Time to Write

Sometimes writing can occur without paper or pencil or keyboard.

It happens in your head, voices speaking to you in the shower. It happens on the way to the park, overhearing a quippy phrase that sparks a plot twist. It happens when you steal time to write, write, write while the kids are occupied with an elaborate board game, or a new friend, or their scooters.

But there are times when writing requires devotion: a demanding, all-consuming focus in order to birth that first draft into life or put every last edit into place.

I need to load an entire manuscript into my brain and comb through it for every last detail, every final change to plot or character or tech gadget.

Because I'm sending it out.

Eep. <--this is the sound I make when facing the lion of querying with my tiny slingshot of determination

So I'm taking a blog-cation until September 1st, to get those final edits in place and push this MS out of the nest. It's time for it to fly (or crash), but first I need to make sure I've done everything I can to get it ready to soar. And for that I need focus.

So fear not, lovely blogger friends. I will return in two weeks. Try not to have too much fun without me. :)

p.s. the winner of a copy of Hunger Games is ... Bryan Russell!!

Now, Bryan is sure to think I rigged this, so I'm including the randomizer number sort I used to select a winner: that little number one in the 20th position means that the 20th commenter was selected winner...

I, on the other hand, believe this is fate's hand at work! :) Perhaps Suzanne Collin's prose will convince him of the worth of YA after all.

Guest Post: Roots of Magic

Anne Severn Williamson is an author, blogger, and lover of magic and horses. She has kindly offered to share her knowledge of the history of magic for those who write (or read) fantasy.


Roots of Magic, by Anne Severn Williamson

Candles and potions, cloaks and daggers, rings and chalices … the trinkets of Hollywood hocus-pocus dazzle the imagination in numerous contemporary novels for Young Adult and Middle Grade readers. Objects that fly through mid-air and disappear into nothingness captivate the imaginations of many writers as we hunt for our favorite pens and turn on our laptops. Have you ever wondered what were the cultural roots and lost mystical practices behind these fancy devices of witchcraft and wizardry? A thorough investigation through the pages of history and mythology plunges us into the depths of the evolution of the human psyche and early Goddess and Druidic traditions. The roots of magic run deep. They are steeped in the worship of the Mother Goddess and crowned with fertility rituals that clocked the order of the seasons. The study of magic was shrouded with carefully guarded secrets concerning Universal truths, such as were taught in the Ancient Mystery Schools of early Mediterranean civilizations. Most significantly, the roots of magic were encoded with morally binding tenants that ruled the practice of the Craft, both today and in pre-Christian cultures.

One of the primary understandings, arguably magic’s fundamental principle, is that physical reality is created from the intentional or inward plane of the psyche. In other words, transformations that we can see, hear, taste, and touch, first stem from a thought-form. Creative visualizations manipulate objects and outcomes in time and space; hence wands, lighted candles, or circles of stone are symbols of sacred intent used to fulfill and enhance the wishes of the practitioner of ceremonial magic. The Ancients understood the power of symbolism, talismans, sound, and ritual. Even the bards of old were infused with training to influence the thoughts and feelings of their listeners, in order to bring about specific responses. Magic was consequently taken seriously, and its use was guarded by priests and priestesses who “kept it hidden, and kept it safe” from irresponsible followers.

Overlooked in modern cinematic entertainment is the most important teaching, known as the Wiccan Rede, or rule of wise and necessary guidance: “Do as thou wilt, and ye harm none.” The roots of magic were extremely ethical and binding, in that each participant was strongly cautioned to be ever mindful of the impact of their actions, especially in the Circle of Time. The Universe never overlooked wrongdoing. The completion of each intention set forth in ritual might require several lifetimes, but the energy of symbolic practices, once put into place, always returned to the sender. Beginning students of magic were taught to respect the world around them and to respect themselves. The “harm none” warning included the practitioner and the natural environment. In today’s fantasies, dark lords and evil enchantresses grasp for power and wealth, but a well-trained wizard or High Priestess really would know better than to send bad energy forth. The “Law of Three” or “Three Times Three” guaranteed their triple demise in the grand scheme of the Universe.

As monotheistic religions came into conflict with Goddess centered worship, the ancient roots of magic were buried deeply beneath misunderstandings and ignorance. Gradually, the inherent ethical practices of older traditions came to be associated with very unwholesome, even demonic figures. In truth, there was never a wicked deity in the Nature-based societies. The Horned God was simply the male counterpart to the cyclical Goddess of the Moon. His appearance was based on hunting and harvesting traditions, hence his association with stags, goats, and bulls. The belief that all magical practitioners were inherently evil choked out centuries of mystical traditions.

As social history unfolded, Nature came to be viewed as something to be conquered, rather than revered. This conquest led to many of the environmental practices that are crushing the world community today, including the concept that the Earth is able to absorb infinite pollution and unchecked population growth. The Ancients understood that what goes around, comes around. Once the Circle was replaced with the double-edged Sword as the representative icon of human progress, the impulse to check destruction and greed was broken; for a straight blade does not bend back to its sender. Rather than bringing the male and female symbols of the sword and circle together in peace and pleasure, the warring religions that rose out of many of the Mesopotamian and Indus river valleys, tore the God and Goddess apart. Goddess worship, and the wise practices of the Craft, were trampled in the wake of armies and fanatics.

Will Hollywood ever remember the Wiccan Rede? That remains to be seen. Writers of adventure fantasy, however, may come to explore the older traditions and the tools of the trade with a greater level of respect and understanding. The magic of the Ancients was real, because it was shaped in the Mind, forged in the Will, and sent forth in the Circle. Do the traditions endure today? Most definitely, since the rise of Pagan practices and the study of Nature based traditions is increasing worldwide at an unprecedented rate. Fantasy is still a viable literary genre for an ever expanding global audience. The roots of magic run deep … as deep as can be imagined … and they were ethical roots indeed. It is a pleasure to review and re-teach the ancient tenants that bound the Priests and Priestesses of old to a life of service for the prosperity and protection of all.





Anne Severn Williamson is the author of The Fairy Lore of Ghost Horse Hollow, a nine part novel series dedicated to world conservation and peace. The Holly King, Part I of the First Triad, is available through popular online bookstores such as Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Please visit her Web site: http://www.ghosthorsehollow.com/ to see the book trailer, which is also available on You tube. Anne’s regular notes appear on ghosthorsehollow.blogspot.com. The Ghost Horse Hollow series is structured around Celtic traditional holidays beginning with the Winter Solstice Celebration. The adventures unfold in the Appalachian wilderness one hundred years in the future during the aftermath of global climate transitions. Anne is currently seeking an agent or publisher to develop the publication of her series. Anne and her husband Jack Williamson raise and train the remarkable, blue-eyed Ghost Horses near Valentine, Montana. The horses have been registered to match the fantasy characters throughout the adventures. Please enjoy and share their “Galloping Enchantment for the Earth!”

Thank you, Anne!

Leave a comment below to be entered in the giveaway of Hunger Games.

Ink Spells talks The Hunger Games

SPOILER ALERT: There's not much in the way of spoilers here, but if you want to skip to the end and just leave a comment to enter to win a copy of Hunger Games, please feel free!

I don't review YA books (and Hunger Games is definitely young adult), but I wanted to talk a bit about this amazing book (series), as we hover on the precipice of the release of Mockingjay (the third book in the series, after Catching Fire).

The NYTimes might be shocked to discover adults are reading kidlit like mad, but I wasn't at all surprised to find several of my mom-friends at two separate reunions were Hunger Games devotees.

Hunger Games is a tightly-written, fantastically crafted, high-voltage book. It's about children ages 12+ that are sent to fight each other to the death, as tributes to the central government that controls their impoverished lives. Not only is the idea itself rich with conflict that's inappropriate for ages 8-12, but the actual violence is pretty severe (speared bodies, poisonous gas dissolving flesh, and other horrors). The violence could be more graphic, but the fact that it is children perpetrating this against other children makes it horrifying.

However.

I absolutely LOVE this book. Love it so much I accidentally ordered it twice (more on that later). Love it with that obsessive passion that makes you stay up all night reading, damn the consequences. And order the sequel. And pine for the third book to come out (Mockingjay is released on the 24th, but you can enter contests here and here to WIN a copy). I love it because it is ultimately a story about a heroic girl fighting to save her sister, her family, and eventually the oppressed all around her. Hunger Games also has a love triangle, again pushing it into YA territory, although there is very little by way of descriptive love scenes. (I'm Team Peeta. Thanks for asking.)

Some might be tempted to give this book to their tween children (ages 8-12), but I would recommend holding off until 13, and then talking to your child about the book. In fact, I recommend reading the book first, and then deciding what is best for your child.

I've read it. I won't be handing it to Dark Omen (age 11 3/4) for another year or two. But I'm looking forward to the time we can read it together, because it is rich with moral decision making.

Being in possession of an extra copy of Hunger Games, I figured I would give it away to my lovely blog readers (13 and older, please!), just to share the addiction. Leave a comment today, or during my guest post tomorrow, and I will pick a name on Wednesday the 18th. Plenty of time for you to read Hunger Games, and the second book Catching Fire, before Mockingjay comes out on the 24th.

But don't plan on doing anything else. Consider yourself warned.




UPDATE: After reading Mockingjay, I'm tempted to raise my age recommendation for the series to 14 or 15. I'm not in the habit of rating teen books, so my gauge is not as finely tuned, but the violence in Mockingjay is more extreme than the first two books and leaves you with some images that could be disturbing for young teens. That being said, the third book is as amazing as the first two and definitely fulfills the promise of the series. But caution may be in order for younger, especially sensitive, teens.

There are many opinions on how much violence is too much in young adult literature, and I'm not trying to spark that debate here, just giving you a warning. Also: I'm not the only one concerned. Again, the best solution is to judge for yourself.

Art Appreciation Week - Laura Leifield on Art and Writing

Today we have a guest post from my friend Laura Leifield, who is an artist, a writer, and a member of my online writing group, The Coven of Scribblers. She once challenged our group to write a picture essay from a photo she selected, and I remember having a hard time only writing a thousand words. She's multitalented, and starting a blog as well, so be sure to stop by! 

Drawing Parallels

by Laura Leifield

Hi. My name is Laura. I’m a painter, an art teacher, and sometimes a writer.

For a long time I considered writing a hobby, something I only did for myself, and I never shared my work with anyone. Mostly this was because I was afraid of what kind of critique my work would receive. It wasn’t something I ever took courses to learn in college. So, of course I didn’t know anything about it. Right?

Hm.

But as I wrote more, and learned more, I came to realize that maybe I could take what I knew of art and painting and apply it to my writing. Perhaps not the parts about how to properly wash your brushes, or what kind of oil would work best with the style I was painting in, but the basic information. Art and writing are not completely unrelated – they share a family tree in that they are both methods of creative expression.

So I figured maybe I already knew a few things I could use...

1) The drawing/plot is most important.

For a painter, the drawing is where the work begins. It tells you where parts will go, it tells you what the piece is about, and if your drawing is wrong, you’ve got problems. No matter how hard you work on the details of someone’s eyes, the fact that they’re missing a nose is not going to escape your audience’s attention.

Talk about a plot hole.

The same could be said of plot. This is what is happening in your story. Where you have missing pieces here, you have major problems. Fix this first, because it isn’t going to go unnoticed.

2) Inexperience is not style. Nor is laziness.

As a teacher, I have seen so many students falter on this point. “But that’s just how I like it” becomes an excuse for laziness. They don’t want to work to get it right, so they say they wanted their apple to look flat, or their dog to have a neck that stretches far longer than a dog’s neck should ever stretch, or, or, or…

You can’t just splash paint on a canvas and call yourself an artist. Sure, there are painters who do that, but the good ones have a decided method to their madness, an education and knowledge behind it all.

With my writing, I often wonder if my own style and voice are valid, or if I’m just not yet practiced enough to understand what is style and what isn’t. I’m getting better at that, I think. Reading a lot helps. Looking for reason behind other writers’ choices is key – Why that verb? Why that rhythm?

3) Details help tell us what’s important. And not everything is.

Ever seen a painting where every single part of a four-foot by four-foot canvas was painted in reverent detail? Crystal clear from the foreground to the background, sharp edges on everything? Did you have a hard time figuring out what that painting was about, or what you should even be looking at?

And then you see a Rembrandt with gorgeous soft edges around nearly everything, only to find a few sharp places in the brightest areas – the center of focus. “Here, look here. This is what I want you to see.”

But he didn’t bother to tell us what kind of fabric he was wearing…

Same goes for writing. We don’t need three paragraphs about the inner workings of a clock that hangs on the wall in the protagonist’s father’s office. Why not? BECAUSE NOBODY CARES. It doesn’t matter how beautifully you described those shiny gears. The delete key is still your friend.

Write about what matters.

4) Show vs. tell. Or, don’t go and buy a tube of silver paint, okay?

I had a student ask me the other night, “Do they make silver oil paint?” Well, sure. They make every color you could think of. I own a tube of copper myself. Do I use it to paint metal? No. Why? Because it would look wrong.

In order to really get a painting to have the illusion of metal, you have to paint correct relationships between the lights and darks. Show us how the light is reflecting. That’s all. You don’t need to slather silver all over your canvas. (Look! Look! It’s SILVERRRR!) Yes, that would make it shiny, but it wouldn’t correctly represent your grandmother’s prized jewelry box.

We don’t need no stinkin’ silver…

And as we write, we could just go out and say that Henry is an angry young child, but it holds much more punch when we show this through his actions and dialogue. In what happens in the story.

I learn more and more about writing all the time – by reading, by listening to others’ insight, and by doing it every day. But sometimes I feel lucky that I have painting to help me relate – it’s a great lens to study this subject through.

And I bet, with a little work, some of you writers out there would make excellent painters, too.

:) Laura

Well, I'm certain I will never be able to move beyond the hangman stage, much less produce the kind of amazing fine art that Laura does (I love the whimsy of the robot, Laura!). Laura has been critiquing my stories for a long time, and I always find her insights fantastic. She has an almost poetic command of language, and believe me when I say her writing is as fine as her art. Laura, thanks for sharing with us today!

AND NOW ...

The winner (by random drawing) of Amazing Faces is: Rose Deniz! 

A BIG THANKS to everyone who has participated in Art Appreciation Week!

Art Appreciation Week - Artistrator/Writer Debbie Ohi

Today we're talking with the lovely and animated Debbie Ohi, who is a renaissance woman with all the pots she dips her inky fingers into.

 I was lucky enough to met you at the SCBWI Friday evening meet and greet, with the Illinois members having the good fortune to be thrown in with the international set (you are from Canada, eh?). The next day, you received two awards for your work (placing in the top three works from the Illustrator’s Portfolio Showcase for an Honor award, and a Mentorship award)! Congratulations! I just love the look on that little robot's face, and can see why the judges fell for him as well. Were you surprised to receive the awards? What is involved in the Mentorship award?

Was I surprised to receive the awards? To say "yes" would be a vast understatement.

Until this most recent SCBWI conference, I always focused on workshops and events for writers, not illustrators. This past event was the first time I had attended any tracks for illustrators, and the first time I had entered the Illustrator Portfolio Showcase.

It was my first Illustrator Portfolio, in fact. My friend, Beckett Gladney, nagged me into signing up. When I almost pulled out because of lack of time, she went into my Flickr account (I don't have a proper online portfolio), picked out the pieces she thought were my strongest, and printed them out for me.

We ended up spreading them out on the hotel room floor the night before the showcase, and she helped me put together the portfolio. Beckett also handmade a gorgeous cover for my portfolio! 

Yes, I feel very lucky to have her as a friend.

The Mentorship Award Program had several components during the convention:

- Meeting with the other mentees and all the Mentors as a group to introduce ourselves and our backgrounds (I was the only one without any art training), and to find out more about each other.

- Meeting with each of the Mentors back-to-back in six 15-minute sessions to discuss our portfolios as well as ask questions.

- Final lunch meeting with the whole group. Each mentee shared what we had learned from our sessions as well as having a final opportunity ask the Mentors questions.

Several of the Mentors invited us to keep in touch after the convention.

I found the whole experience to be immensely rewarding, and am grateful to the SCBWI for providing the opportunity; the Mentorship Award Program was just launched last year.

After the final meeting with our Mentors, we mentees got together on our own to chat. It was fun hanging out with them for fun, and we're going to keep in touch. In fact, we're launching our own blog! I'm setting it up now. We hope that it will be a useful resource for other illustrators who are interested in the children's publishing field.

Wow! Sounds like the awards were a lot more than just a well-deserved pat on the back! Well done, SCBWI.

In addition to your fabulous illustrations and obvious talent as an artist, you're a very active middle grade writer as well. You’re represented by Ginger Knowlton of Curtis-Brown, you're a member of MiG writers, AND part of torkidlit (Toronto MG/YA Author Group). Is there anything you don’t do? Seriously, what MG projects do you have in the works?

Thank you for the kind words about my illustrations!

My current middle grade projects:

- Finishing up a middle grade fantasy novel called "FREAK CLUB," which is illustrated by Beckett Gladney (yes, the same Beckett who convinced me to enter the Portfolio Showcase). I'm doing final edits on the script before we send out the proposal package, which includes sample artwork.

- A humor-mystery novel illustrated with cartoons (tentative title: "TOMGIRL"). I originally submitted this to the SCBWI manuscript critique at the conference, but it was rejected because of the cartoons. This turned out to  be a good thing, however, because I wouldn't have been able to enter the portfolio showcase if I was already registered for the manuscript critique; you only attend one or the other.

- Non-fiction book for young writers, in graphic novel format.

My other writing projects:

- Compilation of my Inkygirl comics for writers. This book proposal is out circulating now, so please cross your fingers for me!

- Picture books! I've always enjoyed picture books but never considered writing or illustrating one until recently. I've been diving into research, reading as many as I can find, and also learned a ton in Diane Muldrow's Picture Book workshop at the conference.

The Inkygirl comics are hilarious! Good luck with the subbing for those!   Being both an illustrator and a novelist, how do you feel one influences the other?

Whenever I'm working on a novel, I usually have a pretty clear visualization of the scene or character I'm writing about.  This has its advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that I already have an image in my head when it comes to writing a description. The disadvantage is that the visual image is sometimes so closely integrated with the scene or character in my head that I don't write it down. 

When I'm working on an illustration, a story almost always pops into my head. Many of the Mentors commented on this in my one-on-one sessions, that the images they liked the most in my portfolio were the ones that had a story behind them.


Having that keen sense of story definitely comes through in your illustrations (and of course comics!). Thanks so much for sharing your work with us!

Thanks so much for taking the time to interview me, Susan! 

Our last day of Art Appreciation Week is tomorrow! Remember to leave a comment to be entered into a drawing for a copy of Amazing Faces. Winner will be announced in the morning, along with a fantastic post from artist, writer, and critique partner Laura Leifield.

Art Appreciation Week - Picture Book Author Lori Degman

Today we're talking with Lori Degman, author of 1 Zany Zoo, illustrated by Colin Jack and which just came out in July!

Thanks for signing 1 Zany Zoo for me at the SCBWI (Society of Book Writers and Illustrators) Conference! And congrats on winning the Cheerios New Author Contest! 1 Zany Zoo reminds me of Seuss’ If I Ran the Zoo, with its wild imaginings of what could happen in that enchanting place. What inspired 1 Zany Zoo?

Thanks so much, Sue!  I love If I Ran the Zoo - maybe it was an influence, I'm not sure.  Actually, one day about 20 years ago, the sentence, "You'll never believe what I saw at the zoo" popped into my head.  I thought it had a good rhythm and could be a great premise for a picture book.  That sentence was the first line and title of the story for a long time.  It was a lot of fun coming up with funny things for the animals to do.

This is your first picture book, and Colin Jack is a first-time illustrator. What was it like, having someone interpret your words onto the page? Did you work collaboratively with Colin, or did he work independently to come up with those wonderful illustrations?

I am so in awe of Colin's talent!  I love how he interpreted the story and included so many images that were not in the text.  I think his style matches the style of the text perfectly.  Colin and I did not work together but I was able to suggest a few small things, which he included, and I changed some of the verses to match the illustrations he drew. Colin and I have emailed and spoken on the phone but have not yet met in person.  We're hoping to meet in New York sometime soon.

One of the things I loved about the conference was finally connecting with many of my cyber-friends - and finding they were even cooler in person. 1 Zany Zoo is published by Simon & Schuster for Young Readers. Who are the “3 J’s” you mention in your acknowledgements?

All three "J"s were very instrumental in the making and marketing of 1 Zany Zoo!  The first "J" is Joyce Johannson, the PR person for Cheerios who did marketing for the book.  The second is Jamie Weiss Chilton, with Andrea Brown Literary Agency, who became my agent after I won the Cheerios contest.  The third is Julia Maguire, my editor at Simon and Schuster. I always had to double check names and addresses before sending out emails because I was always mixing up their names.   
Now that you and your three-J team have 1 Zany Zoo launched, do you have more picture books on the way? Any other works-in-progress?

I have two completed manuscripts my agent is trying to sell - There's a Cow in the Kitchen and Company's Coming and Rooster Flew the Coop, and I'm working on a sequel to 1 Zany Zoo called 1 Funny Farm.

I’ve heard before that it is difficult to get an agent for a picture book. I imagine that winning a contest worked in your favor! Can you tell me the story of how you connected with your agent?

As I mentioned above, I signed with Jamie Weiss Chilton after I won the Contest.  I had sent her some of my work several months before winning and she had suggested I write something in prose as well as rhyme.  I took her advice and started working on a new story in prose.  Then, when I won the contest, I contacted her again and sent my new story, along with improved versions of stories she'd previously seen.  I was so excited that she offered to represent me - she's a fantastic agent.  As a matter of fact, she was just named one of the top 20 Picture Book Agents in Publishers Marketplace!

That's a great story about how persistence pays off. But like most published authors, you are still day-jobbing. Do you feel like being a teacher has influenced your writing? Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

I think my teaching job helps me keep in touch with what kids like and how they think.  I think the biggest influence to my writing has been reading good, rhyming picture books and poems.  I have five pieces of advice for aspiring writers: 

1 -Join the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) - I've learned so much from their programs and other members and they've given me so much support.

2 - Sign up for Verla Kay's message board - the blueboards.  You can find the answer to almost any writing-related questions you have.

3 - Find a critique group in your genre - you can meet in person or online.  There is information about how to find a group on both of these sites.

4 - Make sure your manuscript is the best it can be before sending it out.

5 - Have faith in yourself and your writing.

That advice is as solid as it gets. Thanks so much for taking the time to interview and share your experience!

More interviews to come! Remember to leave a comment to be entered into a drawing for a copy of Amazing Faces.

Art Appreciation Week - Writer/Illustrator K. Marie Criddle

Today we have K. Marie Criddle, freelance artist/illustrator, as well as a YA writer repped by the famous Nathan Bransford. She has a ridiculously cute website and a blog where she posts all kinds of cool stuff, when she’s not shopping for cats. I ran across Marie's work on Matthew Delman's blog, where she guest posted this impossible-not-to-love comic about steampunk.

Marie, you have so many great things going on! Can you tell us a little about your contemporary YA that’s out on submission, and the YA steampunk fantasy you’re working on? Also, if Matthew Delman and I start a twitter campaign, can we get you to put that steampunk WIP on the front burner?

A twitter campaign!  Rad.  To be honest, I can be just as easily swayed with M&Ms.  But I am really excited about all my projects, for sure.  The YA contemporary, THE MIGHTY MR. MARBY, is about a teenage boy, Owen Marby, diagnosed with childhood onset schizophrenia.  After years in hospitals and youth homes, he's back in the "normal" world and just aching to be a regular kid.  But, as with most of our honest intentions, things don't necessarily go as planned.  Cue ominous, voice-filled music...mua ha ha. 

And the steampunk fantasy is one I'm pretty stoked about, too!  In a world of tiny teacakes and twelve inch corsets, 16 year-old, 6 foot tall Hannah P. Bartleby just doesn't fit in...literally.  While trying to force herself into becoming a lady, she falls in with an airship trading crew led by a handsome, young and--above all--infuriatingly mysterious captain.  War boils in the countries below!  Secrets explode from blunderbusses!  Family rivalries!  Romance!  Steam!  Hannah!  Hmm...maybe I need to work on the one-line pitch for her a little better.  Fewer exclamation points?

And of course, there's always the UNTITLED ANGRY UNICORN PROJECT.  But more on that some other time.

OK, you had me at blunderbusses. Please get busy with that one, so I can read it!

You’ve done lots of commissions with your art, but also have some things for sale (usually print-on-demand and commissions). Just perusing your website makes me wish I could draw more than stickmen (or women; you can’t really tell). That steampunk fairy has already captured my heart. I think I need to write a novel, just about her. Tell me, were you a writer or illustrator first? How do you feel one influences the other?

Ooh, good question.  I like to think I was an artist first.  Up until college, I would have given up my knees to work as an animator for Disney, but life naturally veered elsewhere.  Yet as I've focused more on writing than full-time illustrating, every story I write still begins with a drawing.  It's how I initially outline: no words, just drawings.  I design settings, costumes, people, situations and, eventually, plot and characters will develop from that.  When I get stuck in a scene, I sketch it out until the characters start talking to me again.

Honestly, I can't tell you how many "Owen"s and "Hannah"s and "Bob the Surly Unicorn"s are tucked away in my sketchbooks with captions like: "Get to work!" and "I will gore you if you don't write my story."  But the steampunk fairy is kind of mute right now...give her a voice, she's all yours!   

I can already hear her talking to me! Also: I'm insanely jealous of your writing process.

Finally, I can’t let you escape without asking about working with the famous Nate B. Is he as great as he appears on his blog? Is his favorite color really orange? Seriously, how has life changed now that you have an agent?

The rumors are completely true: Nathan is every bit as amazing as he appears!  Writing can be a largely lonely, beating process and he's by far the best person to have in the corner, holding my metaphorical towel while I fight through a novel.  He's a cheerleader, a coach, an editor, a writer, a researcher and more.  If I hadn't have met him already, I would have guessed he was eight people fused into one (with one hand the iPad, reading manuscripts.  And another answering emails.  And one more making me peppermint tea when I'm having crippling bouts of self-doubt.)

Having an agent lights a fire under you.  You still write, edit and love (sometimes) your work, but having a bona fide professional sitting by and helping you just because he thinks that other people will like your writing, too?  It's exciting and humbling all at once.  And it makes me work that much harder, just to prove that he wasn't crazy to take me on as a client.   

As far as the orange thing goes?  I think it's safe to say that at least one of his eight working brains counts it as a favorite.

I can see why Nathan took you on! I can just imagine the inspiration that comes from a professional believing in your work, and how important it is to find that right fit in an agent-writer relationship.

Thanks so much for joining Art Appreciation week and sharing your work with us! I can't wait to read your work when it comes out - and feel free to share any more steampunk fairies you find showing up in your sketchpad. Best of luck in all your endeavors!

Thank you so much for having me!  Happy artisting to all!

Marie does print-on-demand and commissions.  You can see some of her work here and here.  For any requests or prints, feel free to contact her at kmcriddle@gmail.com.


More interviews to come! Remember to leave a comment to be entered into a drawing for a copy of Amazing Faces.

Art Appreciation Week - Ink Spells talks Amazing Faces

I met Jude Mandell - author, poet, teacher, singer (she's a woman after my own heart, with the many, many hats that she wears) - peeking from behind her book Amazing Faces at the SCBWI booksale. She had to peek because I think she barely cleared five feet tall, but she had the energy of three excited children bound up in that small frame. And I say her book, even though Amazing Faces is a collection of poems edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Chris Soentpiet, and only one poem is Mandell's - but her fervor for the book was impressive. I recognized the cover because Lee and Low had sent the book to me to review (thank you Lee and Low!).

Jude's poem is typical of the wonderfully emotional poems that fill this beautiful book.

I'm the one
You heard crying,
Walking home
From school
Today.

In simple but powerful language and life-like illustrations, Amazing Faces captures children's faces and the emotions they wear on them as they play, pout, laugh, and sleep. The 16 poems come from esteemed children's writers such as Jane Yolen and amazing poets like Langston Hughes.

The night is beautiful,
So the faces of my people.

In reading Hughes poem, My People, I flashed back to Ashley Bryan leading a sing and response reading at the SCBWI conference. There is power in those words!

Chris Soentpiet's illustrations leap off the page, whether the tight-fisted karate kicker or the boyish-faced young soldier returning home. My favorite is the Good Fortune Seafood Market, filled with a busyness of fish in baskets and red paper lanterns, and where Janet S. Wong writes about living "around the corner from Heaven's Supermarket, where all lines are cash only."

Delightful.

Lee and Low is a small publisher that focuses on "stories that children of color can identify with and that all children can enjoy." Amazing faces certainly meets that charter and moves hearts as well. I don't usually review picture books on Ink Spells, but I think art draws all levels of readers into books, and poetry can be particularly demanding on readers, and thus ideally suited for advanced readers. I heartily recommend Amazing Faces to move hearts of all ages.

What picture books have moved your heart?

I wish I could share more of the illustrations in this beautiful book, but you'll have to just buy it, or win it! I will give away my copy of Amazing Faces at the end of the week - just make a comment any time this week to be entered in the drawing!


Art Appreciation Week will continue all week with interviews and discussions of art. Please check out the Blog Roll of Honor on the side --> to visit some and support some of the artists who will be visiting Ink Spells this week!

The Power of Picture

I was amazed at the number of artists I met while attending the SCBWI conference last week. Their business cards carried a bounty of titles: illustrator, art director, graphic designer. My favorite title, however, came from the amazing E.B. Lewis: Artistrator


The power of gorgeous illustration is known to every child who opens a picture book. We've talked on Ink Spells about the power of art at every level, from graphic novels to the Wimpy Kid drawings, to pull readers into the written word. And as novelists, we know the importance of cover art in convincing someone to pick up our books in the first place. At the conference, I got a peek into the world of the illustrator who creates those drawings by interpreting the words of the author.

In celebration (and support) of our artist friends, I'm devoting an entire week to Art Appreciation. There will be interviews and picture book reviews, links to artists and their work, and a giveaways of some lovely works of art in book form.

If you are an artist with picture books or other art for sale, please email me (susankayequinn@comcast.net), so I can include you in my Artist Blog Roll of Honor. The blog roll will be up all week, to help artists connect with one another, and for writers to find and support artists.

E.B. Lewis gravely proclaimed that artists "scare people. Because we are critical thinkers who shape lives and minds." I believe he was speaking of the broader term of "artist," which includes writers. But special appreciation is due to those who use their visual art talents to draw children into the magical world of reading.

Please stop back next week to enjoy the festivities!

UPDATE: Also please check out this worthy cause to support finding a cure for a rare children's cancer!

Unexpected Gifts from the Blogosphere

Back in July, I won a prize from The Charis Project's contest raising funds to help buy a truck to transport kids to school in Thailand. Through the amazing support of the blogosphere and twitterland, they raised enough money (and more!) to buy the truck.  I was excited to pick from a selection of prizes like tribal weapons, jewelry, pottery, or wall hangings (naturally, I put the weapons as my highest priority). But not half as excited as my kids when I came home to a surprise box filled with an "ordinary knife," that more closely resembles a machete, and a woven fish trap, both hand picked in Thailand and sent halfway around the world to my house.

Of course, everyone had to hold the machete. Then everyone had to have their picture taken with the machete.

The knife is "just a regular sort of knife for them that they use for everything from cleaning brusk to preparing food." I have no idea what brusk is, but my kids were certainly looking for something they could chop with it! (Carrien cleared up below that brusk is actually brush, but I left it because it was part of the experience! LOL)

Mighty Mite, holding a knife nearly as big as he is.

Then the woven fish trap got some notice, with Worm Burner figuring out the mechanics of it immediately (the fish swims up through the bottom, through a small hole, and then can't swim out again).

Carrien's note said "The woven basket is a fish trap from a Karen village. It's made out of bamboo. This one was no longer useful to the person who made it, so they let Aaron bring it back (to the U.S.)."

We had a hard time figuring out what was non-functional about the trap. But it was mighty cool.

Both our prizes will have treasured places on our bookshelf and in our hearts.

Thank you, Carrien Blue and The Charis Project, for our delightful prizes, and all the wonderful work you do to support children in Thailand!

SCBWI LA 2010 - Day 4 - Discovering Authors and Their Books

By far the best part of this conference has been meeting the people, hearing their stories about writing and publishing, and finding like-hearted souls that quickly became friends. Hearing about the trials and triumphs of fellow writers as they struggle with the writing process, and then struggle some more with publishing drama, is reassuring: I'm far from alone on this journey, and the people on the path with me are some of the finest human beings I know.

Also: if you attend a local or national conference that offers a manuscript consultation option TAKE IT. That is money well spent.

This morning I heard Rachel Vail speak and fell in love - with her, her voice, her experiences, and one book in particular: Justin Case: School, Drool, and Other Daily Disasters. Justin is about a kid who worries - a lot. He's an epic worrier. Justin starts like this:

September 1, Tuesday
Okay, yes. I'm worried
Already.
I can't help it.

Rachel shared how her second son was born a worrier. She was concerned that it was something she did - after all, her first son was Mr. Zen, which clearly was due to her superior parenting skills (Rachel's natural humor is fantastic). I was hooked immediately, because my first son, Dark Omen is a worrier. He came out of the womb that way, and since he was first I was convinced my epic bad parenting in utero had somehow made him unnaturally concerned about the smallest things in life. I remember very clearly his two year old little self perched on our couch as we packed to leave on a Christmas trip to visit my family. He had that little line on his forehead, a crinkly frown that shouldn't be on any two year old but that had permanent residence on my son. In this tiny voice, he said, "Mommy, I'm concerned that we're not going to make it to the airplane on time."

Yes, this was his two year old vocabulary and way of expressing himself. He was smart. He was articulate. And he was concerned that all was not quite right in the world.

Where had I gone wrong?

Rachel shared a similar story about her son, worried that the bridge would collapse as they drove over it, or worried that his Uncle might eat him (!!). She wrote Justin Case for her son, to help him navigate the tricky waters of middle school. 

As soon as she finished speaking, I literally sprinted from my seat, across the 1200 person conference room, to make sure she didn't escape before I spoke to her. You see, I had to speak to her, to tell her about my son, and most importantly BUY HER BOOK. Her adorable son was with her, reminding me immediately of my own with his self-possessed stance and bright, alert eyes. She graciously agreed to sign a book for me. Unfortunately, similarly moved people had already scooped up the last copies, but we finally figured out I could order a signed copy through her local indie bookstore website (she hops over and signs them before they are shipped). Which I promptly did. 

Discovering a new book for my sons that will rock their world: Awesome

Meeting an author who moves and motivates you with their words and their work: Even Better

She reminded me of what lies in the heart of every children's book writer, including myself: the desire to touch and transform children's lives through the stories that fill their childhood.

I'll probably need a few days to recover from the amazing intensity of this conference, but Ink Spells will return soon!

SCBWI LA 2010 - Day 3 - Is SCBWI forward looking?

There were more great workshops and keynote speeches that made me laugh and brought me to tears, and Linda Sue Park continued to amaze me with her brilliance, but the big hitter speech today came at the end of the day with Rubin Pfeffer's talk about the future of publishing.

Rubin challenged the SCBWI as a whole to not fear the future of publishing, including the world of e-books. He insisted we think of e-books, and other media platform changes, as not "instead of" but "in addition to." He claimed that the publishing industry was being redesigned from the inside out, with inefficiencies being taken out by forces outside of the publishing world. Eye-popping statistics were thrown out to the crowd:

• Amazon e-books outselling hardcovers and on track to outsell paperbacks
• Author profit by media per sale: paperbook ($0.80), e-rights with publisher ($1.75=25% of net), e-rights with author ($3-7)
• a projected 59 million iPads in the near future
• 70% of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last 5 years

Rubin said readers were beginning to express their ideas about prices and scheduling of books, and e-readers were evolving so quickly that they were becoming extinct almost as fast as they came out. He spoke of the changing roles of literary agents, with Wiley literary agency launching Odessey, an in-house e-publisher. 

The reins of control in publishing are shifting, and Rubin questioned what SCBWI's role in this revolution would be? With bigger houses scrambling to re-tool, and smaller houses being more nimble and snapping up opportunities as they arise, Rubin threw out the idea of SCBWI becoming an e-publisher.

The room went silent, a thousand minds reeling from the rapid fire challenge. And in culture shock.

I agree with Rubin that all the innovations in reading will create more ways to connect individual authors to readers, and will ultimately result in more books being sold, in some format. I believe the latest digital technology has tremendous visual opportunities for children (as Rubin said) and that bundling of enhanced e-books is the next new frontier. I believe we must innovate through this sea-change in publishing, in order to survive, and even prosper.

And I continue to believe it is a good time to be a writer.

Maybe SCBWI won't join the ranks of small, nimble e-publishers. Given that much of the infrastructure of SCBWI mirrors the current large-publisher industry, I think a re-tooling of the thinking within SCBWI will need to come first. This is why I am very supportive (and excited about!) Rubin's suggestion that SCBWI implement a steering committee to study the implications of these innovations, and take a year to come up with a plan for the future of SCBWI. I agree that the purpose of this grand national organization has never been more relevant and important.

Rubin predicted a future publishing world where ... 

• readers will pay less
• authors will earn more
• publishing will cost less
• ebooks may encourage new literary forms
• professional services and talent from publishers will still be needed

I don't know if he's right. But I can't wait to see what the leadership in SCBWI, some of the best, most creative minds in the industry, decide the future of SCBWI should be.

SCBWI LA 2010 - Day 2 - Middle Grade: Plot and Character

The flashing heart necklace around my neck is pulsing with the rap beat from the Heart and Soul Dance three stories below, punctuated by shouts of hundreds of editors and agents and writers dancing, drinking, and generally making merry.

Man, writers can party. Who knew?

Day 2 was filled with more awesome, including passionate talks by Artistrator E. B. Lewis and Author Marion Dane Bauer, along with an amazing agent panel. But Linda Sue Park continued to enthrall in her Middle Grade workshop, so I'll try to impart a little of her wisdom to you.

In connecting the middle grade MC to plot, Linda Sue talked about internal quests (what the character "needs") vs. external quests (what the character "wants"). Fantastically hands-on, she walked us through a written exercise where we identified (and shared) the internal and external quests of a favorite book.

My pick: Deryn, girl aviator in Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld

Internal conflict: Deryn needs to fit into a world where girls aren't allowed many freedoms
External conflict: Deryn wants to become an airman in the Royal Navy.

She noted that YA is more devoted to internal quest, whereas MG has a more even balance between internal/external quest, but that many adults enjoy both MG and YA because they are still on an internal quest themselves. This is one of those throw-away tidbits that Linda Sue just casts out to her class that leaves me with my mouth hanging open while I attempt to scribble it down.

Naturally, she had us write the internal and external conflicts for our MG novels.

Mine: Byrne Risk, middle grade science fiction

Internal conflict: Kate has to come to terms with Giver being the replacement for her dead mother.
External conflict: Kate has to save Giver from the Peace Police coming to arrest her, and find a way to liberate Giver from slavery.

Just putting these conflicts into one sentence summaries helped firm them in my mind, and made me strangely happy that they denote some of the inherent tension in the book.

Linda Sue went on to outline four types of endings, depending on whether the internal/external quests were resolved or achieved.

Happy Endings: Both quests are resolved
Hopeful Endings: Internal quest is achieved, but external quest is not.
Fable/Morality Tale Endings: External quest is achieved, but internal quest is not.
Adult existential Novel: neither is achieved (Note to Middle Grade writers: please don't write this ending)

In one fell swoop, Linda Sue helped me understand the ending of my novel, and why I've always questioned whether it was acceptable for a MG book - it is more hopeful than happy, but settles somewhere between the two. Knowing that a Hopeful Ending is as acceptable as a Happy Ending was gratifying, to say the least.

Linda Sue was also incredibly accessible before and after the workshop to answer questions I'm struggling with in my own manuscript (Thank you, Linda Sue!). I'm looking forward to more insights tomorrow, but now my mind needs to rest from an extreme case of Conference Brain.