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By: Brian Bowes,
on 5/9/2016
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Over the last few months I have been listening to the unabridged Blackstone Audio of Moby Dick. Along the way the story has seeped into my thoughts and drawings. I present to you some work that I made along the way. As it turns out, I am a little obsessed with illustrating stories. Hmm, perhaps there a […]
via Studio Bowes Art Blog at http://ift.tt/1rLX8sv
Adelle van Zyl, illustrator and graphic designer, showed participants techniques and steps she used to create illustrations for Rympies vir Pikkies & Peuters.
The demonstration covered the following:
Scanning line
drawings, ensuring correct quality and colour settings
Removing background, enhancing colour
and touching up of line drawing using Photoshop -
working with a stylus and tablet
What is a picture book if not a tiny paper theatre?
Drawing upon over two decades experience in picture book making and the performing arts, award winning author/illustrator Viv Schwarz and award-winning theatre designer Ellan Parry present a master class in visual story-telling, exploring the intersection between picture books and performance.
Whether you are a professional picture book artist, a student or just want to try your hand at making something for your family, this class will give you tools to bring drama, expression and emotional impact to your work. We will bring in creative tools and exercises learned, invented, collected and developed over years of professional practice as well as materials that we would use ourselves professionally. 
We will show you how to work fast to generate characters and bring them to life, using techniques borrowed from theatre as well as drawing games and storytelling exercises. You will learn how to develop your story hands-on to make a well-paced, engaging picture book. This class includes a portfolio/dummy book viewing and discussion in small, friendly groups in the morning, so we can tailor the afternoon book-making lesson to you, personally. This is a workshop for adults, although we may consider talented teenagers. We are charging an introductory rate of £50.
BOOK YOUR TICKET HERE
This is a belated announcement, but what the heck? I'm teaching a workshop in Wenatchee, WA tomorrow, Saturday, at 9:00. There is room.
Check it out at http://writeontheriver.org/
Ray
I'm in my hometown of Green Bay WI (yes, home to the Green Bay Packers and
booyah) sharing some storytime history (did you know that storytimes for preschoolers in libraries didn't happen widely until the 1940s and 50s?), considerations and tips and hearing back from participants on what works best for them.
I've presented over 3,000 storytimes for kids since the mid-70s and it's given me a long-eye view into the always vibrant early literacy adventure that is "storytime". Today's presentation includes some of my experience but also, more recently, that of colleagues at libraries I've worked in as well from those around the country and across the border (*waves*).
The following list of resources shared at the workshop is just the tip - the very tip - of the iceberg in creating strong storytime content. It contains lots of links that help readers explore further into more blogs, websites and research supporting our role as early literacy gurus for our communities. Have fun exploring!
A Few Blogs with strong storytime content:
Websites:
Upcoming Webinar:
By: Viviane Schwarz,
on 7/3/2015
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Letters From Schwarzville
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I had a few wonderful school visits recently...
In St Christopher's School I helped with a project where the kids made their own picture books. I did a day of tutorials, some sketching and in the end made a whole dummy book on stage.
They had a biology lesson in the gym, handling exotic animals, which was great fun to draw.
In the Haberdasher's Aske's School for Girls I visited for a day with Alexis. We read them our books and drew monsters together.
Very important to have a party stomach.
modular beasts.
It was awesome.
Thanks everyone!
By: Viviane Schwarz,
on 6/18/2015
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I just sent off my artwork to be auctioned off for
this excellent fundraiser in aid of Bath Festivals:
This is your chance to own a unique piece of original art by one of the UK’s best and most popular illustrators. Come along on the night to bid on one of several framed pieces of art – each depicting the famous Bath Children’s Literature Red Chair.
Amazing artists including including Chris Riddell (Goth Girl), Ben Cort(Aliens love Underpants), Nick Sharratt (The Story of Tracey Beaker), Korky Paul (Winnie the Witch), Alison Jay (Welcome to the Zoo), Michael Foreman (War Game) and Axel Scheffler (The Gruffalo) have all donated pieces featuring their own, entertaining interpretation of the Festivals’ iconic red storytelling chair.
Help secure the future of the Bath Festivals internationally renowned programme of popular Festivals and be in with a chance of acquiring a piece of artwork to treasure for your family, school or business.
An Online Auction of many more Artworks will be launched on the night.
My picture is painted using all materials I have picked for the art lessons and workshops I'll be giving soon via
The Kraken Studio - all cheap stuff but really nice.
Go and admire the rest, there are some Mighty Fine Red Chairs to be had.
Here are some children. Here is a basket of colourful pencils.
Art is about to happen.
The children know exactly what to do with this big basket of colourful pencils: dig with both hands. Dig right to the bottom.The rattle of pencils is the ritual that has to come before the concentrated frowning and the murmured incantations: This is a lion. This is a lion. This is a lion. This is a tree. This is a tree. This is a tree.
Have you ever used one of those pencils?
Did you think: it's a wonder what a child's imagination can do, I can't draw a THING with this?
No one can. We all tried. Some of us thought it was our fault and stopped trying.
Those are fake pencils.
The reason these children are digging through them with so much energy is because they are looking for one that works. They know to go for the shortest nubbins at the bottom of the box. Ignore the long ones, no one else got anything out of them.
They are foraging, with great determination.
Imagine what that determination could do.
When a child makes art, it's not a case of playing pretend. It's not like playing brain surgery with a spoon and a pudding. It's not like feeding a plastic doll. They are not playing artist. THEY ARE ACTUALLY MAKING ART.
They use what they are given. They scratch faint lines, they rub puddles of chalky water across dissolving printer paper with splayed brushes. They powder fat snakes of glue with scales of confetti and glitter.
What would happen if someone gave you a bowl of confetti and some glue and told you to make art?
You might refuse. (I would.)
Children are generally good-natured enough to at least give it a try. But even the most loving guardian and the children themselves may look at the result and find it hard to see if, in fact, somehow, art has happened.
You stick it on the fridge, and you can tell what it is and everything... but is it art?
Well, it’s creative.
“Creative” often means “Wow, I’m glad I didn’t make that”.
Would you ever wish you’d made something that a child made?
Yeah... this is definitely very creative.
Maybe one day, if those children keep being creative and try very hard, some of them might even become artists...
But - who cares if they may be artists one day? What's the point in telling them they may be artists one day if they work hard? What's that got to do with anything? Is this whole confetti business some sort of test? Are we trying to trick them into law school or something? It simply doesn't matter what they will be one day.
Art is not just for artists. It's for humans. It's not a privilege. It’s a way to think with your hands (or your feet or your voice or your whole body, depending on the art, but we started with children and a basket of colour pencils, so pictures are trying to happen right now).
Art lets you have a good look at your thoughts, and show them to the world if you want.
You don't need a license to make marks. You just need something that makes marks.
The joy of making pictures is more than an act of imagination. It's physical. Your gestures made visible and permanent, the marks you make, belong to you alone, like your own body. They come before communication, before expression: they are the basis of all those things.
Give them things that leave marks. Try them out yourself. Are they enjoyable to use? Can you get a range of different marks out of them? Are they the marks you expected? Do they surprise you?
In short, do you feel like you are making something - or do you just feel like you are using something up?
Keep trying out materials. You'll know them when you find them.
You don't need to buy whole sets of expensive tubes of paint - or sets of anything, or anything expensive. You don’t need many different colours. Every good piece of art material unlocks endless possibilities. By good I mean anything that readily creates or receives a mark, which may include beetroot juice or a particularly well-charred stick, and the lovely white rounded cards that are used to package tights. Do professional artists paint with their breakfast tea sometimes? Of course they do, if it's nice and strong!
Some good art materials command respect: you must wear clothes that you don't mind staining, and you must handle them carefully. A bottle of red ink could spoil a whole carpet. You may be surprised how much respect children can show for a powerful substance like that. Being careful for a good reason is fun, and using something that requires your supervision is exciting and memorable.
Those children like to see you deal with important substances, you know.
Art materials often need some care. Brushes need to be washed and stored carefully. Maybe the children have pets, or toys that they care about. Can they look after those? Then they can look after their tools, if you teach them.
You can give them a load of fake colourful toys that don't make a mess because they don't actually leave any traces at all - or you can let them make art.A real brush costs no more than a pack of toy ones. A box of decent watercolours costs more than a pound shop set – get one with fewer colours. Find some bright colours that mix well, and you’ll suddenly have a whole range. Or pick just one single colour, but one that leaves a mark. Get to know that colour. Ask that colour what it can do, and you will be surprised.
By all means and of course: check if the paints are toxic. If they eat paint, they aren’t ready for paint that must not be eaten. But don’t underestimate them as they learn. If they can learn to deal with boiling water, and learn to deal with cleaning products, they can learn to deal with art materials. You'll be there to help them with the messier ones, and find ones that are safe enough as long as the area is covered against smears and splashes.You may well find that as soon as they are actually making marks that are meaningful to them, the children won't be anywhere near as messy as you fear because they won't have to make up in dramatic performance and make-believe for what the material denies them in actual experience.
They will WANT to make something beautiful rather than just have a play-time with colourful sticks that are better for throwing than drawing with.
Maybe you don’t have a budget for art materials. Don't forget about all the good stuff you can just use for free. If you have a pair of scissors and some paper glue, anything colourful in your paper recycling may be a collage picture waiting to happen. A felt-tip pen and some scrap paper is better than that whole basket of useless crayons.
One last thing: Don't just hand everything over to the children. Why should they have all the fun and education? Make some art together. And I mean: each make their own piece. If the materials work, you probably won't need to help them to make it look good any more. Of course you can also collaborate on things, that's part of the fun. But above all, respect each other's art: you make your thing, they make theirs. You will find that you can teach one another a lot.
It’s amazing what a child’s imagination can do - but don’t let them imagine that they can’t make art.
Make those fake pencils into a tiny fence for a herd of amazing beasts painted with tea stains and thumb prints, pink highlighters and ink.
Art is about to happen.
Don't miss out.
I’ve been doing workshops at writers conferences for 10 years now, and I love doing them, primarily for the joy of helping writers further their craft. I now teach 5 different workshops, and the places have ranged from Massachusetts to Mexico, with most of them in the Pacific Northwest area.
A favor. If you know of a writers conference that might be interested, would you introduce me to it? You could just let me know the name of the conference and where it is and I’ll follow up by asking them how to submit proposals. Better yet would be a personal introduction if you know someone in the organization.
These are the workshops I offer. There’s are links for PDFs of each proposal, and this link will take you to the page on my website where they can all be found.
1. In Crafting a Killer First Page (PDF), writers learn about:
- the storytelling issues that will stop a professional reader from turning the page
- how to analyze and recognize storytelling and craft problems
- how to apply their learning and new analysis skills to their own writing with fresh eyes
2. 3 Keys to Killer Storytelling (PDF) focuses on the “how-to” of:
- Hooking readers on the first page
- Creating and building story tension
- Creating characters that engage readers
3. The Killer Covers for Less than $50 (PDF) is packed with information about and examples of (if you have some design talent) creating impactful book covers for very low cost. I cover:
- Creative goals for your book cover
- Where to go for free and low-cost creative resources, including free sophisticated graphics software
- Insights on how to modify and combine images
- Insights on how to utilize layers to build a cover
- Insights on how to make sure titles and author names are clear and legible in thumbnail sizes
4. Crafting Killer Description & Dialogue Scenes (PDF) concentrates on two of the most powerful craft areas for strong storytelling when I cover:
- how to add dimension and characterization to description of scenes and characters
- how to utilize beats in dialogue to add depth, move story, characterize
- how to better create the experience of the story in a reader’s mind
5. And here’s a new one, Tips & Techniques for Successful Self-editing (PDF):
- how to identify and correct weak language
- how to spot and strengthen weak technique
- how to create and maintain a crisp narrative flow and pace
Please spread the word about these. I’d very much appreciate it.
What about online workshops? I’m also interested in creating online workshops, so please contact me directly if you have an interest in taking part in one of these online for a small fee. If enough writers are interested in a particular one, I’ll work out how to do it online for the best personal instruction and coaching. I'm thinking of including a free Kindle copy of the new book, Mastering the Craft of Compelling Storytelling, with a workshop. Let me know.
For what it’s worth.
Ray
© 2015 Ray Rhamey
At Christmas I was browsing in a bookshop for ideas for a present for my husband, and I came across a pamphlet entitled
The Unknown Unknown by Mark Forsyth. I, of course, read it before I gave it to my husband – what is the point of buying books for people for Christmas if you can’t enjoy reading them yourself before wrapping them?
Forsyth’s essay is based on the premise famously set by Donald Rumsfeld, the American Secretary of Defense during George W Bush’s administration. He stated that:
“There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is that say that there are things that we now know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we do not know we don’t know.”
Forsyth goes on to say that this applies perfectly to reading:
“I know that I’ve read Great Expectations: it’s a known known. I know that I haven’t read War and Peace: it is a known unknown to me [. . .] But there are also books that I’ve never heard of; and, because I’ve never heard of them, I’ve no idea that I haven’t read them.”
It was while running workshops in schools last week that I saw that writing, too, is an unknown unknown, because writing is, of course, an exploration, a foray into the unknown: an expedition without a map. We write stories we had no idea existed until we come to write them.
This is particularly true, I feel, when working with children who believe they are not natural storytellers. This might be because they have not had much success in writing stories in school, or because they don’t enjoy writing, or perhaps because they feel hindered by language barriers, for example. They panic at the sight of the blank page: this is where workshops can be so beneficial in unlocking stories, in demystifying the unknown unknown.
Last week I was leading workshops with children of all ages, nationalities and language abilities in schools in Istanbul. We were exploring such ideas as “how to build a character” and “how to get started on a story”. The children all came with a blank sheet of paper, knowing nothing about how they would spend the next 40 minutes. As I waited for everyone to settle down, some children told me that they were not good at stories and that they had no ideas. I told them not to worry and assured them that with a couple of prompts, they would soon be fizzing with stories. But really, I too had no idea what would happen. Maybe the children would go away with their paper still blank. Maybe they would be paralyzed by nerves or fear or a simple lack of vocabulary, as many of them had English as a second, third or even fourth language.
We started one workshop by looking at a collection of random objects I had brought with me, which included, amongst other things, a badger’s skull, a necklace, a set of old keys, an asthma inhaler and an iPhone box. I encouraged the children to choose a couple of objects and think who might own them, what they might do with them, where they might have found them or from whom they might have received them. Within minutes I had children telling me stories about evil mermaids who used the inhaler to make humans breathe underwater so that they could be lured to the mermaids’ cave; people who were drawn into an iPhone app and transported to another world; an old professor who collected skulls and who discovered that one skull, when he touched it, allowed him to travel in time. Soon the children were scribbling away, either having a go at forming sentences or making mind-maps or drawing comic strips of their stories.
Not one single child knew they had those ideas in them before they came to the workshop, just as I have never truly known how any of my books is going to work out until I sit down to write it. I have encountered characters that have reared up from the darkest corners of my imagination and often wondered, ‘Where did youspring from?’ and have found ways of resolving plots that I did not have in mind when I first sat down to write.
Writing is a series of unknown unknowns; it is, as Joseph Conrad says about a blank space on a map, “a white patch for a boy [girl] to dream gloriously over”.
The blank page can of course instill fear, and conjures up that dreaded phrase, “writer’s block”, but for as long as I can see it as that “white patch”, it will continue to hold sway with its magic over me.
It's that time of year when everyone everywhere has a list of gifts for your favorite mom, or golfer, or skier. So here's my list of gifts for writers and readers. Mostly these are things I personally want or like to have, so it's pretty self indulgent. I'm sure you can add items to the list.
I'd like to preface my list with this statement: I am all about gifts of experiences or things that can be used up, consumed. I don't need more stuff in my life, but I do want more life in my life.
1. SCBWI membership for your favorite aspiring/published/nationally known children's author or illustrator. Many of us on this blog are SCBWI members, and I'd just like to throw out a couple of wonderful benefits of this membership. First, it's the world's largest and most respected professional organization for children's publishing. It's important to your career to belong to the professional organization for your industry. We have great programs, great publications, resources of all kinds, networking, critiquing, and conferences. You'll make contacts with editors and agents, fellow authors, and learn from the best.
2. Audio books. Personally, I have never outgrown my love of being read aloud to. My mom hooked me early on, and my fourth grade teacher read to us every day after lunch. My husband reads to me every night before bed. When I was in the hospital once, he read me Beatrix Potter stories. Audio books are perfect for car trips, subway rides, plane travel, or just doing the dishes. I have an app on my phone, so I can take my audio books anywhere I go. And when the hubby is out of town, I let my audio book read to me before bed.
3. This one is sort of obvious. Gift cards to bookstores. One of the highlights of our Christmas celebrations is going to the bookstore after Christmas and using our gift cards. I prefer indie bookstores.
4. Send your favorite author/illustrator to a conference. There are dozens of workshops and events close by, or if you want to splurge, send them somewhere like Highlights workshops or Big Sur. Of course, SCBWI conferences are awesome, and there are many. The big ones in LA and NYC every year, as well as regional conferences all across the U.S. and around the world. Go to http://www.scbwi.org/events-home/ to check out all the possibilities. Conferences are invaluable investments in perfecting one's craft and meeting people in the industry.
5. Pens and paper. Yes, I know it's the age of the computer and other electronics, but I have yet to find an author or illustrator who doesn't use the old-fashioned method once in a while. I keep a notebook with me wherever I go to jot down ideas, images, resources, etc. I used to write out all my first drafts in longhand, and even now that I've trained myself to write at the computer, I still occasionally like to write a chapter on paper. It uses a different portion of the brain. If you don't know what your author friend likes, a gift card to an office supply store is also a good bet.
6. Chocolate. I don't think this needs any explanation, except that I prefer the highest quality dark chocolate available.
7. Coffee. See #6.
8. Time. Writers need time. Life is busy and there are a million other things demanding our attention. Give your writer the gift of time. A weekend at a cabin. A babysitter once a week. An offer to do the dishes every night (or insert appropriate chore here) while he/she writes. A nudge to attend a critique group.
9. Buy your writer/illustrator a critique with an editor/agent through one of the conferences in our area. Learning what professionals see in your writing is so important and valuable.
10. A puppy. So this is personal, but I have to include it. My dogs are always by my side when I'm writing. I have two of them. But I've been asking for a golden retriever for almost a year, and if anyone who loves me wants to buy me one, that would be the best gift. Pets comfort you when the writing isn't going well. They encourage you to get out for a walk when your butt has gone numb from the butt-in-chair work ethic. They are also characters in many children's books. There's a reason for that.
There you have it. A complete guide for gift-giving for the writer. Print it out and give it to your family, or use it to thoughtfully gift your writerly friends. Or hound my hubby about giving me a puppy.
by Neysa CM Jensen
up in Boise, Idaho
I'm back in my old stomping grounds on the eastern side of the state where I worked for 22 years presenting a workshop on programming superhero-dom (told you I've been thinking about that alot!).
This workshop is sponsored by the
Wisconsin Library Association - it was a donation to their foundation auction and Winnefox Library System snapped it up. It's a great way of giving back to our association and also encouraging everyone to become state and national association members because, you know,
together we are stronger!
While it has a superhero theme, the workshop isn't an SLP workshop.
As I mentioned in my
last post, while programming isn't all we do, it is certainly the most public and often the most pressured thing we do (from preparation to conflicting demands). Today we looked at strategies to program smarter and more effectively; the importance of balance and how to fairly meet the many needs of our public - and our funders. Creating a zen balance between service to all ages, finding time to recharge and plan, learning to get off the hamster wheel of constant programming and program shares were just some of what we explored.
What you couldn't be there? Drat! Well, there's a
6 week online UW-Madison SLIS course I'm teaching around the concepts in the workshop starting January 26 (registration is now open).
Here are the workshop resources that were shared with my colleagues:
Develop Your Inner Superhero Workshop
Pinterest boardStruckmeyer, Amanda Moss. DIY Programming and Book Displays: How to Stretch Your Programming without Stretching Your Budget and Staff. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2010.
A *Few * Favorite Programming Blogs:
Jbrary (great resource list of blogs to explore!) Mel’s Desk (great resource list of blogs to explore!) Kids Library Program Mojo (for a full list of fantastic program idea blogs AND great program idea posts- this is the class crowd-sourced blog from our spring CE course and has a ton of ideas from students!)
Rough block-in.
Refining areas...
Starting to add color.
Lovely end result of demo....
Tools of the trade...
Then we got a turn. My initial block-in/underpainting.
Initial color application.
How far I got in our 2.5 hours...
Then our final critique. Compared to our
first week, I think we made amazing progress! In the meantime, I have a teensy bit more of a feel for this thing called oil paint....
Second week of the oil-painting portrait workshop...
This week, we were shown several different approaches to underpainting...
Shadow patterns, silhouettes, vine-charcoal drawings... Shown with the hope that one will 'work' for us in any given situation.
(I still don't know what I'm doing....)
(Oil paint is stupid!)
Charcoal is a little more familiar...
I want to do one of these a day until I get a better feel... Given my current schedule, it's a little bit wishful thinking, but something I'd like to aspire to.
I just returned from doing two workshops at the Idaho Writers’ League 2014 conference in Idaho Falls, ID, and want to express my thanks and appreciation for being a part of the event.
I did my Crafting a Killer First Page and 3 Keys to Killer Storytelling workshops, and the writers who attended were sharp and talented. I had a great time talking writing with them—these events are always stimulating to me and I came away with ideas for the writing craft book I’m working on.
The conference was well-organized and featured professional speakers—I was very well cared for and felt quite welcome. I was lucky enough to be asked to come back next year, and I gladly said yes.
So, if you’re in the Idaho area, check out the Idaho Writer’s League—good folks.
For what it’s worth.
Ray
© 2014 Ray Rhamey
This weekend,
Codasign and I will be running a workshop at the South Bank Centre as part of the
Festival of Love. I am busy building a large cardboard tree that will be decorated with electronic leaves which families can build together using conductive paint... and crayons. Let's light that thing up together!
Saturday and Sunday 11:00 to 16:30. Come say hello and make a leaf.
By: Jensen girls,
on 5/16/2014
Blog:
Utah Children's Writers
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Giving and receiving critiques on your writing is one of the most helpful and necessary parts of the process. I value my critique group beyond any other writing tools I have. They let me know what works and what doesn't, when something I thought was crystal clear is not, and when my characters are acting out of character. They offer encouragement and cheerleading.
Not only has constant critique made me a better writer, it has made me a more professional writer. When I receive notes from agents, editors, and other professionals, I am able to receive the notes with a professional calmness. I don't get defensive. I get revising.
I hope everyone who writes is able to find a group or a few trusted beta readers who can offer valuable critique, but I know that there are quite a few writers in our SCBWI region (Utah and southern Idaho) who may not even know any other writers in their community. Or perhaps they don't know how to get a group started. Or have never critiqued anyone else's work and feel inadequate.
That is why we started a region-wide event called The Great Critique. We give you the opportunity to meet with other children's writers in your area and critique away. On one day, August 9, we all meet throughout the region, helping each other become better writers (and illustrators--they get to participate as well!). During the summer, you'll receive excerpts from manuscripts by the others registered in your area. You'll read them, prepare comments, and then meet in August for live critiquing. And if you don't have a meeting close by, we offer an online location as well. This event is FREE, and we hope you take advantage of it.
In addition, if you wish to have a critique from a publishing house editor or an agent, you can register for that through our
web site. And for an extra bonus, you can get a professional query critique.
You'll find all the details on our
registration page. So there are no excuses. Sign up NOW. Registration is open until June 15.
by Neysa CM Jensen
your regional advisor for SCBWI
(I live in Boise, Idaho, but don't hold that against me.)
 |
| Three foot snow drift in Ashland WI in front of Lake Superior 4/24/14 |
Brooke and I are excited to be up in Ashland WI, on the shores of beautiful Lake Superior, to share some preschool know-how (and learn some too!) with our colleagues from the Northern Waters Library System. We are doing a workshop on starting a 1000 Books program, creating an inexpensive early literacy area and tips on doing effective early lliteracy storytimes.
We have a
Pinterest board, All Things Preschool, full of links for you. If you don't use Pinterest, here are the highlights:
Growing Wisconsin Readers - a great blog to get insight into everything early literacy - including some great posts on early literacy centers developed in WI!
Hennepin County's slideshare with a ton of easy ideas to create inexpensive early literacy activities
1000 Books Before Kindergarten slideshare1000 Books Before Kindergarten posts
here (including a webinar),
here,
here, and
here.
Both Brooke and I are blogging links for the workshop today, so please head over to
Reading with Red for more insight into preschool power!
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By:
Heather Dyer,
on 4/2/2014
Blog:
An Awfully Big Blog Adventure
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Heather Dyer,
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Personally, I love criticism. I’m greedy for it. I know how hard it is to find someone who can give honest, constructive criticism – criticism that makes you suddenly see the wood from the trees, makes you realize that what you were never quite happy with is just not good enough, and can ask questions in ways that leads you to answers you didn’t know you were looking for.
As writers, we’re standing inside our stories, so it’s difficult to know how they look from the outside. As Kathy Lowinger says, ‘Get your work read because you can’t see yourself dance’. An outside perspective can be invaluable – and offers insights that you wouldn’t get otherwise.But - having been a member of many writing groups, and a teacher of many creative writing courses, I also know how damaging criticism can be. I come across students who are afraid to read their work in case they receive a negative comment that makes them want to give up (and in this case, I tell them, ‘don’t read’). I come across people who were criticised as children for their creative efforts and were told they were ‘making a mess’ or weren’t ‘doing it properly’ . Needless to say, they haven't tried it since. And I come across writers who want to offer up their work for criticism, but only want positive feedback and defend their work against the slightest criticism.
So I suppose I have concluded the following: - A writer shouldn’t share their work until they’re ready for criticism and can take it or leave it without being mortally wounded. This is usually possible only after some time has elapsed after writing it.
- A writer should say ‘thanks’ for the feedback they receive, and nothing more. Then they can go home and decide what to do with it. If a writer tries to defend their work, the people giving feedback will quickly stop bothering.
- When giving criticism, try and restrict it to the one or two main issues – don’t go on and on.
- Try and give other writers the feedback that they are ready for. We can’t judge everyone by the same yardstick – and when I think back to what my writing was like when I first started, I cringe. By working to our strengths and strengthening the positives, the negatives often fall away all by themselves
- But even when giving feedback to experienced writers, don’t forget the positives. We all like being reminded of what we do well. It makes us want to carry on.
What's your experience of writers' groups? Have I forgotten anything?
http://www.heatherdyer.co.uk
By: Jeanne Lyet Gassman,
on 3/26/2014
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Indiana Writers’ Consortium (IWC) is pleased to announce the extension of its annual networking dinner to include an intimate, high quality, and affordable half-day writers’ conference on October 11, 2014. The conference, which will take place at the Hilton Garden Inn, in Merrillville, Indiana, will include multiple afternoon breakout sessions and be followed by a dinner and keynote address by Barbara Shoup, author of seven novels, executive director of Indiana Writers Center, associate editor of OV Books, and an associate faculty member at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis.
IWC seeks proposals from individuals and groups who are at different stages in their writing careers that will represent a broad range of perspectives and experiences. Presentations may include topics such as:
· Writing and craft
· Business of publishing
· Creative writing pedagogy
· Academic and community program development
· Genre trends
Interactive individual presentation, four-to-five person panels, creative writing workshops, and round table discussions are welcome.
Submission Instructions:
Deadline: May 1, 2014
Submit: A 250-word abstract that includes the session title, description, format, and presenter names. Each presenter should include a 50-word bio and .jpg photo.
Submit to:
indianawritersconsortiumATgmail.com (Change AT to @ and DOT to . )
Please indicate “IWC Half-day Conference Proposal” in the subject line.
Questions may be directed to: Janine Harrison at:
indianawritersconsortiumATgmailDOTcom (Change AT to @ and DOT to . )
Indiana Writers' Consortium inspires and builds a community of creative writers. We are dedicated to educating writers through speakers, seminars, and children's programs. IWC provides educational and networking opportunities for writers in all stages of their careers. We are a nonprofit organization incorporated in Indiana in 2008 and a public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.
The Indiana Writers' Consortium inspires and builds a community of creative writers. Like us on Facebook.
If you are near Spokane, please register for a workshop I'll be doing at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture in Spokane Washington.
Inland Northwest Council of Libraries invited me. Can't wait! Details here and in the flyer below. I'll be giving away copies of Tim Tingle's How I Became A Ghost and Eric Gansworth's If I Ever Get Out Of Here.
The spring book festival season is underway. As a public service, here is a list of bad behavior I've observed and/or had to contend with.
Panel Moderator:
- Wait to contact panelists till two days before the event—or not at all.
- Be unfamiliar with panelists’ work: Not read author’s book (at least the first few chapters and website); not know who the literary agent represents; not know titles the editor has worked on.
- Have no agenda for the panel, or a vague one, e.g., “I will read brief introductions, and each of you should speak for 12-15 minutes. Then we will take a few questions.”
- Let panelists talk for so long that there’s no time for audience Q&A. (This happened with the panel in #3.)
- Talk a lot about yourself or read from your own book. Your job is to help the panelists shine. If they look brilliant, so will you.
Panelist: - Cancel at the last minute because you just realized that the finances won’t work for you. Or cancel due to “family reasons”—but keep the plane ticket the organizers paid for.
- Author: Leave book at home, or not have a reading figured out—and practiced!—beforehand. Agent/editor: Leave business cards at home.
- Read for 15 minutes when you’re asked to read for five.
- Monopolize the conversation and/or interrupt other panelists.
- Belittle the moderator (“If you’d read my book…"), other panelists (“I can’t believe you’d say such a stupid thing!”) or audience members (“If you’d been listening, you wouldn’t need to ask that question.”)
Audience:- Leave your cellphone ringer on.
- Give copies of your manuscript or self-published book to panelists.
- Pitch your book during Q&A session.
- Ask self-serving questions instead of general ones. (“Why didn’t you answer the query I sent you six months ago?” vs. “What should a writer do if an agent hasn’t responded to their query after six months?”)
- Engage a panelist in lengthy conversation afterwards, when there’s a line of people waiting behind you.
I'll be at
VaBook Festival next week. Now go forth and be good!
Today I join colleagues at the Arkansas State Library Children's Services Workshop in Little Rock. I'm sharing presentations on
Unprogramming,
Stealth Programming and
Dynamic Partnerships (
including Schools!) and many of the programs I refer to can be found on these Pinterest boards. My Arkansas friends are also sharing ideas on science, makerspaces, and 1000 Books Before Kindergarten
and sharing weather that is far more spring-like than anything I expect to see for some weeks home in Wisconsin. What could be better? If you don't do Pinterest, below are links to some of the resources that are described in today's workshop.
And while I'm on presentations and workshops, I want to encourage everyone to read this
vital post at Storytime Underground by Amy Koester about your own power to share your good work with each other. I am a working librarian like you who does just that. So keep on standing up, sharing ideas and feeling your power!
UnprogrammingSpace TripLibrary Camp-out FunNinjago!Dr. Who PartyDiary of a Wimpy KidSlideshare
Stealth/Passive Programs1000 Books Before KindergartenFree-quent Reader ClubCookie ClubGnome Hunter's ClubReading is Key ClubStory Action PodsSlideshareDynamic PartnershipsGlobal Friendship Fair and
Science FestivalMarsh Meander and
Library CampExperts:
Check out an Amphibian,
Fencing,
YogaArts and
ArtistsSchool CollaborationSlideshare
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You can give them a load of fake colourful toys that don't make a mess because they don't actually leave any traces at all - or you can let them make art.
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