi Award-winning Children's Author
Ignite curiosity in your child through reading!
Angel's Forever Home ~ March 2019 ~ Mascot Books ~ 2019 Purple Dragonfly Honorable Mention Picture Books Six and Older
Dee and Deb Off They Go Kindergarten First Day Jitters ~ December 2015 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2016 Purple Dragonfly Honorable Mention Picture Books Five and Under and Story Monster Approved
A Sandy Grave ~ January 2014 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2014 Purple Dragonfly 1st Place Picture Books 6+, Story Monster Approved, Beach Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014 and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review
Powder Monkey ~ May 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Historical Fiction 1st Place, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review
Hockey Agony ~ January 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2015 Purple Dragonfly Book Award Honorable Mention Picture Books 6+, New England Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Story Monster Approved and Reader's Favorite Five Star Review
The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist
Hi Donna, Thank you for hosting Deb for this blog post. And Deb, Thank you. You are yourself an inspiration for reminding us how to think like a kid in order to write for them.
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