Category: Making

In writing, people often mistake word count for effort and complexity. But poetry and kids books are a good example of how the opposite is true.

Perhaps the frustration you face in your day job is a source of energy in your creative work and that’s something you shouldn’t change right now.

Picture book making is a bit like improv theatre. You have actors working in an open, trusting way, to create something more than the sum of it’s parts.

When I ask myself, does this story have a conclusion, what I’m asking is, have I encouraged the reader to decide something? To form an opinion. That’s very different to ‘have I ended this story’.

When you see the word ‘edit’ it evokes small-scale changes like typos, corrections, and grammar. But editors are invaluable to better storytelling.

With so many people will to give you a critique and share an opinion, how do you know what to listen to, and what to ignore?

Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life. Follow your passion. Find your purpose. What were you ‘passionate’ about at five years old. How about ten years old? 20 years? 30? 45? 60? I’m guessing that at every stage of life, you, like me, were probably passionate about different things.… Continue reading People grow so passions and purpose change

As a storyteller, it’s my job to build believable stories. This means believable characters and believable worlds. What makes something believable? It’s the details. Details need to be grounded in some form of reality, so us lowly humans instinctively know the rules and have a way to connect with the people and places in them.… Continue reading The importance of drawing from life