Plotting The Plot In Children's Books.

Plotting--the fuel of great storytelling. In a story, just about anything can happen, as long as it comes about logically, makes sense, and follows a few rules. Plotting is also the most fun part of writing a story.

Illustration by Samantha Kickingbird

Here are some of my suggestion for great plotting:

**  A plot proceeds logically from beginning to end. Anything can happen in the story, but it must make sense and not just be introduced into the story haphazardly. There must be a reason for everything that happens, regardless of how bizarre that reason may be.

** The main character needs a strong motive for what they want to achieve. Their motive may be honor, vengeance, or love. Whatever the motive, it must spur the main character to act.

** Adding conflict is vital to making the story interesting. Conflict  can be whatever or whoever is giving the main character a hard time. In writing children's books, the conflict can be a villain, a situation, or even a storm that forces the main character to fight to attain their goal.

**Dialogue that is exciting. Every single word of dialogue should move the story forward in some way. If it doesn't, then it's babbling. Moving the story forward with dialogue can: 

           --make the character's intentions or motives become clear.

           --explain the emotions of the character.

           --describe something or someone of importance, and at the same time tell the reader how the  character feels about it or what they intend to do about it.

**Characters that are credible and real (no matter who or what they are) will move the story forward naturally. Know your characters inside out and  those characters will always say and do things that are credible. Characters that are credible makes the reader really care about and connect with those characters.

**Logical surprise is the groundwork for humorous situations. But the surprise must come from some credible mannerism of that character or unfold naturally from the scene. Humor makes a character endearing. Even in   a bad situation, a character can do or say something funny, and that can make the scene that much more memorable.

**Write simply and well. Simple writing does not mean dull--it means writing with clarity and writing artfully, with grace. Simple writing is hard work, but the more times you edit your manuscript, the more simplicity and clarity will come forward.

**Edit, edit, edit.  Re-word sentences to read more gracefully. Take out all those words/sentences that don't do anything to move the plot/characterization forward. Make everything your characters do and say have meaning. This is the art of good plotting. And all the writer's hard work will be worth it in the final story.

copyright, Diane Mae Robinson, 2013

visit my author's website at:  http://www.dragonsbook.com

A Common Comma Commotion.

Here is a strange comma dilemma that has been handled in many different ways by different writers. But what is the correct punctuation when there is a question or implied question in a sentence? This is what the Chicago Manual of Style says: Questions are sometimes included within another sentence either directly or indirectly—not as a quotation but as part of the sentence as a whole. A direct question (unless it comes at the beginning of a sentence) is usually introduced by a comma. A direct question may take an initial capital letter if it is relatively long or has internal punctuation. The dragon asked himself, what am I going to do now? Everybody at the palace wanted to know, how will the king handle the dilemma? The royal council had to be asking themselves, Can the king find a solution to the problem, or will the dragon dictate his answer?   Rephrasing  a direct question into an indirect question can make the sentence less awkward. An indirect question does not require a question mark, nor does it need to be set off with a comma. Indirect questions are never capitalized (except at the beginning of a sentence). Some ways to rephrase: The dragon asked himself  what he was going to do now. Everybody at the palace wanted to know how the king would handle the dilemma. Where to find a reliable dragon was the question. Indirect questions do not need a question mark at the end of the sentences just because the word question is in the sentence or a question is implied. I hope this helps you solve a common comma commotion. copyright, Diane Mae Robinson, 2013 Please visit my author's website at: http://www.dragonsbook.com Illustrations by Samantha Kickingbird

Very Inspiring Blogger Award

It's an honor to receive the Very Inspiring Blogger Award.

This award was presented to me from, Jennie at, A Writers Journey http://welshjensblog.blogspot.ca/ Please visit her blog as she always has interested things to talk about.

Here are the rules of the award:

1.) Display the award logo on your blog.
2.) Link back to the person who nominated you.
3.) State 7 things about yourself.
4.) Nominate 15 bloggers for this award.
5.) Notify those bloggers of the nomination by linking to one of their specific posts so that they get notified by ping back

(Some of you have already received this award. I am nominating you because I believe you deserve it again).

Seven things about myself:

     1. I write children's fantasy/adventure chapter books.
     2. I live in a magical forest in central Alberta where gnome, faeries, dragons and such run wild.
     3. I love animals--real and imaginary.
     4.  I am a part-time art teacher.
     5.  My first book, Sir Princess Petra, was rejected 27 times before finding a publisher.
     6.  I  respect and  protect Mother Earth.
     7. I bought a motorcycle last year, scared myself learning to ride, selling motorcycle, sticking to    horseback riding.

These are the great blogs I am nominating for this award:

Sue http://kid-lit-reviews.com

Erik http://thiskidreviewsbooks.com/

Renee http://motherdaughterbookreviews.com/

Cheryl Carpinello  http://carpinelloswritingpages.blogspot.com

D. J. Stutley http://stutleytales.com/

Katie http://mundiekids.blogspot.ca/

Heidi Grange http://geolibrarian.blogspot.ca/

Catnipoflife http://catnipoflife.wordpress.com

Jen Owenby http://jenowenby.wordpress.com

Patricia Kemp Blackmon http://itsabouttimemamaw.blogspot.ca/

Jo Linsdell http://www.jolinsdell.com

Peggy Strack http://pstrack.blogspot.ca/

Darlene Craviotto http://darlenecraviotto.com

Rhythm the Library Dog http://readingwithrhythm.wordpress.com/ 

Ellis Nelson http://ellisnelson.com

Thank you to all of you who write and entertain.

visit my writer's website at: http://www.dragonsbook.com 

                                          

The Problem With Amazon Reviews

There is no magic involved in getting honest and legitimate reviews. It's called: the hard work of good writing on the author's part, and integrity on the reviewer's part.

Unfortunately some authors and reviewers don't play by the rules of integrity, especially on Amazon.

Author Michael Drakich has the same view as I do in regards to gathering honest and legit reviews. Micheal is talking about his
self-published books, but the information he provides has to do
with any and all published books.

The following is a re-post from Live Write Thrive

Today’s guest post is from Michael Drakich, and although he shares only 3 things, they’re detailed and insightful:

I’ve been asked to describe some things I’ve learned in the past year as a self-published author. The truth of them is they all involve the school of hard knocks. There is no easy path to success. Here are three major things with a number of other tidbits of advice mingled in.

1. Amazon is the 900-pound gorilla. Everyone knows the joke: Where does a 900-pound gorilla sit? Anywhere he wants to.

The Gorilla in the Room

When it comes to the indie publishing world, Amazon is the 900-pound gorilla. Self published authors have no choice but to accede to the whims of this monster. Because most self-pubs rely on ebook sales only and Amazon has the giant share of that market, they are forced to compete within that marketplace.

What does this mean? On Kindle Select the number of free novels every single day of the week (over 5,000 the day of this post) makes trying to sell your product a challenge. I mean, why should a book buyer look at your reasonably priced product, most ranging from $.99 to $4.99, when they can get a competitor for $0.00!

But it doesn’t end there. Let’s say a buyer decides to actually shop because he wants to search for quality. So they search a category and the default search is by popularity. Well, unless you can generate a lot of sales quickly, your book will be so many pages in, the buyer will never look that far.

Let’s say they change the search to average customer review. Again, unless you have had any luck garnering reviews in a massive amount, your book will be buried deep. What is purportedly happening is authors are buying five-star reviews by the hundreds to give them a high rating. Amazon’s algorithm’s kick in and, voila, a top-rated book. No effective system is in place to stop such abuse.

So how do self-published authors get their books found on Amazon? The simple answer is—they don’t. As long as Amazon is happy with the current system, they will have no motivation to change it. After all, buyers want to find the most popular or the highest rated. Why would they introduce anything that would be counterproductive to that?

The 900-pound gorilla is sitting and you can’t move him.

buyers want to find the most popular or the highest rated. Why would they introduce anything that would be counterproductive to that? The 900-pound gorilla is sitting and you can’t move him. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions . . . 2. What price do I set for my ebook? One of the more difficult decisions I needed to make was what price to set my ebook at. Looking at the market, prices were all over the place. From a vast quantity at $.99 up to paperback prices of $11.00 or $12.00. The major player, Amazon, with its pricing policy, urges the writer to consider $2.99. But their rating policy pushes you higher because higher priced books, when sold, move you up the rating list faster. So what is a writer to do? I considered making a dartboard with prices on it but realized that was a bad idea. It came down to asking what am I worth? I opted for $4.99. Not the highest price, but definitely far above the average. It was probably pretty close to the median. So am I saying my writing is only median? Not exactly. When examining those prices above $4.99, they belonged to writers with a greater established record than mine. Allotting a variance for just such a reason seemed only fair. So when comparing against other first-time self-pubs, I’m right near the top price. After all, I think I’m worth it. Honestly . . . 3. Is honesty really the best policy? My marketing plan is one of seeking out bloggers to give me honest reviews for my latest novel. Hopes, of course, are to get all five-star reviews. Reality is a bit of a mix. To date I’ve received a combination of five-, four-, and three-star reviews. I think there was one in there that featured an extra half star, but I digress. Now, three stars is still not a bad review, and those reviews did include positives about my book. So, all in all, I’m not too disappointed. My only disappointment arrives when I stop to examine the reviews and ratings of my fellow authors. Many feature scads of five stars and little else. When one takes the time to examine where those reviews came from, almost exclusively the review is the only one ever posted by that particular individual. Now I may have been born at night, but I can assure you, it wasn’t last night. Either all these authors are exceedingly lucky that people reading their work post a raving review for their work and no one else’s or it’s fixed. I’m going out on a limb here and will side with the latter. If I’m to guess at what is going on, these authors are convincing friends and family to write glowing reviews. What you usually see is this trend continues for the first ten to twenty and then dies off. It’s the later reviews that tell the true story, whether a five star was deserved. In the meantime, what has happened? The author, possibly by false pretext, manages to mislead the shopper that the work is quality based on reviews. They garner sales, which improves their ranking, which garners more sales, and so on. So why am I taking the high road? In hindsight, damned if I know.  Well, I do, but I’m wondering whether I did the right thing. Does the average consumer out there question the reviews they read? Do they bother to follow a modicum of investigation? Probably not. Still, I intend to soldier through. There is so much more to bloggers than the review. It’s the word-of-mouth campaign they run for you. I read once somewhere (I can’t recall) that new authors need to be heard of six to ten times before a buyer thinks, hey, I’ve heard of that guy before, so maybe I’ll buy his book. I hope these stories give an idea of the challenges facing a new writer. To all who try, I wish them the best of success. Now that is an author with integrity.

Commas, Ahhhhh!

There are so many rules on how to use a comma and how not use a comma that it can be mind boggling, even for experienced writers.

I have a lot of fights with commas. And how I usually win comes down to common sense--how does that particular sentence read, sound, portray what I am trying to say.

I uses as few commas as necessary because I find that the liberal use of commas can distract the reader from the story.

Comma usage is often a question of personal writing style. Some writer use them liberally, while others use them sparingly. Modern North American style guides now recommend using fewer commas rather than more.

For instance, the use of a comma before the "and" in a series is usually optional, but most writer choose to eliminate it as long as there is no chance of misreading the sentence:

        Before going home, we went around the mountain, played with the dragon, swam in the lake, and ate our cookies. (comma  needed for clarity before "and" if you ate your cookies after you swam in the lake).

        Before going home, we went around the mountain, played with the dragon, swam in the lake and ate our cookies. (no comma needed before the"and" if you ate your cookies while you were in the lake).

Do not use a comma to set off words and phrases (especially introductory ones) that are only slightly parenthetical:

       Wrong:  After dinner, we all played dragon tag.
 
       Right:     After dinner we all played  dragon tag.

Do not use commas to set off  restrictive elements. A restrictive elements is part of the sentence that is needed to make its meaning clear.

       Wrong:  The dragon's ear, on the left side of his head, was curly.

       Right:     The dragon's ear on the left side of his head was curly.

Do use commas to set off  non-restrictive elements.  A non-restrictive element is part of the sentence that is interrupting material that adds extra information---the sentence does not need this element to make sense.

     Example:  The faeries of Dalorme, who for centuries had lived in caves with dirt floors and rock walls, were unfamiliar with the protocol of living in a palace.

     You can also use two other punctuation marks to set off non-restrictive elements: parentheses and em-dashes.

     Enclosing a non-restrictive element in parentheses reduces the importance of that information.

            Example:  The dragons' fire breathing skills (with one exception) were not good.

     Enclosing a non-restrictive element within em-dashes has the opposite effect: it emphasizes the material.
 
           Example:  The dragons' fire breathing skills---with one exception---were not good.

An  what about those very troublesome words:  however, therefore, and indeed.

Commas—sometimes paired with semicolons—are traditionally used to set off adverbs such as however, therefore, and indeed. When the adverb is essential to the meaning of the clause, or if no pause is intended or desired, commas are not needed.       Example:  A truly efficient fire-breathing dragon remains, however, a lost dream.       Example:  Indeed, not one dragon accurately produced the technical elements required in the fire-breathing contest. but      Example:  If you cheat and are therefore disqualified, you may also risk losing your dragon scholarship.      Example:  That was indeed the outcome of the dragon fire-breathing contest.       If you, also, use the word also or too, you, too, should offset those words in the middle of a sentence. The  Chicago Manual of Style prefers not using a comma with too at the end of a sentence.

A great place to freshen up your grammar at Grammar Girl:
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/

And sincerely, good luck with your comma woes.

• 
  

Diane Mae Robinson appears on Around the Region Jan 16 SEG 4

Diane Mae Robinson appears on ATR Jan 16 2013 (playlist)

The Mutiny of Characters

Once a writer creates the characters of a story, and those characters become whole and rounded characters, those characters do get a life of their own. And once your characters have a life of their own, they can and will mutiny their writer. The nature of each character will then start the process of dictating the story---the next scene, the next misshap, the next adventure. 

While writing the second book in The Pen Pieyu Adventure, it felt like I, the writer, was kidnapped by my own characters. I say the characters did mutiny because just when I thought I knew where the story was going, the characters had other ideas.

As a writer, I have had to endure many strange notions. Having my characters mutiny---well, I just let them go ahead. I complied with the mutineers and let them tell the story. After all, their story is the real story. I just had to let my writer's ego get out of their way.

Here are some of the character from book one that are still having adventures in book two.

     Petra Longstride is the main character in this series. She is a nine year old princess who becomes a knight in book one.  She is kind-hearted, friendly, innocent, brave, and somewhat stubborn. She can be tough when need be, like when she has to defend her friends, or stick up for something noble. Petra lives in The Kingdom of Pen Pieyu.

     Snarls is a dragon and a secondary character in this series. But he's not your typical kind of dragon by any means  He is also Petra's royal steed and adventure companion after,  well,  after stuff that happened in book one. He protects Petra, and sometimes he needs his own protecting.

     Petra's parents, King Willy Longstride and Queen Mable Longstride, are a little stuffy and conventional. King Longstride makes up rules in the Royal Rule Book to try to get Petra to act like a princess. This, of course doesn't work. Queen Longstride has a severe fainting problem, which Petra is always the cause of.

     Prince Nastybun is a midget prince from The Kingdom of Mesoggie  He is the worst enemy of Pen Pieyu. He rules a puny army of scaredy-cat knights.

Bograt is a bog witch who tries to appear really mean and scary, until you mention that the King could make her wash and put on a frilly dress again, just for messing with someone on a mission. This apparently straightens her right up.

For more book one character information:  http://www.dragonsbook.com/for-kids.html

Book two, Sir Princess Petra's Talent, introduces some more zany charaters; Duce Crablips from the Kingdom of Crablips, King Asterman from The Land of Lost Donkeys, and the nearly illiterate Gautes from The Vast Wilderness.  

So, here's a hint to some of the adventures in book two. 

King Longstride has written a new rule. The rule states that all princess knights (like there is more than one---silly king) must attend  Talent School before the age of ten years and learn a skill suited for a princess. The princess knights must study under King Asterman and return with a princess certificate or else the royal magician will , , ,well, let's not go there just yet.

Petra is not happy about attending Talent School. After all, she is a knight. She just wants to do knightly things, not any sissy, girly stuff like knitting or crocheting.

Well, at least Snarls will be by her side enduring the hardships of Talent School.  And once they finally get out of Talent School, more adventures  follow in The Vast Wilderness.

A few more hints of book two:

Someone else in book two becomes a knight. 
Some others may or may not get spelled and be turned into something they weren't before. 
Petra does get a talent, but not one the king could foresee.
And what the heck is a Ganute, anyway?

Book two, Sir Princess Petra's Talent - The Pen Pieyu Adventures, forthcoming, March, 2013.

Book Review, Whoever Heard of a Fird?

Whoever Heard of a Fird?

Author: Othello Bach

Illustrator: Shann Hurst

Publisher: Othello Bach

Release date: October 10, 2012

ISBN: 978-1-47933318-9
Paperback, 60 pages

From the Back Cover:  If you haven't heard of a fird, part fish, part bird, you don't know that he's looking for a herd of fird. He wants to find out if he's "firding" right. You see, Fird was raised a a nest of Dickens, part dog, part chickens, but they never heard of a fird, and they don't know if he's firding right.

So Fird sets out to find a herd of Fird. Along the way, he meets many two-feature creatures--- whimsical animals like shamels---part sheep, part camels, and bertles---part bear, part turtles. But no one has heard of a fird . . .

When Fird and his best friend,  Snyder Spider, set off to find a herd of firds, they are warned by Lucille Dicken that big, bad boogie monsters loom at the bottom of the mountain. Fird didn't even know that they lived on a mountain.

". . . I must find out where I came from, where I'm going, and what I'm supposed to be." Fird tells the dickens, even though Fird is scared.

Soon Fird and Snyder Spider come across the boogie monsters. But these are no ordinary boogie monsters--they are the kind that . . . well, I don't want to say and give it away.  Somehow, Fird and Snyder do get past the boogie monsters and continue to search for a heard of fird.

Fird and Snyder then meet Hyenant--part hyena, part ant-- who has never heard of a fird. Even his magic coat can't produce a herd of fird.  "There's no such thing, I assure you." Hyenant tells Fird.

Neither have the driders--part dragon, part spider--ever seen a fird.  Nor can the bertles--part bear, part turtle--say that they have ever heard of a fird.

Although most of the two-feature creatures are friendly, there is trouble when Fird and Snyder meet the snoozes--part snake, part mongoose--because the snoozes just aren't very nice. And beside, they've never heard of a fird either.


The woose,  the shamels, the blizzard, the girouse---none of the two-feature creatures can help Fird.  How will Fird ever find his herd of fird and find out where he belongs?

   This is a masterfully written and  creative story that embraces a powerful message for all of us--being what we want to be, without looking outside  of ourselves. An excerpt from one of the story's poems depicts this wonderfully:
         . . .
         This is your time; it is your time to shine
                   But you need to realize:
         Everything you need for you to succeed
         Lies between your ears behind your eyes.
         . . .

    I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The writing is witty and whimsical, and the whole book has a magical uniqueness. There are several poems laced throughout the story which are delightfully humorous. The poems in the book are actually the lyrics to songs written by the author. You can play the songs here  as you get to that part of the story.

     The illustrations are incredibly funny, colorful, and extremely well done, with a color illustration or spot illustration on every page.  

I did listen to the audio book also, which is very professionally done, and a fun experience in itself. Not only is the story read with pazazz, all the poems in the book break out into toe-tapping, catchy songs.

The book is also an audio book with a Free download for a limited time.
Go here

Author, Othello Bach, website               

Author, Othelo Back, bookstie

Illustrator, Shann Hurst, website

Copyright ©2012 by Othello Bach, used with permission

Illustrations: Copyright ©2012 by Shann Hurst

Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

Trying to get a simple definition of a Dangling Modifier from a grammar source can be frustrating. When I need to look something up, I don't want a complicated answer that makes me more confused that I already was.

So here is the simple definition of a Dangling Modifier with some examples.

A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that modifies a word not clearly stated in the sentence.

You do have a certain amount of freedom in deciding where to place the modifier in a sentence:

     Sue tamed the dragon easily.
     Sue easily tamed the dragon.
     Easily Sue tamed the dragon.
        
However, you will want to be wary of the misplaced modifiers as their position can modify the wrong thing.  Writing can be greatly improved by paying attention to the misplaced modifier.

The single-word modifiers should be placed near the word or words they modify so that the reader gets a clear message of what you are saying. Consider these sentences:

     [wrong]  After Sue's dragon-speaking lessons, she could understand dragon language spoken by the professor easily.

Does Sue understand dragon language easily, or does the professor speak it easily? 

The next sentence makes the meaning clear:

     [right]   Sue could easily understand dragon language after her dragon-speaking lessons taught by the professor.

It is also important to be careful about where you put limiting modifiers. These are words like "nearly", "just", "only", "almost", etc. Misplaced limiting modifiers can change the entire meaning of a sentence when placed next to the wrong word:

     [wrong] Sue almost ate all of the dragon's food. (she didn't "almost eat" it)

     [right] Sue ate almost all of the dragon's food.

     [wrong] Sue has nearly annoyed every dragon she plays with. (she hasn't "nearly annoyed" them)
               
     [right]  Sue has annoyed nearly every dragon she has played with.

So, the lessons here are for Sue: While easily taming your dragon and easily speaking his language, do not continue eating almost all of the dragon food and annoying nearly every dragon you play with.

More grammar lessons to come regarding: misplaced phrases and clauses; squinting modifiers; split infinitives; and more about dangling participles.

Sheesh, there's a lot of rules in English.

copyright, Diane Mae Robinson, 2012

From An Author I Greatly Admire

It is a great honor to have your book labeled 'a silly adventure' when you are a silly-adventure writer.

An author I greatly admire, Mark Simon Smith, who writes amazing fantasy, silly adventure kids books has reviewed my book, Sir Princess Petra – The Pen Pieyu Adventure, a  fantasy, silly adventure kids book.

*****

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended Silly Adventure, November 29, 2012

By Mark Smith “Children’s Book Author”

This review is from: Sir Princess Petra (Pen Pieyu Adventures) (Perfect Paperback)

As an author, I greatly appreciate the whimsical qualities of Diane Mae Robinson’s work. Often times, it’s not enough to have a solid, well-written story when it comes to creating children’s books. There needs to be a bright sparkle that captures the child’s attention and pulls them along. So many times I’ve watched my son start a book and then put it down, just a few pages in, because there was no flash of color that kept him interested.

Robinson’s writing has it all and is a perfect read for that younger reader striking out on their own. I love her vivid descriptions and laugh-out-loud whimsy – it’s the exact same thing I strive to accomplish when writing.

Highly recommended.

*****

Recently, I read and reviewed Mark Simon Smith’s book, Sir Nathan and the Quest for Queen Gobbledeegook. I became an instant fan. This book is the best children’s book I have read in many, many years–and believe me, I read a lot of children’s books.http://www.dianemaerobinson.com/2012/11/book-review-sir-nathan-and-quest-for.html

Mark Simon Smith’s perfected writing and zany humor captures the reader in the first paragraph and takes them on a wonderful, incredible adventure that you don’t want to end.That is what a good book is all about!

I have received his second book, Sir Nathan and the Troublesome Task, and can’t wait to start it during the holidays. I will put up a review of this book, also.

For more information on Mark Simon Smith and his awesome books, visit: http://www.somewhatsillystory.com/reviews.html
http://www.facebook.com/somewhatsillystory

More Dragon Fan Mail. Sheesh!

Really, my dragon gets more fan mail than I do. Snarls is a secondary character in my, The Pen Pieyu Adventure,  series. To read the first fan letter about Snarls from Miss Anonymous, read the blog of Nov. 11, 2012.

Dear Author Person,

I am miffed. I never thought you would post my last letter for all the world to see. How is this going to make Snarls feel? Okay, he will feel great. Attention is attention to him. But what about me? I don't need the entire world knowing I have a dragon friend? Do you know how ridiculous that sounds? Okay, maybe you don't, but it does. 

Who is that with Snarls in the picture?Some skank character of yours? It is bad enough he hangs with Petra, and now some character named Babblin wants to talk his ear off, and mine too. Why did you send her with Snarls to my house? Do you really think I need a talker on top of a fire breathing snoring dragon?  

I like Snarls, I really do, even the fire he puts everywhere is kind of endearing. Oh,and thanks for the tip about giving Snarls water before bedtime---to cut down on the fires.

Snarls is most welcome, as long as he stops scaring the kitties. As soon as one of them climbs up his tail, by his invitation, Snarls flips his tail and sends the cat flying through the air. Sure they always land on their feet but I always nearly have a heart attack. I got an email from him saying he was quite busy with book two, something about getting the editors to see things his way "or else."

I have never been visited by story book character before yours. I am kind of getting used to it. 

And yes, when Snarls visits me he always brings pajamas and snacks.

P.S. Fire department bill for all the previous havoc Snarls created at my house is in the mail.

Miss Anonymous.

Dear Miss Anonymous,

What can I say. My dragon has a mind of his own and he does play a little rough. We're working on that.

I can't believe he complained about his role in book 2. He seemed fine with it all through the writing and editing. Well, there is a little part about him wearing a pink, tasseled saddle that he complained about, but I thought he was over that.

Sorry for all the havoc he creates. Snarls really likes visiting you and, all the sleep-overs.

The Author.

Visit my website for more information on Snarls and all the characters from book one, Sir Princess Petra - The Pen Pieyu Adventures,  http://www.dragonsbook.com  And read more about my fantasy kids books and dragon books for children.

Writing Lesson From Picasso

There are lesson to be learned from the art and the mind of Pablo Picasso. His techniques, creative insights, and empathy of his art has distinguished him as the revolutionary artist of the twentieth century.

Pablo Picasso                             

Oct. 25, 1881 - Apr. 8, 1973                                      
Born in Malaga, Spain

"When I was a child, my mother told me, 'If you become a soldier, you will be a general. If you become a monk, you will end up as the pope.' Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso."



Ah, the confidence to do what you were destined to do in life, and to do it well. This is a lesson all creators of the arts can take to heart. 

Pablo Picasso was an innovative thinkers of his time. He reinvented himself many times over during his career. Depending on his mental state and what was going on in the world at the time, his paintings took on the persona of: depression during his 'Blue Period'; love during his 'Rose Period'; shocking abstracts from his 'Cubist Period'; and the 'Classic Period' as World War 1 broke out. But at each stage, the art was profound and empathetic.

Does this mean that, as a writer, if we can feel the deepest emotions of what we are writing at a certain time, the work will be more poignant? I think that is exactly what Pablo Picasso was telling the world.

If a writer or an artist does not have their emotions wholeheartedly invested in their art, then neither will the reader or the viewer.

Pablo Picasso knew of the complexity of creating a piece of art, but he also understood the simplicity of art. Upon passing a group of school kids in his old age Picasso remarked,

"When I was as old as these children, I could draw like Rapheal,  but it took me a lifetime to learn to draw like them." 

Pablo Picasso, Self Portrait, 1907, oil on canvas

As a children's book author, this statement is a profound lesson to me. It's as if the artist is telling me to leave behind my adult ego and think as a child, to play as a child, to create as a child. And then, and only then, when I have re-mastered the skills of being a child, to write the books for the child.

Being an artist has also taught me lessons in writing for children, and teaching art to children, more so. Teaching children helps me to understand their creative insights, their lack of ego or competition, and their pure imagination that is so very intense. Children create from their heart.

So as a children's book author, the lessons I've learned from being around the creative minds of children is what grounds me in my writing, and teaches me how to create stories for children, through the eyes of a child, and with the heart of a child. Children have also taught me how to capture childlike innocence in my own art.

Diane M. Robinson, The Princess Knight, 2009, acrylic on canvas

     

Pablo Picasso has made a profound impact on the world of art, and his creative genius is a lesson to all who create, in all aspects of the arts.


                "If only we could pull out our brain and use only our eyes." Pablo Picasso

http://www.biography.com/people/pablo-picasso-9440021

http://www.abcgallery.com/P/picasso/picasso-2.html


                                    May the wheels of creativity never stop turning.

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