Sharon Creech's Blog, page 33

Work Space

If I'm staying anywhere more than two weeks, I have to set up a workspace. It's a compulsion. A need. Unlike some writers who can write on airplanes or trains or in hotel rooms or cafes, I work best when I'm at home or in a place where I have a room of my own in which to work, with materials and reference books close by.

It wasn't always so. Dedicated space is a luxury. When I was first writing, I shared desk space and a typewriter with my husband. From there I graduated to a laundry/storage room.  When my son left for college, I usurped his bedroom and bought my first computer. From then on, I've had my own dedicated office/room.

The above room is in North Carolina, where my husband and I hide out for a few months each winter.

If you're a writer, I hope you have your own space. Do you?

My Editor

At left is my American editor, Joanna Cotler; that's me on the right. It is my great good fortune that Joanna has been my editor for most of my books, all with HarperCollins. Joanna is wise, funny, beautiful, kind, generous, and multi-talented. I rely on her to guide me from a strong draft to a great one with her astute questions and comments.

The above photo was taken when I was in New York a couple years ago, doing an interview with Joanna, conducted by Jenny Brown. Jenny's interview with us can be found at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9atmYRlEzCM

and continued at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFNI8J3IRps

Before Joanna became my editor, I was also fortunate to work with three other astute editors: Marion Dickens Lloyd (descendant of Charles Dickens); David Gale, and Nancy Siscoe.

Walnut Tree Cottage

This is Walnut Tree Cottage, 350 years old, in the village of Thorpe, Surrey, England, where my husband, children, and I lived for fourteen of the eighteen years we lived in England. At that time, this was the Headmaster's residence (my husband was the Headmaster) for the TASIS school, I taught upper school English there, and our two children attended the school.

The second-story middle window opens into the room in which I wrote Walk Two Moons, The Wanderer, Absolutely Normal Chaos, Pleasing the Ghost, Chasing Redbird, Fishing in the Air, and Bloomability.


Nearly everyone who entered this cottage said, "How quaint! How cute!", and it was that, but quaint and cute do not necessarily mean easy-to-live-in.  The plumbing was dodgy, the heating sporadic, the kitchen wee, the spiders a-plenty, and each spring plants grew up between the dining-room floorboards and around the windows.

But it was home and we were happy there.

The Grace of Trees

Nearly two years ago, when I took this photo of a sandy lane in North Carolina, I felt such a strong affinity to this place.  It contributed to the impetus for the latest work-in-progress. Where does the road lead? Why do the trees beckon?

I often used similar photos or paintings when I was teaching, as story-inspirers. Who is on the road? Where does it lead? What is that place? I loved how the same scene could inspire such different responses.  The artist or photographer has already selected details and tone. Each viewer then reshapes the scene with his own eyes.

I'm wondering what you see/think/feel.

January Beach Day

For those of you who are snowbound, I almost hate to show you this photo, taken today on the beach in North Carolina. Sixty degrees. Not too hot, not too cold. Just right.

Walking on the beach is one of the best ways to solve problems, either in 'real' life or in stories-in-progress. On such a walk last January, a solution to an awkward bit in the new book arrived, unbidden.
You reach down to pick up a broken shell and instead you pick up a gem of a character.

Ahhh.

Photo Play

You have probably all been proficient with Photoshop for ages, but I am just beginning to explore its possibilities. Today I'm particularly enchanted with the painterly effects, as in the above, using an original photograph of an Iris border on the TASIS campus in England.

Any suggestions for what I might try next with Photoshop?

And do painter or photographer purists scorn this program or embrace it, do you know?

Book Design

Above is the cover for the Japanese edition of Heartbeat.  They've added an interesting design element inside, the use of flip-book-type art in the lower left-hand corners:


As you flip through the book, the runners . . . run:


And run . . .


You really need to hold the book and flip the pages to get the full effect.

I like it. You?

Change of Perspective

I've been immersed in the land of snow since November, but am now in North Carolina for a few months. It's a shock each year to leave that white, frigid landscape and emerge in a place where the grass is still green and the sun shines more often and you don't need boots and hats and gloves to venture outdoors.

It's a healthy change of perspective. Awakens the senses. I'll be revising the current work-in-progress soon, and it's good to go into that fresh and alert.

The above photo is not from North Carolina, however. It's from Thorpe, Surrey, England.  When we lived there, I used to walk here in order to refresh my brain.

Another favorite spot on that walk is this fence (below). I don't know why I like it so, but I think it wants a story of its own.

Some day.


Bye-bye for now. Going for a walk.

Love That Dog: Design and Jackets

I'm always intrigued by the cover designs that are chosen for translations.  Above are four examples from the dozen or so foreign editions of Love That Dog (from top left, clockwise: American, Mexican, Japanese and Netherlands.) From the beginning, I loved the classic, simple American cover with the perfect William Steig drawing of a dog; this was also used as the basis for the Japanese cover.  The Mexican cover takes a sort of bold Picasso-like approach, whereas the cover for the Netherlands edition plays off the original American one but with a different dog and with red lettering instead of blue.

It's also interesting to compare the various portrayals of the concrete 'dog poem' in this book. First, the American version:


Two other versions (Japanese and German):


I love the pure, simple layout for the original American version; foreign editions also pick up this approach. The story seemed to require generous white space. First, the American edition:


The Japanese edition:

And from the Netherlands:


This story, in its content, form and presentation appears so simple, and yet for me it conveys so much complexity.  The companion to Love That Dog is Hate That Cat:




Hate That Cat is similar to Love That Dog in layout and design, and we were fortunate to secure a William Steig drawing of a surly cat to adorn the red jacket.

Snow Caps

While the latest manuscript is with editor and I'm awaiting comments for revision, it is time to fill up the internal well.  Breathe. Get outside and gape.  The latest snows have left soft caps and puffs everywhere:


I like this one on a bird's nest:


And these in the pines:


The snow is so light and soft and white that you want to eat it or lie down in it.
Well. At least I do.