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.
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
Congrats to my friend Dorian Cirrone on the launch of THE FIRST LAST DAY (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster) today! Can't wait to read this.
Dorian Cirrone was a dance teacher, a choreographer, an assistant city editor for a daily newspaper, and a college English instructor before becoming a writer. Her middle-grade novel THE FIRST LAST DAY will be her fifth published book. She has also published short stories and poetry.
I so enjoyed meeting Dorian at a SCBWI Florida Regional Conference (a fantastic event, strongly recommended) and had fun collaborating on a food doodle with her as well as talking kidlit/YA. You can see our collab at the bottom of this pic:
Sylvia Liu is an environmental lawyer turned children’s author and illustrator, inspired by aliens, kraken, cephalopods, and the oceans. She lives in Virginia Beach with her husband, two daughter, Siberian kitten and guinea pig.
A MORNING WITH GRANDPA is Sylvia's debut picture book! The story won Sylvia the 2013 New Voices Award from Lee and Low. Such a sweet and inspiring story, gorgeously illustrated by my friend Christina Forshay, whom I met through the SCBWI Illustration Mentorship program.
Megan Maynor is a former advertising copywriter and author of picture books ELLA AND PENGUIN STICK TOGETHER and ELLA AND PENGUIN: A PERFECT MATCH (coming 2017), both from HarperCollins Children’s Books. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and three children.
Danica Davidson started writing at age three and never stopped. Before selling her first book, she wrote for such places as MTV, CNN, The Onion and Los Angeles Times. Among other publications, she was recently featured by Forbes for her Minecraft writing. She’s represented by the James Fitzgerald Agency. Attack Of The Overworld is the second book in Danica's Minecraft series, which is geared toward ages 7-12.
Ann Marie Meyers grew up in Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies. She has a degree in languages and translates legal and technical documents from French and Spanish into English. She lives in Toronto, Ontario, with her husband and daughter. Meyers is an active member of SCBWI and facilitates a children's writing group twice a month.
Read Ann Marie's advice for young writers, her office cats and what she's excited about now...
LOUD LULA launches from Two Lions today! Written by Katy Duffield and illustrated by Mike Boldt, LOUD LULA is southern-flavored tall tale about a little girl with a big voice. "...Little ol’ Lula’s big ol’ voice wreaks ten kinds of havoc from the day she’s born, and that doesn’t change one smidgen when Lula starts kindergarten. As you might imagine, Lula’s oversized voice isn’t a great fit for the classroom—or maybe it is…"
I'm thrilled that my books have been translated into French, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese, and am grateful to the Curtis Brown Translation Rights department for all their help. Jonathan Lyons and Sarah Perillo have kindly agreed to answer a few questions for me about the picture book translation rights process at Curtis Brown.
Barney Saltzberg is the author and illustrator of close to 50 books for children, including Beautiful Oops!, Arlo Needs Glasses, Andrew Drew and Drew, and the bestselling Touch and Feel Kisses series with over one million copies in print. Not only that, but he's also recorded four albums of music for young people (!). See the children's concert clip later in this post.
I was lucky enough to meet Barney at ALA earlier this year and more recently discovered his BEAUTIFUL OOPS!...I can't believe I missed this wonderful book before! Those of you who've seen my found object art demos can guess why I fell in love with this book.
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!
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.
Donna Gephartis a professional nerd. She's written five novels filled with humor and heart for Penguin Random House, including How to Survive Middle School, Death by Toilet Paper and Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen. She's also written some compelling grocery lists and award-winning Post-it notes to her dogs. For free activity/reading guides, lots of fun info and a singing hamster video, visit DonnaGephart.com. "I'm a big fan of teachers and librarians; let's connect @Dgephartwrites or via carrier pigeon -- whichever is more convenient and poops less."
I first met Donna when she wrote for me at Inklings, my email newsletter for writers back in the early days of the Web. As I prepped her Three Questions interview, I looked back through some of my old archives and found a "Writing Funny For Money" piece she did for me back in 1998(!).
When the good toilet paper is replaced by cheap, scratchy stuff, Benjamin Epstein realizes his hard-working mom is in deep financial trouble. Ben will do anything (entering contests, selling candy bars, etc.) to help his mom pay the rent and keep a promise he made to his late father. (Toilet and toilet paper trivia head each chapter.) Nominated for Pennsylvania, Maine and Rhode Island state reading lists and winner of the Sydney Taylor Honor Award.
1. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
My friend's daughter creates sculptures of each of my book's characters. Hammy the Hamster from How to Survive Middle School w/his microphone to the right. And Vanessa Rothrock from As If Being 12-3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running for President on the left. You might notice Vanessa has no pants (nor legs).
They melted on the cookie sheet in my friend's oven because her daughter ran out of clay and used a cheap substitute for the legs. We now refer to her as Vanessa Meltypants.
Our one dog keeps me company every day while I write, while the other dog guards the front window by barking at dangers, such as the UPS delivery person, babies being pushed in strollers and the bunny who sometimes hangs out on our lawn. (Our window blinds will never be the same.)
2. What advice do you have for young writers?
There's some advice on my site from industry professionals and resources for young (and young at heart) writers:
Everyone says: "Write what you know." But I think if you write only what you know, it would be boring. Write what you'd like to know. I purposely create ideas for my novels that require me to research and learn new things. Did you know there are 516,000 bacteria in every square inch of armpit? Your brain weighs about three pounds? And the first stall in a public bathroom is the least used and therefore the cleanest? (You're welcome for that last one.)
Write the emotional truth of what you know. Do you know what it's like to feel lonely, scared, left out, overjoyed? Write about those feelings!
You may not believe this, but the bliss in writing is in the actual writing -- in losing oneself completely in the process of creating something that didn't exist before -- not in the outside rewards one might get from being published, winning an award, etc. Although those things are nice, too. Let everything else go and write with great joy . . . and a pen. A pen definitely helps.
3. What are you excited about right now?
I'm excited to have a wonderful year of school visits, Skype visits and book festivals behind me and a long, lovely summer ahead to daydream, fill up on books and play outside with friends, family and our dogs.
Joyce Wan designed her first greeting card when she was in first grade for a city-wide greeting card design contest. The design won first place and was subsequently sold through a major department store chain. Twenty years later that design would inspire a design studio called Wanart whose products and books featuring Joyce's art are now sold world wide.
I first met Joyce at the SCBWI Summer Convention in Los Angeles, before I got my first children's book contract, and I so appreciated how welcoming and encouraging she was when I was such a nervous newbie.
One sunny day, a little boy heads outside for a swim, but his pool is already taken. There’s a big whale in the water and it’s not budging! The boy tries everything to get the whale to leave. Nothing seems to work. Not fetch. Not tag. Not even offering his allowance. What’s a boy to do? A picture book about a boy who makes the best of an unusual situation. This colorful whale of a tale from the talented Joyce Wan is sure to inspire giggles from little guppies!
1. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
This is the shelf in my studio containing all the copies of my published books that I use for promotional purposes. I’m still amazed that my first book only came out in 2009. Now, 6 years later, there are 10 different books on that shelf with several more to come in the coming years. The road to getting published can be a long, hard one but once the ball gets rolling, a lot can happen in a short amount of time (I’m sure you can relate Debbie!). I feel blessed every time I look at this shelf.
2. What advice do you have for young writers and illustrators?
Keep a sketchbook or notebook with you at all times to jot down all your ideas. No ideas are too silly or simple. I did not submit my book YOU ARE MY CUPCAKE to publishers until a year after developing the concept. I kept worrying that the idea was maybe too simple. It has since gone on to sell over a couple hundred thousand copies and has turned into a whole line of board books with Scholastic. I often wonder how many wonderful ideas never see the light of day because the creators themselves didn’t give it a chance.
Another tip is to set regular, realistic deadlines for yourself. (ie: complete one drawing/painting every week or complete a rough draft of a story every month, etc.) I am a self-trained illustrator but I started my illustration career with my own greeting card business. What helped me develop a style and improve my drawing skills was I would set regular deadlines for myself (ie: 12 greeting cards every month). Not only did my drawing skills improve but I was able to make the overwhelming task of creating an entire greeting card collection seem more feasible.
I think creative people often feel overwhelmed and paralyzed by self-doubt and the emptiness of a blank page. THINK BIG, ACT SMALL, but ACT nonetheless-ONE STEP AT A TIME towards your goals.
3. What are you excited about right now?
I’m excited about wrapping up a few illustration projects including a new picture book series called PEEP & EGG by Laura Gehl and PUG MEETS PIG by Sue Gallion so that I can switch gears and get back into some of my own author/illustrator projects. The best thing about my job is that no two days are the same.
Today, I'm delighted to have Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple visiting Inkygirl. Jane and Heidi are co-authors of YOU NEST HERE WITH ME, a new picture book that recently came out from Boyds Mill Press, illustrated by Melissa Sweet. I've also been a longtime fan of Jane's work, especially her fairy tale retellings.
I asked both Jane and Heidi to answer Three Questions for me, and here are their answers:
I was thrilled to meet Jane Yolen at a recent SCBWI conference, and even more excited when Jane read my f&g of Where Are My Books? and liked it (see photo at the very end of this interview). Jane Yolen is the renowned author of many children's books, fantasy, and science fiction, including Owl Moon, The Devil's Arithmetic, and How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? Her books, poems and stories have won many awards, including the Caldecott Medal.
This lyrical bedtime book is an ode to baby birds everywhere and to sleepy children, home safe in their own beds. As a mother describes how different species of birds nest, secure and cozy with their mama birds, she tucks her own child into bed with the soothing refrain, “you nest here with me”—easing her little one and readers alike to slumber. Perfect for a young audience, this poetic text begs to be read aloud, and is accompanied by Melissa Sweet’s incredibly warm and original art.
Q. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
Photo: Heidi Stemple.
Like most writers, I have an enormous research library in my home and when I am working on a particular project, those books get scattered around my writing room.
As I am currently working on two very different manuscripts--one set in the Holocaust (the first section in the Lodz Ghetto) and the other a graphic novel trilogy set in 1930s Edinburgh, I chose to pick out a book from each of those piles to feature in the photograph. At the top is a day-by-day catalog of what happened during the ghetto years in Lodz, and in the second materials about Scotland through the ages. Fiction has to take the real and massage it into a story that nay (or may not) have actually happened. We recreate (hi)story and bring our readers along.
Photo: Heidi Stemple.
From Jane, about the photo above: "I can't seem to write without a cup of tea (British decaf with demarara sugar and a splash of Lactaid milk.) I keep making cuppas coming all day long."
Q. What advice do you have for young writers?
Read, read, read.
Write something every day.
Never take no for an answer.
Don't believe your reviews--either good or bad.
Heart on the page.
Know that books are not just written, but rewritten.
(Above: Listen as Jane reads and critiques her very first poem)
Q. What are you excited about right now?
Two of my old books recently splashed out big: HOW DO DINOSAURS GET WELL SOON (Scholastic) won the Colorado One Book Award, and BAD GIRLS (Charlesbridge)--written with daughter Heidi Stemple--won the Magnolia Award, Mississippi's Children's Book Award for the middle grades. Plus the latest book Heidi and I just published--YOU NEST HERE WITH ME (Boyds Mills) with amazing illustrations by Melissa Sweet--has recently had a tremendous start and after only a month is getting a second printing.
But honestly, I am always most excited about the manuscript I am working on now. That's where my heart is, where my soul is. That is where my tomorrow is.
Heidi Stemple didn’t want to be a writer when she grew up. In fact, after she graduated from college, she became a probation officer in Florida. It wasn’t until she was 28 years old that she gave in and joined the family business, publishing her first short story in a book called Famous Writers and Their Kids Write Spooky Stories. The famous writer was her mom, author Jane Yolen. Since then, she has published twenty books and numerous short stories and poems, mostly for children.
I had a chance to hang out with Heidi at the SCBWI Summer Conference last year. She's smart, she's funny and she's so supportive of others in the industry. Then partway through a group conversation, I also discovered that her mom is Jane Yolen (!!).
Heidi and Jane run a Picture Book Boot Camp (next one is Sept. 10-13, 2015), which is a Master Class in Jane's home:
This rhyming bedtime book is part lullaby and part introductory field guide for the smallest ornithologists. But, at its heart, it reminds baby birds and children alike that home is wherever you are safely tucked in with your family. If you look in the back of You Nest Here With Me , you'll see that part of the dedication is to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. If you want to know more about birds--including listening to owl calls, visit them at: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Page.aspx?pid=1478.
Heidi's office. (The cat is named Romeo)
Q. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
I love birds. All birds. But, especially owls.
"Think I'm kidding about the owls? I even have owl nesting dolls."
I have about a hundred owls in my house. Actually, I’ve never counted them, but there are a lot.
Heidi's living room. "See the owl in the rafters? His name is Wilbur and he watches out over the house." My mother, author Jane Yolen, wrote a book you might know called Owl Moon. It’s about a little girl who goes out owling with her dad. What you may not know is that the little girl is me and Pa is my father, David Stemple, who was a great owler. He was the one who taught me to call owls and now, once a year, I lead a team of owlers for the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. On our best year (so far) we called down 67 owls from midnight to 7am.
These (pictured above) are probably my favorite owls—they make up a bookend that my dad had in his office. Now they sit on the bookshelf right next to my desk and remind me of him.
Q. What advice do you have for young writers?
When you live in a family of writers (my mother and both my brothers work in children’s books) you know that inspiration comes from everywhere. You never know when and from where an idea for a story will pop up. Keep your eyes, ears, and mind open at all times for those ideas. And, write them down because ideas are slippery little buggers.
Prep for the Owl Count
Every writer has all sorts of notes jotted all over the place with ideas for stories or poems or essays or speeches. I even have the beginning of a story on my iphone—you can’t really understand it because I dictated it with voice-to-text and it got most of the words wrong. But, it’s good enough for me to figure it out later when I am ready to write that story.
Q. What are you excited about right now?
I am always excited about my newest book and the book (or usually books) I am working on. So, besides the projects I am writing and researching right now (which involve pirates, the civil war, the Christmas Bird Count, cookies, the moon, monsters, and soup—yes soup) I am probably MOST excited about my brand new book You Nest Here With Me (co-authored by Jane Yolen and illustrated by Melissa Sweet). This is a book that took 12 years to get published. We sold it twice—to the same editor at 2 different publishing companies—and then waited 3 years for the illustrations. I am glad we were patient because we are so happy with the way it turned out.
Pat Zietlow Miller wrote SOPHIE’S SQUASH, which won the Golden Kite Award, an Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor and a Charlotte Zolotow Honor. She has two books coming out this year: WHEREVER YOU GO (Little, Brown, April) and SHARING THE BREAD (Schwartz & Wade, August.) Pat also has six other books under contract.
For a synopsis of WHEREVER YOU GO plus more about the illustrator, Eliza Wheeler, see yesterday's Three Questions With Eliza Wheeler. Wherever You Go is a new picture book written by Pat, illustrated by Eliza, coming out from Little, Brown Books For Young Readers on April 21, 2015. As I mentioned in earlier posts, I absolutely ADORE this book and strongly recommend it.
Q. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell me the story behind it?
This is a dictionary and a bookmark I received when I was a senior in high school from my English teacher Gladys Veidemanis. The class voted on several awards, and I won “most likely to be published.” It took about 25 years after high school, but it did happen!
Q. What advice do you have for young writers?
Read anything you can. Write anything you can.
When I was young I read anything and everything. Books. Newspapers, Magazines. Cereal boxes. The backs of shampoo bottles. I remember being very indignant once as a teen when the copy on the back of a soap container was missing a hyphen. “How could someone not have noticed that?” I asked my mom. She didn’t have a good answer.
I also tried to write like my favorite writers. I was a huge Erma Bombeck fan, and a huge Rick Reilly fan and I tried to write essays that sounded like them. It might seem counterintuitive, but recognizing other people’s writing styles and trying to replicate them ends up helping you figure out your own best writing voice.
But even if you read and write anything you can, you still may have a hard time getting your book published. I got 126 rejections before I sold my first book. This video tells how I persevered. (And now, I’ve sold nine books, so it was definitely worth the wait.)
Q. What are you excited about right now?
What a great question! Let me make you a list:
• Dark chocolate peanut butter cups from Trader Joe’s.
• Finding out which colleges my daughter gets accepted into and helping her decide where she’ll go.
• An oh-my-goodness-you-must-read-this middle grade book by Kate Messner called ALL THE ANSWERS.
• The fact that illustrator extraordinaire Eliza Wheeler is coming to Wisconsin from California to launch our picture book WHEREVER YOU GO.
• These shoes, which I cannot, unfortunately, afford.
I could keep going. There are lots of things to be excited about.
Christopher Cheng is an award-winning Australian author of more than 40 children's books and is a co-chair of the International Advisory Board for the SCBWI. I met Chris through the SCBWI, and I love his enthusiasm and positive energy. Pictured above: Chris with a python (!) as well as his narrative non-fiction picture book, PYTHON. Python was written by Chris, illustrated by Mark Jackson, and was published by Candlewick; it was shortlisted in the 2013 Children's Book Council Of The Year awards.
Python stirs and slithers out from her shelter, smelling the air with her forked tongue. It’s time to molt her dull scales and reveal the glistening snake underneath. Gliding along a tree, she stops and watches very, very closely as a bird drops onto a branch — and escapes the razor-sharp teeth just in time. But Python is hungry, so she slides on to stalk new prey. Combining informative facts, expressive illustrations, and a lyrical, mesmerizing narrative, here is a book to captivate anyone fascinated by this iconic creature.
Q. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
A photo of SOMETHING in my office - was that SOMETHING or ONEthing or ANYthing? Well, because I am never good at following instructions (can you write the manuscript to 35000 words - sure … and then I submit a 55000 word manuscript that was published), I just have to send you two.
First, my CHOP!
This is me (as you can tell from the side … but there is also actually my Chinese name on the base that I use to ‘chop’ my books when I am signing them at home.
If I am travelling, I have a mini version of this - it's my travelling chop! and then here is the photo of the creatures bordering my desk … I lurve having these:
Q. What advice do you have for young writers?
Five letters, sounds like LIGHT …. WRITE!
Do it every day.
Do it for fun -
WRITE anything that comes in to your head; WRITE what you heard your big sister say on the telephone last night when she thought she was speaking in secret; WRITE what you wish to do; WRITE what you want to do; WRITE what your IMAGINATION tells you to write. just WRITE.
And when you write, edit what you write … don’t make it a ramble (unless it is supposed to be). Sometimes later (it might be after your initial thoughts, it might be after a day or so - on the day you set aside as the reviewing day) go back and rewrite your work. Write about what makes you happy. Write about what makes you sad. Write about … what you are too afraid to write about!
And when you write, giggle and laugh and cry and moan and weep and slobber … get into the skin of your character. BE your character. Ask the questions what would (your character) do?
And ENJOY what you are doing.
Q What are you excited about right now?
Joining the throng of folk that Debbie is interviewing. Life … I love hanging out with others of my kind - children’s book people. Reading new books by my friends - like Samantha Berger, and Debbie Ridpath Ohi, and Isabel Roxas and … and SCBWI - we are a beautiful tribe.
Jodi Moore is author of WHEN A DRAGON MOVES IN (illustrator: Howard McWilliam, published by Flashlight Press), the upcoming sequel WHEN A DRAGON MOVES IN AGAIN (launching Sept/2015) and GOOD NEWS NELSON (illustrated by Brendan Flannelly-King, published by Story Pie Press). The proud mother of two grown sons, she lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and an ever-changing bunch of characters in her head. You can find out more about Jodi and her work at WriterJodiMoore.com, her blog, Facebook and Twitter.
I love Jodi's cheer and enthusiasm in person as well as online, and she's always been so supportive of her fellow children's/YA book writers. Thanks to Jodi for answering my Three Questions today!
Trailer for WHEN A DRAGON MOVES IN:
Synopsis of WHEN A DRAGON MOVES IN AGAIN:
If you build a perfect castle, a dragon will move in, followed by... a baby?! Hilarity ensues as the trio bonds, until the baby charms the dragon away. Is there room in the castle for three? Decide for yourself WHEN A DRAGON MOVES IN AGAIN, sequel to the award-winning WHEN A DRAGON MOVES IN.
THREE QUESTIONS FOR JODI MOORE:
1. Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell us the story behind it?
Okay, truth? My office looks like something out of the Hoarders reality show. It’s piled high with books, papers, printed-out manuscripts, pictures of my kids, stuffed animals and other assorted knick-knacks, plaques with motivational quotes, a chocolate bar (or three)…and, oh, yeah – somewhere amidst all of my “inspiration”, there’s a desk with a computer on it.
Each thing inspires, grounds or nourishes me in some way. Picking one has proven to be an impossible task…so with your kind permission, may I offer a few?
You see, while it’s hard for me to choose that “something”, choosing the “someone”s is not. I would be nowhere without the support and encouragement of my family. And while I always broaden that to include my extended family, creative friends, crit partners, booksellers, teachers, librarians, readers and the entire kidlit community, I would never have had the courage or belief in myself to take that first step in pursuing my dream had it not been for my husband and two sons.
I thought about sharing their pictures – or gifts they’ve purchased to help motivate me – but I realized nothing touches my heart more than what comes from theirs:
These notes from my husband are the first things I read every morning. Knowing he believes in me helps me to believe in myself. Larry not only loves and supports me, he “gets” me. (Oh, and if you haven’t figured it out, Lady & the Tramp was the first movie he took me to. Thirty-five years later, we still refer to each other as such.) The witch? A little token from him as well. When I was a child, the Wicked Witch of the West scared the heck out of me. I was fortunate to play the role in community theatre years ago, allowing me to conquer those fears. Now the witch and I are buds.
The middle picture is a painting our son Steven created when he was about eight years old. I once read a book where the author alleged that if you ask a very young child to describe heaven and the “all-mighty” spirit (whichever religion or belief system you choose), they can and will. Their memories are still fresh, she proposed, although sadly fade with time. Even as a toddler, “Stevie” was always introspective and deep – seemingly an “old soul”. This picture has always given me chills, offering reassurance that we are never alone; that there is some superior being, holding our hands and guiding us as we face, and embark upon, our dreams.
Finally, how heart-squishy and soul-nourishing is a love note from your child? This message from our other son, Alex, sits on my bookshelf where I can look at it every day.
And this is only a small sample of the support they provide. Just take a look at my books, my trailer, my website, my school visit materials and you’ll see their names written all over them.
They will “all weese” have my love!
2. What advice do you have for young writers and illustrators?
Read everything you can. Go to museums. Concerts. Shows. Explore nature. Keep a journal. Then play. Dabble. Draw. Paint. Write.
While it’s imperative to learn and refine your craft, it’s just as important to find your own unique voice; to celebrate and share your own vision and heart.
Challenge yourself.
Celebrate and enjoy the process.
Create honestly and bravely.
Don’t listen to the “no”-it-alls. Only you can tell your own story. And the world needs to hear it.
3. What are you excited about right now?
At this moment? Why, being featured on Inkygirl’s blog, of course! Seriously, thank you so much for hosting me. I am honored and grateful to be here. *Tigger dances*
I’m also tremendously excited – and thankful! – to be a part of the kidlit community, to do what I love to do and to hopefully inspire and nourish young minds with my words.
I’m ecstatic to be welcoming my newest baby WHEN A DRAGON MOVES IN AGAIN (the sequel to WHEN A DRAGON MOVES IN) to the world and am intensely grateful to my fantastic editor at Flashlight Press, Shari Dash Greenspan, and my brilliant illustrator Howard McWilliam, for once again breathing life into my dragon and my dream. *pinches self*
Finally, I could not be more excited to be moving forward, and growing, as an author and an artist…walking toward that sun, with so much love and support but a fingertip’s touch away, as I continue on this amazing journey.
Matthew Cordell is the illustrator of over 25 books for children including picture books, novels, and works of poetry. Several of which he has also written, including New York Times Notable picture book, HELLO! HELLO!. Matthew lives in a suburb of Chicago with his wife, author Julie Halpern, and their two children. Visit him online at matthewcordell.com. You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter.
Matthew's two newest books are SPECIAL DELIVERY, written by Philip C. Stead and illustrated by Matthew (Roaring Brook Press), and WISH, written and illustrated by Matthew (Disney-Hyperion).
SPECIAL DELIVERY synopsis: Sadie is determined to deliver an elephant to her Great-Aunt Josephine, who lives completely alone and can really use the company. With the help of some interesting characters, she tries mailing the elephant, flying it over, hopping a train, and even an alligator boat ride. This eccentric and hilarious story will surprise and entertain from beginning to end.
WISH synopsis: As an elephant couple embark on a life together, thoughts of children are far away-at first. But as the desire for a child grows, so do unexpected challenges. And it's only after thwarted plans and bitter disappointment that their deepest wish miraculously comes true.
Q: Could you please take a photo of something in your office and tell me the story behind it?
This is a corkboard that hangs in an awkward spot on the wall--kind of hard to reach--between my computer desk and my drawing table. At one point or another over the years, I've tacked up bits of stuff I was working on at the time, images by favorite artists to inspire, and personal photos. Most of the things on the board are ridiculously out of date (I should really put up some photos of my two beautiful children!), but I am rather proud of myself for having the motivation to hang the thing on the wall in the first place.
Q: What advice do you have for young writers and/or illustrators?
I'm not sure how original this is, but I think it's good advice and I wish I had followed it much earlier in my career. Which is this: figure out what makes you unique, interesting, weird, and you. Think about the things that sculpted you in your life, past and present that made you the individual that you are today--your interests, passions, personality quirks, etc. And use this as much as you can in your writing, art, etc. Do not be afraid to let this stuff come out. It's what makes you you and not look like and read like other books that are already in print. It's incredibly hard not to be overly influenced by authors and illustrators from all times (and you will be influenced, and you should embrace that) but you can use that and manipulate it to your advantage too.
Q: What are you excited about right now?
My wife (YA author, Julie Halpern) loves to plan family vacations. I love taking her planned family vacations because she does exhaustive research, plans things out full tilt, and does such an incredible job to insure we get the most of out these trips. We are taking our kids (our daughter's 6 and the boy's 20 months) to Disneyworld this coming fall. Julie updates us everyday on all the stuff we can do together there, how we'll make things work with a toddler, scoring the best deals on stuff, etc. Really looking forward to it. I love books and I love art intensely. But time away with the family is what I really enjoy the most in life.
Tuesday, June 7, 2016 at 8:07 AM
