As promised, I will be writing blog posts every month for kids, based on the advice from my latest children’s picture book Where Do Stories Come From?
Did I really say my blog would be “coming soon” last December?!?!
Well, as you will see with these posts on the creative process, Time twists and turns like a tornado.
For instance, I am working on a book for slightly bigger kids (a novel!) that has taken me the past 4 years, and I feel like I am just beginning to get to know the characters.
I also recently returned to an old copy I wrote of Cosette Goes to Montreal, to see how it sounds two years after her first book, Cosette Goes to the County, was published.
Sometimes our timelines are less linear and more like those tornado tracks, winding and unpredictable.
All that truly matters is you are reading this blog now (my favourite time of day!), and hopefully for 15-ish weeks to come.
Yes, there are 15 snippets of writerly wisdom hidden throughout the pages of Where Do Stories Come From?
A story which I wrote for little aspiring artists and curious creatives (like me!), having taken a piece of universal advice that I heard once upon a time:
"If you find a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."
Toni Morrison said these words and I took that advice to heart, which led me to write a book my nine-year-old self would have loved to find on the shelf. A book about the value of stories, the art of writing, and the power of imagination and trust in the mysterious creative process. Plus, cartoon illustrations of aliens, monsters, ice cream, and dogs…
Books like “Big Magic” and “The Artist’s Way” have had a deep impact on my life, and my book is an ode to similar ideas with a twist – it’s for young readers.
(Although I say it’s for ages 0-100!)
This blog will hopefully deliver a behind the scenes look of my own daily writing practices + the journey of battling dragons (blank pages) and summiting magical mountains (getting new ideas & finally writing “the end.”)
I also mentioned sneak peeks of upcoming books and updates. At the moment, I am working on that previously mentioned novel in a little cabin in the Rocky Mountain woods with a couple of furry friends for company.
*Yes, that is a corkboard with all my characters. It helps me to put a face to a name of the characters that pop into my head. And no, you cannot see them, but three horses play outside my writing room window. They are excellent NEIGH-bours…
I am also attending schools across Canada through “Virtual Visits” which have been awesome so far, reading and discussing stories with students in Manitoba, British Columbia, and New Brunswick. Last week I brought Where Do Stories Come From? to Margaret Wooding in nearby Alberta, and this week I am sharing the book with Valley Elementary in Nova Scotia. It's not only a chance to share my story, but also to let students discover their very own stories waiting to be written.
So, if you have a budding artist in your family, stay tuned and discover where, how, and why stories are born. Or purchase a copy of the book HERE.
For now, if you are not sure what to create, take a page from Ms. Morrison’s life and make the very thing you wish existed in the world. Be it a painting or a play, a toy or clothing. Or hopefully your very own book . . .
Happy Reading!