2016 success story books9/17/2023 ![]() ![]() Sometimes I transfer photos and videos to an album that I’ve labeled “Story Prompts.” I also click a load of food and produce pictures. I usually take pictures of unusual things I spot as I drive through my city, Karachi, or roam the bazaars. These may not be ideas in themselves, but it’s always great to jot these down for later they may inspire a character quirk for a side character, or a specific detail for your current WIP. Think about the sounds that you heard in that neighborhood, or the secret stash of your candies you hoped your sibling would never find. Maybe a picture in an old house would remind you of a nosy neighbor or a neighborhood friend you’ve long forgotten. Does a particular picture remind you of a place or setting that evoked a feeling? Could that mood, or feeling possibly take center stage for a story. I encourage you to flip through your childhood memories. Once Anu started sharing the illustrations, her settings, inspired by her own childhood with her grandma, resembled my own Dadi’s home, right down to the bangle stand and wooden cupboard, and subsequently brought in a flood of memories. And then I’ll think about other connected memories– comforting vibes, or the panic I’d experience about a test I’d miss if I had to stay home due to a flu. Sometimes a waft of cinnamon will remind me of the home remedies my mother made for us when we had a flu. It also made me think of all the memories that I can tap into by using a particular scent as a clue. Not only did this stay with me for a long time, it was the spark of an idea for my debut picture book, A DUPATTA IS… which releases on April 11th this year (published by Feiwel & Friends and illustrated by the super-talented Anu Chouhan). He had asked my mother never to wash it, as it held her scent and helped hold her memory close. A few weeks after she passed, we noticed my dad had been sleeping with her dupatta tucked beside his pillow. My father, the youngest of three sons, had moved back to Pakistan to be with her in her last years. She, herself, was a treasure trove of stories. ![]() She was a quirky grandparent who was married off at 16 and widowed at 28. She always wore saris and loved to dress us girls up in pseudo-saris, using fancy dupattas. It was from the time we were visiting Karachi to see my Dadi, my grandma. It had one of us sisters wrapped in a dupatta, an oversized South-Asian scarf, that had been tied like a sari. There’s fun moments and not-so-fun moments, all great for story ideas!Ī picture I came across a few years ago when my mom was cleaning out her storeroom. It’s a springboard for more memories even those not captured in those albums. Sometimes a picture will remind me of a mood or what a specific location made me feel. Sometimes I open up those albums and think about all the fun we had and all the lovely memories we made. Let’s start with childhood memories: thankfully, I wasn’t the last of four siblings, so my parents took loads of pictures of me as a child (my youngest sister has all of five pictures of her toddler years…lollll). Childhood memories are great for recalling important milestones, but everyday clicks of things which seem interesting to me and for pictures of my kids doing fun and silly stuff also bring many story possibilities. That’s when I dip into my memories, especially photographs from my childhood and my phone’s gallery. But when I sit to write what I know, I usually draw a blank. You’ve probably heard: “Write what you know” several times, as have I. I have been kicking off every new year (since the past three years) with awesome Storystorm blog posts! I’m happy to report, at least three of my upcoming picture books began as idea that were sparked from January blog posts! I’m super excited to be a guest blogger today. ![]()
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