by Sylvia Liu
Reposted from sylvialiuland.com
You can write a lot. You can read a lot. And you can read how-to-write books. While my main focus is illustration, I have taken creative writing classes and studied many craft books. Here are the most useful and practical ones I’ve come across:
by Alayne Kay Christian
Reposted from alaynekaychristian.wordpress.com
We all need writing goals, but if you’re not sure what yours should be, maybe it’s time to sit down and map out some SMART goals for yourself.
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely or Time-based
Let’s look at each of those types of goals in more detail.
Interview with founder Renée M. LaTulippe by Julie Hedlund
Reposted from juliehedlund.com
I am SO delighted to be hosting my friend Renée LaTulippe today. I met Renée initially through my 12 x 12 challenge, and quickly discovered her talent and effervescence as a children’s poet/actress/performer. So much so that I corralled her to serve as the “Poetry Elf” for 12 x 12 these past two years, where she passes her poetic passion onto other bards to be (and already are… no not to be…).
Renée has long been an advocate for poets and a supporter of poetry for children, but now she’s passing on her gifts in a course designed to help ALL writers write more lyrically and rhythmically in her course THE LYRICAL LANGUAGE LAB: Punching up Prose with Poetry. Because I am signed up to take this course in July, Renée gave me a sneak peek into the course and a spot in the private Facebook group.
by Alayne Kay Christian
Reposted from alaynekaychristian.wordpress.com
(And we are talking the author as main character, not the monster 🙂 ) If you have ever felt like the main character, it might be time to reevaluate how you are spending your time and energy.
A while back, I read a Facebook post that went something like this: When I am about to die and my life flashes before my eyes, I’m afraid all I’ll see is Facebook and television. I thought the post was pretty funny. However, as I once heard a famous comedian say, “There is humor in tragedy.”
by Renée M. LaTulippe
Reposted from NoWaterRiver.com
in which poets are assigned a difficult word and then given 36 hours to compose a children’s poem using that word. Since it’s a high-pressure, high-stakes kind of game, I thought I’d share the feverish process that is devising a poem for March Madness.
For Round 1, I had 36 hours to compose a poem for the word GAIETY. In light of words like verjuice, parallax, and grok, I thought I had it easy, but this word gave me some trouble indeed. Besides that pesky extra syllable, I felt boxed in by the meaning of the word. I had to write a poem about frolicking, it seems, so I dutifully made my list of words.
by Sylvia Liu
Reposted from sylvialiuland.com
you can take classes, study the masters and experts, read voraciously, join a critique group, and continuously practice your craft. With some patience, curiosity and a good internet connection, you can expose yourself to a world of ideas, inspiration, and tips and advice from fellow travelers. Every once in awhile an actual book may make it onto your reference shelf. In my own journey to become a better visual storyteller, these three books have stood out for their ability to teach and inspire:
by Sylvia Liu
Reposted from sylvialiuland.com
Many of you know that my friend Elaine Kiely Kearns and I run a resource website for children’s writers and illustrators, Kidlit411.
We have been open one year, and it’s been so much fun watching it grow. The concept is brilliantly simple (Elaine’s brainchild): gather all the kidlit links of good articles, resources, and advice that is available all over the internet and organize it in an accessible and appealing way.Over the year, the site has grown to include:
