Since it seems to be video week at the PBJ's, hee.. I decided to continue with the unplanned theme and post a video I found the other day. Bring some popcorn!
It's an interview with author/illustrator Anthony Browne where he shares his point of view on the importance of pictures in picture books. I couldn't agree with him more.
This is the 1st in a series of 6 videos that were recorded during the London Book Fair of 2010. If you have the time, make sure to see them all. They really bring very interesting topics and questions to the table. All you have to do is click on the youtube tab on the video bar and you'll be redirected to the site where you can watch the rest of the videos.
What would I do without the web and youtube? :o)
This is one from a series of videos recorded during the London Book Fair of 2010. They are all fantastic I have to say. If you have the time make sure to watch them all.
This one shares some examples of picture books that work very well for older kids. I particularly enjoyed a book they showed "The Mysteries of Harris Burdick" by Chris Van Allsburg where it's basically a compilation of short stories composed only of one illustration, a title and the first sentence of the story. You will find how this book came to be when you watch the video but what I love about it is the amazing potential it has to spark the imagination of young minds. This is a fantastic idea I have to say. I wish more people knew about this book. A book like this should be in every school's classroom around the world.
They also mention one of Shaun Tan's books and also Dinotopia by the amazing James Gurney. If you like to watch more, just click on the screen again and you will be redirected to youtube where you can see the rest of the videos.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Usually, I'm an orderly sort of writer. If I'm lucky, I have my 'brilliant idea' (usually a clear character and a vague notion of what they will do, and how). Then I write the first couple of chapters in a frenzied flurry of creative excitement, after which I do a synopsis and a detailed chapter plan which I stick to (mostly)--writing in a linear progression from start to finish, chapter by chapter. So far, so ordinary. But then I went to London Book Fair last week, and I listened to someone who shook me up a bit and made me see that the way I've been doing things is not necessarily set in stone forever and ever. More about him later....
You see, I've been feeling uncomfortable for some time about those moments when a scene comes into my head, fully formed, exciting, raring to go, saying
'write me, write me'. They are doing it more and more, and that's good, but nevertheless a cause of worry and wondering what to do about them. Because I am that orderly sort of writer, my usual response is this:
'Well, of course I'll write you--when I get there. Just hang on for a bit. You're fantastic. I love you. But I have to get through three more chapters before I reach the part where you come in.' Stupid, isn't it, when you really think about it? What is this idiotic, superstitious fear I have that writing a scene out of sequence will somehow make everything in the book go wrong? Why do I risk letting some of that excitement and energy and freshness leak away because of some ritualistic fetish about Doing It In Order?
If I didn't know before, I do now--the answer is to ask an Irishman. Yes, it was Eoin Colfer I listened to at LBF (and if you'd like to listen too, there's a video of him talking at the PEN cafe on Candy Gourlay's wonderful Notes from the Slushpile blog
here). He said lots of funny things (he's a funny man), but the thing which struck me most in the present context was this: when asked by Julia Eccleshare
'Do you plan your books?', Eoin said he did--in detail, and he said that he used to stick to it religiously (so far, so like me) and write it in order. But then came the bit which made me sit up and take notice. Eoin now finds, he said, that the best bit of any book is where the plan changes and goes off track, and that
if he has an idea he writes the scene straight away, even if it's out of sequence, to keep the buzz. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Sounds sensible. But it's taken all these years and another orderly writer telling me he's broken out and done it differently to make me realise that it's ok. Nothing about writing should be set in stone forever and ever--just because I've got a certain beloved way of doing things (and have had for years) doesn't mean I can't take a fresh look at it and make a change when I need to. Sometimes, I think, we writers get stuck because we are imprisoned in mental boxes of our own making. So my spring resolution is this--break free of the constricting mould, write exciting off-plan stuff then and there and don't be such a superstitious old stick-in-the-mud! PS: I'd love to know if any of you are writing stick-in-the-mud's too--and what your writing 'sticking points' are.
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10 Comments on Writing Out Of Sequence - Lucy Coats, last added: 5/1/2010
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I saw this talk, great to see some film from it, and see some of it again, thanks for posting.
It was a very inspirational talk, but also reminded me just how high the heights I'm aiming for are.
I had to sit in a darkened room for a bit afterwards :)
Hi Jon! Oh you are so lucky to have been there. I understand your feeling tho, we've all been there.. sitting in the dark for a bit just contemplating our lives and future. You are not alone! *hugs* :o)