THIS SITE HAS MOVED. Inkygirl posts are now part of DebbieOhi.com.
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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.
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*NEW!* Also see my Broken Crayon resource
Writer comics by Debbie Ridpath Ohi are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
More details: Comic Use Policy
Welcome to Inkygirl: Reading, Writing and Illustrating Children's Books (archive list here) which includes my Creating Picture Books series, Advice For Young Writers and Illustrators, Writer's and Illustrator's Guide To Twitter, Interviews With Authors And Illustrators, #BookADay archives, writing/publishing industry surveys, and 250, 500, 1000 Words/Day Writing Challenge. Also see my Inkygirl archives, and comics for writers. Also check out my Print-Ready Archives for Teachers, Librarians, Booksellers and Young Readers.
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
To those finishing their #NaNoWriMo stories: congrats! Be proud. But whatever you do, RESIST THE URGE to send it out on submission right away. Let it sit for a while first. Then edit. Also, agents/editors often get inundated with unedited mss right after NanoWriMo, so are more likely to be grumpy. :-)
;)
Writing challenges can be inspiring and fun, but always remember WHY you are doing them. If you're just doing them for fun, of course, the writing part is secondary. Commiserate with others on the message boards! Go to the kickoff parties! If you're doing a writing challenge in hopes of ending up with something you might want to get published, then I encourage you to take the challenge seriously. You can still have FUN while doing it, but be aware of how much time you spend actually writing as opposed to talking about writing.
To those doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this month: good luck! I've done NaNoWriMo a few times and even gotten a couple of novels finished. The biggest reasons I did the NaNoWriMo challenge was to help get me back into the daily habit of writing and also for the online community aspect -- it was fun and motivating to be writing to the same deadline as thousands of other writers doing the challenge.
I have found, though, that Novembers are generally NOT a good time for me to do a daily challenge like this, mainly because I'm always away for a week partway through to attend an annual board gaming convention. This month is especially hectic because in addition to the board gaming event, I'm also away on a book tour (for I'M WORRIED).
For others who are in a similar boat, who are looking for a writing challenge with more flexibility, I encourage you to check out my Daily Write challenge.
And for those looking for more NaNoWriMo comics, do check out my friend Errol Elumir's daily NaNoToons!
Having fun with Inktober this month! I've been doing mostly non-digital art with real-life inks but today opted for digital because I was short on time. You can see some of my other Inktober posts on Instagram.
My home studio is a cluttered basement office underground with no windows. Well, there ARE windows but the view is either blocked or covered up. Sometimes I work to silence, but I'm always leery about getting TOO used to working this way because I want to be able to work in all kinds of conditions. It's one reason I usually work on my fiction writing on my iPad Pro using Ulysses; the latter syncs seamlessly across all my devices. I often take my noise-cancelling headphones with me.
Something I do when I'm home is to have an ambience video playing on my extra screen or my iPad. I know it sounds silly at first, and it may not work for you, but I find that it really DOES trick part of my brain into feeling as if I'm working in that space. I feel comforted somehow, relaxed and able to focus more on my work.
STOP READING THIS BOOK is written by Caroline Fernandez and llustrated by Shannon O'Toole, coming out from Common Deer Press on October 7, 2019. If you're in the Toronto area, you're invited to the book launch at Indigo Yonge Eglinton on Sat. Oct. 5th from 1-2 pm; see details here.
Tuesday, September 24, 2019 at 10:16 AM | Post a Comment | Email Article | Share Article | Permalink 
Photo of Bev Rosenbaum: Helen Tansey.
Bev Katz Rosenbaum is the author of several works of fiction for young people, her most recent being Who is Tanksy?, published by Orca Books. Bev has worked in-house as an editor for book publishers and magazines and has taught writing at the college level. Currently she juggles writing children's books with freelance editing. Bev lives in Toronto. When she isn't writing, she's catching up on all her friends' books, guzzling coffee, dancing, and hiking ("Not the extreme kind. The mildly challenging and occasionally inspiration kind.") You can find Bev and her work at BevKatzRosenbaum.com as well as on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @bevrosenbaum.
I interviewed Bev for a Toronto blog called blogTO years before we actually met in person and became friends. She is so positive and encouraging, and I'm delighted to have her visit my Inkygirl blog.
(Image above also posted on my Instagram feed. Also doing a giveaway of this art on Twitter today.)
Don't be afraid to ask questions. One question can make all the difference! - Nancy Tupper Ling. Read other great advice from Nancy as well as Andrea Offermann in their joint interview for Inkygirl.com.
I created this doodle this morning with a J. Herbin glass pen from Wonderpens.ca and Robert Oster Astorquiza Olive ink from Baeurinks.ca. I like this new Robert Oster ink because it's dark enough for line drawings but the color adds visual interest. Also, it has enough water resistance that I can add some shading via water (I used a #6 Winsor & Newton Cotman watercolor brush) without TOO much smearing. Paper: HP Everyday Papers HP Premium Choice Laser, 32-pound, which I find is an affordable choice for my many fountain pen doodles. :-)
Teresa Robeson draws upon her Chinese heritage, Canadian-American sensibilities, as well as her background in science and love of nature when she writes. She has been published in children and adult magazines. Queen of Physics, a picture book biography written by Teresa and illustrated by Rebecca Huang, is her DEBUT PICTURE BOOK (!). Congrats to Teresa! You can find out more about Teresa at TeresaRobeson.com, Twitter at @TeresaRobeson, Instagram at @tmrobeson and on Facebook.
Advice for hopeful authors & illustrators: Do your research & have a professional work ethic. The professionalism you show can make the difference between getting published & getting discouraged. More great advice from author/illustrator Pat Cummings in her Inkygirl interview.
Writers: Be aware when research/prep turns into procrastination.
Ask yourself: "What are you afraid of?" JUST JUMP IN. You can revise later.
(And YES, I speak from experience....)
