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
Last day of NaNoWriMo!
Don't worry if you didn't finish -- consider taking the 250, 500 or 1000 words a day challenge instead.
More about DebsandErrol at http://debsanderrol.com/
Read the daily Nanotoons that Errol has been posted at https://www.facebook.com/NaNoToons
From the Angry Robot site:
"We are absolutely thrilled to be able to announce the launch of our new YA imprint, Strange Chemistry The imprint will launch in September 2012, with five titles appearing before the end of that year, before settling down to one book each month. Strange Chemistry will follow AR’s strategy of co-publishing its books simultaneously in the US and UK, in both eBook and paperback formats. Subject matter will include fantasy, science fiction, supernatural and horror, and as with Angry Robot the lines between those genres are likely to be very blurry at times."
You can find an interview with editor Amanda Rutter on YAtopia. According to the interview, Strange Chemistry will be open only to agented submissions.
As some of you already know, I was thrilled to be picked for the SCBWI Illustration Mentorship Program at last year's Summer Conference in LA. Thrilled as in "can this really be happening to me" thrilled, especially when combined with the offer from Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers to illustrate Michael Ian Black's new picture book, I'm Bored.
The six of us got together during the conference, just to chat and get to know each other a little better: Eliza Wheeler, Andrea Offermann, John Deininger, Kimberly Gee, Ashley Mims and me. We discovered (to our mutual relief, I suspect) that we all got along very well, and we decided to launch our own website at KidLitArtists.com.
We also kept in touch via group email about what we were all up to, shared successes and disappointments, critique and encouragement. We hung out when we attended the same SCBWI events.
At the SCBWI Summer Conference this year, some of us were joking with Caldecott-winning children's book illustrator & SCBWI Illustration Mentor David Diaz, saying we'd love to snoop through his studio (I believe it was Eliza who was nervy enough to suggest it). David surprised us by saying it was a great idea. In fact, he sent out an invite soon after the conference, and said he wanted to invite some other mentees as well.
And so LOST WEEKEND was born!
Sadly, not all the 2010 and 2011 Mentees could make it to Lost Weekend (we missed you guys!). Here's the attendee list:
Mentees: Class of 2010:
Andrea Offermann, Eliza Wheeler and me
Mentees: Class of 2011:
Christina Forshay, Jessica Lanan, Juana Martinez-Neal, Andrea Zuill
Others invited by David:
Bonnie Adamson and Alice Ratterree
Note: This wasn't an officially sanctioned SCBWI event but rather an act of generosity by David. I admire his courage, inviting a bunch of strangers into his private home. I think he was a tad nervous at first, wondering what he had got himself into.
(Above: piece by David Diaz)
Some of us stayed at the hotel, some at David's. I loved David's house with its high ceilings, full of light and color. There was art everywhere, including many gorgeous and interesting pieces by David and his son Ariel.
(Above: Piece by Ariel Diaz)
David did most of the cooking…and he's really good at it! My mouth is watering even as I type this, remembering these home-baked popovers fresh out of the oven, light as air and slathered with fresh cream, jam or savoured plain:
Here are just some of the other things we feasted on during the weekend:
German pancakes, scrambled eggs with sautéed spinach, smoked bacon, sausage.
"Sin-cleansing" French pressed coffee.
Handmade pasta, with an Putanesca Sauce with Hot Italian sausage
Salad with goat cheese, candied walnuts, crasins, and white balsamic vinegar dressing
Sformata di Ricotta
Oven roasted garlic
Fresh bread
Jambalaya rice with sausage, mushrooms, grilled tri-tip
Pumpkin pie
Chocolate chip coconut brownies
Apple raspberry crumb pie and ice cream.
I'm pretty sure I left Lost Weekend heavier than when I arrived.
Plus Bonnie introduced me to Pickled Okra (yummmmmmmmmmmm):
which go wonderfully in these:
I loved the buzz of activity in the kitchen as we chopped and stirred under David's tutelage, conversation and laughter (a LOT of laughter) filling the house.
Even food shopping was fun:
I discovered Von's, which is apparently a chain grocery story in California. "V-a-u-g-h-n-s," said David, when I asked him how to spell it. I believed him and started writing it down until I heard the others sniggering. Kidlit illustrators can be so MEEEEEAN. :-D
We spent a lot of time just chatting in front of the fireplace. We each gave a brief demo of how we worked, talking about our process. It was funny, really -- each one of us basically felt like our own process was SO boring yet when it came to seeing how the others did their work, we were each fascinated. Lots of kidlit and art talk and picture book writing talk, plus browsing of each other's portfolios.
On Sunday, the weather cleared up so we decided to go walking on the beach. SUCH a nice change from Toronto weather!
We left our shoes in a pile on the beach:
David reassured us that no one would steal them. :-)
And holy cow, I know it sounds like a cliché, but it felt SO GREAT to walk barefoot along the beach!
and we saw pelicans:
and hang gliders:
David took us to the Self-Realization Fellowship Meditation Garden, with its beautiful gardens and koi ponds:
We got in trouble from a security guard in the gardens when we laughed too much as we tried to get this photo taken:
Darned noisy kidlit illustrators!
Above: David let us snoop through some of his archives from earlier in his career
It was fascinating to see some of David's earlier work, and hear his explanations of how and why he changed his illustration style. We also got to see sketches and drawings from Mother Earth Watches (working title, will change), his upcoming book with Chronicle Books (tentative publication date: Spring 2013).
David taught us a new technique: taping down a framed area on masonite, painting a background texture/color using acrylics, then a layer of matte medium (or at least I had to do this since my base layer of acrylic was already so textured), then drawing in conte, then spraying with a fixative.
Some of us (hand waving here) didn't normally work with acrylics, so were a bit nervous about the process. BUT it ended up being a lot of fun as well as enlightening -- it was good to push beyond our normal creative comfort zones, especially in a safe and encouraging environment like the one at Lost Weekend.
Also very cool to see the different approaches everyone took in their projects.
Andrea Zuill, who drove to David's, brought some of her paintings later in the weekend for us to look at. I LOVE her work! She also brought a print for each of us as a gift. Here's the one she gave me:
You can see more of Andrea's work at http://www.andreazuill.com/
Continued in Part 2: Lost Weekend With David Diaz.
Great new music video for writers from my friends Debs&Errol. :-D
You can see their daily comics on their website and Errol's daily NaNoToons.
I recently came across my childhood autograph book, and the recent #readerthanks posts on Twitter inspired me to share this page.
I always loved reading, but it wasn't until I read Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine that I became aware of style in writing. I'm generally a fast reader, but for Ray Bradbury's books I slowed way down so I could savour the language. Reading Ray Bradbury's books also helped me get hooked on sf/fantasy early on.
Note re: autograph page. For every autograph I received, I found a image of the author, researched and typed up a bio, and also wrote out the author's name by hand in calligraphy.
Another gem in my autograph book: a manually typed note from Stephen King! With corrected typos, even! I'll have to share that in a future post.
In case you're wondering how Ray Bradbury ended up sending me his autograph... When I was hoping to get someone's autograph, I wrote to the publisher with my request and a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply. I was SOOOOOOOO excited when I got replies!
Debbie Ridpath Ohi tagged autograph, nostalgia 
Yay! The color proofs for I'M BORED arrived today, woohoo!!!
Also included in the package: the welcome sign that was in the front lobby of Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers when I first visited them. I've taped up the sign beside my office door. :-)
If you're on Facebook, please do "Like" our I'M BORED page:
https://www.facebook.com/boredbook
I'll be posting more spreads, sketches and journal entries about the whole process, leading up to the official launch in September 2012.
September.
2012.
MY HEAD IS GOING TO EXPLODE WITH ANTICIPATION BEFORE THEN, I SWEAR.
Just got back from a 10 day trip to California and Texas. In California, I attended Lost Weekend: an amazing creative weekend hosted by Caldecott-winning illustrator David Diaz (see above photo). After that, I attended BoardGameGeek with my husband: a five day (yes, I said FIVE DAYS) board gaming convention.
I'll be posting more about Lost Weekend here in Inkygirl, and am posting about BGG in my board gaming blog.
Right now, however, I need to unpack and then catch up with some e-mail...
For those of you doing NaNoWriMo, I highly recommend you check out Errol Elumir's NaNoToons. Heck, even writers who AREN'T doing NaNoWriMo will appreciate some of the writer angst in some of these comics. :-)
But wait, that's not all! Debs and Errol are also writing about NaNoWriMo in their daily comic and I MADE A CAMEO APPEARANCE RECENTLY!!! I only stumbled across it just now as I was putting this blog post together! Heh.
Errol also writes NaNoWriMo songs! Here's his newest:
And in case you missed it, here's the music video that Debs and Errol did about NaNoWriMo (I make a cameo appearance here too!):
Disney Publishing is launching a new bi-monthly magazine for young people aged 6-12 called FamilyFun Kids.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at 12:55 PM | Post a Comment | Email Article | Share Article | Permalink 
It's been a while, but I've finally started up Will Write For Chocolate again.
To make a long story short, I've been (1) focusing on finishing the illustrations for I'M BORED, and (2) switched over from Corel Painter to Adobe Photoshop and had to set up proper Will Write For Chocolate templates.
Will try to update more often, or at least more often than every six months!
According to Paidcontent.org, former Bloomsbury editor Panio Gianopoulos has launched Backlit, a new young adult e-book publisher based in Santa Monica. More info in Paidcontent.org.
(I'll be updating the list of other helpful tutorials at the end of this page.)
Google+ recently announced the launch of Google+ Pages, which are similar Facebook Fan Pages.
So what's the difference between a Google+ Page and the Google+ accounts already out there?
You may already have a Google+ Profile page. While there are many similarities between a Google+ Profile Page and a Google+ Page, here are some differences (from Google+ info pages on the topic):
- Pages can’t add people to circles until the page is added first or mentioned.
- Pages can be made for a variety of different entities whereas profiles can only be made for people.
- The default privacy setting for elements on your page profile is public.
- Pages have the +1 button.
- Pages can’t +1 other pages, nor can they +1 stuff on the Web.
- Pages can’t play games.
- Pages don’t have the option to share to ‘Extended circles’.
- Pages don’t receive notifications via email, text, or in the Google bar.
- Pages can’t hangout on a mobile device.
- Local pages have special fields that help people find the business’ physical location.
Do check out Google+'s own help docs about Google+ Pages for more info.
Ok, how do I get started?
Anyway, here's a quickie overview for creating a bare bones Google+ Page. First go to the Google+ Page Creation area.
There are a number of different category choices, but if you're launching a Page promoting a book, choose ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND SPORTS and then under "Select A Category", choose "Book." This is the category I chose for I'm Bored; feel free to follow my Book page -- I plan to take every advantage of Google+ Book pages in the months leading up to the Sept/2012 launch as well as afterward.
If you're an author or illustrator, there are several options. Sadly, there are no Author or Illustrator categories. However, I did find a "Media, News and Publishing" subcategory under the COMPANY, INSTITUTION OR ORGANIZATION main category:
There's also "Public Figure" under the PRODUCT OR BRAND category:
Or you could always opt for "OTHER" instead, which lets you enter the Page name and an optional website. I ended up choosing "Media, News and Publishing" for my Inkygirl Page.
Fill in your Page name (you can change this later, unless Facebook Pages), website if you have one, and click the checkbox beside "I agree to the Pages Terms and I am authorized to create this page" (after you read and agree to the terms, of course).
You have 10 words to summarize your business in the Tagline field. You can change this later.
Choose a profile image if you have one (or add it later).
Click on CONTINUE, and you'll have the option to Share your page with your personal Circles.
Now you can go tweak your Page --- click on the Edit Profile button to change info on your Page. Add book covers, author promo pics, sample illustrations, etc. And don't forget to link your Google+ Page up to your website and create a Google+ badge.
I'll be sharing more tips on how kidlit/YA authors & illustrators can finetune their Google+ Pages and use Google+, so please do follow my Inkygirl Page on Google+!
And if you have a Google+ Page related to kidlit/YA, please do add your Page link to my Kidlit/YA Pages On Google+ (children/YA books, groups, organizations, websites for kidlit/YA industry, authors, illustrators, agents, editors, publishers, librarians, teachers, book bloggers, etc.). I just ask that you only add ONE comment, and list all your kidlit/YA pages in that one comment. You can always edit your comment later if there are changes.
RELATED LINKS:
About Google+ Pages - Google support pages
Google+ Guides For Newbies (esp. writers and illustrators) - my list of useful resources
Google+ Pages For Authors - ASimplerWay.com
How to set up Google+ for your business or brand (CNET) - includes useful info about what to do AFTER you've created your Page.
How to set up a Google+ for business page (PC Advisor)
How to set up a Google+ page for your brand or business (Business Insider)
How to create Google Pages for brands, businesses and more - Geekbeat.tv
I just launched my Inkygirl Page on Google+! If you're on G+ and are interested in Inkygirl updates, please do add me to your Circles! :-)
If you're interested in finding out more about Google+'s newly launched Pages, read this Google+ Post.
So how are you all doing with your writing challenges, whatever they may be?
Thanks to Tara Lazar for inviting me to be one of her guest bloggers during PiBoIdMo month (Picture Book Idea Month). Click on the image to the left or go to Tara's blog to see my VERY FIRST Doodle Guest Post!
How very cool. Author Neil Gaiman, who has like a ZILLION followers, tweeted about one of my friend's Nanowrimo comics! Here's Errol's post about the comic and a link to the comic.
You can follow Errol Elumir's Nanotoons on Facebook (unfortunately there's no way to link to individual NaNoToons on the NaNoWriMo site, plus new comics are added at the bottom of the page rather than the top :-( ).
Plus geeknerd music duo Debs & Errol (Deborah Linden & Errol Elumir) are posting comics about their NaNoWriMo collab novel adventure on their website and you can follow them on Twitter.
Debbie Ridpath Ohi tagged nanowrimo Had fun with the Toronto Middle Grade And YA Authors group at the Bedford Academy earlier this week: dinner, drinks and lots of kidlit/YA talk!
We talk about everything from the craft and business of writing to renovation hell stories and family updates. Plus a whole lot of other stuff that I can't possibly post publicly, of course. :-) Anyway, I asked the attendees of last night's get together what they were working on or if they had any news to share, and here's what they told me:
Maureen McGowan
Maureen just found out that one of her short stories is appearing in a McGraw-Hill anthology in May 2102.
Claudia Osmond
Claudia's moving ahead with her new middle grade novel.
Jo Swartz
Jo says she's finished and submitted her IZZY GOURMET picture book and she's now working on a wordless graphic novel.
Cheryl Rainfield
In addition to being excited about getting the ARC for her new teen paranormal, HUNTED, Cheryl has just launched her Pro Page on Facebook.
Joceylyn Shipley
Jocelyn just won the Writing For Young People Award at the Surrey International Writers Conference.
Karen Krossing
Karen's been getting lots of great reviews for THE YO-YO PROPHET (Orca).
Megan Crewe
Megan's going to be presenting with Lena Coakley at the November CANSCAIP meeting about fantasy and science fiction.
Jennifer Gordon
Jennifer had a successful art gallery show at the Toronto Public Library.
Jordan Hagemann
http://jordanhageman.blogspot.com/
It was Jordan's first Torkidlit meetup! She recently started her own book blog, A Book Long Enough and is also on Twitter at @ABookLongEnough.
Lena Coakley
Lena's agent is submitting her next novel, new YA historical fantasy, to an editor.
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To find out more about Torkidlit, see:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/127433455731/
https://www.facebook.com/TorKidLitNews
For those doing writing challenges, I just posted a cautionary comic on Writer Unboxed.
Now I'm off to Packaging Your Imagination conference!
Publishing Perspectives has an interesting article today called, Are Social Media Sites the New Slush Pile?
Debut author Leigh Fallon, discovered on HarperCollins’ community YA site, is one example about how the path to authorship is changing, according to the article.
Quote from the article: "Launched by HarperCollins in 2009, Inkpop combines community publishing, user-generated content, and social networking to connect aspiring writers of teen literature with talent-spotting readers and publishing professionals. Fallon uploaded her manuscript and almost immediately it caught the attention of readers – within three weeks it had risen to the site’s 'Top Five' most read and highly rated manuscripts."
You can read the full article on Publishing Perspectives.
HOW COOL IS THIS?!??????????
I'm sure you jaded published authors/illustrators out there are rolling your eyes, but give me this moment of SQUEE. :-D
http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Debbie-Ridpath-Ohi/79970104
I am SO determined to get more titles listed under "Debbie Ridpath Ohi's Books"...
