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Have you ever looked up into the starry sky and wondered what was up
there? It's Hedgie!
No longer the "under-hog" he saves the planet Mikkop!
Let me read you all about his adventure!
Happy May!
I am writing from my art studio and look forward to writing about my
creative world that gives me so much happiness.
One thought is that children and adults might find it a
good time to write and illustrate their own story. With that
in mind I thought I would write a little guide. I am more of
an illustrator- storyteller than a writer so first I'd like to
offer two books that give valuable insight on writing. The
first is Stephen King's book. ON WRITING, A MEMOIR OF THE
CRAFT, the second is AN INTRODUCTION TO POETRY by X. J.
Kennedy. I will try and paraphrase from memory the forward of
Kennedy's book. He says if a student comes to him saying he or
she had great things to say to the world, he would be
cautious about their choice of being a writer, but the
person who said they liked to play around with words would be
a far likelier bet. Please read it yourself for his words will
express the idea better than me! The last bit of advice that
has helped me get started on a new book came from my first
editor, Walter Lorraine. I was in his office at Houghton
Mifflin with my art portfolio, which he liked. I was at The
Boston Museum School and I was just finding my way. He said
I'd have a better chance of being published if I thought up a
story myself, rather than waiting for a manuscript to come
along that would work with my style of illustration. When I
said that I wasn't a writer, he asked, "Could I tell a story?'
I was dubious until Walter said, "you know there are only like
10 plots, it's how you tell the story that makes it work. I
got thinking and what came to mind were common plots for
example, there's no place like home, I'm different, my
specialness turns out to be an asset, there’s always room for
one more, the trickster stories, the creation myths, and so
on. Some of my stories are a little bit of this and a little
bit of that, and some of them are stories of things that have
happened to my pets or when I was little that I embellished.
My best advice
is to start with the plot of your story. It is easy for me to
think of an interesting character or setting, get all excited
about it, and then not be able to go forward for lack of a
turning point and satisfying resolution. Authors will often
talk about the "arc" of a story and once I think of a plot
that will come into play. Sometimes an idea will come fully
formed into my mind. That happened with COZY and THE HAT. I
just thank my lucky stars when that happens. I would never say
never, but often a true story, particularly about an injured
animal is not fruitful. Solving a puzzle or solution is a good
route. One of my favorite picture book plots is about Harry a
dog who is given a sweater knitted by the grandmother that is
patterned with huge pink roses. Dignified Harry loathes the
sweater but doesn't want to hurt the grandmother's feelings.
Somehow, he tries to get the sweater off and a bird passing by
picks up the unraveling yarn. At the end Harry has
disappointed the grandmother until a walk in Central Park. He
barks looking up in a tree and there for all to see is a
bird's nest made out of yarn and patterned with huge pink
roses to the delight of all. It's a perfect little story
complete with a good dose of ludicrous humor. Plot; be true
to yourself. The book is called NO ROSES FOR HARRY by Gene
Zion. Another plot affect that can get stale is a
surreal adventure that introduces danger and leaps of the
imagination when the main character wakes up and the
whole thing is a dream. It is hard to pull off, but easy to
be intrigued by because dreams can show us our
subconscious feeling and can be a path to knowledge. If you
go the dream route, make sure your story is very fresh and
original. I'm working on a picture book now, THE NUTCRACKER by
E.T.A. Hoffman that is based on a dream, and I am really
struggling with the end. I am counting on it being a
traditional and beloved story to help pull me through!
Spring is my
favorite time of year and being restricted to our house and
surrounds is OK for me. I'm able to share my thoughts on
making books. I like to think people may take the opportunity
to write their own story or make a wordless, illustrated
story, or even an illustrated letter to a young person.
Books are very meaningful to me and I love handling all
my hundreds of books I've collected as I do the research for
my new book. I have a whole shelf now on Musk Ox related
books, and if I want to smile all I have to do is look at a
photo of a baby Musk Ox or look at their antics on The Musk Ox
Farm website. I also love to run, and it is a great way to
sort out ideas at any stage of a book I'm working on. Best of all I love to draw and paint and with so much time spent at home I can
lavish more time creating my illustrations!
Your friend, Jan Brett
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