Planning to be Creative! #timemanagement

Hi There!

I read this article the other day: "The Pace of Productivity and How to Master your Creative Routine" (thanks to a friend of mine who shared it!). It was interesting and inspiring, and it gave me a big enough nudge to evaluate my daily habits.

I waste SO much time.

I don't really mean to waste time. I have come to the point where I only blog about stuff I truly feel is important, versus blogging because it's "Blogging Monday". I'm pretty good at not constantly nitpicking about housework, because even when the house is clean, there is still something to be done. I don't turn the television on during the day. I don't go out drinking for hours. I do well at only going on Facebook in between customers as I wait on tables, or while I shove cereal down my throat before work, or while in the car (but not driving, of course!). And I hardly ever play silly games on my smart phone. (If you're wondering, yes, I still have time for fun...)

My biggest problem?

The After-Work Time Suck.

That's what I'm naming it, now that I can easily recognize the monster that it is. Being a waitress most nights and a creative person most days, by the end of the day both my body and brains are tired and sore, and I just need to zone out. So my husband and I plop down on the couch and then it goes all down hill from there.

The worst part is that half of the time we aren't even watching our pre-recorded shows. We're mindlessly staring at whatever garbage happens to be on, even re-runs and stuff we don't care about. We're just too tired to go to bed. Go figure!

Normally this sort of thing wouldn't matter, since I am pretty useless at being creative or even receptive to new information at that time of day, but the late nights turn into even later mornings, where I am hitting the snooze button about fifteen times. And THAT is a waste of precious creative time!

Plus, I really do miss being able to sit and read a book for a bit just because I want to.

So I compiled some notes and put together a little schedule for myself. It's strict only during those important morning hours, and then after 11:00 am I am welcome to do whatever my little heart desires. Like chores. (Ha!) But it gives me those few extra morning hours of creative fun, a solid seven hours of sleep, and an enforced bed time... all of which I am in dire need.

Here is what it looks like:

Of course, this can all change at the drop of a hat when the schedule gets all messed up or someone goes on vacation or calls out sick. But this can be useful for the majority of my days. And, here, take one for yourself! Print it up and fill it out, and give this Creative Planning a shot!

I don't know if I will fail or succeed, but I'm certainly going to give it a try to see if these new habits stick! Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below! Do you schedule your creative time, and how well does it work for you?

As always, thanks for reading! :)
~Melanie

~*UPDATES*~
6/7/13
So far, it has been over a week, and EPIC FAIL.
But I will conquer this.
I will.
I will do it!!!
I will try again, fresh, starting tomorrow, June 8th.
Yes.
YES!
(Plus, I have begun to read "Manage Your Day-to-Day" and it is spurring me on!)

#PiBoIdMo 2012 and #PiBoIdMoBrainFlush! and IDEAS!

Hello! It's NOVEMBER again! (Well, almost.)


AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT NOVEMBER MEANS???


It's Picture Book Idea Month! Invented and hosted by the lovely Tara Lazar!

*ta daaaaaaaaa!!!* (this means, GO HERE ---> http://taralazar.com/)

It's a pledge, taken by writers, to come up with THIRTY (30) new picture book ideas, one for each day of the month of November. And we put them all into a fancy journal and keep them for future picture book idea usage. So we will always have a new story to be working on, all year long! Woo!

Here is my shy, quiet little PiBoIdMo journal:



shhh... it's sleeping

it's been around the block a bit...

And inside are... BAM!!!! IDEAS!!!!

HA! I'm not showing you my ideas, Silly!

Although this book works just fine for now, I just ordered (from Shutterfly) some custom matching journals for future use. I might even transfer over all of my ideas into those books, so I might come up with more ideas while I'm thinking! Who knows? WE DON'T KNOW!

Okay, now that you know more of what PiBoIdMo actually is, SIGN up and DO it! Not sure how to start? Go here ----> registration-begins-now-sign-up-here and then read this nice little Pre-PiBoIdMo Post! ----> pre-pibo-day-1-kathy-ellen-davis-and-the-three-little-ps/ by Kathy Davis.

In addition to the neat things Kathy Davis recommends doing to prepare yourself, I have my own personal favorite... the Pre-PiBoIdMo Brain Flush. This little method/game/process is from my own genius mind (me so smaht!). Because it almost feels like cheating when I start off my PiBoIdMo journal with a TON of "new" ideas that I've been brewing on but never had the chance to write them down. So I write down ALL the stuff and bits of things that are floating in my head until my brain is empty.

Yep. It's empty all right.   -_-

Also, I have been keeping track of new ways to get new ideas, so I can keep them in my journal for emergency brain fart removal.

I'd like to share with you some ideas on how to get ideas... but I don't have my whole list ready yet. I'm getting ideas from other people, too! And when I've got them all down in my new, shiny Idea Book, I shall show them to you! (I'm even going to TYPE them up, muah ha haa haaaaaa!)

Anyway, that's what I'll be doing this month. Time to go wait on some tables!
ttfn!

Lessons From a Mouse (a famous one!)

Hello hello!

As you've probably noticed...I've been away for a couple of weeks. Hubs and I were stocking up on rest and relaxation, good food, good company, and good fun in sunny California. We visited family in San Francisco, friends in Santa Barbara, drove through horrid traffic in LA, and hung out with a mouse in Anaheim! It was a fantastic trip, but I didn't leave without getting a lesson about making my dreams come true. (Good 'ol Walt pulls it off every time!)

You know it... we went to Disneyland!

We not only got to visit THE Disneyland, the place where Walt Disney actually walked and took a chance on his dreams, be we also visited the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, where we learned all about Walt's many successes, and many failures.

Failures?!? Yep. Failures. And LOTS of hard work.

You see, Walt Disney started working when he was about 7 years old (or maybe 8? I'm bad at remembering numbers...) where he trudged through the snow on his father's paper route. He sold his drawings to friends and neighbors. He worked for a cannery, boxing up jams and things. He worked on a train selling food and the news to passengers. He worked for the Red Cross, because he wasn't able to get into the military. And he worked hard enough to earn himself a scholarship at the Kansas City Art institute. This all happened before he turned twenty! (And there is plenty more I'm forgetting to tell you about!)

After graduation, Walt and his college buddy Ub Iwerks then started a small animation company (yay!) that ended up going bankrupt (boo!). So they moved to Hollywood and worked on the "Alice Comedies" instead, (yay!) which eventually died off (boo). Then he invented a character called Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who was successful (yay!) but the rights were stolen from Walt (boo!).

And you know what he had to say about that?

Walt decided that they could KEEP Oswald...he was going to make something BETTER. He was going to show them who was boss!

And then came along Mickey Mouse! (You tell 'em, Walt!)

Fast forward to many successful years later when Walt sat down on a park bench with his children, and decided he wanted his own theme park. A CLEAN one, mind you, where people could go for some serious fun. And thus began his quest to build Disneyland.

After the completion of the park, though, Walt soon realized it wasn't enough. Maybe it had been for the guests, but not for Walt. He wanted to block out the sounds of traffic, the city skyline, and create a bigger separation from the World and Reality. He wanted a place where guests could truly get away from work and lost in another world. So he moved on, kept improving, and he started building Disney World.

Unfortunately, he didn't get to see that dream to completion. Walt passed away before Disney World opened. But he sure did change the world, didn't he? Take these quotes, for example:

There are far more up and downs in Walt's crazy, amazing life history. I'm not going to get into them all. But the biggest lesson here is to always be striving for the best, for the next big step, for moving forward and not looking back. No matter how many trips or falls we have, just dust off your pants and keep moving along.

Just like Mickey Mouse does!

I wanna be like Mickey... can't you tell?

Celebrating the Life of Maurice Sendak #RIPMauriceSendak

I forgot to post yesterday. Completely and utterly forgot.

But it's not a big deal. Not really. Not when you wake up and realize the world is mourning the passing of a hero.

I didn't truly grow up reading Maurice Sendak's books. I do remember "Where the Wild Things Are," and the Little Bear books, (and of course the television show) but his style of artwork wasn't something I was drawn to, not as a child. As a kid I loved Care Bears and Rainbow Bright and Disney and all those other trademarked characters. Those books took me far away from my parent's divorce, from my fear of abandonment, and my extreme fear of the ultimate of all loneliness, Death.

But then I grew up and decided I wanted to make children's books, because when I'm drawing fun and childish things, I am happiest. Still in my imaginary world and still so far away from those shadows. So I read a gazillion books on the topic of children's books- on the history, on the making-of, on conversations-with, on the artists and the writers. And the actual books themselves, of course. And everywhere I looked, I found Maurice Sendak.

When I first started taking CE classes at RISD for children's book illustrating, and writing, there he was again. Prime example of whatever topic we happened to be on, every teacher had their beaten up copy of "Where the Wild Things Are" with them on most days. And they taught me how to see a book the way Sendak saw it.

That's when I learned to understand that childhood isn't always clouds and rainbows and glamorized fairy tales. For many of us, when we take off our blinders and truly look at our childhood, we realize it's just a miniaturized world of real life. That was something Sendak understood. Kids have to deal with a lot of crap, with a lot of shadows, and they do it all on their own.

And that carries onto adulthood, too.

I wish I had had the opportunity to hear him speak. Or to have a book signed by him. Or to have even just glimpsed him at one of the conferences. (Maybe I did, too, and I didn't even know it.) Or to have realized how important his way of thinking was, while he was still alive. But maybe I wouldn't have fully appreciated it until right now.

I never knew how much I shared one of his biggest obsessions until today, after reading and watching interviews and all the other articles that are coming out of the archives. It's silly of me to ever think I'm alone in my fears, but it's so taboo to express them. To let everyone see that side of ourselves. The side that loses control when the shadows come creeping and runs to the bathroom and sobs in the shower.

Sendak figured it out. And he used his art to help him do it. He learned in life what he needed to learn in order to understand those shadows, and to even take the biggest one by the hand when he was ripe and ready to do so.

Thank you, Mr. Sendak, for paving the way. Your words give me the faith that everything will work out in its own little way. Your art opened the way to allow more creativity, more boldness, more truth into the world. Your honesty gives us courage to be ourselves and live life the way we best know how.

Of all the stories you wrote and illustrated, your life's story is my favorite.

What We're Saying on Facebook:

"Rest in peace, Maurice, love from your pal Pee-wee."

"Dear Maurice, "And it was still hot" was a beacon of hope and the promise of something good and comforting at the end of the adventure for millions of children, including me. I hope you are enjoying a hot dinner."

"Lessons of honesty and integrity will be taken and applied, Mr. Sendak. Happy travels to the next adventure."

"We have his books. Hard to imagine children's lit without him. But we have his books. That's my mantra." -Jane Yolen

"‎"Let the Wild Rumpus Begin!" - Mr. Sendak is off on an adventure, flying in a plane made of dough. Heading to a place with endless bowls of chicken soup with rice. I won't be sad today. I will gnash my terrible teeth and I will show my terrible claws. I will think about the fire that burned in that man's belly- and let it in to my own."

"Don't rest in peace, give em hell!!! ;')"

"And now, let the wild rumpus start!"

"A life to celebrate. He leaves the earth- and we can feel it. All we can say is "whoa""

Interviews & More:
http://www.pbs.org/now/arts/sendak.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U68bZbMM7q8&feature=youtu.be
http://www.npr.org/2011/12/29/144077273/maurice-sendak-on-life-death-and-childrens-lit
http://www.hbook.com/2012/05/blogs/out-of-the-box/a-visit-with-maurice-sendak/
http://www.hbook.com/2012/05/news/obituaries-news/maurice-sendak-1928-2012/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/oct/02/maurice-sendak-interview?CMP=twt_gu
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/s/maurice_sendak/index.html

A Favorite Tribute Site: http://www.terribleyelloweyes.com/

Touching Tributes:
http://paulschmidstudio.blogspot.com/2012/05/maurice-sendak.html
http://kellylight.com/2012/05/mr-sendak.html
http://nosycrow.com/blog/rip-maurice-sendak
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/home/894478-312/kid_lit_world_remembers_maurice.html.csp
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2012/05/readers-mourn-the-loss-of-maurice-sendak.html#igImgId_38250

Some Humor, and Truth:
http://blowncovers.com/post/22653289640/well-miss-you
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/406796/january-24-2012/grim-colberty-tales-with-maurice-sendak-pt--1
Christopher Walken Reading "Where the Wild Things Are"
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/maurice-sendak-king-of-all-wild-things-20120508

Some Quotes:
http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/2012/0508/Maurice-Sendak-10-essential-quotes/On-writing-for-children-versus-adults

http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/4489.Maurice_Sendak?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=editorial&utm_campaign=sendak

“Dear Mr. Sendak,” read one, from an 8-year-old boy. “How much does it cost to get to where the wild things are? If it is not expensive, my sister and I would like to spend the summer there.”

‎"The children know. They have always known. But we choose to think otherwise: it hurts to know the children know. If we obfuscate, they will not see. Thus we conspire to keep them from knowing and seeing. And if we insist, then the children, to please us, will make believe they do not know, they do not see. They are remarkable--patient, loving, and all-forgiving." -- Maurice Sendak

On His Death (some good links are found within the articles):
http://www.npr.org/2012/05/08/152248367/maurice-sendak-where-wild-things-are-author-dies
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/09/books/maurice-sendak-childrens-author-dies-at-83.html
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/cutline/maurice-sendak-dead-where-wild-things-author-83-131056958.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2012/may/08/maurice-sendak-wild-things-tribute?CMP=twt_fd

And a Call for Submissions: Celebrating Sendak
http://www.hungermtn.org/submit/

Farewell.

Kid Art: My Birthday Cards

Hi There!

I always like to share art made by the little ones in my life. They work so hard on their little creations and they are so PROUD of what they've made. When it comes to that kind of pride in one's own work, we all could learn a lesson from them. Sometimes we forget that, though we are older and are supposed to be professionals, we are still learning every day. And every new piece of work should be held up with pride, because we created it with the newest knowledge that we have of the world. Because we gave it all we've got to make it. And because life is short, and there are enough people putting each other down, and we really shouldn't be the ones doing it to ourselves!

I often I find children's art inspiring, because of their line work, or their color choices, or how they manage to turn a scrappy piece of paper into something beautiful. And it also reminds me of how far I've come in my own life- that I started exactly where they are, and managed to get here, after all these years.

So, Thank You to my nieces, Vanessa and Ashley!

Vanessa wanted the PERFECT flower for my card,
so she painted it three times until she got it just right!

Ashley likes to use a lot of color!

Derailed... and Getting Back on the Track

Late again! my mind screams at me. You missed your blog post and you can't draw?! You're better than this! You're supposed to stay on track, keep your eye on the prize, keep your head in the game!


It's hard to do that when you've been derailed!

Recently I've been dealing with a little personal matter. It's a problem that made my anxiety level skyrocket, my nails 'magically' disappear and my stomach curl into knots. I tried drawing through it, tried my Zen music and green tea combo, played a few games on the tablet to get my mind off things... even tried sleeping more (if I could find the time for it.) But the problem was still there, much as I tried to get over it.

The Problem became a Bigger Problem, when I tried to sit down and draw and didn't have the heart to do it. I just didn't feel like drawing. Or painting. Or  doodling, even.

But when there are deadlines and books to be illustrated, this is an even bigger Bigger Problem!

How was I going to get back on track? To get my head in the game? To stop biting my nails down to bloody stumps? I had to remember that anything worth having is worth working for. I had to address the original Problem. Of course, this takes time away from my art and blogging, and my usual work pattern. But the Problem needed work so I could get some actual work done. Otherwise, I was just wasting my own precious time. My Preciousssss!


So instead of trying to drive around the Problem, my little train drove right through and attacked it! I did everything I could in my own power to make amends and right things. I did it honestly, and without trickery or cutting corners (honesty has always been my policy.) And I felt so much better when I was done! Even though the Problem was one of those Out of My Own Control sorts of things, I changed what I could control to the best of my ability. And though things didn't turn out hunky-dory, or the way I had hoped, at least I know I did my best to try and fix it. I can accept the things I cannot change, or at least learn to.

Then I winded down a bit and needed some inspiration... a little comfort. So I picked up a book, told myself not to feel bad about this guilty pleasure when my schedule doesn't usually allow for this tomfoolery, and I read for the fun of it. For the fun of it!

So I'm filling up the train with some fresh coal right now. And I'll start chugging along and speeding ahead at my usual speed. And I'm learning sometimes it's best to sit back and watch the landscape go by for a while, to enjoy the ride a little bit more, so I don't burn out. And to address problems right away when they come up, so I don't fly off the tracks.

And I think I'm going to go paint, in a little bit. :)

Field Trip: NESCBWI Spring Conference, Fitchburg MA

This past weekend, I attended my very first New England SCBWI conference, (you know, that thing I've been talking about for a bit...), and it. was. AWESOME.

Three days in Fitchburg, MA, chock full of stuff. Books and writing and art stuff! And I made a bunch of new friends while having fun hanging out with my RISD pals- what could be better than that? There was a Poster Showcase & Contest (where half of the winners were from our own RISD group!), awesome Keynote Speakers like Jane Yolen, Tomie dePaola (and more), a viewing of the documentary "Library of the Early Mind," , book signings, and even a fun Cabaret show!

And of course, some amazing workshops run by some amazing people. These are the ones I was lucky enough to attend (and funnily enough, this person attended all the same workshops, with the exception of one! I wonder if we met?):

• "Earn Your Poetic License!" by Leslie Bulion 
• "The Search for Singular Style,"  a panel of illustrators that talked about where one's style comes from, by Robert Squier, Susan Savory, Teri Weidner and Andy J. Smith.
• "Picture Book or Magazine Story?" by Harold Underdown, a great lecture on defining you story and where it belongs in the printed world.
• "12 3/4 Ways to Tickle Young Readers' Funny Bones," by Donna Gephart, a very fun workshop on humor.
• "Turning Millstones into Milestones," by Nora Baskin, Elise Broach and Tony Abbot, a panel about the business of the book world.

To top it all off, the most exciting thing for me all weekend was my fifteen minute critique session with Harold Underdown. He gave me plenty of helpful advice and ideas of ways to improve my manuscript (Project #1), and I'm really looking forward to making some significant (but much needed) changes to it. I know it will be much better once I do, and I'm happy to do it! One step closer to publication! I can almost taste it!

I was so busy that I didn't have a chance to take pictures...well, except for this one on the first day:

Other than having a lack of photographs, my only regret is that I didn't participate in the Poster Showcase... but since I this was my first time I really wanted to just absorb and learn, and see what it was all about first. So next year, I WILL do a poster.

And I can't wait!

Winter (Mental) Break!

Hello hello, and Happy Belated Holidays to you!

As you can see, I've been on a bit of a break. With the tornado of the holiday season, finishing up with classes, doing a bit of work on the house, and even going on a mini getaway with my hubby, I haven't gotten much done recently. And that's okay! I realize that if I overdo it, I'll go crazy, and I'm wacky enough as it is. But the time off has gotten me thinking about my goals, and given me a renewed sense of creativity and even better- some ideas.


The biggest influence just so happened to be from our little trip to Disney- and goodness knows that any illustrator spending a few days saying things like "I could SO do that," or "I WISH I could so do that," would feel pumped up and ready to get in the studio! (I just have to get in there and clean it first...)

So here's a bit of inspiration for you all to get going, because these quotes really did it for me:

So just keep working, believe in yourself, and above all-

 make sure you're having fun!