I find that April is one of the busiest months of the school year. Our family is committed to dinner together every week night. Preparing dinner 5 days a week requires a large time-commitment from me. So I'm compensating by cutting back on meal prep. My family and I have decided to eat light for just four weeks. Menus will include easy-to-prepare sandwiches, salads, and crockpot meals. Maybe I can even coax a few family members to take on the role of chef. This gives me a few more hours in the day which I can allot to dummy prep!
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| Writing and Illustrating Children's Books for Publication, by Berthe Amoss and Eric Seuben |
For more on picture book making from start to finish, I recommend one of Amoss and Seuben's books. As teachers as well as authors, they are adept at laying out the process in manageable steps.
We all know we need to make the most of our time. We all have mind tricks we use to motivate ourselves as artists / writers. I'd love to hear your rewards, tips, and motivational insights.
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| Just 4 weeks left to finish step 5 of the challenge, but it's never too late to participate in the journey. |
Best of luck! And don't let any lack of participation from family members get you down - they will survive on bread and butter if need be!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your continued support. Your comments always make me smile!
DeleteNew follower here!
ReplyDeleteDo you have a link to works you've done or your illustration? I'd love to see some!
I immediately went and purchased the book you referenced :) Now to wait for it to arrive, lol.
I'm not a published author or illustrator, just one of those millions of people with aspirations... but what I've done to motivate myself to sketch is keep a sketchbook on me at all times. Before, if the urge would hit, I'd have nothing to sketch on and end up just making notes to myself on my phone about what I'd like to sketch. Instead, I've got a bigger purse, and a sketchbook and pencil at all times.
Thanks, Heather. You've made my day.
DeleteIt sounds like you are doing the right things. The sketchbook is a must. Finding out more about your craft is ongoing. I hope you find the book as helpful as I have. So far only my critique group and my family see my work regularly, but I'm working on a portfolio revamp and a new website. I'll keep you posted.
You might want to try something I started when my kids were young. Each person in the family was responsible for cooking one meal a week. The kindergartener-2nd graders started with simple things like sticking a frozen pizza in the oven and washing some salad greens, but all the kids learned to cook pretty quickly. Had to laugh when my 10-year-old offered to make scrambled eggs for a bunch of his friends who'd spent the night. One of his friends looked horrified and asked if he should wait for his mom to do it. He shook his head and said, "Nah, I'm a better cook than she is." And he was right.
ReplyDeleteSorry I didn't reply. We've had a house full of sickness for the last few weeks. The up side? No one has been eating much! All kidding aside. Thanks for the advice, Laurie. What a blessing you family is; and what a gift you've given them.
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