Really Great Article on Creativity (and Life)

http://www.austinkleon.com/2011/03/30/how-to-steal-like-an-artist-and-9-other-things-nobody-told-me/

My brother-in-law posted this link on Facebook, and he usually posts interesting things, so I checked it out. This is a really thought provoking article about the creative process. Austin Kleon, the writer, has captured many of the practical aspects of creativity and simple-to-try advice in the popular 10 commandment format! Plus, he has very cool illustrations to go with them.

Today, Austin's Point No. 2 captured my fancy:

2. Don’t wait until you know who you are to start making things.

This is so true. I believe that in the doing, the learning and developing and perfecting happens!

In fact, I think I should memorize each of the points Austin makes, and practice doing one a day. Yeah.... I think I'll do that.  Then, I'll report back here about how it went! Or, go to the article yourself and try it and report back here!

There's blood in the water

It's like a bad Jaws remake. The happy writer is swimming in the glittering ocean, splashing just beyond her depth.

Then the music starts with the deep notes of the Jaws theme. Our heart rate increases as the music picks up in tempo. Something is not right here. We want to scream to the writer, "Get out of the water quick! You're in danger!" but no sound comes out of our throats. We are paralyzed, mesmerized by the tragedy about to unfold in front of our eyes. Something awful is about to snatch our writing friend out of her happy writing dream. Something that's out for blood.

It's worse than sharks.

It's worse than parahna (which wouldn't be in the ocean anyway).

It's an unscrupulous vanity publisher, gliding through the water in the guise of a traditional publisher.

So what? you think. How bad could it be? It's not like it can skeletize a cow in less than four minutes.

Well, it depends. It could be okay, but it could be bad. As a writer, it's up to you to educate yourself. Not all vanity publishers are bad. Some of them are just what they say they are: publishers who will publish your book for a fee. They're upfront and above board, and there's nothing wrong with using them if you want to pay to get published and then take on all the marketing and distribution that will be left in your lap. But some vanity houses craftily try to represent themselves as traditional publishers. These will gush over the manuscript you send with hopes of enticing you to take a dip in the water of the publishing world. They're happy to serve you—for a not-so-small fee.

So if you're planning to take the plunge into the writing world, don't say I didn't warn you. The more you educate yourself by researching publishers, the better off you'll be. If someone asks you to pay to be published, beware. Traditional publishers DON'T charge writers. EVER. The vanity press might be on the up and up, but the pitfalls there can be numerous if they aren't.

Don't lose any sleep over the sharks. Vanity publishers are more dangerous. They can get you on land, and you might never realize you've been had until it's too late.

For good info on who you can trust in the publishing industry, check out Writers Beware Blog and Editors and Preditors.

Writers Beware Blog: Lies (Dishonest) Fee-Charging Publishers Tell

Book review of Davey and Marie Jank's 'Our Witchdoctors Are Too Weak'

Davey Jank watched as the airplane roared past him down the grass runway before lifting off into the sky. That was it. His new residence was now the Amazon jungle, and he was on his own, one of a handful of missionaries committed to learning the Wilo tribe's language and culture so that they could translate the Bible for them. At the moment, he felt abandoned as he watched the little plane disappear from view. Would this remote people accept him? Would he ever learn their language well enough to come up with a written form for it and share the Gospel message?

Having grown up with missionary parents, Davey knew some of what he was facing at that moment, but he didn't turn back. Armed with a sense of humor and a smile, he would eventually come to know and appreciate this friendly jungle tribe which had invited him to tell them about God's Talk. In the process, he would eat grubs, battle persistent rats, and go fish-spearing with crocodiles. It would be all in a day's work for this Amazon missionary as he carried a notebook and pen, trying to discover what the Wilo's were saying to each other and to him.

Our Witchdoctors Are Too Weak is a humorous view into the lives of Davey Jank and his wife Marie. Follow their adventure as they discover that the challenges of jungle life go far beyond living without telephones or computers. The real pitfalls are those produced by living closely with a people whose language and culture are a mystery to you.

Writers Should Be Voters

Today, my husband and I got up early and went to the library to vote. Standing out in front and bundled against the chill was our neighbor. She is running for the school board, and she and her young daughter were passing out flyers – at the appropriate distance from the polls, mind you!

I admire her for gumption and conviction to run for office and I hope she wins. She certainly won my husband's and my vote. It makes me feel more confident to actually know people who I am voting for.

What does this have to do with writing? Not a thing that I know of, but I encourage writers to participate in government and civic responsibility. How else will we preserve the right of free speech, which we as writers hold so dear? And, how else can we encourage future readers by ensuring our schools effectively train students to read and write and do arithmetic?

Dear readers (writers) – if you didn't vote today, please do so at the next election.

The magic of the 39 clues

I've been reading the 39 Clues series lately. In case you aren't acquainted with them, they are an action-packed adventures middle grade fiction series, ingeniously laced with history and geography. If your middle grade reader suddenly starts asking you questions about Mt. Everest, Shaolin Monks, cobra venom, or phosphorus, you'll know that he or she has joined Amy and Dan Cahill on the adventure of a lifetime to find the 39 clues.

Suffice it to say, my kids (even the teens) are eating the books up in gulps. Although it's been a little disrupting to have them arguing over who has first dibs on whichever book they are currently on (I always win because I'm the mom), from the standpoint of a writer, I find the lure of the 39 Clues intriguing. How do they captivate the reader? What enticement keeps us from putting them down? In short, why do we keep reading them?

I'd like to explore the idea of the book you can't put down more, but at this point, I'd like some feedback. As a reader, what is the difference between the books that you can walk away from and the books that you just can't put down? What is their magic?

These are a few of my favorite things...

In case you aren't aware, I write book reviews for children's books on Examiner.com. Since I'm always reading and looking for the exceptional in kids' lit, I wanted to share some of my favorites. If you're looking for a good child's read during spring break (or any other time), check out the list below. The links will take you to reviews on my Examiner.com page, where you can find more information about the books and their authors. Enjoy!

Picture books

• Gregory, the Terrible Eater
• Louise the Big Cheese and the La Di Da Shoes
• Mostly Monsterly
• 31 Uses for a Mom
• Recess Queen
• Over the Moon

Early chapter

• Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Takes Off
• Roland Wright, Future Knight
• Space Station Rat

Middle grade

• Snow Treasure
• The Ruins of Gorlan
• Crunch
• Ruby Holler
• Fever 1793
• Saving the Griffin

Young Adult

• The Adoration of Jenna Fox
• Choices

Nonfiction

• The Muppets Make Puppets
• Growing Up Royal—A timely look into what it really means to be one of the royal family. (Kate Middleton, I hope you know what you're in for.) After reading this, you might be glad you weren't born with a tiara on your head.
• The Secret of the Yellow Death—A dramatic story of the scientists who solved the mystery of yellow fever, ultimately saving thousands of lives.

Fixing the chinks in your writing armor

The publishing business is a furnace. That may sound metaphoric, but it's almost too true to be a figure of speech. Every time I send out a manuscript, it's going to go through fire. If I've tempered it myself, then it might survive, but if I've left it with weaknesses, it will be consumed by the fire like chaff.

Remember the space shuttle Columbia? It was a beautiful ship, but during the takeoff of its final mission, a small hole was poked in one of its wings by a piece of insulation that fell off a fuel tank. The hole was hardly noticeable, but it mattered when Columbia faced the heat of re-entry. The spaceship broke apart, tragically killing all of the crew.

The hole in Columbia's wing can be likened to flaws in your manuscript. The publishing industry is choosier than it used to be. Despite this pickiness, most of the books which are chosen for publication don't pull their weight financially. Publishers rely on the ones that do, which is why they are so careful. If you're frustrated by this, don't be. Just deal with the holes in your writing so that you won't burn up when you go through the selection fire. I believe these are some of the keys to surviving the flames.

• Study English

Yeah, I know. You thought you were done with school. Maybe you had the idea that writing (especially for kids) was going to be a shoo-in way to earn a few extra bucks and get your name in print. Not so.

You're going to have to study if you want to be good enough to make it past sharp-eyed editors, because in addition to that trifling thing called plot, editors care if you misspell words, don't know a compound sentence from a misplaced modifier, and sprinkle adverbs and exclamation points through your story at will. If you send out a flawed manuscript, I see a form letter in your immediate future.

• Read everything that editors, agents, and successful writers have to say about writing and publishing

This requires further study. There are lots of books at the library that will help you, or you can pick up some at your local bookstore. I check them out first and buy the ones I think are most helpful for later reference.

This is important because if you're not willing to take the time to research what those experts want, you might as well paste a huge sign on your head that says, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING, BUT I JUST WANT TO PUBLISH A BOOK." Don't waste an editor's or agent's time. Take up knitting instead.

• Join a writing group

Your family loves you. At least, I hope they do. Unfortunately, they aren't reliable when it comes to telling you the whole truth about what you write. Also, if they aren't writers, the likelihood that they'll know how to make a manuscript better is pretty slim. Writing group members are more objective, and they have your best interests in mind. Find a group to link up with and be glad they've got your back.

• Reach out and touch someone

The best place you can go to make contacts is conferences. They're not only learning opportunities, but places to meet established publishing professionals. Before attending, study to find out how to make conferences pay off for you. If you're financially strapped, try to get to one of the smaller local conferences. One published author told me that she preferred the smaller conferences because she felt like she got more out of them.

• Writing is a job, so expect to work hard at it

Don't just think this publishing thing is going to happen to you because you have good intentions. One established author (I think either James Scott Bell or Randy Ingermanson) said that you can expect to devote four years of consistent writing and study to the craft in order to be a serious contender as a writer. That's not unreasonable when you think it's also the amount of time it takes to get a degree from college for most careers. Writing is no different. Writing is all about content, not intent. Do what it takes to make the content great, or get out of the slush pile.

Now for the encouragement.

Don't worry about what might or might not happen. Write your book, because if you don't write it, you'll never publish it. That much is certain. The sooner you begin the process of developing your craft as a writer, the sooner you'll become better at it, and hopefully, the sooner you'll end up published.