Waterfalls to Trees

At long last the first draft of my new book is finished.  I learned more about writing from this experience than in all the years I taught it.  First:  Remember to be willing to change your subject and content at any second.  That's what you need to do if you start out writing about waterfalls and end up writing about trees.  Second:  Don't let the content depend on the seasons.  If you're planning a perfect fall day for the setting and need to do some field work, you'll find out that the perfect day will also land on the day when you need an emergency tooth extraction.  Third:  If kids are in any way involved in the writing process, you need to remember how many meltdowns a six year old can have in any given half day time period.  Fourth:  If using artwork by said kids, you need to factor in that they may not be in a creative mood at the same time as your deadline for art rolls around.  And (this one turned out to be most vital) if you're planning to use your own photos as part of the illustrations, be EXTREMELY sure that you know how to download those photos without accidentally erasing them.  If you do, you'll have to talk the kids into another long car trip, trace the steps of the previous discovery hike and pray that the new batch of photos can approximate the first attempt.  Oh.  And you'll need to bribe the children with ice cream cones.