Books for kids, teens, & those who are young at heart

Category: Creativity (Page 18 of 19)

Finding Inspiration from New Perspectives #InkRipples

#InkRipples smaller imageFor July #InkRipples, we’re talking about inspiration. Since there are so many things that inspire me, not only in my writing but also in my life, I decided to post something new each week. Since two of my writing friends have new books out next week, I’m all booked up with guest posts, so you’re getting two #InkRipples this week. (Lucky you!)

I love when I come across something that makes me think about the world in a different way. Science often gives me a new perspective on the world. I could probably write a bunch of posts about how science inspires me, and I might be coming back to that later this month. Language also has the power to change the way you experience something. It can be a turn of phrase, a metaphor, a way to use a word you haven’t seen before, an emotion evoked simply from the words on a page–so many aspects of language can open your eyes to something new.

The moment when you come across something, and say, “I’ve never thought of that before” or “how come I never thought of that before” or “I never would have thought of that, but this is really amazing,” those are moments of inspiration. When I came across the headline “What Do Tree Rings Sound Like When Played Like A Record?” (granted this isn’t a brand-new story, but I hadn’t seen it until recently), I was like, “What?” And then I listened, and I was like, “Wow!”

YEARS from Bartholomäus Traubeck on Vimeo.

July #InkRipples: A Dose of Musical Inspiration

I’m an ideas person. There are so many things out in the world and in my own private world that inspire me. But instead of inundating you with a huge, random list of things that I’m currently feeling inspired by, I thought I’d drop one little ripple of inspiration in the inkwell each week in the month of July.

This a song that my whole family is loving right now called “Ophelia” by The Lumineers. The Prince makes requests for it, and I even overhead him singing it to himself in bed one night. “O-o-phelia…” The Boy claims he’s getting sick of it, but I think he still enjoys it. They both like to point out how in the video the guy dances in the street and that’s not safe!

It’s inspired a really solid story idea for a future novel. It’s a retelling of a very famous work. There will be a hurricane and mental illness and doomed love. I think. I may never write it. I get ideas all the time and whether or not I write it depends on how long it sticks around. So far this one seems to be sticking. Only time will tell, I suppose.

Anyone else digging this song? What’s been inspiring you lately?

#InkRipplesgreen#InkRipples is a monthly meme created by Katie L. Carroll, Mary Waibel, and Kai Strand. We pick a topic (July is all about inspiration), drop a ripple in the inkwell (i.e. write about it on our blogs), and see where the conversation goes. Be sure to check out Kai’s and Mary’s posts this month. We’d love to have you join in the conversation on your own blogs or on your social media page. Full details and each month’s topic can be found on my #InkRipples page.

Barnes & Noble Teen Book Festival Wrap-Up

The Barnes & Noble B-Fest Teen Book Festival this past weekend was such a great event! So many authors I know and many of my favorites who I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting in person participated in B&N locations all across the country. I was lucky enough to be a part of the event on Sunday at the North Haven store.

Katie Carroll B-Fest

The staff totally made me feel like a rock star. They were super accommodating, supportive, and helpful. My day started at noon with a book talk about ELIXIR BOUND. Anyone who knows anything about how I got started writing knows it’s a sad story about the death of my sister Kylene.

To counterbalance the sad part of my writing journey, I brought along some of my old writings (and illustrations). They included a series of picture books inspired by IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE by Laura Joffe Numeroff and illusatrated by Felicia Bond, a short novel I wrote in elementary school, a saucy journal from high school filled with stories of old boyfriends (though I didn’t share any of those stories directly!), a high school newspaper that I both wrote for and edited, and a feature from a stint working for a regional newspaper while in college.

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After my talk and book signing, I had a little downtime. But I had a few friends and family that stopped by to say “Hi,” so that kept me busy while I signed stock for the store. If anyone in the area is looking for signed copies of ELIXIR BOUND, the North Haven, CT Barnes & Noble has some!

Then it was time for Tara Sullivan, author of GOLDEN BOY and THE BITTER SIDE OF SWEET, to talk about her books and writing process, which was like listening to a fascinating civics lesson on albinism and the dark truth of where chocolate comes from. Tara and I met at the NESCBWI conference earlier this spring, and it was really nice catching up with her and hearing about her books.

Katie Carroll and Tara Sullivan B-Fest

Finally it was time for the B-Creative event Barnes & Noble set up, which was a writing workshop about creating log lines and pitches. It was geared towards teens, but we had a few great adult participants as well. And I’m pretty sure everyone went home with a prize!

Overall a hugely successful event all around. I’m excited about doing future books events here. Did anyone else participate in the B-Fest? I’d love to hear how it went!

June #InkRipples: Must-Watch Movie List

film-596009_1920There are certain movies that when I’m flipping through the channels and happen upon them, I just have to watch (at least for a few minutes). They’re not in any certain genre; some of them are award winners; others of them are, well, not. I’m not an old-movie buff, so they’re all from my lifetime.

Some of them are just good movies. You know the kind, the ones that make you feel something deep in your soul. Others remind me of a certain time in my life, a movie time capsule of sorts. They make me laugh or cry, or both! I like to call them my personal classics. Here they are in no particular order:

  • The Shawshank Redemption
  • Clueless
  • The Lord of the Rings trilogy
  • The Little Mermaid
  • You’ve Got Mail
  • The Matrix (only the first one!)
  • Dazed and Confused
  • A Few Good Men
  • The Harry Potter movies (even though the books are so much better!)
  • Aladdin
  • Billy Madison
  • American Beauty
  • The Hunger Games movies (see above about the books being better!)
  • Superbad
  • The Princess Bride
  • Bring It On

What movies would be on your list?

#InkRipplesBlogBanner

#InkRipples is a monthly meme created by Katie L. Carroll, Mary Waibel, and Kai Strand. We pick a topic (June is all about movies), drop a ripple in the inkwell (i.e. write about it on our blogs), and see where the conversation goes. Be sure to check out Kai’s and Mary’s posts this month. We’d love to have you join in the conversation on your own blogs or on your social media page. Full details and each month’s topic can be found on my #InkRipples page.

New England SCBWI 2016 Conference Words of Wisdom for Writing and Life

Sneaking in some writing time before the conference started.

Sneaking in some writing time before the conference started. #amwriting #selfie

A week and a half later and I feel like I’m still catching up after the New England SCBWI Conference. I’m a little behind on my novel writing goals and I have a few deadlines for other projects creeping up, but the momentum of the writing conference usually keeps me going and focused on my writing goals for months.

One of my favorite things about writing conferences is catching up with old writing friends and meeting new ones. My roommate and I stayed up way too late chatting about writing and family and stuff. I almost literally bumped into a friend I met–well it has to be ten years ago now–at one of the many Poconos conferences I attended, and it was awesome to catch up with her. I squeezed in some writing time on Friday before my first workshop, I gathered with both old and new friends for dinner Saturday night, and I happened to wake up early and couldn’t fall back to sleep on Sunday morning, so I went for a run at the hotel fitness center. It all went by too fast, and I was so exhausted by the time I got home Sunday evening.

To keep the inspiration fresh I like to go through my notes from the conference (something I’ve been meaning to do with past conferences as well). So here are just a few of the words of wisdom I came across during the weekend (note that I don’t use quotation marks because these aren’t necessarily direct quotes, though I do my best to keep them as close as possible to what the speakers actually said and the sentiments are accurate):

  • Marketing is about choices. Choosing to do the things you enjoy and the things you do well. ~Lynda Mullaly Hunt
  • The most powerful marketing tool is to write a helluva book. ~Lynda Mullaly Hunt
  • People are grateful on the inside, but it’s important to be thankful on the outside. ~Lynda Mullaly Hunt
  • This that matter the most in your marketing are also what matter the most in writing: what is uniquely yours and your book, things you care about, and economy & quality. ~Lynda Mullaly Hunt

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  • Kids need to see and identify the characters of book in themselves. ~Zaneta Jung (Assistant Editor, Sterling Publishing)
  • I prefer the term quality assurance [instead of gatekeeper]. As much as I love art and I love authors and I love books, I think of the quote in Ratatouille from the food critic, “I don’t like food; I LOVE it. If I don’t love it, I don’t swallow.”  ~ (Editorial Director, Jolly Fish Press)

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  • If you aren’t working on and submitting at least seven things a year, then what the hell are you doing? ~Jane Yolen
  • Never neglect and forget your heart books. These are the books the rest of us need to read. ~Jane Yolen
  • Where does the character story start? Start on the day that’s different. ~Wendy Mass
  • We totally get a do-over when we wake up every morning. ~Wendy Mass
  • If we keep doing what we’ve always done, we keep getting what we’ve already got. ~Wendy Mass

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  • How did we all end up in this room together? All these details of your journey of how you go there, that’s your best asset as a writer. ~Patrick Carman
  • When you collaborate, don’t think “What am I going to get out of this?” but think “How can I help make this person’s dream come true?” Collaborating is bigger than networking. ~Patrick Carman
  • Intuition and inspiration can only happen in the moment. ~Kathleen Rushall (Agent, Andrea Brown Literary Agency)
  • Your dream agent is the one who adores the hell out of your work. ~Jess Keating
  • Unused creativity is not benign. If it’s not being put to use or being fulfilled, it leads to anxiety. (I failed to mark in my notes whether it was Kathleen Rushall or Jess Keating, who presented this workshop together.)
  • Do a $50 job likes it’s a $500 job, and then you’ll start getting $500 jobs. ~Jarrett J. Krosoczka
  • I’m being invited into a kid’s imagination and that is a privilege and a hallowed space to occupy. ~Jarrett J. Krosoczka
  • I had my sketch book, and I was bored. And that is a wonderful thing to do. ~Jarrett J. Krosoczka
  • Your best achievement is just around the corner. ~Jarrett J. Krosoczka

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  • Dialogue is not about translating real-life situations; it’s about giving your best impression of it. ~Linda Camacho (Agent, Prospect Agency)
  • It is so easy to get lost in your own world. You’re falling in love, and that’s great, but sometimes you have to rein it in. ~Linda Camacho (Agent, Prospect Agency)
  • Likeability is boring to strive for. It’s okay for characters to have positive characteristics, but they should make mistakes. You want them to be imperfect; it makes them “human.” ~Rebecca Podos (Agent, Rees Literary Agency)
  • Writing books you are passionate about makes it easy for kids to fall in love with your books. ~Colby Sharp
  • Graphic novels are complex forms of texts, and no kid should ever be stopped from reading that. ~
  • Being a mommy doesn’t mean you can’t be a real artist. ~Amitha Knight
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