Doodling in Three Acts

This past weekend I had a huge clean out of old artwork: old workshop assignments,  urban sketching experiments, lots of "let's just try this" paint-on-paper sheets that had served their purpose but weren't worth saving.  Among the items I found--and had forgotten about--was this crazy little set of sketches I've posted above. At first I couldn't even remember what they were and then I had one of those "oh, that's right!" moments when I recalled they were from a class I took several years ago on illustrating dogs and cats.

The point of the exercise was to think of drawing and telling a story as a series of three: 1) set-up, 2) action/conflict, and 3) conclusion. In other words, beginning, middle, and end. In the class we were given fifteen minutes to dream up three related scenes following these three steps and then quickly sketch them out. The instructions were to first draw a character (dog or cat) and then have something happen to that character. Finally, there had to be a reaction to the event--and with a twist, something unexpected. In fifteen minutes! Stick figures allowed, but . . . fifteen minutes!

For my first "scene" the best I could do at short notice was place a dog in a park next to a tree with a bird. Okay. That was my situation, or, Act 1. Second scene: the bird leaves the tree and flies onto the dog's head, giving us conflict and Act 2. My last and third scene illustrated the reaction: another dog comes along and admires the first dog's new head-wear: "Tres chic!" How stylish! I guess the dogs were in Paris.  

So there you go, three scenes; a simple little exercise that I then put away and never really thought about again. Which was very silly because it's absolutely what I need to use as I prepare the text and illustrations for my picture book WIP, The White Pony.

This is why: One of the main difficulties I'm encountering is stretching out my initial idea for the story into a traditional 32-page picture book. Now, however, weaving my words and pictures into groups of three is changing all that, helping me to think in terms of story motion and story conflict.

For anyone who's ever wanted to write a children's picture book but didn't know where to start, using this three-scene method might be just what you're looking for. To get started, first:

• Choose a theme. It can be an original idea, or one based on an old, well-established public domain tale: Sleeping Beauty, Billy Goats Gruff, Little Red Riding Hood.

• Next decide on a single medium to sketch out your ideas: pen and ink, graphite, watercolor pencil.

• If you do want to add color, use a limited palette of three to six colors. Keep it simple.

• For your three scenes, you can use either single sheets, three pages in your sketchbook, or one large piece of paper showing all three scenes.

• Begin your first page or scene with a character and situation. In the class I took our focus was on dogs and cats, but don't let that restrict you. "Character" could be a chicken, a ferret, a Martian, or an actual child! After choosing your characters and their situation (playing a game, waiting for a bus, going to bed) on your second page draw a "conflict" event. On your third page, end with a resolution to that conflict.

• If you like, add words or dialogue to any of the pages to tell the story more fully.

• When you're finished, rinse and repeat! For instance, you could continue to sketch out several more stand-alone 3-scene stories, or you could keep working on your first idea, using your next groups of three to create a full 32-page picture book like I'm doing.

Keep in mind that using a quick three-scene sketch technique doesn't have to be about just writing children's books. For instance, how about trying it as way to work out a tricky part of your novel or screenplay? It can also be a method to liven up your journal or next Urban Sketching event, or simply be a fun creative exercise. The main thing is to have fun and not stress about so-called artistic style or ability.

Tip of the Day: If the thought of sketching anything at all is too terrifying, don't give up--photographs and magazine cut-outs can work just as well to tell your story. In some cases, they might also serve as excellent prompts to get the ideas rolling for your next set of sketches. See you next time.

Happy 2020!

© Creative Commons Zero/Dreamstime.com

2020--I can't believe it. I've been anticipating this year for a long time, ever since 2000 to be precise when I was teaching self-publishing and writing at the International Women's Writing Guild summer conference at Skidmore College. One of the perks of teaching was that instructors got to take classes before or after their own workshop sessions. I loved all the classes I took: poetry, memoir writing, landscape drawing, collage and cooking (!), and a stand-out workshop that combined creativity with what can best be described as "visionary thinking and planning." As an initial exercise to introduce ourselves we were asked to write down where we would be in 20 years time and what we saw ourselves doing.

I'll never forget what I put in my notebook: I wrote that I was living in Europe creating teaching plans for the United Nations! Well, who knows, there's still 350+ days to go, LOL--I might get a phone call any day now! But seriously, what I believe I was trying to express was that I wanted to a) live a life that centered on croissants and art galleries, and b) I wanted to share my organizational and teaching skills. In many ways I feel that's exactly what I'm doing right now, right here. Albuquerque definitely has a European flair, and the Internet has offered me all kinds of unique ways to explore, and share, my creativity. As the title of one of my favorite books states: Wherever You Go, There You Are. 

With that in mind, my goals for this year are very simple. By year's end I would like to have:

• Completed a final, publishable draft of my current work-in-progress novel, Ghazal.
  
• As well as a final, publishable draft of my picture book, The White Pony, including illustrations.
• A way to sell my bead-, clay-, and artwork as a professional artist, whether through a site such as Etsy.com, or maybe just through my website.

Above all else, though, I want to enjoy what I'm doing, not look upon any of it as a second job, or a "must-do or life has no meaning" kind of vocational call. To achieve that end, my word for the year is going to be Relax, as in, go slow. 

I want to write and draw and make jewelry without pressure, without deadlines, and especially without hurrying, scurrying, or worrying. The best way I can think of doing this is to create a simple schedule and keep to it because I want to, not because I should or "have to," e.g., write blog post drafts on Mondays; work on only four manuscript pages at any given time, use my weekends for artwork and sketch walks. It's going to be a good year and I don't want to waste any of by cramming too much into my day. One slow and thoughtful step at a time, I feel, is going to be better for me than dozens of scattered footprints in the snow leading nowhere. Who's with me? 

Tip of the Day:  What can you do to rein in the near-universal tendency to "hurry, scurry, and worry"? One simple solution might be to look at everything you do as play rather than work. Instead of saying "I'm so busy working," try, "I'm so busy playing!" Even cooking dinner or walking to work can be a chance to play. Until next time, thanks for reading; wishing you a brilliant New Year!

Happy Holidays; Celebrating 2019!

© Creative Commons Zero

It's that time of year again: Deck the halls! Eat fruitcake! Review the past year! Well, okay, maybe "review the past year" isn't on your usual holiday to-do list, but for me it's an important part of the season.

This December it seems particularly important to look back and figure out where I am right now. 2019 flew by at such an incredible--and alarming speed--that I often felt I was racing against myself, struggling to keep up with the (too) many projects I wanted to accomplish by year's end. The irony was that the things I wanted to do, especially the revisions to my work-in-progress novel, Ghazal, needed me to go slow. Second drafts just can't be rushed. Consequently, the entire year felt a little "off" to me, as if I could never quite get it right (whatever that means). All the more reason, I think, to use this month with its short days and long nights to take a breath, forget about measuring my progress along some imaginary growth-chart, and simply appreciate what made the year special and fun, starting with (of course!):

• Ghazal, my work-in-progress novel. I had wanted to be finished with my second draft by the end of the year, and really, I'm not so terribly far off. Just another 60 pages to go. Who knows, maybe I will get those pages done by New Year's Eve, but if I can't, c'est la vie! I'll have a glass of champagne anyway. 

• My August-September trip to the UK was both a surprise and an adventure in every sense of the word. Super fun and has given me a lot of ideas for both writing and artwork. The only problem was the trip was a) too short, and b) I want to go back. Like tomorrow.

• Beads! So many beads . . .  An accidental online ordering situation delivered enough beads for me to make several hundred necklaces, bracelets, and earrings--a few hundred more than I'd been planning to make. On the bright side, though, I don't have to go shopping for a long time, and the beads are beautiful. I am inspired! 

• I took a class in working with metal clay which turned out to be exactly what I needed to learn in preparation for making all this unexpected jewelry. Mere coincidence?

• I kept to a good drawing schedule, doing my best to "draw every day," a practice that included Inktober, (an October drawing challenge to work solely in ink for the month). Drawing for me is both relaxation and a way to improve my illustration skills, slowly but surely.

• Living downtown for a year now has given me the opportunity to walk much more than I have in years. The difficult part, though, is choosing which direction to go: the zoo, the museum, parks, coffee shops? The walks are never boring and never the same. Best of all, they give me some good "thinking time" for planning out my WIP revisons.
  

• Somehow I found the time to help out once again organizing the annual New Mexico chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Enchantment Show. The show is a collaboration of local artists and writers working to a set theme. This year the chosen theme was "Serenity" and it turned out to be one of our best years. From a healing walk in the snowy woods to a little mouse gathering his courage to tackle the big world, New Mexico talent was on full display!

• Midway into the year I moved into a new studio and office space with lots of room to spread out my writing, my beads, my paints and pencils. (Now if only I could figure out how to live there . . . )

• A goal that totally eluded me was completing my illustrations for my picture book WIP, The White Pony. So many reasons: I couldn't coordinate my "style," I couldn't settle on a single medium or color palette, I didn't feel that my work was "good enough." As a way to tackle all my doubts and insecurities I bought a very inexpensive sketchbook and a set of colored pencils and allowed myself to just draw like a little kid. Working on these "prelim thumbnails" has helped immensely, taking the pressure off and allowing me more room to explore. Highly recommended if you ever find yourself in a similar situation.

• Using a Moleskine Cahier Notebook and writing one hand-written page a day, I wrote a novella: The Seaweed Collector. I also created one collage a day to go with each written page. I don't know how I did this. It was a surreal experience that I don't fully remember with a lot of detail. I just sat down every day, usually in the late afternoon, and listened to the story in my head. 

• In a similar vein, I wrote several flash fiction stories while in the company of my writer's group. Just like daily drawing practice, timed writing exercises are a fun and practical way to "stay creative every day," with or without a writing group.

• After returning from the UK, I had the opportunity to put together a proposal for a writing and drawing workshop event that was, unfortunately, cancelled. No matter--it's a good proposal and one I can offer again in the future, hopefully in 2020! Can't believe that's only a few weeks away . . . Until then, however, I'm going to take it a lot easier and enjoy the cocoa and twinkling lights. I suggest you do the same. Happiest of Holidays, everyone. See you next year.
  

Tip of the Day: "Achievements" don't have to be monumental. Some years, just getting up in the morning and going to work can be major accomplishments, taking you into the new year with optimism and confidence. Go for it! 

November Affirmations and Gratitude

© Jaroslaw Grudzinski / Dreamstime.com

Thanksgiving, autumn, preparing for the December holidays:  November is the perfect month for looking forward as well as looking back. What worked for you this year? What didn't go so great, and why? Most importantly: what will you still be working on as the year draws to a close? Will you finish your work-in-progress, or does the project need to carry over into the new year, perhaps with new ideas, motivation, and purpose? 

At the start of 2019, I sat down and wrote a list of twelve affirmations for each month of the year. The majority of my "you can do it" messages were connected to my writing and artwork, affirming things such as, yes, I could finish my drafts within my own set of deadlines, or, yes, I could learn to trust my own ways of painting with watercolor.

November's affirmations, however, were a little different, and centered more on reflection, gratitude, and maintaining a positive outlook about my work as a whole. Because the affirmations were less about my personal goals and more about how to simply "stay creative every day," I thought I would share them with you, starting with: 

•  Everything finds its own space and time.
• Accomplishment is more than "being finished."
• "Set-backs" are valuable opportunities for reflection and finding new directions.
• Every piece I create adds to the greater whole.
• I enjoy the creative process: mess and all!
• Step forward, step back, step sideways: keep the dance going!
• Even the most mundane of tasks can be meaningful.
• Reflect, review, revise, and remember: creation is an opportunity for contemplation.
• The creative journey is often more important than the finished piece.
• "Harvest" is much more than gathering large or impressive results. Search out and celebrate the tiny things, too.
• I make room for the new by letting go of the old.
• I keep what works and recycle what doesn't into new shapes, forms, stories, and memories.

Reading this list and "checking it twice" has been a big help during a month when things haven't gone at all the way I had planned back in January. On the days that have been particularly harried, full of long work hours and unexpected snafus, it's been helpful to choose just one affirmation at random and then keep it mind as I rush from one task to the next. Helpful because during this time I actually have been able to a) find a spare half hour or two to revise some manuscript pages, and, b) not worry about the days when I can't. 

Creativity is a continuum; the important thing is to realize and accept that the so-called "bad days" are just as important as the "good." Using my affirmations has brought me a lot closer to understanding--and being grateful for--the process whatever happens. Thank you for stopping by and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Tip of the Day: Writing affirmations is fun; turning them into artwork is even funner! For a creative holiday project, how about making yourself or a friend a deck of affirmation cards? Collage is always an excellent starting point: magazine cutouts, pre-made stickers, rubber stamps, and glitter glue are quick and easy ways to add visual interest and variety to your cards.