Hello friends!
I’ve heard from many of you over the past few years. Many asking questions something like this:
I’d like to write a picture book. How do I get started?
Or
I’ve got this idea knocking around in my head. How do I know if it’s any good?
So you want to take time this year to write down that idea or story that’s been floating around? The one you’ve been thinking about for years? YAY!!! DO IT!!
The passing of one year to the next is a GREAT time to try something new. And to get you started, I’ve put together a few of my favorite resources (many of which are opening up for new members in the next month!).
- First things first…if you want to write something, you have to write something.
I know, I know, obvious, right? But speaking as someone who struggled for years with how to “get started,” even though I’d been writing fictional stories since I was a little kid, this is deceptively simple. In practice, sitting down and writing something out makes the story real. It makes the work real. It makes your dream real. And it’s really hard.
Check out one of my favorites, Kate DiCamillo, as she walks those of us who want to write through a series of exercises that helped me get motivated. This is the link to the first in the series. But be sure to check them all out.
2. Join a professional organization.
Kate’s tips work for ANY kind of writing! But…most of what I’ve spent the last six years figuring out is WHAT I want to write. And honestly (shhh!), I still don’t know for sure. But I do know that I LOVE children’s books, particularly picture books for the smallest readers (for snuggling and learning and exploring the world) and for middle grade readers, those who are kids, but older kids, ready for much older things (for thinking and wrestling with hard topics like immortality and forgiveness and grief).
As you write your X pages a day, be thinking:
WHAT do I want to write? What kind of stories do I want to tell?
Then find a professional writing organization that can give you the insights, tips, tricks, and industry know-how to WRITE those things.
For example:
Mystery Writers of America (name should make it self-evident)
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (my personal fave for where I am/what I am writing)
Author’s Guild (for everyone)
Write FIRST. Do this SECOND.
3. If you want to write picture books, you need to study the craft.
Aside from professional organizations, there are many other resources available to help all kinds of writers.
Since I’ve published picture books (3 deals so far – YAY!!), many of the questions that I get from other aspiring writers deal with picture books. So this section is going to be chock-full of resources that you NEED to check out if you want to write a truly
STAND OUT
picture book. Start with these:
- 12×12 Picture Book Challenge: this is a year-long challenge to write one picture book manuscript per month. The membership window opens in January. A basic membership costs $187 and includes access to a members-only website where you can swap manuscripts, find critique partners, and much more. It also includes monthly webinars on the craft of writing picture books.
- Rate Your Story: a membership includes 15 critiques in a year (can be manuscripts or query letters) and 11 webinars and much more. $275 a year.
- Highlights Foundation courses: you remember Highlights Magazine, right? It’s still considered one of the best children’s magazines ever made. And the organization behind it is one of the best resources for aspiring children’s writers. Online and in-person courses are available on every topic imaginable.
- Writing Picture Books by Ann Whitford Paul: this little book taught me so much. Cannot recommend highly enough.
But I’ve published lots of other things as well…including an adult mystery short story, a memoir short story, poetry, and nonfiction. For all kinds of writing check out these resources:
- KidLit411: specific to kidlit, which includes picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and YA
- Purple Crayon: full of resources for KidLit writers
- https://taralazar.com/storystorm/: not sure about how to generate LOTS of ideas? This is the place for you! Sign up SOON for Storystorm 2026, come up with 30 new ideas, and be entered to win tons of fun prizes.
- https://www.joshfunkbooks.com/resources-for-writers
- http://www.literaryrambles.com/
- https://manuscriptacademy.com/
I hope I’ve given you TONS of inspiration to get you writing in 2026!
Drop me a comment on this post with YOUR idea and you’ll be entered to win a FREE manuscript critique by ME (up to 10 pages)!! Giveaway ends 1/9/2026, with the winner announced 1/16/2026.
Happy New Year and Happy Writing!!
Heather C. Morris 
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