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Today's high five is from the awesome Gary D. Schmidt, author of Lizzie Bright and Buckminster Boy and Wednesday Wars. This is a leafing through the manuscript high five.



This dude is one fine writer. If you want to check out someone who can really keep the narrative flowing, this is the author.

My narrative suggestions: Don’t bog down your story with tons of repeated descriptions. Don't wear out your readers by heaping sadness upon sadness, nightmare upon nightmare. You keep the pace by balancing the tension, with humor, poignancy, and action. If you have an action scene, see if you can slide in some humor and poignancy. If you have a humorous scene, add some action and poignancy. If you have a poignancy, chuck in some humor and action.

Yes, it’s all about the balance.

Try balancing your writing! Snap! Snap! Snap! Mmmmm. Coffee.

Evermore in the world is this marvelous balance of beauty and disgust, magnificence and rats. Ralph Waldo Emerson

I don't know about any of you out there, but I just love art supplies. As a matter of fact, I especially enjoy seeing other peoples' art supplies, too. I just came across this website by Anette Heiberg and really enjoyed the studio pictures. It seems wierd to get so excited over these pictures, but I do. It's kinda like a trip to Home Depot. There are so many possibilities in there.

Sorry I've been so quite lately. I'm developing a new line complete with website, back story, and a press release. I'll post as soon as it's ready. Right now I'm busily finishing Halloween costumes. My eldest is going to be a conscience. I can't wait to post the pictures of that.

Brenda Pinnick has courageously started this contest to show us all that we have a lot in common when it comes to our studios. I know I could have won this a few months ago if my ultra organized friend hadn't taken over and "reformed" my studio. She couldn't take it anymore. It was starting to slide recently, but she was coming over and I didn't want her to feel that she had wasted her time on me;-) My office is a loft near the kids' rooms. Thank goodness it's upstairs. If not for playdates, no one would ever see it.

Here's my entry:

Computer Area
I've got to come up with a way to deal with all the paper!!! I'm just getting back to working after being a full-time mom for years. As a result, I do a ton of research, which basically means I surf the internet and print too much! Let's not get into the endless side trips I take on the web which have nothing to do with my job. Save me!

Under the desk
I have no real storage in my studio, so I use the dead space under the desk.

Bookcase I built
This is my inspiration area. I've wanted a bookcase in front of my desk for years (10, at least). One day I had a light bulb moment and added this to the dead space in front of the desk's support beam. DUH!

Drawing Board
This should be renamed cutting board and storage. I don't actually draw here. There's no TV! It's usually full until I have to cut something. A lot of times I just use a scissors to avoid moving the stuff.

Drawing Area
This is the family room where I do most of my drawing/coloring work. It's comfy, my family's there, and, of course, there's the TV. It's close to the fridge, too. The only thing that's missing from this photo are the thousands of Legos I usually have to navigate to get to the couch.