Storyteller AcademyStory Idea Diagnosis

Is Your Story Idea Worth Writing?

The strongest picture book ideas hit a sweet spot.

They come from you, delight kids, give grown-ups a reason to choose them, and bring something fresh to agents and editors.

Tell us about your idea. We’ll show you where it’s strong, where it’s getting stuck, and what to work on next.

About three minutes.

Tell us the story.

Give us the story in one or two sentences.
What actually happens, not what it’s about.
Tell us three things: who they are, what they want, and who actually solves the problem at the end.
That last one matters. A lot.
If a grown-up swoops in and fixes everything, say so. No judgment. It’s exactly the kind of thing this diagnosis is designed to catch.
Format, age and length Required

You

The best ideas usually have something personal underneath them. We want to know what makes this story yours.

Maybe it comes from something you experienced, loved, feared, wondered about, found hilarious, or couldn’t stop imagining.
Why you? Why this story?
A memory, obsession, joke, fear, relationship, place, image, or weird little thing you love. Specific beats impressive.

Kids

A picture book has to work for the child first.

Not what they’ll learn. What makes them want another read?
Think play, trouble, surprise, adventure, humor, imagination, emotion, or something they recognize from their own life.
Keep it concrete. What are they trying to get, do, avoid, prove, find, become, or fix?

Grown-ups

Parents, teachers, librarians, and gift-givers are part of the picture too.

What would make a parent, teacher, librarian, or gift-giver pick it up and want to share it?

Agents + editors

A good book still needs a reason to exist on today’s shelf.

You don’t need to invent something nobody has ever seen before. What feels fresh about your character, premise, world, structure, humor, point of view, or visual approach?
Two or three is plenty. If you don’t know, leave it blank.

The picture

The image that keeps pulling you back to the idea.

Not sure about the last couple? Skip them. You’ll still get a diagnosis, just with a little less confidence.

Where should we send your diagnosis?

Your verdict appears on screen as soon as it’s ready.

We’ll email you a copy too, so it doesn’t disappear into the same mysterious void as all those browser tabs you were definitely going to come back to.

You’ll also start getting Storyteller Academy’s emails on picture book craft. Unsubscribe anytime, in one click, from any of them.

One idea at a time, up to three an hour. Your idea is never shared and never posted anywhere. It goes to the diagnosis and into our private log so we can keep the scoring honest.