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By: Bowie Style,
on 5/23/2012
the norfolk based art studio st judes have headed into london for a new exhibition featuring fabrics, wallpapers, and prints from angie lewin, emily sutton, and mark hearld. the exhibition takes place between thursday 24th May - saturday 2nd June 2012 at 30 tottenham court road, london. below : textiles from emily sutton below : and finally a selection of textiles and wallpaper from mark hearld.
By: John Nevarez,
on 5/22/2012
I'll be hosting a one day workshop at LAAFA on Saturday, June 16 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. The workshop is titled "Story Moments" and it's geared toward students who want to explore and develop moments for visual development. I'll be doing demos and discussing various topics including basic principles of design for film, lighting, and the importance of reference for film. Hope to see you there!
By: Mattias Adolfsson,
on 5/22/2012
By: Sylvia Vardell,
on 5/22/2012
The IRA convention includes a dynamic "Poetry Olio" poetry performance event hosted by poets Michael Salinger and Sara Holbrook. This was my first time to attend (since I usually attend the ALA conference and not the IRA conference) and it was a treat. It's somewhat informal with published poets reading/reciting their works along with audience members who volunteer to read or recite their own poetry or other favorite poems. Here are just a few of the very short videos I made of poets performing.
Sara leads the audience in performing one of her own poems along with Michael up front. (Check out the energy in the audience and the many poets in the crowd.)
Allan Wolf offers a hilarious rendition of a Gelett Burgess poem that all the teachers in the audience could particularly relate to.
By: Kathy Temean,
on 5/22/2012
May Illustration by Roberta Baird. Roberta was featured on January 7th this year. http://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2012/01/07/illustrator-saturday-roberta-baird/
How you approach a critique session is as important as the actual critique. When authors are new to the field, focused solely on getting published, or bringing their “best manuscript ever” to a critique session, they often apply The Romantic Approach. It looks like this:
You slide into your seat for your long-anticipated critique. The editor or agent says, “I’m so glad you came to this conference. Your manuscript is brilliant. I have to work with you.” You rush to your pens, sign dotted lines, and with mere tweaking (if any) have a wonderfully reviewed, bestselling book in the hands of children, families, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and bloggers everywhere.
Within the same calendar year, of course.
Though The Romantic Approach sounds romantic, (Romantic, defined as “unrealistic” www.dictionary.com) it is fulfilling only before the critique session itself—oh, the jittery-ness, the anticipation.
(What? You think I would write this if I didn’t “test out” these ideas first?)
But once the session ends, it could lead to negative thoughts like, “Should I even be writing?” or “Does this senior editor at the best publishing house in the world really know what he/she is talking about?”
It might take time (And reminders from your loving writing group) to let go of The Romantic Approach to the critique session.
However, authors who have been married (to writing), acknowledge that romance is not as “fruitful” as passion. Passion is the reason writers write. (That, AND the really big paychecks.)
For your upcoming critique session, consider The Passion Approach. It looks like this:
You sit down, having selected your critiquer because you admire his/her work. (And OWN some of it.)
The editor or agent says, “I’ve got feedback for you.” There are no dotted lines, but still, you rush to your pen to take notes on your Passion Approach Critique Sheet (PACS). You listen to what is said and let the feedback wash over you. You listen to what is not said. You ask questions, get insights, and try to learn more.
At the end of the session, you have genuine feedback, a PACS that can be referenced (and later grouped with other PACS to identify common feedback), and a sense of the editor/agent’s interest, tastes, and professionalism.
In the best cases, you also get a “diamond,” (If you’re thinking carats, you’re back to The Romantic Approach) a nugget of learning that permanently impacts your writing.
By adopting The Passion Approach, you separate the sale of the manuscript from the critique of the manuscript. This does not mean that you do not care if your work is sold and published. It means that you care about your work and your audience enough to want it published with the right revisions, at the right time, with the right editor/house, and with the right agent/agency representation. In this case, even your grandma (You know, the one that wrote the letter to Oprah about you and your books) would approve of passion over romance.
Talk Tomorrow,
Kathy
There's two concepts I think of when I read this blog post title.
One, playing mood music while you write. I had a playlist on my iPod called "Katie" after the main character in the very first novel I wrote. I can still listen to the songs and immediately recall the feelings, sitting at my computer desk hour after hour creating and recreating Katie's story.
Two, and this is where the challenge & this blog post comes in, listening to instrumental movie music and creating a story to go along with it. Let me explain.
On my iPod I have a playlist called "Movie Instrumentals" that has the soundtracks from some of my favorite movies: Braveheart, Dances with Wolves, Pride and Prejudice, Schindler's List, and the Mission. When I am feeling my creativity stall, I put this playlist on shuffle that way I never know what song/mood/theme/feeling will be conveyed next. Then I create a story in my head, visualizing it as if I were watching a movie and I'm listening to the score. I adjust my story to match the music. Is it soft and quiet? Is it loud and harsh? Is there a country twang to it? What does the music convey and how can I make my "actors" fit those feelings?
The tricky (and fun) part is when the song switches and you suddenly get a downbeat or minor tones and something eery/creepy/sad/tragic/horrifying is happening when you were just moments ago letting two newly made characters hold hands in a park. . . .
There's the challenge. The music is always changing back and forth, and, as long as you have a good mix of soundtracks and classical, you have to stretch your creative muscles to keep your story up with the music and to make as much sense as possible. Of course, sometimes you just scrap the story and start over with the next track, and that's okay.
Want to try it? Here are a few quick examples:
So listen to each one. What comes to your mind? What's happening? Who is in it? What are they doing? What are they saying? How are they acting? What do they do next? What happens to transition them to the next music? How do you transition them?
Strengthening our creative muscles through visualization activities is a great way to improve your writing. Sure, you may not get any better with your comma placement, but you will have a more active imagination. Plus, giving yourself to create on a whim, on the fly, with no consequence or commitment whatsoever, is a freeing experience. Let go of your boundaries and rules and pencils and laptops for a moment and just be a kid making it up as you go along.
Get the point?
Any questions?
Good. Now go create.
P.S. This is a great way to either lull yourself to sleep at night or to enliven your mind so greatly that you stay up seeing how your story ends... it works both ways for me.
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By: Joan Lennon,
on 5/22/2012
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By: Todd Harris,
on 5/22/2012
By: Betsy Bird,
on 5/22/2012
#63 The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss (1961)
30 points
This book is a perfect sampler of Dr. Seuss stories. The title story and “The Zax” provide some of his powerful and beautifully simple fables. They’re quirky, they’re strange, they roll off the tongue, and they leave you with one simple message that you won’t soon forget. “Too Many Daves” is a brilliant example of Seussian word play, cataloging his incredible imagination and magical ear for language. Who else would think of names like “Oliver Boliver Butt,” and “Zanzibar Buck Buck McFate”? And then, “What Was I Scared Of?” is sort of a Very First Ghost Story. Who else on earth would have thought of telling a story about pale green pants with nobody inside them? I remember the spooky thrill I got as a child from that story. It scares, but it fascinates. - Sondra Eklund
I like that Sondra highlighted the “Other Stories” in this book. It’s easy to forget that this collection was more than just a Sneetches tale alone. There are other books to be found in here, and mighty interesting they are indeed. And thanks to her write-up I don’t have to try to find another description out there of the book. Bonus!
According to Jonathan Cott’s Pipers at the Gates of Dawn: The Wisdom of Children’s Literature the inspiration for the book came out of Geisel’s opposition to religious intolerance. He is quoted as saying, “children’s literature as I write it and as I see it is satire to a great extent … there’s The Sneetches … which was inspired by my opposition to anti-Semitism.” I suppose the star should have been a giveaway.
Now here’s a news headline for you. Can’t get much more eye-popping than, “Agency of NATO and United Nations to Distribute Dr. Seuss Stories to Foster Racial Tolerance in War-Torn Bosnia”. The story dates back to August of 1998 when Random House and Seuss Enterprises made an announcement. “The Sneetches and Other Stories, a book by the celebrated children’s author Dr. Seuss, will be translated by NATO into Serbo-Croatian and distributed in the fall to 500,000 children in Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of an information campaign to help encourage racial tolerance.” A NATO soldier had come up with the idea, having loved the book as a kid. You can be the judge as to how well it worked, of course.
You have the option of wearing a star on your own belly, so to speak, if you like:
And, naturally, there was the film version of the titular story:
3 Comments on Top 100 Picture Books #63: The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss, last added: 5/24/2012
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By: Gretchen Woelfle,
on 5/22/2012
By: Betsy Bird,
on 5/22/2012
#69 Moo Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton (1995)
28 points
I found a copy of this book in the library book sale, and bought it for my young son. When I showed the other librarians, every single mother among them started reciting it from memory – some of them with children in college and beyond. – Ann Carpenter
Oh, this is a toughie. Not tough in terms of praise. This is indeed one of those board book staples we’ve come to love and rely on. No, it’s just hard to find things to say about it. We can say that it’s currently tied with Barnyard Dance for the bestselling Boynton book of all time. But aside from that it becomes a little difficult. The best I can do is mention that in keeping with the 21st century, the book currently has an app. One that actually earned itself a star in a Kirkus review. Should a long car trip present itself, I’ll consider it. Here’s an image from the app:
The description of the book, such as it is, reads: “Various animals make their sounds, from the moo of the cow to the snort and snuff of the rhinoceroses.”
There was a time there where I had the greatest of difficulty hearing this title and not singing it to the tune of “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga. This isn’t too crazy when you consider how much weirder it is that I sing her other board book Your Personal Penguin to Depeche Mode’s Personal Jesus. Editor Molly O’Neill actually found great words to go with my Gaga version, but I’ve long since lost them somewhere. Bummer.
I do love this alternate title:
Finally, the obligatory awwwwww video:
By: Betsy Bird,
on 5/22/2012
#70 Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas (2009)
27 points
Another favorite read aloud. You get to do funny voices for Ed, Ned, Ted and especially the prone to (not unwarranted) hysteria, Bob. It’s also a great call and response book that lets kids answer the question of “What rhymes with…?” When I was a bookseller, I would sell at least one copy every time I read it. – Sharon Thackston
Can you honestly believe that the last time I conducted this poll Jan Thomas didn’t make an appearance on it anywhere? I suppose it makes a bit more sense when you consider how the poll was conducted in 2009 and that was when Ms. Thomas was just beginning to create delicious books like the one featured here today. So it is with great pleasure that I welcome her to the Top 100 list. Hello, Jan! Glad you could make it.
The description from my review reads, “Meet the rhyming dust bunnies: Ed, Ned, Ted, and Bob. As they like to say ‘We rhyme all the time!’ On this particular day Ed starts them off with wondering ‘Hey! What rhymes with car?’ Everyone puts in a vote except for Bob. Bob’s sort of staring in the distance and saying things like ‘Look!’ and ‘Look Out!’ The other bunnies are confused by Bob’s seeming inability to rhyme. Even when he says ‘Look out! Here comes a big scary monster with a broom!’ they’re not quite catching on. Finally he screams out ‘Run for it!’ and the troop run and hide under a dresser. However, when they attempt to restart their rhyming antics, ’sat’ ‘pat’ and ‘rat’ are completed with Bob’s timely ‘vacuum cleaner!’ and with a mighty ‘Thwptt’ off they go.”
The urban legend about Ms. Thomas’s rise is that she was an SCBWI discovery. An editor was doing manuscript consultations, saw the work Ms. Thomas had done for the picture book What Will Fat Cat Sit On? and signed her right there and then. Is it true? Haven’t a clue, really. That sort of thing almost never happens, but it makes for a good tale. As for this particular book it did inspire the sequel going by the name of Here Comes the Big Mean Dust Bunny in which our heroes suffer at the hands of a malevolent dusty fiend.
PW wasn’t entirely on board when they said of it, “Although a little sketchier than Thomas’s previous works, such as What Will Fat Cat Sit On?, this book is just as funny and snappy-looking.”
Indeed School Library Journal was far more positive when it said, “This book will make readers laugh; it will teach them to rhyme; it will enchant them and make them think twice every time they see a vacuum cleaner.”
Ditto Booklist with, “Preschoolers will recognize how it feels to be big but just a mite in a grown-up world, and they will enjoy the playful rhymes and simple wordplay as much as the bold scenarios of the tiniest creatures in danger from giants, and one hero who sees it coming.”
And Kirkus was entirely won over when they said, “With their wide noses, long ears, four-fingered paws and buck teeth, these fuzzy characters are a riot. Put away your cleaning supplies for a little messy fun.”
In terms of Dust Bunny costumes, nobody beats 5 Comments on Top 100 Picture Books #70: Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas, last added: 5/23/2012
By: Kathy Weller,
on 5/22/2012
Another Surtex in the books! My Second year exhibiting at Surtex has come to a close. Another year of great meetings with new and familiar clients and manufacturers, and a bunch of surprising sparks of interesting events and serendipitous experiences.
Surtex officially came to a close about five hours ago as of this writing, and I am in a very philosophical mood at the moment and would love to tell you all about it, but it is late and I've got a packed morning planned and an early train to catch tomorrow. So with that, I'll leave you with this picture of me at my booth (courtesy of my booth neighbor-- her name in next post). I'm proud of my Surtex showing this year in all respects, and I am VERY excited to move forward with my new and existing relationships with manufacturers and publishers. I do love this show - it's the only place that cuts such a broad swatch of manufacturers who are looking for art for licensing -- and I am already considering details for 2013 as well as ideas for upcoming collections... But before everything, i now have lots more work to do for follow-up!
Well, time for bed now... But more on Surtex in my next post!Thanks for tuning in this post, and if you spy any typos, please cut me some slack -- I'm composing this on my phone with my index finger.
Good night!
By: Inspired Kathy,
on 5/22/2012
I belong to a great writers’ workshop, and we put on a writers’ conference every year. And this year, DFWcon melted my face off like Dave Grohl rocking during a Foo Fighters’ encore set.
Lemme give you 10 reasons why:
1. I met my agent, Sara Crowe, in person, for the first time ever!!! She’s so phenomenal in eleventy-billion ways, and hanging out with her all weekend just confirmed them all. I had so much fun gabbing and getting into shenanigans. (In-N-Out Burgers! Panel Discussions! Bull-Riding at Billy Bob’s!)
2. I met many other publishing professionals, and it turns out that PR genius Mer Barnes, and super agents Sarah LaPolla and Jennie Goloboy are just as crazy cool as you’d expect. (Psst…they aren’t bad at Texas two-stepping either.) And editor Stacey Barney? When she talks about YA, drop your fork and take notes. Her taste in good books (and dessert) is impeccable.
3. Alec Shane is at
Writers’ House. He’s also a former Hollywood STUNTMAN. Dude. Fo Realz. He might not have an official action figure, but hey, google his IMDB page. Then award 1,000,001 street cred points for appearing in a flick called MAXIMUM CAGE FIGHTER. And award another 1,000,001 points for championing boy YA books. (Note to self: Write heartbreaking, edgy YA about a seventeen-year-old mixed martial arts master. Who cage fights. In Post-Apocalyptic Detroit.)
4. There’s a coffee shop in Hurst called ROOTS. They make blackberry green tea Chai lattes. That taste like warm blackberry cobbler. Don’t tell me how many calories are in a Venti. I don’t want to know.
5. Author Rosemary Clement-Moore is a perfect hotel roommate. She doesn’t snore, she doesn’t hog all the hot water, and you can totally pick her brain at 1:00 a.m.
6. Kate Cornell is the world’s best agent wrangler. She gets your agent coffee, packs a mean conference survival kit, tells perfect anecdotes, and absolutely, positively doesn’t hold it against you when you have to drive back to Abuelo’s and kidnap her because you couldn’t figure out the right exit to get to the airport.
7. DFWcon attendees are charming and sweet and 100% inspiring. When you teach a session, they don’t heckle you and they ask great questions. When they practice pitch you, they blow you away with high concept premises (Hey, Sally Hamiltinez!) and well-developed ideas. (Hello, MR. SECULAR APOCALYPSE, I’m talking to YOU.)
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By: Charlotte,
on 5/22/2012
Just got back from watching a performance of Macbeth, performed by kids from 18 different schools from around my city. There were at least 30 different Macbeths, sometimes as many as five on stage at once....and some scenes were funny, and some moving, and some (like my son's scene--he was McDuff's son) were utterly brilliant. Or would have been, had he not had his back to the audience for one key line. Still, he did an excellent job being a smart alack to his mother.... almost as if he had had practice.
Happily, the Edwardian news boy hat we bought at a Steampunk festival a little while back was perfect for his role, and he was smothered by it most realistically at the end of the scene.
It's been about thirty years since I read or saw Macbeth, and (bringing this post on to bookish topicness), I was pleased to hear two quotes I recognized from books--"thou cream-faced loon" and "What, all my pretty chickens and their dam?" (although I don't remember the character quoting the later using "pretty.") I'm not saying what books they're from, in case anyone wants to play along at home...
By: Janet Reid,
on 5/22/2012
By: Jessica Burkhart,
on 5/22/2012
I'm dedicating pretty much my entire weekend to writing. I'm working on MASQUERADE and doing #1k1hr with friends has been awesome. This weekend, though, what if we try smaller goals? I propose:
Write Your Book Twitter Style!
Every time you write 140 *words* (I changed it from Twitter's 140 characters) you get a point. All weekend, keep track of your points and feel free to share them here, Tweet, Facebook or whatever you like. Just know there will be someone else doing it, too. :)
If you Tweet about it, hashtag it with #140words.
Anyone want to commit? :)
By: bookkm,
on 5/22/2012
Thanks to Betsy Bird's A Fuse #8 Production, I can share this video of The Twentu One Balloons by William Pene DuBois. He's ANOTHER of my favorite authors and he made the 100 Top Fiction books list that Betsy put together.
By: Paula Pertile,
on 5/22/2012
By: Adventures in YA Publishing,
on 5/22/2012
Julie Musil is an YA author represented by Karen Grencik of Red Fox Literary Agency. She's wife to her high school honey, and the mother of three amazing sons. When she's not shuttling her boys here, there, and everywhere, she's either tapping away on her keyboard, researching for nonfiction, or keeping up with writing tips and markets.
By: Tara Chang,
on 5/22/2012
By: Beth Kephart ,
on 5/22/2012
By: Hannah Hog,
on 5/22/2012
Day Two saw Olympic torch bearers aged from 13 to 87 carry the Torch into Plymouth where Roger Boyns, owner of specialist nautical bookshop, the Sea Chest, was there to tell us all about it.
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| Sir Francis Drake - potential Olympic bowling champion? |
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| http://www.newtonabbotpeople.co.uk |
These look great! Will have to pop along and take a look at the exhibition. <br /><br />Claire
Gorgeous!