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What I Learned from Madeleine – A Book Flight

What I Learned from Madeleine – A Book Flight

by | Jan 10, 2019 | Book Reviews

Speak with me for more than twenty minutes, and you’ll likely hear me quote Madeleine L’Engle. Sometimes you find that author, thinker, or artist that challenges and inspires you in all the right ways. For me, that person is Madeleine.

I’ve chosen four titles for this flight: a collection of quotes from Madeleine’s many speeches and books, a memoir, a work of literary fiction for adults, and a Newbery Honor book for youth readers. While I’ll be delighted if this collection sends you straight to the library to pick up a L’Engle title, I hope it also inspires you to read a flight of books by one of your author-mentors. Examining an artist’s work over a range of genres offers a rich thinking experience, and provides insight into that ever-elusive question: What makes up a writer’s voice?  As always, I wish you inspiration and joy as you savor your reading exploration.

What I Learned from Madeleine: A Book Flight

Herself by Madeleine L’Engle

“In real play, which is real concentration, the child is not only outside time, he is outside himself… A child playing a game, building a sand castle, painting a picture, is completely in what he is doing… So, when we wholly concentrate, like a child in play, or an artist at work, then we share in the act of creating.”

Herself is my go-to book for words of wisdom about writing craft, and a writer’s life. Madeleine L’Engle said many times that she doesn’t teach writers to write. However, as Carole Chase writes in her introduction to the book, “As thousands of individuals who have say in her writing workshops and read her books over the past five decades will tell you, Madeleine may not teach people how to write but she certainly inspires them to unearth the writer within.” Whenever I need to dig deeper, stretch my courage, or be reminded why I write, I return to this book. Learn more here.

 

Two Part Invention by Madeleine L’Engle

“What I must learn is to love with all of me, giving all of me, and yet remain whole in myself. Any other kind of love is too demanding of the other; it takes, rather than gives. To love so completely that you lose yourself in another person is not good. You are giving a weight, not the sense of lightness and light that loving someone should give.” 

As an artist, it can be easy to focus so much on a creation that I forget the most beautiful creation I’m making … my creative life. Two-Part Invention reminds me that our responsibility–and privilege–as artists is to live life meaningfully and with intention. While this book always makes me cry, it also brings me great joy. I read it regularly, because each time, it helps me become a better wife, friend, mentor, and writer.  Learn more here.

 

Certain Women by Madeleine L’Engle

 “We human beings grow through our failures, not our virtues.” 

While I loved reading this book the first time through as a reader, I have returned to it multiple times as a writer. It’s a masterclass in crafting complex relationships on the page through dialogue, backstory, and action. As with everything else Madeleine L’Engle wrote, this book strikes a resonant chord with me, waking me up to a more fully present way of moving through each day. With each scene, she reminds me of how valuable each moment of our lives are. Live as an artist, live with intention, live with laughter and joy. Learn more here.

 

A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L’Engle

“If I’m confused, or upset, or angry, if I can go out and look at the stars I’ll almost always get back a sense of proportion. It’s not that they make me feel insignificant; it’s the very opposite; they make me feel that everything matters, be it ever so small, and that there’s meaning to life even when it seems most meaningless.” 

Madeleine L’Engle often spoke and wrote about her characters as though they weren’t made of imagination, ink, and paper, but as though they’d arrived in her life as living, breathing people. Her characters are complicated, creative, and dealing with life’s highs and lows. I love how L’Engle blends light with darkness, joy with pain, making each more distinct in her work. In this, as in all of her other books, I find myself feeling life more deeply when I view it through the lens of her words. Learn more here.

 

Share Your Favorites, Too!

If you pick up the books in this flight – whether for the first or (like me) the thirtieth time – I’d love to hear what thoughts they spark for you. If you have a favorite author who writes across genres, and who inspires you, please don’t hesitate to introduce me and the entire Writerly Play community! Tag me on Twitter or Instagram, and let’s chat. Happy reading!

Naomi’s Playlist: Curiosity

by | Apr 26, 2016 | Tools & Apps

My playlist is an eclectic collection of tools that help me approach my work as play. Here’s another of my favorites, the Curiosity app, which sparks new ideas and connections.

Object: Making learning a regular habit with the Curiosity app.

What Didn’t Work: Trying to remember to take time daily to learn something, spending the time I might have spent learning searching for quality material, learning only about topics I sought out rather than material that might stretch beyond my comfort zone

My Aha! Moment: When I visit classrooms, I love to read the list on the board of all that’s in store for the day. As students arrive in the morning, they stop, read the list, smile over the parts of the day that appeal to them, make a face over the parts that will be a challenge, and after they’re done, they nod. The day’s work is accepted.

Honestly, I miss having a teacher lay out a learning plan for my day. Don’t get me wrong, I love the post-school freedom choose my areas of passion and focus. But I miss the richness of being introduced to ideas and topics I wouldn’t naturally seek out. Divergent thinking is an essential part of creativity. When my exploration narrows to the areas of my current expertise, I can find myself also feeling stuck.

The Curiosity app provides a few articles each day to stretch your thinking in new ways.

How I Play:

  • I have a collection of reading material apps, all organized in one folder on my phone. When I need a brain break, I open the one that appeals most at the moment. Often, I choose Curiosity because I know I’ll learn about something unexpected.
  • When I find an article I love, I pass it to Milanote, my new favorite creative thinking and note organization app. Then, I can add the information to a visual idea board that can spark future ideas or connections.

Player’s Notes:

  • I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I find an engaging (and helpful) tool like this one, I set a bunch of expectations for myself. Oooh! I think. I’ll add a reminder to my to do list and make sure to check this tool once a week. Then, I’ll truly take advantage of all of this amazing material. I went down that path at first, but when I lightened up and just let this be a fun app to check in with every once in a while, I enjoyed it a whole lot more.

Take it to the Next Level:

  • Information can easily go in one ear and out the other. If you find something that catches your attention, find ways to engage with the material. Research a little deeper, or share what you learn with someone else.

What other apps and websites stretch your thinking and spark new ideas for you? I’m always looking for excellent new tools! Share below, or tag me on Facebook or Twitter.

Art is Made in Layers

by | Jan 26, 2016 | Creative Life

Art is made in layers.

When I look at a finished artwork, I tend to assume the artist saw the work that way (polished, complete, refined) in their mind ahead of time. The longer I’m a writer, and the more I explore art-making of all kinds, the more deeply I understand the untruth –and unhelpfulness – of this assumption.

Every book I’ve ever written has surprised me. Every book has changed through the process of drafting and revising. And not just little changes. Huge, structural, 180 degree kinds of changes.

What if, instead of waiting until I have a clear vision, I started making art right from where I am today?

A couple weeks ago, I attended a mixed media art journaling class. To start, we laid a foundation of gesso, which is a thick white paint. Then, we wrote in the gesso with a skewer, just free-form thoughts. Then, we used a hair dryer to dry the layer. At this point, unless you looked closely, you couldn’t see a thing. Next, we chose three colors and lightly rolled a paint roller across all three paint dabs. Then, we rolled the colors onto the page in no particular pattern. Again, we dried the layer. And on and on it went, blindly for the most part. We built on the colors and patterns that showed up on the page, and an artwork started to emerge.

As I worked, I thought about improv. At Society of Young Inklings, we use an improv based approach called Writerly Play to help writers get out of their heads and into their natural, spontaneous thinking. The reason we often don’t know what to write, or think we don’t have ideas, is that we’re searching for a finished idea, one we can see fully from the outset.

Despite the fact that I teach Writerly Play all the time – I literally wrote the book on it – I forget in my own work, whether I’m writing or painting or playing guitar, that art is made in layers. I try to see the work ahead of time. I don’t allow myself to try a new art form because I look at finished examples and have no idea how to get from novice to artist. But if art is made in layers, it’s okay for me to be a novice. The first layer doesn’t even have to be visible.

Here’s how I’m going to try building my work in layers.

  1. I’ll start by playing with supplies. Paint, words, instruments, a camera (via my phone). I’ll explore possibilities until something catches my fancy.
  2. When something does catch my fancy, I’ll turn my attention to that idea and add a layer.
  3. After allowing the layer to settle (or dry, depending on my medium) I’ll add another layer. And another.
  4. I’ll keep going until my artwork is ready to show to someone else, to gain outside feedback.
  5. Then, I will return and keep working. Some layers will cover up ideas, some will add new ideas, but even the imprint of past work will be part of what is ultimately created.
  6. And at some point, I’ll pronounce the work finished.

Doesn’t that sound like an interesting experiment? I think this process can work whether the artwork is a song or a collage or a book. Following these steps will cause me to start earlier, work more intuitively, and come up with work that has richness and depth.

I can’t wait to try it. Anyone with me? If you are, let’s chat about what we discover. Share below, or on social media, wherever you want to engage. I’m @naomikinsman, and Naomi Kinsman on Facebook.

Inspired

by | May 4, 2013 | Creative Life

Over the past two weeks, I have had the chance to work with a number of young writers in LA and the Bay Area, and I’m inspired!

Here’s what’s excites me most about my recent encounters with young writers. They’re tapping into their original, unique voices. Young writers don’t follow the “rules.” Without years of publishing experience and without grad school, these creative spirits often come up with ideas that leap courageously into areas most adult writers would tiptoe past. A talking potato who saves the world? Absolutely. A squirrel who adores seaweed? Yep.

Hearing their voices reminds me that it’s okay to dare. It’s okay to try something, even if you’re not sure it will work. It’s okay to put our crazy, creative self on the page. I’m working on the messy middle of my current novel, and each wrangling each word out of my head feels like a battle. In fact, I’ve been so busy wrangling words out of my mind that I’ve neglected to post on this blog for far too long. But tonight, I’m commiting to loosen up a bit. Here’s to a some fresh playfulness. Maybe I’ll even post a silly little story of my own, see if I can free up my own voice. And as for the novel? Well, I’m reminded to play there, too. Why not just throw myself into the scenes and have fun, let them come out messy so that they can also find their own original selves? I’ll try it, and let you know how it goes.

Sketching with Sadie

by | 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!