Lauren is the author of the Rosie the Dragon and Charlie picture book series (Illustrated by Nate Wragg/Two Lions). She is a Jersey girl at heart who currently lives in Colorado with her husband, their two dragons…er, daughters, and their rescue dog. Lauren Kerstein is an author and psychotherapist. So, GO FORTH and conquer, and follow the Yellow Brick Road. These layers clicked into place as I followed the Yellow Brick Road and really explored the heart of Calvin’s story. In my picture book HOME FOR A WHILE (Illustrated by Natalia Moore/Magination Press/ February 2, 2021), I incorporated many different layers: foster care, finding your strengths, and emotion regulation/coping strategies. And as we all know, layers are a very good thing. Then, if I’m really inspired by an idea, I write notes, notes, and more notes in a journal dedicated to this new book idea.ĪDDED BONUS: The other thing to keep in mind is that following the Yellow Brick Road not only leads to new ideas, it can also help you add layers to your manuscript. I fill out as much of my template as I can. You can use the Storystorm template I created. You can write in your notebook or on blank paper. Now, spend some time fleshing out a few of those ideas before you lose them. We just generated a whole list of new ideas by following the Yellow Brick Road. Let’s pick a few of the words we added to our word bank and follow that lovely Yellow Brick Road. Let’s create a word bank of words we might use in this story: Here’s one: Squirrel loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but his brother is allergic so he can’t eat them. Grab a notebook and let’s go! Let me show you what I mean. Often, when I begin exploring an idea, my journey leads to LOTS of new ideas.

We’re off to see the Wizard! The Wizard of story ideas…

Home for A While by Lauren Kerstein