Debbie Ridpath Ohi's Blog, page 30
June 22, 2017
June 21, 2017
June 19, 2017
Writers & illustrators: DO YOUR BACKUPS. Here's my backup system and how it saved me when an Adobe Creative Cloud update bug ate my work.
While Adobe Creative Cloud is convenient in so many ways, an update bug removed a LOT of my files last year, including entire file folders of PSD book illustration files. Even a year later, it makes me queasy to remember staring at the screen as I watched in horror as files were disappearing RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY EYES and having no idea what was going on.
Cloud backup service Backblaze discovered the bug. Happily, my tech-savvy husband had set up a backup system for me using Time Machine, Backblaze and a physical offsite backup, and he helped me rebuild my hard drive.
Yes, it can be a hassle to set up a proper backup system but trust me: IT'S WORTH DOING. Imagine how you'd feel if your computer quit working or was stolen right now, and your content wasn't backed up. Even apart from your work, what about some of the personal photos of moments and people you will never be able to replace?
People tend not to really think about a backup until they need one. I can't imagine what I would have done if I didn't have a working backup when Adobe Creative Cloud ate all those files.
Another tip: Do regular checks to make sure your backup system is working properly!
I do still use Adobe Creative Cloud, but I wait a while before installing any update. That way I let other people find the bugs for Adobe to fix before they release an updated update. :-)
June 16, 2017
June 14, 2017
June 12, 2017
Great advice for young readers from Jody Jensen Shaffer, author of PRUDENCE, THE PART-TIME COW about writing
Jody Jensen Shaffer writes books and poetry for children. Her award-winning poems have appeared in magazines like Ladybug, Babybug, Highlights, High Five, Clubhouse Jr., and more. Jody writes from her home in Liberty, Missouri, which she shares with her husband, two children, and their rescue dog, Sophie.
You can find more info about Jody at her website, on Twitter and her blog.
Her newest book is PRUDENCE, THE PART-TIME COW, illustrated by Stephanie Laberis and launches from Henry Holt/Macmillan *today*. Such a fun story; I love the idea of a cow with a thirst for knowledge. Plus I love the vivid colour palette and energy-filled laugh-aloud illustrations throughout! So much for young readers to point out and discuss.
Synopsis:
"Prudence looks like a full-time cow—she wanders through pastures, she swats flies, and she lines up for supper. But Prudence is really a part-time cow, because she’s also a scientist, an architect, and an inventor, studying and building and dreaming and creating. To the other cows in the herd, Prudence is a bit too part-time. At first Prudence tries to fit in, suppressing all her scientific smarts and imaginative inventing. But in a moment of inspiration—Cow Power!—Prudence realizes how she can be a part-time cow and a full-time member of the herd. Funny and sweet, this is a story for anyone who's ever felt a bit different."
I asked Jody if she had any advice for young writers. Here is her answer:
JODY JENSEN SHAFFER'S ADVICE FOR YOUNG WRITERS
My advice for young writers is twofold: believe in your Story Idea, and put in the effort to make your Story Idea work. What does that mean? Let’s take it from the top.
Believe in Your Story Idea
Every story, every book, every poem starts with an idea. It may be just a crumb of a thing to begin with—a word, a phrase, an image—but you can tell it has promise. So you play with it, you toss it in the air, you tease it mercilessly, until finally you corral a beautiful, wild thing that didn’t exist before: your totally-you, totally-unique Story Idea. What a concept! What a cast of characters! What a bright, shiny thing you’ve come up with! Your stomach flips when you think about it. You begin imagining what your Story Idea will look like when it’s finished, the accolades it will receive, what you’ll say when you accept the awards it’s sure to receive. And all from your humble, little idea!
Jody's idea notebooks.
Then Ms. Smith asks the class to share their Story Ideas, and you discover—Egad!—that every single person in your class has come up with the same one! Your jaw hits your desk. How can that be? You were sure you and your Story Idea felt the same about each other. You stumble into your school library, stunned from the experience and hoping to find comfort in something you might find there. And that’s when you discover that nearly every book you pick up also uses your Story Idea! Not only is your totally-you, totally-unique Story Idea not unique, it hasn’t been unique for some years! Oh, the pain! The heartache! The soul-searching you’ll now do!
Jody's home office.
Will you ever come up with a really good, really unique Story Idea?
Take heart, fellow writer. Here is some comfort: what you and your Story Idea have together is unique. It is different than all the others in your class and in your library, if you look closely. Here’s why. You are the only one who can take your Story Idea and develop it in a way that makes it unique, because you are the only you in the entire universe! Your experiences, your likes and dislikes, you family background, your word, plot, setting, and dialogue choices all influence what you make of your Story Idea, so it’s impossible for anyone else to take your Story Idea away from you! (And truthfully, it’s not about the Story Idea, anyway. Ideas are cheap. It’s the execution that matters. It’s what you do with your Story Idea, and only you bring your experiences and background to that task.)
Whew. Feel better? Good. Now let me tell you my second piece of advice.
Put in the Effort to Make Your Story Idea Work
You’ve now passed through the Valley of Story Idea Doubt, and you’re preparing to climb Mt. Writing Mountain. Above you is your goal, The End Summit. All that stands between you and the summit is…hard work.
“Ugh,” you say. “I thought writing was supposed to be fun!”
It is! But it is also work (I find that the two go hand-in-hand. The harder I work, the more fun I have and the luckier I become). What does “work” mean for a writer? It means treating your characters as individuals, making sure they don’t all think, act, and say the same things. It means putting obstacles in your characters’ paths, ones they’ll have to struggle to get past.
Work for a writer means being clever and funny and silly and unexpected and specific, and knowing when not to be. It means reading books, books like yours and books that are totally the opposite. It means asking for honest feedback (having a mentor is nice) and sincerely evaluating it, even if it comes from those who are behind you on their writing climbs.
It means being willing to change things, even your favorite parts, maybe the whole thing, and knowing when not to. Work for a writer means making your story better, draft by draft, word by word, and not thinking you’re done the first time.
Work for a writer means reading and writing regularly—almost anything will do—so you can get better. It means analyzing what works and what doesn’t in what you read and write. And eventually, when you’ve got your Story Idea all gussied up, work means sharing it with the world, come what may.
You’ll be proud of how far you and your Story Idea have come, and you’ll be excited to begin again with a new one.
~Jody Jensen Shaffer, June 2017
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For more interviews, see my Inkygirl Interview Archive.
June 11, 2017
June 9, 2017
Common mistake by new picture book writers: assuming that short = easy or quick.
I once asked my editor at Simon & Schuster Children's, Justin Chanda, what he finds is the biggest mistake that aspiring picture book writers tend to make. His answer:
"The one that I see most often, and it covers a multitude of sins, is they do not take the time to really hone their project. Writers have so many ideas they want to work on one, move on to the next, flood an editor with a bunch of projects… Thing is, picture books take time. There is craft, there is fine tuning, there is CUTTING OF TEXT. All of this takes time. A book needs to be read aloud. It needs to be tweaked and made sure that every word is there for a reason — a good reason. Rushing to get through, or assuming that short = easy or quick is a recipe for disaster.
"That and thinking rhyming solves everything are the biggest mistakes."
Jane Yolen wrote a poem about one of my Broken Crayon drawings!
Thanks so much to Elizabeth Dulema for interviewing me about creative process on her blog recently. She included lots of photos and art samples, including my Broken Crayon dragon. After seeing the later, Jane Yolen (yes THE Jane Yolen!!!!) emailed me a poem she had written after seeing the image.
Jane has kindly given me permission to post her poem here:
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THE CRAYON DRAGON
by Jane Yolen
The dragon crayon was born one day
between the broken parts of Shamrock green.
He poked a hole with his snout,
then lifted himself up into life.
The only one who saw him emerge
was a five-year-old artist named Sophie.
Shamrock sniffed the air.
Blew a tentative puff of green smoke.
Melted part of the crayon.
Then flew onto the desk top.
He tipped his head to one side,
eying Sophie. Blew a message:
MAKE ART!
She picked up the pieces of green
and began:
a blade of grass
a lawn,
a shaft of daffodil
rising into dawn,
grasshopper in a leap
over a leaf,
old pond
young frog,
and shawled by moss
a single log.
Shamrock watched it all.
Then he entered the page
where he became the story, the poem.
The art.
©2017 Jane Yolen. All rights reserved.
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I am a longtime fan of Jane Yolen's and am totally thrilled. If you're interested in getting a new poem a day from Jane, you can sign up here. All she asks is that at the end of each month, you either borrow one of her books from the library, or buy one.
An aside for those who have been asking: Yes, I have been working on a broken crayon picture book idea. I have a very rough draft but my picture book writing process involves a lot of "let it sit for a while and see if I'm still excited about it" simmering periods, and my broken crayon book is in one of those mulling periods. :-) Thanks again for your continuing support and encouragement for my work!
You can see my other Broken Crayon drawings at DebbieOhi.com/brokencrayon, on Instagram with the #DebbieOhiBrokenCrayon hashtag and my Padlet gallery of Broken Crayon art.
