Inspired by I Am Bold
A writing exercise...
Before I dive into talking about I Am Bold, I want to talk about the author. I met Andie Powers on Instagram, then we worked together at Bravery, and now we cheer each other on long-distance whenever we can. Andie is a thoughtful, creative writer—and a committed writer. She has accomplished most of her successes without an agent, including selling I Am Quiet to a publisher and being Goodreads’ Best Children's Book of 2022. 🤯
Andie takes her work seriously and she finds a way to keep going even when the market is saturated and noisy. So the next time you’re wondering if you should keep going or if it’s possible to actually sell something that feels original and true to who you are, channel your inner Andie and KEEP GOING! 💪
Did you know pre-orders are super helpful for authors? I Am Bold comes out April 9th, so you’ll get your copy soon, and it is a delight. I’m pretty sure my son isn’t the only one will relate to I Am Bold as much as he related to I Am Quiet. We all contain multitudes!
Try This
Every so often, I like to make a list of themes/things I believe in and want to celebrate in my picture books. I feel like Andie’s list must have things like “Shy people have rich inner lives” and “Loud people are actually delightfully bold.” Her books offer a contrary take on popular thinking.
One of the things I Am Bold does so well is take a simple concept (reframing what it means to be bold) and spin it out in ways that feel surprising and fresh, not repetitive or forced. With that in mind, this month’s writing prompt is super simple, but I want you to challenge yourself to go beyond the surface and see what bubbles up. Choose a quality that could be seen as negative (shy, slow, weird) and make a list of 100 (!) ways it might show up in daily life. Make them as specific as possible. Let this be an invitation to expand your definition of the word and see what shows up for you. Maybe you’ll write your own version of I Am Bold or invent a character from scratch, or maybe you’ll simply discover you are more creative than you thought and challenge yourself to go beyond the first few ideas that occur to you when you’re writing.
Let me know if you try it!
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PS—The fastest way to grow as a writer is to book a manuscript critique or a creative coaching session with an expert.
My clients get agents, sell books, and win awards. They also learn how to find ease and joy in the creative process, so they can keep going when life gets hard.
