Guest author/illustrator Jeff Mack shares his most recent project

As part of The Next Big Thing Blog Hop, children's author and illustrator Jeff Mack is sharing his most recent project with us on the Last Draft blog. To see more of his wonderful illustrations and find out about his children's books, stop by his website, too.

What is the working title of your book?

"The Things I Can Do" (by Jeff Mack)

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I was visiting a school to talk with kids about how to make books. A first-grader showed me a book he made about a squirrel who told jokes. He was extremely proud of his book regardless of the fact that none of his drawings looked anything like squirrels and none of his jokes made any sense. It was actually a really entertaining book, and I let him know how much fun I had reading it.

Later, I had an idea for a story in which a young first-person narrator makes his own book about all the things he thinks he can do. But his book is sort of a disaster. From his illustrations, it's clear to the reader that he can't really do any of the things he says he can. It's all about situations where failure and success overlap in funny and surprising ways.

What genre does your book fall under?

Picture book / fictional autobiography

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

No stars or professional actors could do it. Only an amateur could.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

It's a book about me, and the things (I think) I can do (but really can't).

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

This book will be published by Roaring Brook in Spring 2013.

How long did it take you to write the first draft?

It took me about 15 minutes to write it. It took me several years to illustrate it.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I could compare it to Harold and the Purple Crayon if that book was illustrated by Henrik Drescher. But this book is really more like all of the hand-made books that kids send me after I visit their schools to talk about making books. It's wild, clumsy, and full of ideas.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I am inspired by all the ambitious and creative kids who push against the limitations of their abilities in an attempt to create what's in their imaginations. I suppose it's similar for adults, too.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

I illustrated the entire book using only those materials found in a five-year-old's art kid: crayons, construction paper, glue sticks, and some random household objects. While I was scanning the collages, I got bubble gum stuck in my scanner. Yuck!


Thank you, Jeff, for a great post. I can't wait to see "The Things I Can Do" when it comes out this year!

Make an appointment to have a happy accident

This week I interviewed Jeff Mack, a writer and illustrator of children's books. Aside from the fact that it's always interesting to peak into the life of someone who is out there living the life that so many writers and illustrators dream of, one of his answers struck me as particularly interesting.

He said that while he's working on the first phase of his illustrations, he creates quick sketches of the layouts and characters. While he's doing these scribbly drawings, "accidents" sometimes suggest forms that he had not thought of before. These lead to more sketches, and as he allows the process of trial and error to continue, he eventually comes to up with his final art.

This struck me as somewhat profound, primarily because it applies to writers just as well as illustrators. As writers, we strive for the perfect word and the perfect story. Some times we muddle around in the middle, afraid to go forward because we want everything to be just right when we write our story for the first time. However, first drafts are not meant to be perfect. They are just like an illustrator's early scribbles. If we just allow the creative process to take it's natural course when we show up to write each day, eventually, we'll see something more finished and more beautiful than we first imagined. It will have more facets than the original plan called for. Hopefully, it will have more depth.

My challenge to you this week is to break out of any perfectionist mentality that you harbor as you write your first drafts. Instead, let yourself enjoy the happy accidents that result from quickly moving through your plot. In the end, they might take you in directions you didn't plan to go, which might turn out to be a good thing.

If this is something you've struggled with (as I have), leave a comment after you have permitted yourself to let go more in your writing. How did it work out? Did you have some happy accidents that actually produced something you were glad of in the end?

If you'd like to read my interview with Jeff Mack, click on this link and enjoy!

Interview with the talented Jeff Mack!

If you're just stopping by, please follow the link to read my interview with children's book illustrator Jeff Mack.

: ) Beth