#FirstDraftFriday with Debi Novotny

The imaginative Debi Novotny is with us for today's #FirstDraftFriday, sharing about her newest picture book, ADDY'S CHAIR TO EVERYWHERE. Read on to get inspired and then draft your own picture book manuscript today.

ADDY'S CHAIR TO EVERYWHERE, written by Debi Novotny and illustrated by Jomike Tejildo, is out this month from Free Spirit Publishing.  

Pre-order your own copy at your favorite indie or bookshop.org. 

Debi is generously offering a manuscript critique as a prize for someone who completes a draft today! Details on how to enter at the end of this post.

Welcome, Debi! Can you tell us a little about your book and what inspired you to sit down and write the first draft of it?! 

My inspiration for writing ADDY'S CHAIR TO EVERYWHERE came from my own experience as a wheelchair user following an extensive surgery to remove and replace part of my right femur after being diagnosed with bone cancer. I was a Kindergarten teacher at the time and wasn’t sure how my students would adjust to such a transition.

Well, they were my champions, and I continued my career in teaching for another 13 years. I became more aware of the benefits of an inclusive classroom and worked closely with the special education teachers to include everyone in our community of learners.

My hope for this story is that it allows children of all abilities to create and be included in the imaginative world of make-believe with other children and to bond over what comes naturally to them . . . play. This story is not about being a young wheelchair user - that's not my story to tell. Rather I hope it encourages children to play, grow, and build an inclusive world.

Did you dive right in and start drafting when the idea came to you or did you let it stew for a while? Is this how you typically work?

The idea for this story had been on my mind for years, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to format the plot. It wasn’t until I started thinking about all the different types of chairs children use - highchairs, dentist chairs, camping chairs, haircut chairs, beach chairs, wheelchairs, wiggle chairs, etc. – that’s when the story started to take shape. Kids love chairs and this fit perfectly with the story theme of inclusion. 

I typically write an outline for a new story idea before writing a rough draft, but for this one I went right to the story. It wasn’t written in rhyme until I decided to begin the story with all the fun chairs, creating a world for children right from the beginning. 

Do you remember what you thought of your first draft of ADDY'S CHAIR TO EVERYWHERE when it was done? Did you think it was a winner or were you not even sure you’d keep working on it? 

When I wrote my first draft, I saw a strong, compelling idea take shape. I knew from the beginning that I’d continue working on this story because I’m passionate about the subject and I knew that it could help all children – even though I had some doubts. The manuscript I was submitting was written in rhyme with just over 200 words. Would a publisher take notice? Writing this story meant talking about my own cancer story. Was I ready for that? Thankfully, yes to both.

I sent the first draft to my critique partners and together we brainstormed all the amazing adventures Addy and her friends could go on at school. I told them stories about how I taught Kindergarten as a wheelchair user, the children I met, and the lack of books with disabled characters. They enthusiastically encouraged me to keep going. After several more revisions to get the rhyming pattern and stress syllables right, then analyzing every single word - the story came to life. The heart of the story came through and it was ready to submit. 

Can you share an excerpt of your original manuscript that changed significantly and how it appears in the final book?

Very, very first draft:                                                  

Sometimes . . .                                                           

My chair is a spaceship.                                           

My chair is a chariot.                                                

My chair is a race car.                                              

My chair is a submarine. 

Final:

Hold tight to the reins, giddy up. GO!

A window to see what’s swimming below.

They ride in chariots across the land.

Dive in submarines down to the sand. 

What is the hardest part of writing a first draft for you? And how do you deal with that?

For me, the hardest part about writing a first draft is that a story sounds different in my head than it does on paper. 

I start a rough draft by writing down the answers to these questions:

What does my main character want?

What are the obstacles keeping my main character from obtaining what they want?

Where do I want the reader to end up?

How do I want the reader to feel when I’m finished?

During this phase, I write my story from different points of view. It’s a lot of work, but I’m amazed at how different a story can sound by doing this exercise. I also switch between narrative and rhyming to see which style delivers the most powerful message using the least number of words.

Great questions to ponder on this #FirstDraftFriday! Let's get the writing started!!

To enter for a chance at a free picture book critique from Debi (<600 words, non-rhyming), do the following by 10 pm ET today (Aug. 2, 2024):

1. Follow me and Debi on Twitter (if you are on it): @HollieWolverton and @NovotnyDebi (or find her with on Instagram and Facebook with the handle: authordebinovotny)

2. Complete a full picture book draft

3. Return to this blog post and comment that you’ve completed your draft and provide your Twitter handle or full name. You will need to Sign Up/Log In to leave a comment (it’s easy - just an email and password).

You don’t need to send in your draft or provide proof - we’re all about the honor system here! The lucky winner will be randomly drawn from the comments and announced on Twitter shortly after 10 pm ET tonight

Happy drafting!