Do to the copy right stuff with using olympic stuff I doubt The Olympic Book of Poetry, Prose and Projects will be a sellable book – or not unless I get permission etc… but that isn’t the point – the first step is getting it ready for my little girls 🙂
It does however now have a subtitle The Big Book of Sports, Hobbies and Activities.
I am currently attempting to write poems on all things to do with sports, activities and hobbies. I have also hit on the idea of 10 stories mainly about animals and robots and the like. Obviously the Olympic Games are here in the UK this year so me and my little girl are getting very excited and doing lots of things with an Olympic theme.
This includes knitting our own Olympics and a blanket made of squares showing different sports and things so I think a book of poetry had to be done!
I know I said I would stick to the hundred titles but when this idea occured to me I just couldn’t resist it 🙂 My little girls great grand mother won a gold in the Olympics for running – something my little girl is keen on and good at so the poetry will hopefully help encourage this. I have already done the poems for The Little Book of Olympic Poetry and quiet a few others (Poem a Day challenges etc…), I am including general activities such as hiking, knitting etc…. and think I might actually have a goodly number ready for when we are sitting down watching the events in the summer 🙂
I would also like to have 10 stories for it and have already started brain storming for these 🙂
I will also makes some word searches and thing for my little ones to do and I love designing childrens craft projects the instructions will be in there 🙂 Stuff to again do whilst watching the events 🙂
To stop me going insane with rhyming kids poetry I have had a little brake this last week to work on my first draft for 12×12 in 2012. I decided to go with Harry Hydrogen – this is actually the first book of a set called The Periodic Periodicals and is something I initially planned out whilst still at college!
They are a series of picture books a bit like the Mr Men book but about the elements of the periodic table instead!
I’ve written the draft which I read out with some rough byro sketches to my family – my mother bizarly was ecstatic with the exclaimation ‘Oh Sarah! That is a perfect learning aid! You must get it published!’ this surprised me as my mother hates most of my writing and is a retired teacher!
So month on of this challenge is completed! Now to finish unpacking the house :/
The end of MoPo (month of poetry) is drawing to a close and I do not have my 300 poems – no I don’t so I’ve failed yes?
No!
I have almost 200 poems – like WOW! Ok so they are kids rhyming poems very formulaic – I find structured and rhyming poetry very very easy to write!
This means I have so much to do editing wise and what have you!
I don’t think I can face doing this again for WoPoWriMo in February – I might throttle someone so I am going to be doing Visual Poetry for that one. But I will resume for the manic-ness that is NaPiBoWriWee. I did this last year and it was very successful!
It is doing my head in but I am attempting to do a ‘Little Book’ a day – that is ten poems about a given subject. In this case sports generally :/ And I am not really a sporty person – except I am finding out I am!
So for this month:
1) The Little Book of Sports Day Poetry
2) The Little Book of Out Door Pursuits Poetry
3) The Little Book of Yes You Can Poetry (paralympics)
4) The Little Book of Camping Poetry
5) The Little Book of Hiking Poetry
6) The Little Book of Snow Sports Poetry
7) The Little Book of Balls Poetry
8) The Little Book of Horses Poetry
9) The Little Book of Orienteering Poetry
10) The Little Book of Exploring Poetry
11) The Little Book of Rugby Poetry
12) The Little Book of Tennis Poetry
13) The Little Book of Climbing Poetry
14) The Little Book of Archery Poetry
15) The Little Book of White Water Poetry
16) The Little Book of Areodynamic Sports Poetry
17) The Little Book of Cycling Poetry
18) The Little Book of Gymnastic Poetry
19) The Little Book of Skating Poetry
20) The Little Book of Street Sport Poetry
21) The Little Book of Dirt Biking Poetry
22) The Little Book of Racing Poetry
23) The Little Book of Boating Poetry
24) The Little Book of Sailing Poetry
25) The Little Book of Speed Boat Poetry
26) The Little Book of Play Ground Games Poetry
27) The Little Book of Synchronised Poetry
28) The Little Book of Rainy Day Poetry
29) The Little Book of Games Poetry
30) The Little Book of Make Things Poetry
As is suspected I am currently behind where I should be by two books :/ And I think it will only get worse as the month progresses to be honest.
Yes so that challenge I set myself – here are the titles:
1) The Little Book of Sports Poetry
2) The Little Book of Olympic Poetry
3) The Little Book of Running Poetry
4) The Little Book of Football Poetry
5) The Little Book of Swimming Poetry
6) The Little Book of Racket Poetry
7) The Little Book of Cricket Poetry
8) The Little Book of Hockey Poetry
9) The Little Book of Dance Poetry
10) The Little Book of Hi-Ya! Poetry (martial arts and self defence systems)
Here is the list of the 12 stories I want to get drafts done of!
1) Where Oh Where is Bear Chair?
2) Spotty Dotty Baby
3) Poor Soggy Moggy
4) The Witch That Was Stitched
5) Princess Pirate
6) Fairy Doors
7) Big Sister, Little Sister
8) Pinky Puff
9) Unicorn Poo
10) The Dragon Who Needed The Loo
11) Harry Hydrogen
12) Dragon Cassarole
Well another years over and what a lot I have done though most of it will not bare fruit for a year or two! We got the keys to our new house the day before the Christmas holidays so haven’t even started moving yet!
This means there are a few more Little Books of Poetry being added:
The Little Book of Moving House Poetry and The Little Book of New Home Poetry 😀
I raised enough money with The Little Book of Festive Poetry to buy two books for the school – both Artimis Fowl 🙂 I love the take on Fairies!
It may not seem much but I see it as a start and that was only one event and there was no build up time to it really.
The Little Books are gaining momentum and I am being asked to do more kidlit stuff 🙂
I’ve found another challenge I want to take part in next year aswel.
It is called 12×12 in 2012. The idea is that you bring 12 picture books to completion (well first draft!) in 2012 – that’s a book a month!
I’m not sure that The Little Books Should really count for this challenge as I plan to do them as part of PoMo in January (Poetry Month), and as NaPiBoWriWee (National Picture Book Writing Week). I will brain storm so ideas over the holiday – inbetween packing and unpacking!!
Here is a video of me reading The Little Book of Festive Poetry at The Brewery Shopping Centre in Cheltenham. I am very grateful to have been asked though the event did over run and it was icy cold – not so good when you’ve got two little ones with you!
The little girl sneaking forward is mine 🙂 And yes that is Santa Mouse in my pocket and Mummy’s socks in my pocket.
I also appeared in the Echo along side the fantastic band The Simplistic Scientists and Avril Staple a fellow poet!
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/Chorus-approval-live-music/story-14180159-detail/story.html
So I had a few issues with the binding – basically sewing a) took too long and b) ment the book was too thick in the middle where the stitching is – it looks lovely but isn’t really practical 🙁
And stapling with a normal stapler wont work as it looks ugly and the amount of paper is too much for it anyway.
I went to the stationary shop to get a special staple gun but they misunderstood and me not really understanding stapelers didn’t realise – they sold me the sort you use for mounting things on walls. Me and my husband think it will probably come in useful and he went and got me a long arm stapler that I can use. It works really well 🙂
I have also amended my plan. The ones I have decorated the covers for are ones I will give to people as presents. It’s a lot of work and talking to people I realised that at public events were people don’t know me I can’t really sell something that is embellished home print for very much. So there will be 1000 little home made leaflet/booklets made for sale for the school book fund at like £2.50 each and then 100 ones decorated by me to give to people, plus at some future point 10 hand written and drawn on lovely good quality paper which is hand bound into a book which I will auction.
I’ve already got a couple of readings coming up for it which amazes me!