A little sketchy

A few days on the "North Shore", Lake Superior, Minnesota and time to limber up and do some sketching.

Blog Tour!

Earlier in the summer, I was invited by friend and award-winning children's book writer Jackie Briggs Martin http://www.jacquelinebriggsmartin.com/ to be part of the My Writing Process Blog Tour. An image of a jolly double-decker bus crowded with all my favorite bloggers- writers and writer/illustrators all- came to mind. Blogs are great vehicles in which inspirations and observations travel widely. No passports needed, carry on only a creative mind, focus time and a love of writing and children's books.

You can find Jackie's blog and her post on the blog tour at: http://www.jacquelinebriggsmartin.blogspot.com/2014_06_01_archive.html

Here are my replies to the tour's four questions:

What am I working on?

A couple commercial illustration jobs are juggling for time on my board right now, along with the sketch stages of a current picture book project for Minnesota Historical Press. Writing is confined at the moment to blogging and my long-hand (private) journal. I have a file full of stories in progress though and try to fledge at least one manuscript and book proposal of my own every few months.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I’m in the non-fiction camp, and I strive to write in an approachable, friendly style, factual but not didactic. I’m not sure how my voice differs from others. I hope I write like the writers I love to read.

Why do I write what I do?

It’s a mystery for us all, isn’t it? One of my favorite playwright and screenwrights, Horton Foote (Trip to Bountiful, To Kill a Mockingbird, Tender Mercies) said something like you don’t choose the material you write about; it chooses you. I think I write best not about what I know in my head but what I know in my heart.  

How does your writing process work?

My brain has been described as a junk drawer, with many ideas haphazardly rolling around inside. One day, I’ll open the drawer and something will pop to the surface that interests me. It is usually one sentence or one image that I happen upon organically that evolves into a story. For instance, my first narrative, creative non-fiction picture book, My Wilderness (Sasquatch; Spring 2015), started with a child’s remark I overheard at an art exhibit. One moment, I had no story; the next I did. After that initial spark, I flesh things out with research and a lot of BIC- butt in chair- keyboard time. I write and edit a manuscript in its entirety before I sketch or do story boards. I like my illustrations to sit in “the green room” (what actors and entertainers call the waiting room before an actual performance begins) until the words are completely ready for them. It’s a joy to get to mesh pictures and words together. And hope what my heart has to say in words and pictures is what kids would like to read about, too.

Next stops on the tour? I've tagged two friends in the field to hop on the tour. Both are illustrators primarily but phenomenal writers as well.  They each write lively, smart blogs. Julia Kelly and Jennifer Black Reinhardt will add their colorful commentary in the next few weeks.

Thanks Jackie, Jennifer and Julia!

Jennifer Black Reinhardt is a nationally known award-winning illustrator whose artwork has been published on numerous calendars, books, greeting cards, even needlepoint kits and collector plates! She lives in Iowa with her handsome husband, two teenagery teenagers, and a big white poodle.  Her blog can be found at http://jenniferblackreinhardt.blogspot.com/

Either in words or fabric and thread, Julia Kelly illustrates the mountains, canyons, deserts and people of the Four Corners Region where she lives with her husband, daughters and too many dogs. Her blog can be found at http://moonflowerstudio.blogspot.com/

This is from M. Sasek's classic This is London. Sasek is one of my favorite author/illustrators. Maybe someone on that bus is a writer who just came up with a great idea for a picture book! 

Rowing away

Making progress through the waters of a busy summer. Saying farewell to my Alaska book with one last illustration. I've put away the research boxes, stowed the original art, filed the sketches, etc. It's a bit like letting go of a child as they begin their lives, independent of your control (although a hell of a lot easier on your blood pressure!)

For Cindy

I think of you tonight,
as the fireflies light the way on the gentle July breeze,
guiding you safely home.

Cindy Heims
1961-2014