Posts Tagged ‘scbwi’

5 ways to manage online time & 5 reasons online time is important

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

Of all the things I need to manage, internet time is on the top of my list. It’s easy to get sucked in and hard to break out of the interwebs! On the other hand, I think it’s important to be online, at least some of the time.

Here are five suggestions * for managing online time and five reasons you can use to justify** the hours you spend there.

Managing Online Time

1. Set The Timer: If this suggestion sounds familiar, it’s because it was in my last post as a suggestion to help complete chores and/or creative projects. The beauty of the timer is that you can also use it to keep the internet from being a time suck. Before you go online, figure out how much time you have to spend, then set the timer for 5-10 minutes before that. Why set the timer early? Because it always seems like I’m right in the middle of an email or reading a blog post when time is up. If you give yourself an extra 5-10 minutes, you can finish what you are doing without feeling rushed.

2. Only Go Online After Your Work Is Done: Think of the internet as a reward for all your hard work on a manuscript or a painting. It’s like an ice cream sundae after a week of dieting, but without all the calories.

3. Use Social Media Only On Certain Days: Stay offline for whole days at a time to stay on deadline or achieve goals. You could also set a specific online schedule every week. My current process is to set weekly goals for my WIP. My week starts on Thursday and ends the following Wednesday. That way, I don’t have to rush to get done by Monday, when I want to spend time with my family on the weekend. Monday thru Wednesday is when I rush to finish weekly goals. Thursday and Friday is when I plan the next set of weekly goals and start in on them. If I need to go offline to get my work done, then I do. The internet will still be there when I have more time.

4. Think In Percentages: If you take the total number of hours that you have to work on your manuscript or art, then figure out how much of that time is spent online, it can be a staggering statistic. (Note: This one made me cringe at how much time I’m online.) Here are two easy math examples to show you what I mean.

- A full time writer or illustrator, with 40 hours a week to work (no weekends, that’s family time), that spends 2 hours a day online, M-F = 10 hours a week. That’s 25% of their writing or illustrating time!

- A writer or illustrator that has 14 hours a week to work (including weekends, because of a day job), that spends 1 hour a day online = 7 hours a week. That’s 50% of their writing or illustrating time!

Those are just examples that made the math easy, but it also makes it easy to see how those hours online can add up. Try it yourself. Is your percentage what you want it to be?

5. Take An Internet Vacation: If the internet is causing you to ignore your family, your writing, your art, or other obligations, you might want to think about taking a break from it. Take weekends off, or take whole week, or a month, or stay off line until you’ve made the deadline for your project. Pick a time period that works for you, then re-evaluate your online time when that’s over.

The Benefits of Spending Time Online

I. Research: The internet is a great place to start your research for the project that you’re writing or illustrating. It can also point you to books and people that are important to seek out to make your WIP or illustration seem authentic.

II. Industry News & Networking: There are a ton of children’s book people online, including agents, editors, publishers, authors, and illustrators. Many of them post helpful articles or links to news about the industry, as well as book recommendations to add to your reading list. You can also find critique groups and friends online. They understand what it’s like to create children’s books, even if your offline family and friends do not.

III. Education: If you want to learn how to do something, you can probably find a tutorial or explanation online. There are many articles specific to children’s and YA books, including articles and blog posts on: plot, creating characters, how to put together a PB dummy, fictional settings, writing queries and hooks, how to write a synopsis, agent submission guidelines and preferences, and even how to paint in Photoshop.

IV. Community: Twitter, Facebook and discussion boards might seem like a waste of time, but they’re not, if you limit your time on them. Sometimes it helps to talk with others online; you’re not the only one struggling with your WIP or illustration or getting rejections from an agent.  Time spent online is a lot like talking with colleagues in the break room at a regular job, which is a good way to maintain your sanity and possibly make a few friends.

Discussion Boards for children’s book and YA writers & illustrators:

Helpful Twitter Chats:

  • Mon. 10pm EST #pblitchat
  • Tues. 9pm EST #kidlitchat
  • Wed. 9pm EST #yalitchat
  • Thurs. 9pm EST #kidlitart

V. Fun: We all need to have fun or escape at times. When you go online, there are friends to talk with, games to play, news about what’s going on in the world (outside of publishing), stories to read and inspiring art to look at. Go play, then get back to work!

* Not that I’m an expert on managing my online time … but I keep trying. Eventually reason will win out over shiny objects and fun links, or at least I hope it will. If it doesn’t, I may have to call in the zombies to keep me in line. There’s nothing like the threat of brain munchage to alter your behavior.

** I can justify almost anything, really. It’s my super power. I’d rather have the power to heal myself when I get injured or fly like Superman, but being able to finesse the BS is a useful power too. (I knew my art degree would come in handy eventually – I learned the art of BS while getting my BFA.)

This is the second in a series of three Time Management articles.

Article #1: Time Management Tips Article #3: Multitasking and Achieving Your Dreams

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Posted in YA, art, children's books, fun stuff, writing | 12 Comments »

Time Management Tips

Sunday, April 18th, 2010

Recently I’ve been re-thinking how I manage my time, because I don’t manage it well. I was also going to write a couple of articles on time management* (which I may still do), when I remembered that I’ve blogged about this topic before. The post below is from my old blog, posted on October 20, 2008. I decided to run it again because the information is still relevant and could help me and maybe you manage your time better.

Time Management Tips from sruble of the past

When I registered for the SCBWI LA conference** this year, I listed my occupation as “procrastination exterminator,” in addition to writer and illustrator. At the time, it was wishful thinking, and as evidenced by my behavior last week, I tend to go off on tangents with projects that aren’t necessarily the ones I should be working on. I don’t think I can ever completely curb my tendency for tangential projects, and I wouldn’t want to (Sheila the zombie cheerleader is another example). However, I need to be a little more focused in getting the things I need to do done, so I can go off and play afterwards.

Everyone has their own time management system. Here’s what’s worked for me in the past and what’s new. Use the tips that might work for you, and share your tips in the comments if you want.

15 minutes of fame: Each person reportedly gets (at least) fifteen minutes of fame, the same should be true for your procrastination projects. Set the timer for 15 minutes and dig into that task you don’t want to do (even if it’s your WIP and you really do want to write or draw that scene, but just don’t know how). When the timer rings, hopefully you will be so engrossed in your project that you won’t hear it, but if you’re not, you can always try again later. Set the timer again the next time you work on it. Repeat until you’re done or you don’t need the timer anymore. Works for chores as well as creative endeavors … thanks mom.

Get a cheerleader: Your cheerleader can be anyone that helps cheer you on and supports you with your goal. I have Sheila the zombie cheerleader. If I do what she says, she won’t eat my brain. She’s new to the cheering team. My husband, parents, and writer/illustrator friends are part of the team too. Luckily they don’t want to eat my brain, they just want me to use it to be creative and get my work done.

Set goals: Set realistic goals so that you can achieve them. If you’re a big goal setter like I am, write down the big goals, then break them up into smaller steps and use those steps as goals along the way to achieving something bigger. It’s a lot easier to get things done when you know it’s possible, instead of having something hanging over your head that’s hard to finish in a day or a week or a month.

Make a to do list: Write down what you can realistically accomplish each day. Some days you might not finish it all, and some days you might get done early. If you have lots of things to do, make a big, huge list, then take a few of those items and put them on a to do list, for today. Tomorrow you can take more things off the big, huge, master list. Just like setting goals, your to do list should be manageable, so you can feel a sense of accomplishment each day. Plus, it’s really fun to cross things off the list.

Play: Sometimes you need to chuck the timer, the goals and the lists, and completely ignore the cheerleader, who will be confused as to why you have gone off on a tangent. Playing and following your bliss is important. You have to do that once in a while to connect with your creative side, and maybe you’ll even come up with a brilliant new idea or character. Just make sure to get back to your timers, goals, and lists when you’re done, otherwise you may never get anything done. Besides, if you don’t get back on track, Sheila will find you and eat your brain.

(2010 Update) Having fun can lead to other things: A year and a half after I wrote this post, Sheila the zombie cheerleader is in the YA novel I’m writing. Not only that, but the mini comic about Sheila that I wrote and illustrated last summer, launched a new character for a picture book, Daria the chicken, and I’m thinking of re-writing the mini comic as another story starring Daria [Sheila won't be in it]. So far my chicken PB has been requested by an editor, an art director, and an agent. It hasn’t sold yet and might have a revision looming [I'm considering re-writing it as a graphic novel chapter book], however, if I hadn’t painted a picture of a zombie cheerleader, just for fun, I wouldn’t have either of these characters or stories! Allow yourself to play – you never know what might happen!

How do you manage to manage your time and control your tangential projects?

* This is the first in a series of three Time Management articles. Article #2: 5 ways to manage online time & 5 reasons online time is important Article #3: Multitasking and Achieving Your Dreams

** Looking for notes from the SCBWI LA conference? Here are links to my 2009 notes and 2010 notes.

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Posted in YA, art, children's books, fun stuff, writing | 9 Comments »

notes from the NY SCBWI conference

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

I realized the other day that I forgot to post my notes from the SCBWI NY conference in January. I can’t believe it’s been a month already; it seems like last week. So, here are my notes from the conference – finally!


SCBWI NY Conference Notes:

Friday – Illustrator’s Intensive

There were really great speakers and a portfolio exhibit. This was a good year for the illustrator’s intensive. The only bump in the road was not finding out we had an assignment until the day before the conference. Lots of other people didn’t know either.

Paul O. Zelinsky (my favorite speaker of the day – even if it was too early in the am):

- He uses the style/medium that fits the story he’s illustrating and not just the style that people expect him to use.

- When he’s inspired by something, he doesn’t do a copy of that picture or style, he finds his own unique way to do it.

- Did the art project with us later, when Kevin Hawkes was speaking. Paul gets the creativity award for the day. He didn’t have any glue for the project, so he used the mints on the table … brilliant!

Lisa Desimini:

- It’s important to do personal work and what inspires you. It will find a way into your work.

- After reading a poem/story to illustrate, she circles the main concept words. Then she takes those words, or phrases, and brainstorms about them to figure out what to illustrate for each scene or poem. (*This is something I’m going to try in the future to illustrate something other than what’s expected.)

Kevin Hawkes:

- Curved lines are not static.

- Curved diagonals have a lot of energy.

- Figure out where the emotional center of the story is going to go, then try not to hijack that (especially when working with another author’s text).

- Shapes that come to a point can be scary to a 5 year old.

Art Director Panel (All said they don’t look at source books – look online instead):

Ann Bobco (Atheneum, McElderry and Beach Lane):

- Make sure pictures are not redundant to the text. The example she showed was from Seven Hungry Babies (out this spring). The story the illustrations tell is why mama bird gets so tired by the end of the book. Each time she gets food for the baby, she faces some kind of challenge, which is not in the text.

- Art samples need to speak to her as if they are coming from a real person or tied to an individual working in that voice.

Chad Beckerman (Abrams and Amulet):

- Likes illustrators that don’t need to be pushed, but come up with ideas, character sketches, etc.

- Passion – give more than is expected. Don’t settle just to get the work done. Picture books are a continuous job. It’s a job.

- Art is a constant exploration, not, “I’m done./This is all there is.” It’s easy to work with and give feedback to artists that are used to evolving and exploring.

- He likes what entertains him now and would have when he was a kid/teen.

Lee Wade (Schwartz and Wade):

- Asks all new illustrators, “are you up for this?” There’s a steep learning curve for illustrators of picture books. It’s par for the course to get four pages of illustration notes as feedback on the dummy or sketches. Every round of sketches/illustrations has this kind of feedback from them.

- Consistency is one of the biggest challenges in picture books.

- hear/read the feedback comments and process them/interpret them in your own way.

- Questions she asks when looking at an art sample: Does she feel something? Know that kid? Know what the animal is thinking? Is there emotion? Is there a different take on the subject?

Saturday

Libba Bray:

- “Find the crack that lets the light in.” – let the characters be human, with cracks/flaws/gritty bits that let the reader grab on.

- “First you jump off the cliff, then you build the wings.” – quote by Ray Bradbury – There is nothing without the leap of faith. There’s no easy way; you have to do the work. You have to jump/feel the fear – if it’s not scary, it’s not worth it. “Join me in a year of writing dangerously.” (I’m in; are you?)

Laurent Linn (Simon and Schuster):

- Art samples – what came before and what came next?

- Characters are important.

- Kids see things in cinematic terms now. Illustrators should think this way too. Think of it like theater. You’re designing the costume, character, hair and makeup, set design, and lighting. Make them specific things.

- Left to right moves the action forward. Right to left can and will stop the action.

Ben Schrank (Razorbill):

- Voice and concept both have to be there, like Reeses Peanut Butter Cups – the chocolate and the peanut butter are both good, but great together.

- If your story has no link to the fantasy life or the real life of a reader, it won’t work for a publisher.

- What makes a success and a successful writer? It really pays to be nice, in addition to being confident and secure.

Arianne Lewin (Disney/Hyperion):

- Most of the books on her list are fantasy.

- Sees a lot of paranormal romance and dystopian.

- Story has to stay true to the MC.

- Ask: Is your concept workable? The world/magic has to have rules. Powers aren’t for sometimes or convenience. You have to account for everything your supernatural characters need. (2 authors with info on world building on their sites: Holly Black and Cinda Chima.)

- Need to figure out an organic way to show world and how it works, not just exposition.

- Keep a few loose threads for possible sequels or companion novels.

- Try to poke as many holes in your story as you can before sending it out because an editor or agent will do that.

- Need to have an end game/stakes. Make sure they are something your reader will care about.

- Think about your book. Who will it interest? Will the world relate to our world?

- Likes: fast paced, horror, being scared, anything that creates tension.

Sunday

Jim Benton:

- You are not your work.

- Your editors will make you better writers if you let them.

- If you don’t draw/write every day for fun, you should start (even if it’s writing obscenities to a loved one).

Agents Panel:

Tina Wexler: You should have a hobby that’s not related to writing/illustrating/day job. Then bring that into your writing.

George Nicholson: Really consider if your historical needs to be that time period.

Rosemary Stimola: Looks for something that stands out and asks if she can give a new client the time they need/want to be successful.

Jane Yolen:

- Remember: BIC and HOP (Butt In Chair and Heart On Page).

-You may never be the best, but you can always get better.

- No one outside of a fairytale expects a happy ending.

- In a meaningful ending, there must be a lifetime of discussions. Do not be afraid of the hard work.

- Fall through the words into the story. (I love this quote!)

- Sometimes simply simple is best, but not everything should be simplified.

- It’s not the opening line, but what it portends for the story. It’s the DNA of the book.

- There’s no such thing as the time fairy. You have to grab/take time. (I really wish there were a time fairy though. How cool would that be?)

- Details must be specific, like you’ve been there.

- We play all day with imaginary friends … of course we’re crazy.

- There are actually projects you will never complete. Walk away.

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promotional chickens

Sunday, January 24th, 2010

I’m designing my postcards for the SCBWI winter conference next weekend. I had it all planned out when I realized that I wanted a different image on one side. I’ve already done several finishes for the chicken PB, but they were all similar emotion-wise. So I did a new finish from a different page in the dummy. On one side of the postcard will be the new image:

sruble postcard image 1

sruble postcard image 1

On the other side is one of the chickens I finished last week:

sruble postcard image 2

sruble postcard image 2

I also have new business cards with this image on one side (and a crop of the new image on the other side):

sruble's new business card

sruble's new business card

It’s always takes longer to design postcards and business cards than I think it will (not to mention that printing and cutting usually takes twice as long as I think it will). That’s why I started early this time, but it’s worth it if they turn out.

Update: all 105 postcards and business cards are printed and cut, and ready for the conference! This is the earliest I’ve ever been done with promo materials before a conference. Now all I have to do is finish all the art and stuff for my portfolio! Whew!

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Posted in art, children's books, promotion | 9 Comments »

Notes from the SCBWI LA conference

Sunday, August 23rd, 2009

I haven’t posted my notes until now because I’ve been trying to decide what the theme was this year. There’s usually a theme that I notice that runs through comments that several speakers make over the four days. There are probably several themes that could be taken from the conference, but the theme that I notice usually reflects where I am in my work and what I need to concentrate on when I return home. It helps me to take the inspiration from the conference and shape it into something tangible.

The theme for me this year was, “building your career.”

(Note: all comments are paraphrased unless there are quotes around them. I wasn’t able to write notes as fast as people talked.)

Sherman Alexie talked about career in his amazing opening keynote speech, how your writing affects the readers and how your family and friends will be neglected if you’re doing it right.

David Wiesner talked about his career so far in his inspiring keynote speech. He showed how things that he’d worked on many years ago kept appearing in his work until he found the right book for them. He also talked about stories and dummies that didn’t work sometimes morphed into other stories that did work.

“Be open to all that stuff floating around out there and the cool stuff you liked as a kid and the stuff you think is cool now.”

David’s breakout session was excellent too. The best advice was to always think of it like a book. He uses a blank book that’s the size and shape of the final book and swaps out the images at every stage, sketches, final drawings, finishes, so that he’s always seeing the page turns and reading it as a book.

“Observational drawing is the basis for everything we do.”

Steven Malk gave my favorite workshop of the conference. Some of his career advice for illustrators (most of which applies to authors too):

“Have a career plan and know what you want to do. All of your decisions should help you work towards that goal.”

“Don’t dibble dabble. Decide you want to build a career and completely jump in.”

“Only you can own your career decisions. Each decision you make affects your career.”

“Make each decision in a calm, rational way, not a shot in the dark kind of way.”

Writing and illustrating is to your advantage. Knock their socks off with the dummy. Take the time to do a great job and really show your vision for the book. You need to have a finished dummy, not just a few finishes.

Elizabeth Parisi made a comment about being realistic about what your skills are (cover artist, PB artist, etc.). Wish I had been able to capture the exact quote, but she went on to the next thing too quickly.

A bit of good news for illustrators: MG covers are still about 95% illustration and they are using more interior illustrations since Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.

Artist mistakes: going straight to final without sketches and surprising the AD with major changes between approved sketches to final illustrations.

Start with illustration or writing and get your foot in the door with one thing. Don’t try to jump into both. Pick the one that you really love and do that first.

Eve Bunting: When she finishes a book, she thinks, “Is this worth saying?”

Dan Yaccarino says yes to everything, whether he knows how to do it or can do it, or not (animation, package design, etc.). When people ask if he has a story to go with an image in his portfolio, he says yes, even if he doesn’t. Then he goes home and writes it and sends it out.

Dan also talked about doing art that he wanted to do and not just what he thought he should do.

Holly Black: “Read enough that you’re part of the conversation.” (During her keynote, on reading fantasy if writing it, but could apply to any area of children’s books.)

Holly’s breakout session was really great too, along the lines of Steven Malk’s session, but for writers. I wish I had seen the whole session, but I came in half way through.

“Respect your process.” Put together a plan that works for you and remember to plan for trips and other times when you’re not going to be able to get as much done.

“You need to include some space in your schedule to stay inspired (continuously), so you’re not just work, work, work, project, project, project.” Do what ever inspires you, reading, walking, etc. If you don’t do that, you’ll burn out quickly.

Richard Peck: “Always write the story going forward because the characters can’t go back.”

Elizabeth Law: She talked about respecting a MG writer who said that she wasn’t comfortable writing YA so she wrote MG and that theme came up a couple of times.

“Know who you are writing for and why someone would want your book, but don’t force yourself to write something because you think it will sell or that you’re not comfortable with.”

Encouraged everyone to use social marketing to connect, unless it keeps you from doing your own work.

Linda Sue Park: “Love the story for itself, even if you’re the only one that ever reads it.” Linda Sue said that her editor has turned down novels since she won the Newbery, so she has to believe that it’s not wasted time and love the thing for what it is.

Arthur Levine: “Crossing genres is easier with one long term editor … instead of selling in to another house based on past books.”

* There were too many speeches, quotes, and comments to write them all here, but I tried to highlight the ones I thought would be the most useful or inspiring. For more SCBWI notes, I’ve listed all the blogs about the conference I’ve seen here. I also talked about the Blue Moon Ball and my outfit here. If you’ve blogged about the conference, let me know and I’ll add your link too.

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Posted in Conference Notes, Tween, YA, art, children's books, writing | 15 Comments »

Blue Moon Ball and my outfit

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

The Blue Moon Ball was a blast, even though I didn’t dance this year. I kept running into people and talking. I had planned a costume, but I ran out of time, so I wore custom made shoes (painted by moi).

blue moo shoes 1
blue moo shoes 1

 

 

blue moo shoes 2

blue moo shoes 2

 

 

I also wore a shirt with an ironed on picture of a cow that I painted. Here’s a picture of The Blue Moo – get it? Yeah, I know it’s silly, but I like cows, and how often do I have an excuse to paint a blue cow? Not that I need an excuse … 

Blue Moo
Blue Moo

 I had a camera on my cell phone, but of course I kept forgetting to take pictures. In fact, the only 3 pictures I took in LA were of the Blue Moon Ball from my room. It’s a time-lapse thing, even if the last picture is very dark because the party was in full swing by then. The three pictures are, 1: set up, 2: just starting (I was dropping my portfolio off in my room), and 3: Party!!! (I went up to get my sweater because it was a bit chilly). 

 

Blue Moon Ball, time lapse

Blue Moon Ball, time lapse

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SCBWI LA links

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

Here are the links to LA conference blogging that I’ve got so far, in case you are interested in checking out notes and things. I didn’t get to meet all these people, but I did get to see lots of old friends and meet some new ones too. Note: I’m just starting to look for notes, so I’ll be adding to the list as I find them. Let me know if you blogged about the conference, and where, and I’ll add your link.

The official SCBWI conference blog

Lisa Yee: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Elizabeth Dulemba’s blog 

Kelly Light’s blog

Lois Peterson’s blog: Part 1, Part 2

Denise Jaden’s blog: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Recap

Cindy Pon’s blog: food, blue moon, dream career

Tammi Sauer’s blog: book tour with Cynthea Liu

PW article on the LA Conference

Debbie Ohi’s blog: Debbie’s got a lot of great posts about LA.

Sheri Rosen’s blog

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