by Naomi | Sep 6, 2012 | Creative Life
Brilliant Hues is here! Celebrate Sadie’s fourth book birthday by sketching something today. What should you sketch? Well, in Brilliant Hues, Sadie, Frankie and Vivian are working on a sketchbook together… and the theme is doors. They begin by drawing actual doors, but quickly start to think about anything that could be a door. Could a puddle be a doorway to a magical watery world? Could a mirror be a doorway into a world nearly like ours, but not quite?
Once you start looking, you’ll see doorways everywhere. And if drawing isn’t your thing, why not paint, or collage, or even take a picture. You could even write a poem about a door. The sky’s the limit! Scan your art or poems, and send them my way: naomi@naomikinsman.com. I’ll post a collection here over the next few weeks.
by Naomi | Aug 24, 2012 | Creative Life
In honor of the upcoming release of Brilliant Hues, the fourth book in the From Sadie’s Sketchbook Series, I’m hosting a Sketching Challenge.
If you’ve read the first three books, you know that sketching becomes a way for Sadie to explore and ultimately better understand her new life in Michigan. Many of us are starting new, with new classrooms, new teachers, maybe even new schools or towns. Why not do what Sadie does… and sketch?
There’s something joyful in searching for a scene to sketch. As you search, your mind will start to take mental snapshots. You’ll notice just how vivid the orange clouds are at sunset, be surprised by a dragonfly’s blue-green wings, or burst out laughing at a puppy wriggling on his back on bright green grass. The ordinary becomes so much more interesting when you pay attention.
Consider carrying a camera with you. Snap real shots of moments you’d like to sketch, so you have all the details when you sit down with pencils and paper.
Start by just noticing, even if you don’t sketch yet. Vivian would say that “Learning to see is the first step in learning to draw.” If you sketch something you love, email the pdf to Naomi with a title for your image. I will post many of your images here on the blog. For the next month or two, check back for new drawing challenges. More are on the way!
Happy Sketching!
by Naomi | Jul 26, 2012 | Creative Life
Give me a “30 days to (fill in the blank)” program and I’m in. There’s something about committing fiercely and the progress that comes along with the commitment that makes me feel as though I’m achieving success. In my mind, I call this “getting somewhere.” That’s very telling. Not “getting (fill in the blank with a specific location)” but “getting somewhere.”
Where am I going? What’s the rush?
Don’t get me wrong. Tracking movement in my life and making commitments has served me well. It’s just that I’m realizing the guilt that goes along with these commitments might be stifling the creative winds that flow through my life.
I’m starting to think I should start in a different place. The truth is, anything worth learning to do isn’t done in chunks of 30 days anyway. Instead of committing to cram new information into my head, what if my goal were more authentic, less achievement-oriented? Isn’t my goal actually to live a more creative life, to let myself explore and learn something new? And if exploration is my goal, maybe I need to work on a couple 30 day programs at once, and *gasp* perhaps not complete them in 30 days. Or maybe I need to toss all the 30 day programs out the window and trek out into totally uncharted territory.
Maybe.
To tell the truth, I think we all need both: commitments to ourselves, commitments we strive to achieve, and also flexibility to go with the flow. I’ve started a new habit, one I think might just work for me. Many nights (see I didn’t say “every night…”) I take a few moments to jot some notes down about the day. Did I invest in creative exploration today? Did I invest in friends and family? Did I learn anything new? What am I grateful for today? Over time, I’m starting to see that my impulse isn’t actually to achieve some far-fetched goal, but instead to honor each day–to value my minutes and hours–by being intentional.
Do you track movement in your life in any particular way? I’d love to know.
by Naomi | Jun 13, 2012 | Creative Life
We’ve got a debate going at my house. When is the end of the year?
I believe, and have long-held, that the end of the year is the last day of school. Of course, those that hold that December 31 is the last day of the year are technically more correct. Still, in the cycle of my life, when school ends and the summer stretches long in front of me, I feel like I’ve stepped into a land of new beginnings. New possibilities spring up.
The first thing I do is bushwhack. Yep. As though my office is a jungle (and on the last day of the school year, it practically is), I hack through the piles and paperwork and clutter. As my recycling bin and donation boxes fill, and I start to see my desk’s surface, I feel my lungs open and I can finally breathe.
Clearing my desk allows me to clear my mind–always a joyful process because where there’s space, creativity is possible. When I’m in the thick of commitments and appointments and classes, buried in paperwork and email and to-do items, I simply can’t think of a single new thing. But my heart feeds on these new ideas, these full-of-hope possibilities, and creativity is generally the thing I most need when I’m in those overwhelmed, too-busy moments. So, today, I’m feeling grateful as I scan my shiny, clear desk. Anything is possible. Perhaps, today, I can get back to the important work of learning how to play.
by Naomi | May 13, 2012 | Creative Life
So, I’m out on blog tour! The first post is at the Storyteller’s Inkpot. Check it out here. Other posts are coming… check back often because at each stop on the tour, we’re giving away copies of the Sadie books! Don’t miss the fun. This is all in celebration of the release of Waves of Light, the third book in the Sadie series. Don’t forget… it’s not too late to submit a story to the competition to win a Kindle Fire! Young authors, ages 9-12, check the details out here.
by nk | Apr 27, 2012 | Creative Life
Waves of Light has officially hit the shelves! I’m going to celebrate for the next ten days… will you celebrate with me?
Today, introduce Sadie to a new friend. Visit Facebook and like the Naomi Kinsman page. We’re aiming to bump the fan count over 150 in the next ten days.
And, no birthday is complete without a sweet treat and a candle! So, eat a cupcake or a bowl of berries and blow out a candle for Sadie. Let me know what treat you chose right here! You could even have a peanut butter Dorito sandwich in her honor!
You can order your copy of Waves of Light at Powells, Barnes and Noble, Amazon or your favorite Indie Bookstore.
by nk | Apr 7, 2012 | Creative Life
From Sadie’s Sketchbook Writing Contest
Calling all imaginative tellers of tales… Let Sadie’s adventures spark your own creativity. Draft a story, poem or essay of 500 words or less on one of the following topics for a chance to win a Kindle Fire!
Topics:
1. In Shades of Truth, Sadie’s best friend, Pippa, sends her a book of the Top Ten Reasons they’ll always be best friends. Write about one of your best friends in action. Why is she such a special person to you?
2. Sadie’s adventures begin with a move from California to Owl Creek, MI. Write about a move, either to a new home, a new school, or even a new team or group. What changes, challenges, and excitement did you encounter?
3. In Waves of Light, Sadie’s youth group puts on a play based on an original fairy tale that Penny, her youth group leader, wrote. Write your own fairy tale, using elements such as larger than life characters, a long-ago and far-away setting, and a problem that may at first seem impossible to overcome.
Prizes:
The grand prize winner will receive a Kindle Fire. The second place winner will receive a $100 VISA gift card. The third place winner will receive a $50 VISA gift card.
To Enter:
Mail your entry to From Sadie’s Sketchbook Writing Contest, c/o Sara Merritt, The Zondervan Corporation, 5300 Patterson, SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49530.
You can also enter online:
- Adults, over 13, can enter for young writers on my Facebook page, at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naomi-Kinsman/243791448992512?sk=app_95936962634
- Additionally, you can enter online here: http://bit.ly/SadieWriting
All entries must be postmarked/dated between April 1, 2012 and June 1, 2012.
This contest is open to young people ages 9-16.
Please note: Entries not conforming to the above requirements will be automatically disqualified. Only one submission per entrant is permitted. Multiple entries are automatically disqualified, and only the first submission will be considered. View the official contest rules here.
by nk | Mar 7, 2012 | Creative Life
So, I decided to divulge a secret––most mornings, as I get ready to write, I play a game. You can learn more about it at #rollnwrite. The game warms up my mind and sparks creative ideas, but more importantly, by playing, I practice opening myself up for surprise. So much of the creative process is about saying YES to the new ideas that pop into our heads, particularly when they catch us by surprise. Still, there are so many reasons why we don’t want to say yes. For instance, that new idea might introduce a plot twist, or complication, or it may mean we have to rewrite many, many pages.
However, I’ve learned that when I say no to the surprises, my words start falling flat. They have no spark, no energy, no drive. Too many no’s and my creativity goes off in the corner to sulk.
Anyway, today, I rolled my dice, and I rolled “Character” and Question.” So, I decided to ask Sadie a question. What would she do for her 13th birthday party? She’d go waterskiing with her friends at Lake Tahoe. She’d have chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting and Reeses Pieces on top. She’d definitely want a candle to blow out, and she’d make a wish––to see her friends back in Owl Creek, MI soon. She’d give out party favors, probably sketchbooks and drawing pencils, hoping to entice her friends to draw along with her. And she’d ask her best friend, Pippa, to take lots of pictures so she could make a collage of the day later, and put it up on her bulletin board.
What would your character do on their next birthday?
by nk | Feb 24, 2012 | Creative Life
No one likes to fail. Recently, I tried to re-learn how to hula hoop.I have to admit, it was a disaster. Hula hooping only looks cool if you’re doing it well. Otherwise, you look more than a little silly. But as long as you’re trying NOT to look silly, you can never learn. It’s a catch 22. I learned something as the hoop dropped to the ground over and over.
You have to fail to learn.
Why is that? Why can’t we just be geniuses to begin with? You’re probably smiling knowingly, right? You’re thinking, well, of course it doesn’t work like that. Of course you have to fall off a bike a few times while you learn to ride, and you have to miss the basket a few times while you’re learning to shoot. Still, I’ll bet you dont like it any more than I do.
I’ve been working on learning how to draw. To be honest, I’ve been working on this project for quite a long time. Ever since around third grade, when I started to realize my drawings didn’t come out looking the way I saw them in my head. So why am I not a stellar artist by now? Well, I’ve been afraid to fail. I’ve only drawn the things I knew would come out okay. I took breaks every time drawing became hard. I told myself, “I can’t really draw.” these are all excuses. I can learn to draw, just like I can re-learn to hula hoop. But if I refuse to draw badly, if I am too afraid to push beyond my current skill, I will never get any better than I am now.
Which is worse: drawing badly as I learn to get better, or not drawing at all?
Though I’m often paralyzed by fear of failure, I don’t want this to be my story. In twenty years, I don’t want to say: I’ve always wanted to be able to draw, but I just couldn’t learn. Can’t, can’t, can’t. I despise the word. It stops me, and everyone else I know in their tracks.
Anything can be done, one tiny step at a time. Truly. Anything.
So, I found a book. Learning to Draw in 30 Days. I’m challenging myself to draw along with the book. If i miss a day, I’m picking up a day later. I’m going to give this my best shot. I’m going to go ahead and draw badly, knowing that I’ll keep getting better. I’ll post a few of my drawings here.
Anyone want to draw with me? I’d love to hear how it goes, if you do!
by Naomi | Dec 5, 2011 | Creative Life
Naomi, age seven
Remember when you were five or six and you had a friend over and you said something like, “Let’s imagine that we’re in a hot air balloon and we’re flying over India and we’re on our way to meet an elephant.” And then you climbed up into your living room wing-back chair and peered out over your carpet, squinting as though you were looking down a really long way, and somehow, because your friend was doing it too, it felt real? Even though you knew you were in your living room, you also were in a hot air balloon, too.
Over Thanksgiving, I got to play “Let’s Imagine” with my niece. We rode in a magic elevator to places all over the world to fight the evil Dr. Subtraction, who was, of course, stealing valuables. There’s something magical about belief like that, when a family room turns into an ocean, or you have to tiptoe across the front room because a bear is sleeping just around the corner.
My best writing days are those days when I slip into my office early in the morning before the sun rises, and in the quiet, that little girl I used to be waits for me. She crooks her finger at me and whispers, “Let’s imagine…” and even though my fingers are flying across keys in my office, because she’s there with me, I’m also snowshoeing past bear dens in the Michigan woods, or catching the wind on a stormy northern california beach.
There’s plenty of time to be grown up and reasonable and realistic. Perhaps we should try, more often, to remember the way we used to be.
Brilliant Hues is here! Celebrate Sadie’s fourth book birthday by sketching something today. What should you sketch? Well, in Brilliant Hues, Sadie, Frankie and Vivian are working on a sketchbook together… and the theme is doors. They begin by drawing actual doors, but quickly start to think about anything that could be a door. Could a puddle be a doorway to a magical watery world? Could a mirror be a doorway into a world nearly like ours, but not quite?
