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Debbie Ridpath Ohi reads, writes and illustrates for young people. Every once in a while she shares new art, writing and reading resources; subscribe below. Browse the archives here.
I tweet about the craft and business of writing and illustrating at @inkyelbows. If you're interested in my art or other projects, please do visit DebbieOhi.com. Thanks for visiting! -- Debbie Ridpath Ohi
I cannot resist a middle grade novel with unique/cool technology as a hook, so was intrigued by the basic synopsis of SIX by M. M. Vaughan (Margaret K. McElderry, 2015): Parker and his sister Emma, with the help of secret advanced technology, can communicate between themselves through their thoughts. When their father is kidnapped a few years after their mom's death, Parker and his sister are determined to find him.
Loved the mystery and action in SIX, the unexpected plots twists, and especially liked Parker's sister Emma. While Emma's deafness plays a role in their mystery-solving (she's very good at lipreading, for instance), it's not an Issue. Also loved the humor.
I love what Stephen King said about not waiting for one's Muse to show up.
“Don't wait for the muse. As I've said, he's a hardheaded guy who's not susceptible to a lot of creative fluttering. This isn't the Ouija board or the spirit-world we're talking about here, but just another job like laying pipe or driving long-haul trucks. Your job is to make sure the muse knows where you're going to be every day from nine 'til noon. or seven 'til three. If he does know, I assure you that sooner or later he'll start showing up.”
In addition to following @ChuckWendig on Twitter, I encourage you to read his Terribleminds blog. (*** To those offended by strong language: be warned that Chuck embraces it. :-)) While his focus is not specifically on children's books, many of his posts contain nuggets of wisdom useful to writers all genres.
Christian Trimmer photo credit: Walker Brockington.
In addition to being a debut picture book author, Christian Trimmer is an editor at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. I love his enthusiasm for kidlit/YA on his Twitter feed, plus he's edited some pretty amazing books. Like THE DEATH AND LIFE OF ZEBULON FINCH by Daniel Kraus (here's what I posted about the book), which comes out from S&S BFYR this October. Thanks to Christian for answering Three Questions for me today....
I do admit that I over-used Comic Sans and Papyrus when they first came out. Fontfaces are so much like fashion, aren't they? You have the basic fontfaces which never seem to go out of style, like Helvetica and Times Roman. But then there are the trendy fonts which are massively popular for a short period of time but then fall by the wayside.
Like Comic Sans. And speaking of Comic Sans, here's my favorite Comic Sans music video ever:
Patricia Newman is the author of fiction and nonfiction titles, and magazine articles for children. She writes what she wants to know and has covered topics as diverse as ocean plastic, trains, fighter pilots, and Ebola. Although many of her books have received critical acclaim, she writes for the kid she was to hook the next generation of readers. She is a frequent speaker at schools, libraries, and conferences.
"From 1976 to 2013, the virus killed about 1,500 people. So why in 2014 did it kill nearly seven times that number? Ebola: Fears and Facts takes kids behind the sensational headlines to address their questions and concerns about the virus. What are the symptoms? Can we catch the virus? How does it spread? Find out how the 2014 epidemic compares to past Ebola outbreaks, and outbreaks of other infectious diseases. Ebola: Fears and Facts will help kids better understand this most-feared disease."
Q. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
I love this picture! You might think it's a finger painting from my kids' preschool days, but it's not. My daughter is a zookeeper, and one day, she "asked" her penguins to paint me a picture. They walked across the canvas as an enrichment activity-can you see their footprints?-because they would do anything for my daughter. They loved her (as do I!). So, their artistic efforts hang in a place of pride. Her penguins even inspired a picture book that I'm currently revising.
Q. What advice do you have for young writers?
When I was a kid, it was hard to get excited about writing prompts. I never felt like I had good ideas, or perhaps I was too afraid to commit them to paper. So even though I was a good student, I guess you could call me a reluctant writer. Now, I love to write because I'm writing about the things that matter to me.
I know several schools encourage students to keep journals in which they write a few lines every day. If kids don't know what to put in their journals, I suggest making a list of things they love, and then choose something from the list to write about--even if the grammar and the spelling aren't perfect. Every day, go a little deeper into the topic. For example, ice cream would be on my list of things I love. On day one, I might write whether I like cups or cones (wafer vs. sugar vs. waffle) and why. On day two, I might write about the flavors I like. On day three, I might explain how I eat an ice cream cone, i.e. whether I eat the point off first or lick all the ice cream off the top and how I control drips. It doesn't matter what you write about, but you do have to be interested in it.
Q. What are you excited about right now?
I love writing about the natural world because whenever I take a close look, something fascinating is happening. Currently, I'm hard at work on two books about different aspects of the ocean. One of the books will feature epic photos from PLASTIC, AHOY! photographer Annie Crawley.
Josh Funk lives in New England with his wife and kids. He is the author of Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast (launches Sept 1st from Sterling) and the upcoming Dear Dragon (Viking/Penguin, 2016), Pirasaurs! (Scholastic, 2017), and more. Find out more info about Josh at his website, Twitter, Facebook.
Me, Josh (on rock) and Jess Keating at Nerd Camp. Photo: Justin Keating.
I met Josh at Nerd Camp earlier this year. Such a fun and funny guy, and so supportive of his fellow kidlit authors and illustrators!
"The race is on … Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast are the best of friends until word gets out that there’s ONLY ONE DROP OF SYRUP left. Only one of them can enjoy the sweet, sweet taste of victory. Is their friendship toast?"
Q. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
I don’t actually have an office. I pretty much do all of my writing from a laptop while sitting in bed (as I am right now). And I often throw on a movie I’m comfortable with in the background, something I know well enough so I won’t get distracted from the writing, but maybe it’ll inspire me. And my favorite movie to throw on is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (it’s on right now). So here’s the ‘not yet worn out’ disc:
This movie has everything: humor (Michael Cera, Aubrey Plaza, Jason Schwartzman), music (songs by Beck), action (actors who played Superman, The Punisher, & Captain America on the big screen), video games (fighting, music, skating), romance (love story with a pink/blue/green-haired girl), vegans, fantastic cast (at least one Oscar nominated actress), special effects (see: action), based on a graphic novel (KaPow!), one of the best directors out there (Edgar Wright can do no wrong), and it takes place in Canada (who doesn’t love ketchup chips?). It may not be for everybody, but if I were to make a movie, this would be it. And it’s been on in the background while I’ve written many a manuscript.
Q. What advice do you have for young writers?
I’m not a teacher. But I’ll tell you why I write, and I think it applies to any human: I write to entertain myself.
So write something you find fun.
Write what you’d want to read.
Write something to make your family and friends laugh.
Write a play you and your siblings can act out at the next family reunion.
Write a song!
And if it’s a writing assignment for school, put your own twist on it. Only you can write like you. So put a little of yourself into everything you write.
Obviously there are times when writing assignments have to be taken seriously, but there’s usually a way to make writing enjoyable.
Q. What are you excited about right now?
I’m really excited about graphic novels, as you might have guessed from my Scott Pilgrim obsession. But here I’m referring to those for children (and adults like me). There are so many amazing choices out there that we’ve devoured over the last few years. Lunch Lady, El Deafo, Squish, Babymouse, The Flying Beaver Brothers, Ricky Ricotta, Rutabaga the Adventure Chef, Comics Squad, Astronaut Academy, Sidekicks, Smile, Sisters, Drama, Rollergirl, Amulet, The Chronicles of Claudette, and more.
I have personally seen children learn to read (and learn to love to read) by way of the GN. The combination of art and writing makes for an amazing storytelling (and story consuming) experience. The abundance of talent developing graphic novels today is mind blowing. And I don’t see it slowing down any time soon!
After posting the found object doodle below on FB, a flurry of comments (turns out I'm not the only one who has a strong emotional reaction to dog-eared pages in books :-)) prompted me to post this anonymous 1-question survey:
Children's book illustrator Alice Ratterree answers Three Questions for me on Inkygirl today! Read more for Alice's advice for young writers and illustrators, her opera singing, what she's excited about now...
I was so inspired by Pernille Ripp's talk at Nerd Camp earlier this year and just discovered (duh, why didn't I look for this earlier?) that she has a blog! I was inspired to illustrate a quote from her recent piece, "Stop Feeding The Beast - The Reading Myths We Pass On As Truth."
Arree Chung wrote and illustrated the picture book “NINJA!” and is also a founding member of Live in a Story, which offers wall decals created by children's book illustrators and designers. When he's not creating, you can find Arree riding his bike around the San Francisco Bay Area.
"Out with the old and in with the new! Family physician Dr. Todd Spector presents a fresh and outrageously fun way to encourage little boys to give up their diapers. They can try it freestyle (in the backyard!), or give the potty a try with the help of a few props and plenty of imagination. Peeing in the potty is a lot more fun if you do it rocket style, cowboy style, or superhero style!"
Q. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
This is one of my favorite toys. Gonzo. This doll is probably older than I am! This doll is special, because Jerry Houle, my licensing mentor gifted this to me. Jerry spent years working with Jim Henson in building a licensing program for the muppets. I am a huge muppets fan and have always admired Jim for his storytelling and the art he has put in the world. Jim changed the way people looked at puppets.
Q. What advice do you have for young writers and illustrators?
As a creative person, the thing I love doing the most is creating something new out of thin air. It maybe a story that becomes a book, a doodle that becomes a painting or an idea that becomes a business.
Making something new can be hard but I find that there are two really hard points: starting and finishing. Here are some tips on how to make it.
GET Excited.
Start right away.
Attack it.
Do it NOW. Get it down.
Scribble. Let yourself go. There is no wrong.
Don’t listen to your inner critic. Listen to your gut instincts. Work fast and intuitively.
Get your first draft done.
Accept that it’s a process. It’s okay that it’s not perfect. You’re making building blocks and you don’t know what pieces you need yet.
Look at the work again. You’ll probably see things you want to change about it. Change it.
Keep working on it. Identify what the heart of your idea is. It should be specific and feel honest.
Now reduce.
Keep reducing until you’re left with just the essentials.
Sketches for FIX-IT MAN (Author: Susan Hood, Publisher: HarperCollins).
Q. What are you excited about right now?
So many things!
Books! I love storytelling. I have three books coming out next year.
I’m excited about so many things right now. I have three books coming out next year. NINJA! Attack of the Clan (publisher: MacMillan) which is a sequel to my first book, NINJA! I'm illustrating a book called FIX-IT MAN (author: Susan Hood, publisher: HarperCollins), which is about being helpful and inventive. It has a very fun collage style to it. My third book out next year, is HOW TO PEE: Potty Training for Girls (author: Todd Spector, publisher: MacMillan) - which is a sequel to the potty training for boys book I illustrated. I'm really excited about all of the books.
Thursday, September 3, 2015 at 10:22 AM | 
