The countdown is on for the launch Richard Ho's gorgeous book, RED ROVER: Curiosity on Mars! Before the exciting day, let's find out a bit more about Rich, the writer... Notable19: Let's go back in time for this first question. What is the first piece of creative writing you remember writing? Rich: I was a late bloomer. Many authors have memories of crafting poems or short stories or epic novels in verse while attending elementary school, but I didn't seriously entertain thoughts of creative writing until much later. I believe I was 15 or 16. I was a huge Star Trek fan, and I teamed up with a good buddy of mine to co-write a spec script for an episode of Star Trek: Voyager. I would pay good money to find a copy of that script. I desperately want to re-read it after all these years. I think it was written on an ancient IBM computer and never backed up to disk, and I can't find a printed copy anywhere. I do remember that we titled the episode "Ambivalence," and since all that remains is the memory, I will say that it was spectacular. Notable19: We are positive it was spectacular. How could it not be with you writing and ST:V involved? ;) Now that you are officially writing, what is your writing implement of choice? Rich: Back when I was a magazine writer, I carried a little spiral notebook and a pen everywhere I went, like an old-timey reporter (no fedora, though). That was good for jotting down notes and transcribing interviews, but not much else. When I started to get into long-form creative writing, I abandoned the analog tools and went with the smallest laptop I could find (for affordability and portability). My current writing laptop is a Dell—every picture book manuscript I've written has been tapped into existence through its keys! Notable19: Laptops have been a boon to writers! Sci-fi legend Isaac Asimov used to lug his heavy old manual typewriter to the beach when he was forced to take a vacation. Can you imagine? And where is your favorite place to write? Rich: Thanks to my day job and my dad responsibilities, nearly all of my writing is accomplished on the train to and from work (a.k.a. Writing Office #1) or at my local Starbucks (a.k.a. Writing Office #2). I have a very hard time getting into writing mode at home, even after the kids are asleep. Probably because my couch emits a siren-like call that reliably overwhelms my exhausted and pitiful attempts at productivity. I try to make it to Writing Office #2 at least once a week, post-kiddo-bedtime, to get in a solid block of writing. The baristas know me by now, but I've never told them what I do when I sit there for hours on my laptop. They'll find out when I gift them a signed copy of RED ROVER in a few weeks! Notable19: We have all heard the siren call of the couch! Besides resisting the call, what is hardest for you about writing? Easiest?
Rich: Easiest: Starting. Hardest: Finishing. Starting a new manuscript is so much fun and so exciting. Your story is bursting out of your brain, demanding to be told, and you might have all of it figured out or you might have only the initial spark of an idea, but it's flowing whether you're ready or not. And then reality sets in, and you realize you need to put in hours and hours more of hard work and sweat and tears and doubt and self-loathing and despair, and with every failed plot twist or bland story obstacle or useless supporting character or drab line of dialogue the ending recedes farther and farther into the distance, and you fear that you will never finish. The caveat? When you DO finish, there are few experiences that are more euphoric and satisfying. But then, revisions… Notable19: Ah, the joy of finishing a draft, and the scary prospect of facing the revision process. Speaking of scary, what is your ultimate writer nightmare? Rich: Finishing a story that I adore and believe will sell in a multi-house auction with an astronomical advance and pre-emptive consideration for all major awards… … only to see a Publishers Weekly deal announcement THAT VERY DAY for essentially the same exact story. Notable19: That is truly a writer's nightmare. Conversely, what is your ultimate writer fantasy? Rich: The above, but without the last part! No, but seriously… just to receive a letter from a reader who tells me how one of my books made a difference in their life for the better. That would be my writerly dream-come-true. Notable19: To have touched a reader's life is the way to achieve immortality. And finally, in one sentence, what does being a writer mean to you? Rich: This answer changes by the second, but right now, being a writer means: Spending countless hours alone, toiling in solitude to imprint your soul on a collection of words that will hopefully serve as a conduit between you and the rest of humanity.
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by James Serafino Writing a story is incredibly difficult. Illustrating a story is incredibly difficult. Why not do both and have twice the fun!? When you are both the author and illustrator of your story you get all of the credit, but you also get all of the work and that work is complicated. Things will get messy; a whole story can fall apart right before your eyes and it can only be your fault. Here are some of my thoughts on trying, and mostly failing to, write and illustrate picture books. The big problem when you are dealing with both halves of a story is it can be easy for the writer to interfere with the artist and the artist to want to ignore the writer. The only thing to do is separate these two quarreling brats for as long as possible. It won’t be easy and you won’t always be successful and I wish I had a third, positive thing to add, but I don’t. This will be a nightmare, you have chosen poorly. However a story begins, I usually start with a drawing of a character or image in mind, it will have to be written out into the real world at some point. When you first begin to write don’t worry about grammar or sentences or story arc or character development. Just write down everything that this story is and wants to be and don’t stop writing until you know what this story of yours is actually about. Then repeat the process for the art. What do the characters look like, what medium will be used? Draw and paint and experiment and brainstorm until you discover what the art can bring to and say about this story of yours. I first came to children’s books through picture making, so I focus on this aspect the most. I like to try to find a way for the art to impact the story somehow and when I find that path I know it is time to write a first draft. Once you start a draft don’t give up on it until it's done, always try to get to the end of the story because figuring out the end will influence the beginning and each draft will be come stronger one after another. Now that you have a nice story written with a beginning, middle and end-- this may take weeks, months or years--take time to play with the art in context of your now written story. Are there parts of the story that could be better as art than words? What if that character was a coconut instead? The rule of thumb you’ll hear is show, don’t tell, and that is a good rule, but can be hard to follow because if you are like me, you like fun and silly words and listing as many of them as you can. Art can be a great storytelling tool, but sadly words may have to pay the price sometimes It is so easy to get half way through a dummy when the illustrator half will have some great flash of inspiration that requires a total rewrite of the text by the writer and you are left with nothing but a shell of a book and not much else, seemingly back at square one.
My trick, for the first dummy draft, is to pretend that your script was written by someone else and came from your editor. You can’t change it and it is your job to illustrate the story as best you can. By forcing your way to the end, like in writing, you discover the parts that don’t work and know where to focus your editing. What text is better replaced by an image, what words are essential? Repeat this process as needed or until insanity takes you. Now is the fun/scary part. You gotta stop separating them and let the artist and writer fight it out like the two great titans they are; because the two halves working together is what makes author/illustrated stories so unique and powerful. You can use art and images to tell some of the story leaving room for text to explore deeper into your character and the story’s meaning. There is no need to waste your precious word count on explaining a character's mood when you are in charge of that character’s expression in the art. You can set up a joke with one half and deliver the punch line with the other. These kinds of back and forth bits are the real juice of self author/illustrated books and they aren’t really available anywhere else. They are also the most fun, exciting, difficult, challenging, mystifying and satisfying bits to work on and always worth the effort. I believe that by both writing and illustrating a story you can lay down deep and powerful roots that can grow into a tale that is greater than the sum of its parts and has real meaning and value to those lucky enough to appreciate all of your hard work. Be sure to follow James on Instagram and Facebook! |
Notable19sWe are a group of writers and illustrators who have debut books (actual debuts , debuts as author-illustrators, or debuts with medium/large publishers) forthcoming in 2019. Thank you for joining us on our exciting journey! Archives
April 2020
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