Doug Cushman created this delightful image. Don’t you just love it! I do. I especially love the little blue overalls with the pig’s tail sticking out. Oh, and the glasses on the mother pig, or perhaps she is a grandmother. Regardless, she has good taste for a pig.
Momma or grandma seem enthralled with whatever the little one is about to do. Perhaps he is going to prepare a meal, bake cookies, or wash the dishes. What do you think is going to happen? More importantly, what do you see as going wrong? For a story to be interesting there must be tension and conflict.
But what if nothing goes wrong? Suppose the little pig comes up with an amazing cookie recipe—all on his own? Using secret ingredients, he bakes three dozen cookies while his mother puts her feet up and reads a book. He serves her a plate of warm cookies, and then washes and dries all the dishes he used. Meanwhile, momma or grandma discover how good the cookies are and decide to open up a chain called Little Piggy’s Cookies. Little Pig never attends school, and spends his days baking cookies. Within a year, the pigs are famous and rich, and laboriously waddling from chain to chain, overseeing their cookie empire.
Plenty could go wrong in the what-if-nothing-went-wrong scenario. It’s fun just thinking about it.
Now it is up to you to decide how you want to direct the story. Name the characters, envision their kitchen, and then have the two pigs move around the room. Enjoy! And if you feel up to it, send us your work. We’d love to read what you come up with!
On my blog this week, I discuss how my overgrown spider plant relates to writing. http://betsydevany.wordpress.com/2011/05/27/why-its-easier-to-kill-my-darlings-than-tame-my-spider-plant/
Writing and Illustrating 
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