Stocking My Story Pantry for So Not Ghoul
On August 2, 2022, So Not Ghoul will be haunting bookstores across the nation. What became my second picture book began as a from-the-heart hook in November 2019: “Mimi’s not your typical American ghost, but she wishes she were.”
But a hook is not a story, so where to go from there? Storywise, I was certain of nothing except that I wanted to share my experience as a U.S. American of Chinese descent and the eternal frustration of being judged by two sets of wildly incompatible cultural expectations. And I really wanted to introduce ghosts from Chinese lore in an American picture book. However, I didn’t have a clear path for turning what was essentially a personal lament into an entertaining story for children.
Mimi’s tale could’ve taken off in any direction, but the infiniteness of fiction is a hazard for the busy, the indecisive, and the must-be-perfect—and I’ve been all three. Instead of freeing us to be creative, too many choices slow us down. So to sustain So Not Ghoul’s momentum as well as my own, I opened another Word doc and began stocking my Story Pantry.
I came up with the idea of a Story Pantry while working on my debut picture book, Whole Whale. For this meta story featuring one hundred animals—in rhyme, no less—I populated a spreadsheet with “ingredients” I might need. For Whole Whale, that meant a cluster of perfect rhymes for whale (the refrain was “But can we fit a whole blue whale?”). Add to that an enormous list of critters ready to join the cast—sortable by name, number of syllables, classification, habitat, gender (like cow/bull), and maturity (like lion/cub)—cobbled together from random lists online. Having words and ideas at the ready reminded me of cooking, where I could peek inside my pantry and create a meal from whatever was available. Thus, “Story Pantry” was born.
Story Pantries are unique to each story. Before writing So Not Ghoul in earnest, I stocked the pantry with words and ideas related to ghosts, fashion, and the Chinese culture. The bulk of it was done during focused daydreaming, followed by exploratory link-surfing—two of my favorite prewriting activities.
Here’s a little taste of the types of ingredients in So Not Ghoul’s Story Pantry.
Chinese stuff:
- Types of ghosts (Mimi is a Diao Si Gui!)
- Mandarin words (like for father and paternal grandfather)
- Traditions and values (like filial piety, proverbs, funereal offerings)
- Historical references (hair and clothing)
Ghost stuff:
- Synonyms for ghost (like ghoul, phantom, spirit)
- Ghost activities (like roam, float, scare)
- Wordplay (like ghoulmate, haunt couture, specter-tacular)
Rules of the universe:
- Sick ghosts become opaque.
- Ghosts can travel but stick close to altars created in their memory.
- Offerings from the living can be used in the underworld.
What Mimi worries about:
- Being made fun of
- Not fitting in
- Not having friends
Stocking my Story Pantry early on empowered me to recognize and rule out unsustainable ideas. Rather than fabricating a story from thin air, I let the available ingredients shape my story and get me through the indecision stage quickly. Knowing what I had to work with helped me pressure-test ideas for, say, pun potential before I got too deep in my writing. It allowed me to create with fewer research interludes and greater flow. This is the beauty of mise en place—everything in its place before you begin. With a Story Pantry, the available ingredients will reveal the dishes you can coax out. Let the Story Pantry show you a way into the story.
Take Whole Whale’s Story Pantry. If there weren’t enough usable rhymes for the word whale to keep the refrain going for a whole book, the lack of ingredients (rhyming words) in the pantry would clue me in. Being able to gauge the fodder has saved me from misdirecting my energy. So by laying out the ingredients for So Not Ghoul, I could settle on a storyline rich with flavor and substance, one that almost writes itself. Apart from the ending, the published version is pretty darn close to my first draft, which I completed within two days. (Caveat: I edit as I write, so my first drafts read like a later draft.)
Also, Story Pantries can store much more than words. They work best when you include anything that helps you focus on discovering story, generating story, and staying on track. Other items in my Story Pantries have included loglines, pitches, facts, maps, images, timelines, family trees, backstories, and other world-building reminders. My Story Pantries for picture books aren’t that long, maybe several pages. If yours becomes unwieldy, you can break up the categories into separate docs or spreadsheet tabs to aid findability and readability.
Sometimes I quietly stock a Story Pantry for months. When I finally have time to write, all my words, lines, notes, and thoughts will be there, waiting to coalesce. Research for one Story Pantry can be adapted for another, like my list of animals. I’ve also used Story Pantries to inspire content for social media, my website, interviews, story-specific bios, and blog posts, like this one. There’s a solid chance you’ll refer to your Story Pantries again and again, so be kind to your future self and keep them tidy from day one.
My go-to word resources (in addition to Google) for Story Pantries:
- WordHippo for the best word
- RelatedWords for related words
- RhymeZone for rhymes, near rhymes, synonyms, and much more
- Rhymer for first-syllable rhymes (which RhymeZone doesn’t have)
For more writer tools, visit Writer Things on my author site. For conscious language tips, visit Creative Writing on my Conscious Style Guide site.
I hope I’ve given you a practical tool for planning your story and front-loading your writing process. What types of ingredients will you put in your Story Pantry? Let me know in the comments!
Karen Yin is an author of whimsical stories for children, including WHOLE WHALE (Barefoot Books, 2021; illustrated by 12 x 12 member Nelleke Verhoeff) and SO NOT GHOUL (Page Street Kids, 2022; illustrated by the phantasmic Bonnie Lui), and the upcoming nonfiction book CONSCIOUS LANGUAGE (Little, Brown Spark). Acclaim for her writing includes a California Arts Council Individual Artist Grant, a Lambda Literary Fellowship, and selection of her flash fiction for the Los Angeles Public Library’s permanent collection. Winner of the 2017 ACES Robinson Prize (Editor of the Year), Karen founded several digital tools—including The Conscious Language Newsletter, the Editors of Color Database, and Diverse Databases—but is best known for her groundbreaking Conscious Style Guide. Find her online at KarenYin.com and her book recommendations at DiversePictureBooks.com.
Karen Yin is offering one lucky 12 x 12 member a choice of a signed copy of any of her books or a 30-minute ask-me-anything chat! Get those new drafts written and those old ones revised for your best chance to win at the August check-in!
136 Responses
Story Pantry is GENIUS! I am going to go back and make some for a few WIPs and for sure try it with my new drafts. Thanks and congrats on your book!
Karen – thanks for a fantastic post that is full of practical and helpful tips for building our own story pantries. I can’t wait to buy your new book! You know I love your work! xox
Congrats Karen! Can’t wait to read So Not Ghoul! My son and I loved Whole Whale.
And I absolutely love your Story Pantry concept. I do something similar, though I didn’t have such a clever name for it!
What a fantastic tool! I have one story idea that simply won’t tell me the story. Making a Story Pantry sounds like a great next step for me. Besides, when I need to do something other than write or research, I bake, so I love the idea of combining writing and cooking =)
Love the idea of a Story Pantry and think I’ll try it with my current WIP! Congrats on your publishing success thus far! Can’t wait to read So Not Ghoul; it sounds fabulous, and I love the art!
Karen, this is such a brilliant idea! Thank you for sharing and more importantly, thank you for creating such important books for children. A generation of children raised on books like yours, will be far more empathetic. I can’t wait to hold this book in my hands!
Holy wow! The “story pantry” is an incredible concept. I love organization and this is a genius way to approach it. I’ve always been really good at following a recipe, but not with cooking or writing “au naturale”… I need that time to think and dream and research before diving into a draft, but knowing that is part of the process (i.e. I’m stocking the pantry) and that Past Me is doing work for Future Me, well, you’ve just given me free rein to keep on keeping on! Thank you thank you!
I jot down story ideas and themes, write a pitch, and collect comp’s in a document as I start my stories, but I’ve never thought to collect words to use and other building blocks of the story universe. What a wonderful idea! And I love the clever name – I may have to rename all of my old documents to Story Pantry. Thanks for sharing and congratulations on your book birthday!
Thank you, Karen, for sharing your methods of stocking your pantry. This is such a great idea to help with the writing process. And I appreciate all the links to the tools to help with writing. Yours is a great “featured author” blog and I want to thank you for sharing everything with those of us who are 12×12 members. Best wishes for continued success with your stories.
I already do this a bit, lots of word banks and random related ideas/phrases, but this post gives me both a name for it and the impetus to be more deliberate and organized about it. Thanks!!
Love this idea! You’ve inspired me to get all my story bits into one doc!
I love the idea of the story pantry and also thank you for that great list of word resources. Must check them out.
A story pantry is a great concept that I can use immediately. Thank you for sharing your process and showing us exactly how a pantry can make our stories richer and our writing process smoother.
I really love your idea of creating a story pantry for each story you write. I sort of do this some/many times, but not consistently and not always in a very organized manner. I think I’m going to make it a habit now!
Thank you for sharing about your story pantry! Definitely going to try this process.
I love ingredient poems so why not pantry picture books! Love it 😍
Ingredient poems are amazingl so why not pantry picture books! Love it 😍
I love the idea of the story pantry. I can also totally identify with expectations from two different cultures. Thanks so much for your insights
Thank you so much for sharing Story Pantry. I’m going to try it right this very minute with a WIP!
I use Word Banks often, but I love the idea of a Story Pantry, which sounds like a Word Bank Plus! And I never thought of keeping them for future stories… but that’s super smart too. I’m going to start doing this from now on. Thanks so much!
Wow! Organization plus! Thank you for this idea and for the helpful resources!
Love the idea of a story pantry and the analogy to cooking, especially since I love cooking!
What a great post! Thank you for sharing your process and resources.
I love this idea! A story pantry…it’s going to change the way I pre-write. Thank you so much for sharing it with us!
I never thought of a story pantry! Great idea! Thanks for sharing!
This is an awesome way to think about idea gathering! I do something similar, but your way sounds so much more organized! I might have to make some pantries of my own. 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing this strategy!
This was great! I’m so excited to start my story pantry for any story I create. You gave so many ideas and resources. Thanks!
My story pantry is a set of journals in which I make word lists, tangents, research, and favorite quotes amongst many idea nuggets. Thank you for your ingenious post.
Thank you for this incredibly informative post. I love the idea of a story pantry! You have my mind spinning about creating one for my current WIPs. Thank you! Congratulations on SO NOT GHOUL! Happy book birthday!
Your methodical approach to creating inspires me! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing this great idea, Karen! I will be bookmarking this post so I can come back and really study the Story Pantry idea. Love WHOLE WHALE and am looking forward to reading NOT SO GHOUL.
Love this! I’ve been doing a similar but more messy, less organized thing. I like your method SO much better and plan to adjust my method in your more organized way – so thank you so much for sharing!
Great post, Karen! Thank you for sharing your story and giving us a peek at your writing journey. I love your “Story Pantry” idea! I have been doing something similar for my historical chapter books and middle grade’s, but I never once thought of doing it for any of my picture books… that is about to change!! Into my “Story Pantry” will go names popular during the time period as well as, words and expressions, food, clothing, games, money, flora and fauna, etc
I too keep a Story Pantry, but I call it the Word Bank. It’s a misnomer because besides words I might list comp titles or other books on the same subject (not necessarily comps) and other data pertinent to the topic. Oddly, I spit out a story and then start a Word Bank when I’m looking for better verbs or nouns or emotions and images that will perk up the draft. I might even record what the spark of the story was, the log line as I see it and names of characters. Sometimes just one word from the bank sparks a story. Thanks for taking the time to post, Karen and including those helpful sites.
Mise en place magic! Thank you!
Well this is just brilliant! I really like this approach. It’s calm, cumulative, resource heavy and extremely helpful. I’m also very glad to discover the Conscious Style Guide, another idea that is all of the above. Thank you!
Thank you, Karen, for sharing your Story Pantry idea! I do gather words pertinent to my story idea and build a rough draft. I’m going to try your method. I’m looking forward to reading SO NOT GHOUL! Love your clever title.
Words, research, ideas, oddities and all else make a Story Pantry a great tool for children learning to write as they will have all their thoughts before them and the extra words they can use too. It is like an outline, but done in an interesting way that allows the writer to have access to answers to questions they run into as they write. Great concept and worth sharing.
Karen, what a wonderful post – chock full of helpful information and links. I have bookmarked several including your “Writer Things” page. It was so generous of you to share. I realized as I read your post, I have been doing this for a while with some of my books. Now I have a name for it! And I do love to cook 🙂 Will definitely use this technique on all MS going forward. Happy writing!
Yes!! A Story Pantry is ABSOLUTE GENIUS!!! I echo everyone who said that in other comments! Thanks for sharing this trick, Karen – I’m about to go use it for the middle grade manuscript I’m working on. I don’t have to reserve it for picture books (but I’ll use it there too!).
Thank you, Karen, for sharing your process. What a wonderful idea to make a story pantry! Great concept and name.
What a wonderful and inspirational idea. I am a huge list person and make messy, margin lists of things as I work a first draft. Never thought to organize the list, or to make the list before starting the first draft. Thank you Karen!
I love this idea. I have done some brainstorming in the past for each of my manuscripts, but it does make sense to keep it organized and tidy in case you need to refer to it in the future. Thank you for all of your tips and advice. Congratulations on your books!
Thank you…I love the idea of “ingredients to use” for a PB story. I often let things simmer…but not in an organized fashion such as this. THANK YOU
I’ve done my own version of the pantry as part of my process of getting myself ready to write. It isn’t searchable though. (I’m a very pencil and paper writer while I’m draft writing.) But, you are so right…pulling the “ingredients” together up front really helps you see the direction of the story (or help you see if you don’t have enough of the right ingredients and need to rethink).
Thank you for sharing your process with us! It was also thoughtful of you to include the resource links. I will definitely be returning to those sites! Thanks again!
I tend to do this on large sheets of paper in a big sketchbook. It’s SO helpful, especially for stories with rhyming or wordplay. I also have a writing notebook stocked with bits that I mark with tabs. Love the idea of somehow creating it digitally so it’s searchable. Probably transferring my pen and paper notes to a didgital document would also help spark more ideas.
What an amazing post. Thank you for the awesome ideas! I have stocked ideas like this for certain types of books (like a list of animal pubs, for example), but I hadn’t thought about using that for other aspects of story. Brilliant!
Karin, your ideas are so great. I meant to tell you in person at the luncheon how fabulous and valuable your ideas are… and now I have a story pantry for my creations. Thank you so much!!!
Thanks so much, Karen! Your post is chock full of great ideas! Congrats on your new book coming out!
Karen, this is incredibly helpful and so freeing! I am definitely going to try it! Thank you!
This advice is everything! I’ve had a lot of these ideas and pieces tinkering around, but having a document to hold them while marinating a manuscript is perfect. Thanks, Karen!
Thanks for sharing. Going to use your pantry idea. It’s always good to organize, especially when writing in rhyme.
I absolutely love your idea of a Story Pantry that you use as setup, and then revisit over and over again (even after the book is published!). My process is way messier than this, but you are inspiring me to be more thoughtful and intentional! Congrats on your two books!
Great post, Karen! Love your ideas of a story pantry and front-loading our writing process. Thank you for the references you highlighted, too. Added a couple of new ones to my toolbox! Congrats on WHOLE WHALE! Looking forward to reading SO NOT GHOUL!!
This is absolutely brilliant! I can’t wait to build my own Story Pantries for upcoming projects!
Thank you so much for these tools, Karen! I use a Story Pantry of sorts but now I have a good name for it. This line really resonated with me, ” the infiniteness of fiction is a hazard for the busy, the indecisive, and the must-be-perfect—and I’ve been all three.” Me too! Congrats on SO NOT GHOUL! Excited to read it!
Karen, I enjoyed your post tremendously, and although I have a similar process your Story Pantry sounds a whole lot more organized than mine. I better straighten up my shelves!
I absolutely LOVE the idea of a Story Pantry! I have Story Folders, but this is much more organized–and therefore, I think easier to use. I just got a new story idea–and guess what I’ll be doing? Thank you so much, Karen, for sharing your strategy.
I do this…but I don’t *really* do this. Thank you Karen for this bulk barn of ideas!
This is such a great idea, Karen! I’m going to try implementing this for my drafts/revisions. Best of luck with your clever story, too! Thank you for sharing your wisdom 🙂
I LOVE the idea of a Story Pantry! Thanks so much, Karen. It’s great that the store of ideas can be mixed and matched and re-used in other stories as well.
Thank you Karen! I once made a “pantry” (though I didn’t call it that) of self-made nonsense words even though I had never used any nonsense words in my writing. Several months later I suddenly needed some nonsense words for particular parts of a new story, and I was able to turn to my nonsense pantry and find just the right words! (For example: Hmm, need a made-up word that is three syllables and sounds like a place. . . aha, found one!)
A stellar post, Karen, being both inspirational and informative. The “Story Pantry” is a clever, creative way to categorize and store creative brainstorming and prewriting research. Because you describe and outline the organization of a Story Panty so clearly, I plan to implement your idea immediately, even by going back to drafts that are waiting in the wings for revision. Sending you energy and inspiration for your continued, successful journey
Wow! What a great idea – the story pantry. I love “Whole Whale” and really appreciated getting an insight into how you put that all together. Thanks!
A Story Pantry – what a wonderful, organizing tool. Thanks so much.
Thanks for the great post! My story pantry usually starts as lists in the margins of my notebook.
This idea makes terrific sense. Thanks so much for sharing this process, and all your specific examples, with us. I like the way it can be adapted and reused/recycled for multiple purposes. Now to check out your books and your website 🙂
Story Pantries sound like great organization tool, especially when you are just beginning to ponder a story idea. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Karen for your post – really enjoyable to read, you have inspired me to be more organised with my planning and information gathering, and your ljnks are so helpful. I look forward to reading Not So Ghoul. Thank you again for taking the time to write such a thoughtful writer’s post.
OH my – the Story Pantry would be so helpful! I am always going down rabbit holes of information and never bringing it together. Thank you!
I absolutely love the idea of a story pantry. This was so helpful and informative. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us.
I love the story of getting to your story!! Excited to read it and just requested my local library purchase it. 😀
A story pantry is a wonderful way to plan out a story idea. Thank you for sharing it and the other writing resources!
Love this idea of a story pantry, especially since I believe a stocked food pantry provides Inspo for some great meals! Looking forward to reading So Not Ghoul!
Wow! I love the idea of the Story Pantry! It really speaks to the way my brain works.
My story pantry might need to include all the details about colors and clothing and hairstyles that I can’t actually put into the manuscript, but see in my mind. That might help with leaving those things out for the sake of the illustrator. 🙂
Congrats on your new book, and thanks for sharing your brilliant strategy! I can absolutely relate to “busy, indecisive, and must-be-perfect,” and I’m excited to stock the pantries for some stories. I love the idea of having all the ingredients organized and ready to write. Thanks for all the resources too!
What a great idea. I think we share the same process, but I never called it a pantry. I like to cook so this is perfect. Mise en place, ready to cook, prepared to write.
Excellent post!!
Lots of practical advice! Thanks!
This is one of the best posts about writing picture books I have read, and I loveee the idea of a Story Pantry. Thank you so much for your advice!
Thank you Karen,
I love this idea! Thank you for such an inspiring way to organize all those fleeting thoughts that are swirling in my head. I’m going to go back and organize my thoughts accordingly. As an avid cook, this pantry idea really spoke to me. Thanks!
I love the Story Pantry idea! Very creative.
I love this post, especially the idea of Story Pantry since I love to cook as well. All of your resources are amazing, and I have so, so many ideas for Story Pantry lists, like favorite foods, and wildest dream. Thank you, and I can’t wait to read So Not Ghoul!
Love this idea AND your book looks so cute! Thank you.
I love the idea of a “story pantry” and the concept for this book! Brilliant!
A story pantry is such a helpful idea!
I absolutely LOVE your story pantry system. Stock up first and then let the story flow. Thank you for sharing these helpful tips!
Wow, Karen, I already know implementing the word pantry, and your process will help me! Actually I did a teeny bit of it in the story I just started writing, but you explained it all so concisely and took it further, my brain will benefit – I am a bit ADHD, so sometimes all over the place. Thank you for the post, you have so much good advice packed into it. Very much appreciated!
Thanks for sharing your writing tools, Karen! I love both of your books.
I love your idea of a Story Pantry. Will definitely start the ingredients for my next PB draft. Also look forward to reading SO NOT GHOUL.
I love the concept of a story pantry. Thank you!
Absolutely loved this post and can’t wait to read your book, Karen!
I love this story pantry idea! I think in a way I do something similar, but definitely not nearly as organized! Totally going to see about incorporating this more into my work. This was a super helpful post. I also really look forward to checking out the So Not Ghoul picture book, and getting it for my preschoolers! Thanks!
This is brilliant! I love your idea of a story pantry to put all the ingredients in place before we write. This sounds like a wonderful way to brainstorm and organize all at the same time. Thank you for sharing!
Fabulous post, Karen. I use a loose version of your Story Pantry technique. I see the value in taking the hybrid approach, as you have laid out. Thank you for sharing!
I love the idea of creating a story pantry! My ideas are usually in a jumble of post-it notes, so I’m eager to try your technique. I can’t wait to read your new book, too!
Thanks for sharing your insights, Karen! Congratulations!
This post offers so many concrete, useful tips. I love the metaphor of a story pantry. Looking inside the pantry to see what we have as we begin a project is perfect. Thank you, Karen!
This post was so inspiring! I love the idea of a “Story Pantry”. Such great ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Thank you Karen!
I love the Story Pantry idea! Thank you for sharing such simple, useful tips!
I admittedly hate cooking, but I love this idea of stocking a story pantry before starting the draft. I kind of end of lists and notes like that after a few revisions, but would love to start writing more efficiently! Congrats!
Congrats on your second book!
Hi, Thank you! The Story Pantry is a great idea.
I love the idea of creating a story pantry, Karen! Thank you for sharing the helpful tips and resources.
Karen, Thank you for sharing your Story Pantry technique! I look forward to using the Story Pantry to further develop my story about robots that land on Earth and discover how to co-exist with unsuspecting humans.
I love the idea of creating a story pantry! And I looking forward to trying it out and reading No So Ghoul. What a great premise. Thanks for the idea and resources.
Congratulations, Karen! Just love the story pantry idea! Can’t wait to read So Not Ghoul! 😊
Thank you so much for this!!!!!!
Great info from pantry to websites!!
Karen,
I love your concept of a story pantry. A future book just about that? I read Whole Whale and think the story is genius. It’s fun to read about how it happened.
thanks for sharing.
So helpful! Thank you. I’ve bookmarked this tab for future reference.
Carolyn Scoppettone
Hi Karen. Story Pantry is a great way to think about stocking up before beginning a new work. I plan to take one of the many ideas I have collected but not been able to move on and fill my pantry. Thanks, too, for the resource links.
Thank you for sharing
Karen, I’m a big fan of all you do. And this ‘story pantry’ is such a great idea. I agree with a couple of the other authors who say this might be the tool necessary to help difficult stories write themselves. I love how you broke down the pantry to show us how you used it for Not So Ghoul. I’m stuck on a food themed ms and I think this is what I needed to see to get a jumpstart! Thank you and CONGRATULATIONS!!
What a wonderful tool! I’m going to start stocking my pantry write away 😉
Congratulations on your books and deep thanks for the story pantry idea. I keep a bullet journal and adding a pantry page will fit right in. I’ve been saving web links in scrivener – but this idea offers much more. Thanks again.
What an amazing idea! I have done this on a smaller, less organized scale, but now I am motivated to create a Story Pantry for each manuscript. The endless possibilities are what stop me in my tracks! Thank you!
Thanks for this delightful post, Karen, and congratulations on your recently released book, So Not Ghoul!
Your Story Pantry idea really speaks to me, as someone who struggles with organization of materials and ideas while writing. I will definitely give this a try!
Karen Yin, thanks for the in-depth look at your own success story tool, the Story Pantry. I think I have done some version of this for a long while, but you have put the idea into a systematic version that leverages story ideas up to a higher level than I’d ever considered. Wow! I will be using this in future endeavors.
LOVE this book! Left reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, and B&N.
I LOVE the Story Pantry concept and will be implementing it immediately! Thank you so much for sharing your expertise 🙂
This post is a Story Pantry of ideas for writers wanting to create new story recipes. Thank-you!
Thank you for sharing this technique! I look forward to using it.
I LOVE the Story Pantry organization idea! I’m going to try this!! Thank you for ALL of your writing resources too. Being an illustrator, you could add dream/image board elements: inspiration, setting, color swatches, mood, character fashion, etc. to the pantry. Thank your for sharing your process with us and congrats on the recent release! Can’t wait to read it.
A story pantry is a fabulous idea! Thanks for sharing it with us, Karen. I actually created a small one for a story recently. Lists of animals and pairs of words with alliteration to describe the animals. It was very helpful! I love the branching out you did for your stories. I can see they would be very helpful!
Congratulations on your picture book success! I wish you more in the future!
What an inspiring and informative post! I appreciate the Story Pantry idea and the links to other resources you use. For rhyming manuscripts, I use a spreadsheet, typing one word per cell, and one sentence per row. That way, I can make sure my meter lines up.
Love the story pantry! I usually have a kind of similar file named “idea” which contains all kinds of stuff about a particular story or setting or idea, but your story pantry has inspired me to think even wider about what to put into it and how to use it. Thank you!
What a fabulous approach, and so easy to implement. I’ve done word lists, but your Story Pantry takes is several steps further. Thank you too, for the Word Resource list.
And, I just signed up for the Conscious Style newsletter.
Can’t wait to try this concept! I know I have thought of fascinating subjects for stories that I really couldn’t develop completely. The Story Pantry would be a terrific way to help with story development. I especially appreciated her examples from Not So Ghoul and can’t wait to read that book! Thanks so much!
I enjoyed reading your article, great tip.
I can’t wait to try the story pantry on one of my future drafts. Thanks for sharing the idea. And congratulations on So Not Ghoul!
Karen: A story pantry; that’s brilliant. It seems like a more organized form of brainstorming. Thank you!
I have been searching for a way to get random ideas and thoughts down in a more formatted way and this opened up a wonderful new line of thinking! Congratulations on your picture books and I wish you continued success!
Thanks for sharing your tips and tricks for stocking a story pantry!
Oh my goodness, Karen, this post is brilliant! I love your Story Pantry writing tool. My SPs are colored folders jammed with scraps of paper, notes, drafts, etc. and are utter chaos for the most part. I love the idea of creating a SP on my computer and stocking it so that I have an organized collection of ingredients for when I’m ready to write the drafts that have been percolating. Genius!