by Naomi | May 8, 2014 | Creative Life
So yesterday, I set out to listen. Here’s some highlights:
– A friend emailed me with the perfect link, encouraging me to think about slow work. I love what Micha Boyett has to say in this post and am looking forward to reading her book, Found, too. I’ve been looking for a book just like this, one that helps me slow my rhythm and re-center my focus.
– I couldn’t get my audio book to work while I drove into work, so I ended up driving in silence, listening to the wind and the cars rushing by and the sounds inside my car and my own thoughts. In the quiet, calm settled over me. Some words I had recently read from Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin came to mind: The days are long, but the years are short. Yes. There was plenty of time in my day, and yet, I needed to enjoy each moment of the day because it would be too easy to let it slip by.
– Then, when I showed up for a wild rehearsal with tons of kids at the elementary school, one of the young actors ran up to me with a tupperware filled with cupcakes–vanilla, my favorite-and one of them sported a white chocolate Flat Stanley on top to match the theme of our play. She’d stayed up late and made cupcakes just to thank me for my work with her and her classmates. We shared them after the rehearsal… and I felt a gentle nudge. Notice. Listen. Soak this in.
– When working with one of my students, we were looking for the perfect word. Turns out the word required was “peculiar.” Except neither of us could say the word without getting tongue tied. I tried, and couldn’t. Then he tried, and couldn’t. Then, the babysitter across the room chimed in and couldn’t say it either. We were all laughing out loud and the sound was a drink of fresh water. Exhaustion exited the room and energy bubbled up. Again, I felt that nudge. Notice. Listen. Soak this in.
– Then, this morning, I had an email from one of my Inklings instructors, Helen Pyne, who blogged about how much she learns and is inspired in her work with young writers. Again, the nudge. This is why I do what I do. This is why all the hard work matters. Not just to me, or to the students, but also to our instructors and every single other person it touches.
Our world is busy and chaotic and filled with noise. Often, I’m tempted to add to the noise, to try to shout over everyone and be heard. But why? Don’t I actually want to be part of a grand patchwork, to play my unique part? To both inspire a creative girl and enjoy her gift of amazingly inventive cupcakes? To open doors between writers and young writers to allow them to find inspiration and joy? The connections we make person to person are truly the thing.
And this, after just one day of listening. I’m looking forward to what I’ll hear today.
by Naomi | May 7, 2014 | Creative Life
The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing. Walt Disney
I’m wrestling with the temptation to stick with the beginning of this journey for too long, to try to get everything in order before allowing the journey to really start. But that’s not how the phase of ordinary life works in the Hero’s Journey. In every epic adventure I’ve read, the journey takes the hero by surprise.
It’s time to start to listen for the call to adventure. I need to be ready for it, whenever it appears. So, I’m erasing the word “begin” on my whiteboard and moving on to “listen.”
Before I turn my attention from ordinary life, though, I want to take a moment to note what I’ve noticed so far. I’ve risen up above the treeline. I’ve taken a look at all of my clutter and ideas and worries and resources, organized, clarified and created places for each kind of input, and started to practice the habit of keeping my workflow clear. As new email, ideas and requests come in, I put them into my lists so that I’m not only reacting to the newest request. At any given moment, I can see what I’ve committed to already, and can easily determine how important the new issue that shows up is in relation to the whole. I am able to keep track on a weekly basis of whether I’m giving time and attention to my larger goals, and to the issues that may not be emergencies today, but which might become emergencies if I don’t maintain steady progress with them.
My responsibilities and commitments are clear. And what do I see?
– I’m actually doing a better job of living a creative life than I realize. Even in the busiest moments, I find time to sketch, to brainstorm, to cook a simple but interesting meal. I find playful approaches to nearly every task, and now that all the things I know I need to do are written down and not rattling around my head, I have been starting to have fun doing them one at a time.
– I’m committed to more than I can realistically do. However, I’m not alone in this. Nearly everyone is committed to more than they can do given our many dreams and our practical realities. Given the fact that I can do only one thing at a time, I can now decide which of the important things I’ll do at this moment and let the other tasks and projects wait. And I can practice saying no, standing on the strength of my clear knowledge of what I have already said yes to.
– For me, being busy isn’t the problem. I like being creatively engaged with my world. However, I enjoy doing tasks creatively. For instance, sending out a monthly newsletter to a mailing list sounds horrible to me. Inventing a themed monthly missive that sums up what I’m already thinking about and sharing it with people who really want to read it? Totally fun. Particularly if I give it a fun name and draw the logo. For me, it’s all about the approach.
– Even though I’ve been working steadily at creating a body of work for quite some time, I’m still at the very beginning. And that’s okay. I need to be comfortable with where I am and realize that with the huge projects I’ve taken on, I’m in for the long term.
I love this feeling, being able to see where I am clearly. I feel ready to open myself up now to listen. Sure, I have all of these projects and dreams. But, where am I being called to journey right now? Since I am at the beginning, in which direction should I head? I have a number of ideas of ways to listen: yoga, lectio divina, prayer, meditation, journaling, sketching, running, walking, sitting on the beach, reading, not reading, listening to music, taking time away. But instead of getting busy with any of them, I’m just going to start today by paying attention. Today, I’m going to notice every time I feel that breath of creativity flow through. What causes it? What’s tugging on my attention?
photo credit: CK Wong via photopin cc
by Naomi | May 7, 2014 | Creative Life, Tools & Apps
The Getting Things Done (GTD) method offers so much wisdom by way of collecting and organizing the stuff of life. I hope you’ve read the book by now. To get the most out of this post, you’ll want to be familiar with GTD and also with Evernote and Daylite.
If you’re strategizing before you start your GTD collection process, or puzzling through the finer details of the system, you may find these tips about how I’ve structured my system to be helpful.
Collection:
Checklists: I needed checklists to help me move through the collection process each week. I find that the checklists in Evernote are a perfect solution. I have a notebook called “Weekly Review” where I keep my trigger lists (as David Allen refers to them) and also where I keep my horizons document that outlines my vision, goals and areas of focus. Referring to these documents helps me when I’m making sure I truly have collected everything in my head.
Inbox/Outbox: One notorious place of disorder in my life is my car. Because almost half of my work is done out and about, I tend to collect papers, books, notes, and of course, clutter, on my back seats, passenger seat, on the floor and in the trunk. Beyond the inbox on my desk, I have an inbox in my car, and an outbox that I carry back and forth from my office to my car and back to my office each night. That way, those items that I need to address each day can make it into my office inbox, and those that need to go out from my office actually get into my car where I’ll need them.
One Journal: I have started using one journal for everything I jot down outside of my daily reflecting session. All meeting notes, workshop notes, brainstorms, quick thoughts about projects, spontaneous writing, drawings, everything, all goes here. I have an envelope in the front of my journal with stickers and I put a sticker on a page once it has been scanned for any to-do items. That way, I can move all thoughts of relevance into my computer system when I am back at my desk.
Siri: I found out that if you put Daylite on your phone, you can ask Siri to add tasks to your worklist. She’ll add them and they’ll show up in your Daylite on your computer and everywhere else. To make this work, you need to have the calendar CalDAV set up on your phone to sync with your desktop application.
Organization:
Project Support Materials: I wasn’t handling project support materials very well. In fact, I’d often start a project, and then lose the email, document or paper that I’d originally created. It was too much work to search all the places I might have put ideas about a project already in progress, so usually I just started over hoping my good ideas would show up again. Now, I’ve created a paper folder to match every project that is complicated enough to require support material and put it in a drawer file behind my desk. I have the drawers sorted by my big-picture categories (more on setting big-picture categories here.) I also have an Evernote notebook for every single project and when I finish working on a project for the day, I make a note about where I’m leaving things so it is easy to pick back up the next day. I can also keep project related research, emails, drafts of documents, and many other items in these project-specific folders in Evernote, too. I’ve stacked all of these project notebooks in one stack called “Daylite” (the name of my project/task management software. More on that soon)
A NOTE: Since I organize everything by my big picture categories: Core (personal), Connection (reaching out to others) etc, I use these words as the first in naming my notebooks to make the stack easier to navigate. So, one notebook is called Connection: Experimenting with our First SCBWI Agent Day.
A SECOND NOTE: I name my projects in ways that help me remember what my overall goal is with the project in order to remind myself every time I open up the project just what I’m doing and why.
Someday Maybe: I found that Someday Maybe items were the biggest reason I wasn’t able to keep my system clean (as David Allen suggests may happen in his book. You were absolutely right, David!) I realized the problem for me was that I had different kinds of Someday Maybe items, and not all of them should be in my to-do software. So now, I have a notebook stack in Evernote that organizes Someday Maybe notebooks for restaurants, vacations, classes, movies, etc. I also have a list of deferred projects (which Daylite allows me to do) for projects that I’ve started to think through but need to wait on. I also keep materials that come in on various areas of responsibility (marketing, fundraising, etc) in notebooks for those purposes. Then, when I need to explore new ways to market or fundraise, I can pull up those notebooks and explore instead of dealing with every new resource the day it comes into my email.
Processing:
Daylite: I use Daylite to organize my projects and opportunities. I like the system because it allows me to track all the emails and people connected with any given project. I’ve found that tagging for context, such as “Email” or “Office” allows me to track tasks most simply within Daylite. I have lists on my menu bar for each key context. I also use @HOT to keep the most important items in front of my mind, and only allow myself to use the Worklist (or flag in another system) for those items that truly must be done today.
I use “waiting for” as a tag for those items I’m waiting to hear back from others on, and “for later” for the items I don’t need on my active lists. Then, when I created my smart lists for the menu bar, I could tell the system not to include any of these types of items.
Reviewing:
Sketchnoting: I’ve found that reviewing is much more fun when I create a sketchnote to show myself where I am in my overall life. I keep these in a “Review” folder at my desk so that I can see the progress from week to week.
Three Top Projects: Before I complete my review, I write down my top three projects for the week. I always know that life will not go as I expect, but knowing what my top three priorities are for the week helps me remember where to focus when time gets tight.
photo credit: juhansonin via photopin cc
by Naomi | May 3, 2014 | Creative Life
To me, the start of the journey has to be locating myself. There are many ways to do that, of course: journaling, conversing, mind-mapping. One key part of this, for me, is to try to rise up above my life and see. In order to do that, I’ve been clearing clutter. Physical clutter, mental clutter, digital clutter… I’m taking stock of it all. I knew I’d need some kind of system to help me organize everything.
A few years ago, I tried out David Allen’s method, Getting Things Done (GTD). The system did help me to organize and clear the clutter, but that time, my system didn’t stop the mental lists from running nonstop through my head. If it wasn’t my to-do list on mental repeat, then it was my to-worry list.
But this time implementing GTD has been different. Maybe it’s different because I tried it once before. Now I know where things fell apart for me, and where I needed to push myself on creating new habits. It’s taken real effort, but I’ve been able to create a GTD system that’s working in my real life. I have places for all the incoming paper, ideas, requests, resources, and also for the enormous inventory of ideas that pop up inside my own head. My system reminds me of my childhood room, where I had buckets and boxes for every kind of thing. Organizing was a game. I knew where every kind of item went, and when a new toy arrived, part of the fun was finding where it fit.
How can this be part of a creative journey? Being organized? Becoming more productive? Don’t real artists lay around in their PJ’s most of the morning and then follow every whim that pops into their head? I have to admit it. When I hold myself to a system and work on improving my practical experience of work and life, I can’t help but feel I’m not being a “real artist.” It’s a lie, though, and I know it. Right now, I have my life in order and my creative energy and enthusiasm are in high gear. I feel ready for anything. Why?
I found some clutter quotes that might offer a clue.
Clutter is stuck energy.
The word “clutter” derives from the Middle English word “clotter,”
which means to coagulate –
and that’s about as stuck as you can get. Karen Kingston
Clutter is a physical manifestation of fear that cripples our ability to grow. H.G. Chissell
When you have cleared all of your clutter, you can be of greater service to those around you. Michael B. Kitson
Clutter is stuck energy. Mental clutter is the same, but it’s not easy to see. An intentional process is required to transform our thoughts, worries, and ideas into productive action. Might I even say creative action?
Artists may be known for their playful ability to follow the muse, but to be able to do so, we have to clear and categorize and honor the many ideas (internally or externally generated) that come into our lives. If you’re anything like me, this is MUCH easier said than done. However, it’s definitely worth the process. I’ll write more about it as the journey goes on. In the meantime, if you need a launch point for your own creative journey, I highly recommend reading David Allen’s book, Getting Things Done. He says implementing the whole is greater than the value of picking and choosing parts, and I can attest, that is absolutely true.
by Naomi | May 1, 2014 | Creative Life
Readers who have been following my blog for a while will know that a few years back I had a huge aha! moment. While I was teaching everyone in my world to play (students, clients, even friends), I wasn’t playing in my own life. This discovery led me to write and produce a play: The Play’s the Thing. Using the stages of the Hero’s Journey, I built my own life transformation as I shaped the story to produce on stage. The production, along with pages and pages of my process journal and a paper that summed up the academic research on the value of play, made up my critical thesis for my MFA at Hamline University.
The process of creating the play was a whirlwind. After designing and sewing costumes, composing music, filming and editing clips to use as part of the show, choreographing dances, and doing a dry run of the show out here in California, I flew a few close friends and my production team out to Minneapolis. I didn’t get scared until after we’d loaded the set into the university theatre. Then, I realized what I was about to do.
I was going to take the stage and as one audience member later commented, “turn my head and heart inside out for everyone to see.” Honestly, I don’t know how I got myself out on that stage that night. I was physically shaking, and my best friend, who was also in the production, was coaching everyone on how to keep the show moving if I completely fell apart. The thing is, from the very beginning, when I saw the yawning gap between who I was (someone who took myself way too seriously) and who I wanted to be (someone who bubbled over with joy and creativity and freedom), I knew I had to create change in my life.
Creating the production absolutely produced change. However, that night was a blur. I did make it through the show, and since it was just one part of a 10-day residency, I then went on the next day into lectures and learning and new kinds of creating. As life swept me away, into the Sadie’s Sketchbook four-book contract that filled every waking minute, into my new nonprofit for young writers, Society of Young Inklings, into life and everything that life holds, it took some time to figure out just what had happened that night. I’d been deep in the process of battling my dragons and navigating my way back home, knowing I was a different person, but not really understanding what that meant. How would my real life be, now that the play was over?
With some distance, I am starting to see. Creating the production drew the battle lines for me. I learned what my challenges are and what they will continue to be. I learned who I want to journey toward becoming. But I also learned that becoming our most full selves isn’t a process we can push through the year we turn 33 and then pack up into boxes as though it’s all done. What I actually did when I created the production was to map out my own personal inner journey, one that I need to travel more intentionally, and more often.
So, I decided to experiment. On April 20, I wrote the word “begin” on the white board on my desk and started journaling. The first stage of the Hero’s Journey is the hero in her ordinary life, so to begin, I’ve been taking stock of my life as is. I’ve been doing some practical things, such as collecting all of my projects and organizing them in the GTD way, making mental room for creativity. I’ve been exploring the word, begin, as well as reading the beginnings of some books that have sent me on personal journeys before, such as The Artist’s Way, The Artist’s Rule, The Gifts of Imperfection, The Soul of Money and The Happiness Project.
I wasn’t sure whether I’d write about this journey on my blog, being that it’s a personal one. However, I remember the power of sharing my story when I created the play, and the way that telling the story helped me witness it more clearly myself. So, I’ve decided to share along the way. I can already see that the process won’t be as clean or simple as I’d like. Will each stage take exactly one month? More? Less? I can plan it out, but it’s a journey. And no one really knows what will happen when they load up a backpack and take to the trails. So, I’m not committing to anything more than to taking the journey. And we’ll see what happens from here.
by Naomi | Apr 30, 2014 | Creative Life
Thanks so much to the ever fabulous Holly Schindler for hopping the bloggers my way!
Here are my (rather belated) answers to the BLOG HOP questions (you’ll see why they’re belated as you read on.)
1. What am I working on?
I am currently searching for my next project. I’ve been experimenting with some picture book ideas, am working on a new huge blog series (coming soon) and various end-of-year projects for Society of Young Inklings, including the Inklings Book Contest, in which 26 young authors (grades 1-8) will be published this June. I’m also directing four (yep, four!) plays. Meanwhile, I’m letting my three in-progress novels rattle around in my head while I wait to see which one steals my heart and demands my attention. I’ve also been working on a rather extensive Getting Things Done project which has helped me put my world back in order after having finished my most recent novel: Reflecting Hours. Can I just say: David Allen’s challenge to his readers to get EVERYTHING out of your mind and down on paper is brilliant and just what creative people need. He talks about how all of our “open loops” or agreements with ourselves that are unmet clutter up our mental space. How wise to point out that we ALL agree to more than we can do… that’s the nature of our world today. The point is, we need to be able to see what we’ve agreed to, both for others and to ourselves, and then make the best decision about what to do in the moment, based on the many changing factors of our daily lives.
2. How does my work differ from others in the genre?
Reflecting Hours is a sci-fi fantasy, which is in itself a little unusual. The book weaves both science and magic together. The world of the story is an alternate version of our world in which science has followed chemistry instead of the microchip. In that way, I suppose it’s a little Steampunk. Though, I’m calling it Chem-punk. That’s kind of the way I’ve always been. I like to find my own categories and do things just a little differently. My own way.
3. Why do I write what I do?
That’s such an interesting question right now as I’m looking for my next piece. Here’s what I know. I always start a book with a question. It must be a question that captures me and won’t let me go, a question so large that I can’t answer it without exploring the many aspects and angles of the issue by writing at least 170 pages. Right now, I haven’t found that question, but I feel it on the horizon. Knowing my next piece is out there, just out of reach, is exciting. I love possibilities.
4. How does my writing process work?
My writing process is a dance between long stretches of just putting words one after another on the page, and then stopping as new questions or issues emerge and finding new ways to play through the blocks. For instance, I may stage a scene as though it is a play. I might write only dialogue or write only action. I might draw each scene on an index card and spread them all out on the floor to find the structure of my story, or create a play list for the book to find the exact tone I’m trying to create. The point is, I don’t always follow one way of writing a book. Instead, I try to keep my process fresh and playful. The one thing I’ve learned over time is that there is ALWAYS another way. So, when I’m stuck and I don’t see that way yet, I’m encouraged, because I know it’s out there, and I just have to be patient.
All right, now I’m passing the hop off to two friends, two excellent writers. They’ll be addressing these questions on their blogs in the coming weeks.
Araceli Esparza:
As Latina author, Araceli writes to be authentic to underrepresented voices. She has over seven years of writing poetry and two years writing picture books. For Araceli, making the narrative of the story resonate with all readers is another layer of building diversity from within the story. Check out her blog at writinglatinochildrensbooks.com
AND
Melinda Cordell:
Melinda graduated in 2012 with an MFA for writing for children from Hamline University … three weeks before baby was born! Melinda is a former horticulturist, a chicken wrangler, and small-time Missouri naturalist who’s been published in Cicada, Cricket, Read, Highlights, and Organic Gardening. rosefiend.blogspot.com
by Naomi | Apr 3, 2014 | Creative Life
It’s been a while since my last balance post. Yes, life has been busy, and yes, posting has fallen off the list of most important to-do’s. I’m not big on excuses so I probably wouldn’t even mention it. However, my delay is an excellent case in point. It’s essential to know what’s important when seeking balance. Wise advisors suggest that one shouldn’t start a blog if they don’t mean to keep it up on a very regular basis. Same with Facebook pages and Twitter accounts and various other social networks. I disagree.
I’d much rather have an irregular interesting post from one of my creative friends than not ever see a post from them. But creatives NEED their offline space and time. They can’t commit to constant online chatter. If we’re being honest, we know it’s nearly impossible to predict when a creative storm is coming on and we’ll need to disengage to hole up in our art spaces and imagine. Would any of us really want our creative friends to feel they should stop in the midst of that most-fabulous flow to post on their blog?? No, of course not. We don’t care that they’ve made a basic commitment to post on Tuesdays. We’re not watching our inboxes to see when they’ll post and fuming about this lack of responsibility on the part of these artists. We just check back later. And would we want them to take down their blog and never post again because it’s impossible for them to keep their implied commitment? No.
The current reality for artists is that we need to be online. The old ways of experiencing art: museums, libraries, etc, are all still around, but there are thousands of new ways, too. Part of being an artist is participating in the conversation. Throughout history, artists have soaked up what’s current and experimented with new mediums in order to innovate. For those reasons and others, most of us want to be online in one way or another. We like hearing about our friends’ successes and sharing an insight here and there. We enjoy having new ways to connect with our audience. We like the inspiration and creativity that comes with all the access we have to our friends, to information, to inspiration. What we don’t want is the guilt.
Guilt is one of the key reasons most creatives feel unbalanced. We carry it around with us and let it fill up all the mental space we need for creativity, thinking about all the things we SHOULD be doing. Guilt makes it impossible to work with a clear mind. Since there are programmers creating apps and social networks and thousands of avenues through which to connect and reach out and share our friends’ successes and put good ideas out into the world, not being able to do it all is a fact, plain and simple. Thus, guilt is the default.
I say, let technology work for you on YOUR schedule. Participate in the conversation when you can, and when you need space, trust your artist friends to pick up where you left off. Believe in the power of community. We’ll help you, and we’ll forgive you, and we’ll come back later. Diving into your creative cave is nothing to feel guilty about. We’ll return, we promise, when you’re ready for us.
All right. Manifesto complete. Now, on the topic of technology… It should work FOR you. In order to keep your life balanced, particularly with so much to juggle, some technological systems are likely to help you keep your life in order. Here are some programs that I like best.
Daylite: This Mac software is one of the most amazing I’ve ever used. The program allows me to organize my projects, appointments, contacts and to-do’s all in one database. Between tagging and linking, one can create a network of connections so that I can see all the emails that have to do with a particular project, all the people involved, all the emails from a particular person, all the tasks that have to be done on email, and more. Using Daylite, I’ve been able to keep my work out of my inbox, and when I do have snatches of time to do work, I can easily order my tasks and get them done rather than spend all my time trying to find them.
Evernote: I use Evernote as my virtual filing cabinet. I scan mail into it, notes from events, use it to collect PDF’s and online research and more. I also use the business feature to connect with my team and make even better use of any of our research time. When I need to find a document or note, I no longer have to search through stacks of paper, but can just search Evernote to find that one thing I thought I found that one time. As long as I know a word that is in the document, Evernote can find it. It’s a fabulously powerful tool.
Journal: I keep a journal with me at all times and keep all meeting notes, journal entries, quick notes and thoughts on paper. I know, it’s not technology, but I tried note-taking on my iPad with all kinds of apps until I realized the apps weren’t the problem. I missed the feel of pen on paper. My brain needs that physical connection. Sometimes simple is better, and you have to go with what works for you.
Also, on the journaling/note-taking front: I’ve been experimenting with info-doodling, so the journal is fun to look at, with images and words all mixed together. I can make more sense of what I wrote at a glance, rather than having to wade through words and more words trying to find that one note. One excellent resource to explore info-doodling is the book, The Doodle Revolution, by Sunni Brown.
Habit List: Habit List is an app that helps create a daily to-do list and keep you up to date on the things you want to do more regularly. I use it to keep track of the social media things I’d like to do daily, every other day, weekly and monthly. Having reminders in this list allows me to know what to do when I have those few moments to get online and be social, to help me make the most of the time I spend.
Yearly Calendar: Also, not technology. I have this paper year-at-a-glance calendar on my desk so I can see what to expect in upcoming months, and also so I can keep track of ongoing and changing goals. Here’s a link for a PDF, if you want one too. Blank Yearly Calendar
I’ll share more tools in upcoming posts, but these are some with which to start. I find that too many tools too quickly is worse than no tools at all. In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you. What tools help you maintain balance? What are your thoughts on how artists can revise their relationship with technology and social media to erase guilt and allow creative fresh air?
photo credit: Viewminder via photopin cc
by Naomi | Mar 25, 2014 | Creative Life
by Naomi | Feb 18, 2014 | Book Reviews
I’m thrilled to feature Holly Schindler, author of The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky, as part of her book launch tour!
Drumroll, please… and now from Holly:
Nothing is more satisfying, as an author, than sending your finished book out into the world. I’m especially excited to send my girl Auggie (the main character of my debut MG, THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY) out for readers to meet. She may very well be my favorite of all my main characters. I could go on for hours describing who she is, or I could just let you meet her yourself, through a couple of vlogs that contain passages from the book!
First, a few excerpts:
Second, a video on Auggie’s voice and the use of simile / metaphor in the book.
Additional Info / Links (Includes a Giveaway!):
About The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky:
“Beasts of the Southern Wild” meets Because of Winn Dixie in this inspiring story of hope.
Auggie Jones lives with her grandpa Gus, a trash hauler, in a poor part of town. So when her wealthy classmate’s father starts the House Beautification Committee, it’s homes like Auggie’s that are deemed “in violation.” But Auggie is determined to prove that there’s more to her—and to her house—than meets the eye.
What starts out as a home renovation project quickly becomes much more as Auggie and her grandpa discover a talent they never knew they had—and redefine a whole town’s perception of beauty, one recycled sculpture at a time.
Holly Schindler’s feel-good story about the power one voice can have will inspire readers to speak from their hearts.
Reviews:
“…a heartwarming and uplifting story…[that] shines…with vibrant themes of community, self-empowerment and artistic vision delivered with a satisfying verve.” – Kirkus Reviews
“Axioms like ‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ and ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ come gracefully to life in Schindler’s tale about the value of hard work and the power of community…Auggie’s enthusiasm and unbridled creativity are infectious, and likeminded readers will envy her creative partnership with [her grandfather] Gus.” – Publishers Weekly
“Determined to save her home, Auggie [uses] pottery shards, vivid glass, and metal sculptures [to] transform the house’s exterior into a vibrant expression of the love within its walls. In Auggie, Schindler creates a spunky, sympathetic character young readers will engage with and enjoy.” – The Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Book Studies
Links:
Twitter: @holly_schindler
Facebook: facebook.com/HollySchindlerAuthor
Author site: hollyschindler.com
Site for young readers:
Holly Schindler’s Middles – hollyschindlermiddles.weebly.com. I’m especially excited about this site. I adored getting to interact with the YA readership online—usually through Twitter or FB. But I had to create a site where I could interact with the MG readership. I’m devoting a page on the site to reviews from young readers themselves! Be sure to send your young reader’s review through the Contact Me page.
Group Author Blogs:
YA Outside the Lines (yaoutsidethelines.blogspot.com) for YA authors and Smack Dab in the Middle (smack-dab-in-the-middle.blogspot.com) for MG authors.
THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY Trailer:
Don’t miss the Giveaway, running Feb. 13-20:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Buy The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky on Amazon
The next stop on the tour is: The Hiding Spot Visit on Feb. 19, 2014!
by Naomi | Oct 15, 2013 | Book Reviews
Artists often struggle with marketing. There are many reasons (and excuses) that we all give, but the fact of the matter is that if we don’t get better at marketing, no one will know we’re creating anything. Artists need audiences for many reasons. The deepest, most important one, I think, is that art is made for an audience. Books and paintings and songs and culinary creations, at best, are conversations. Artists start to feel isolated and lose perspective on what they create if they don’t have anyone with whom to share.
Of course, the other issue is that there are only twenty-four hours in a day. If we need to eat and sleep and make a living, making art ends up in the nooks and crannies of our lives. If we can earn at least part of our living from our creative efforts, then we have more time and energy to give to those efforts. Thus, learning to market is a key part of the life on an artist, be it painful for us or no.
There’s a lot of noise out there in the world about getting online, about shouting your message to the world, over and over, anywhere people are listening. I’d rather approach marketing as a way to share my passion with the world, in my own unique way. I’m an artist, after all.
One tool I’ve found very helpful in gaining perspective on how to think about my marketing is the intriguing research Sally Hogshead has done on Fascination. On her site, one can take a test to learn about what unique triggers we unconsciously use to influence and lead others. Understanding those strengths can make creating a marketing plan a comprehensible task. You’re not doing what everyone else would do. You’re doing what YOU do. Also, Sally’s test will help you see what you may be unconsciously doing that is undermining your message.
Once you know your strengths, the next step is figuring out what the core message you have to share is. Not the product you’re trying to sell today, but the underlying contagious idea that you’re passionate about sharing. You have one, you must, if you’re an artist. Another post on that topic soon.
For now, though, I recommend checking out Sally’s site and taking the test. There’s a small fee involved, but it’s worth the cost in self-revelation.
So yesterday, I set out to listen. Here’s some highlights:
