atc swap for writers

April 21, 2010 4 Comments

In my last “ways for writers to play” post, I suggested that writers create ATCs (artist trading cards) based on their own fiction. Fellow writer Megs was so enthusiastic about the idea that now she and I are doing an ATC swap, and we’re inviting you to join us! If you’d like to participate, drop me a comment or use my contact form here. I’ll add you to our list and email you with the name and email address of the recipient of your ATC. Email her to say hi, and get her mailing address, and someone else will contact you to do the same. You can start working on your own ATC May 1st, and please have it out the door by May 29th.

There are few rules for ATCs, but here they are:

1. ATCs must be 2.5″x3.5″ or 64x89mm. You can purchase blank ATCs or you can cut them out of cardstock or other heavy paper yourself. On the back, write your name, website or contact info if you wish, and title or number of the piece.

2. ATCs can be completely original, part of a series or editions. Feel free to use any medium: collage, photography, watercolor, stamping, crayons, pencil, pens, whatever strikes your fancy. Check out the following sites for more information and inspiration:

Art in Your Pocket

ATCs for All gallery

3. For our swap, please base your ATC on your own fiction or poetry. For example, if inspired by your poem Snow, you can do a wax-resist snowflake; if your novel is set in Rome, you can create or use images of the Colosseum. You can also create an ATC based on a story idea you’re just playing with, if doing so will help those creative juices flowing.

4. This is not required, but once your intended recipient gets your ATC, please post a picture of what you sent so we can all ooh and aah and admire it.

5. And most of all, have fun! ATCs are perfect for experimentation and playing with. I’ve never made one before and neither has Megs. Don’t be intimidated!

Filed Under: creativity

artistic connections

April 7, 2010 5 Comments

Recently, I’ve been thinking about the interrelationships between various kinds of creative pursuits. Do some arts follow closely upon the heels of others? If you knit or crochet, are you more likely to take up spinning? If you love to cook, do you branch out into vegetable and herb gardening to provide fresh ingredients for your kitchen? Or, do you pick hobbies that are different from your primary passion, like writing and playing piano for me?

What patterns do you see in what you choose to spend your time on?

Filed Under: creativity

art in the family

March 23, 2010 6 Comments

Sir I. has been into rockets in a big way. Here’s the one he made at the library’s art program:

Miss M. made this sun (with salt dough) when we were studying Mexico:

Both older kids drawing together:

This is the circle-inspired art I did for the February creative challenge at daisy yellow:

Doodling, and playing around with the nifty-fifty lens my sister-in-law sent us:

Mmm, I didn’t do a good job with this picture, but I did want to show off the cross stitch David has been working on off and on (more off than on :D ) since before we were married. He’s making a push to finally finish it SOON.

Filed Under: creativity, kids at play

9 ways to use index cards

February 15, 2010 2 Comments

I’m buried under index cards, hence this post.

1. Lists of all kinds. Book lists. Shopping lists. To-do lists. Lists of clothing and shoe sizes for everyone in your family. Lists of movies you want to watch. Lists of supplies for art projects.

2. Write a poem or flash fiction to fit on an index card (okay, you can use the back as well).

3. Doodle on them.

4. Write an inspiring quote on one. Tack it up on the wall, put in your pocket, keep propped up on your keyboard. I should slip one in my laptop that says, “GET OFF THE INTERNET” but then this post would never get published.

5. Write notes on them for the loved ones you share your house with (yeah, *those* people). Slip in your spouse’s lunch, hide them in the book your kid is reading.

6. Flashcards! Who needs to buy any when you have index cards? Seriously.

7. Schedule out your week or month in index cards, one for each day.

8. Use them to organize your thoughts. Remember the SUCCES model from Made to Stick? Before any kind of situation where you’re communicating a message–business meeting, agent pitch, teaching lesson–write out the one mission-critical point you want to get across.

9. And when you’re done, you can recycle them by: using them as bookmarks, letting your kids get tearing or cutting practice, gluing them into scrapbooks and art journals.

Really into index cards? Check out the following links:

24 Things You Can Do With An Index Card

Indexed

Filed Under: creativity

6 ways to be creative with your kids this winter

January 28, 2010 Leave a Comment

1. Read winter poetry (like this lovely illustrated version of Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening) and paint winter landscapes.

2. Catch snowflakes on your mittens. Read books about snowflakes. Cut, draw, or make some of your own.

3. Go outside and make snow angels, snowmen (or snow dinosaurs) and ice sculptures. Have fun! My older two shoveled trails and went on trips in the front yard. Also made mini snowpeople and snowstones.

4. Winter is a good time to go to art and science museums. Journal, draw or make up stories inspired by what you saw.

5. Have a tea party. Bake scones, get out the lace tablecloth, decorate with tissuepaper flowers and name cards, serve on nice china. You can pretend to have teatime with the Queen (Sir I. and Miss M. loved this one–they even made a crown and throne for the Queen).

6. Do science experiments. My preschooler and k’er never get tired of melting snow and freezing water. We’ve been studying polar animals and today we made “blubber gloves” using shortening and tried them out in ice water. Sir I. wishes he were a walrus so he could have a blubber layer and go live in the Arctic!

Filed Under: creativity, kids at play

Magical Miss M

January 16, 2010 7 Comments

The tagline of this blog is “writer at play”, but my attitude towards my literary endeavors is more akin to steely-eyed clenched-teeth fortitude these days. I was eyeball-deep in one set of revisions for a couple months; I have since waded into yet another novel revision. While revisions do have their moments of mountain-high elation, I’ve missed just being playful with the writing and storytelling process.

So, to rectify this, I propose to post some kind of fun (playful!) creative exercise every week or so, if only to get my own juices flowing. This week’s exercise is a new magical system, inspired by Miss M.

Miss M., like other three year old girls, loves to dress up. Her base outfit may look something like this: a pink and brown striped and dotted dress (she LOVES dresses), tights with large polka dots (orange being the dominant color), and over that, bright green pants with a large floral pattern. She proceeds to embellish this outfit with any or all of the following: pink socks, ballet slippers, a fairy princess costume, a hat from Africa, mittens, apron, chef’s hat, tiara, plastic rings, beaded necklace, jingle bell bracelet, assorted pieces of winter gear. She isn’t above snitching her father’s comfy slippers, either.

One day, while watching Miss M dance around completely oblivious to the fashion horror sight she presented, I was struck by an idea for a new magical system. What if, said Right Brain, there existed a society in which magical spells were woven into articles of clothing? And the only way to utilize those spells would be to actually wear them? (Or is it the other way around? You could only use spells that were in contact with your skin, so that’s why you put them into clothes in the first place).

First and furious, other ideas and implications came pouring in:

The spells are closely tied to the physical aspect of the clothing. Type of fabric, dye, pattern, cut, embroidery–all played a big part. In order to modify a spell, you can add embroidery, put on a button, take off an inch of hem.

In order to maximize the number of spells available to you, you would try to wear as many clothes as you could. This society would have to live in a cold climate. Otherwise, it might be too hot and uncomfortable to be a magic-user!

Spelled clothing would be passed down through many generations–the bodice of Great-Grandma’s wedding dress could end up in Romilda’s coming-out gown, or as part of Uncle Abernathy’s vest. Magical items would be concentrated in the hands of families, rather than individuals.

Every magic-user (male or female) would strive to be a very good tailor!

The rich would have an advantage in being able to afford better quality materials.

Ballrooms would become the battlegrounds. Armor would be fans, jewelry, vests, shoes.

Imagine, the Underthings of Invincibilty. Ha!

And, best of all, people would match their clothing, not in terms of color or style, but with an eye to complementing magical power. So, why not wear a chef’s hat on top of a tiara, or mismatched mittens?

Your turn! Have you read or come up with any unusual magic systems (allomancy in Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn springs instantly to mind)?

Filed Under: creativity, inspiration, kids at play

a humorous aside

December 14, 2009 2 Comments

It occurs to me that my last post may have come across as crotchety and Scrooge-like. Don’t get me wrong: Christmas is my favorite holiday and I love this time of year. I just came out of a fun but social weekend and my Inner Introvert is gibbering in one corner of my head.

So, I give you a humorous incident:

You know how some moms are able to take common recyclable items and they and their equally artistic children make lovely crafts out of them?

Well, I apparently do not number amongst them.

The kids and I worked on tissue paper angels this evening:

Kids: Oooh, ghosts!

Me: These are not ghosts. These are angels. Look. They have halos and wings and everything.

Everyone works on their crafts for a few more minutes.

Me: Okay, you’re right. These do look like ghosts.

Kids:Yay! Christmas ghosts! *fly them through the air* Whoo-ooooo-oooo!

Miss M.: I want mine to have arms and feet and hair.

So we spent the next ten minutes hot-gluing pipecleaner limbs and ribbon hair to Miss M.’s ghost/angel/thing.

We can pretend that we just read A Christmas Carol. Should I have made some pipecleaner chains as well?

Filed Under: creativity, kids at play

arrival of the torsos

August 26, 2009 2 Comments

Er, that sounds like the title of a B horror movie, doesn’t it? But, here, let me show you what I really mean:

See those people at the bottom? They have bodies! I’ve been watching Sir I. transition from “tadpole” people (the ones with legs and arms sticking out of their heads) to torso-endowed people all summer. He’s gone back and forth between the two types, but looking at his recent artwork, I think the torsos are here to stay.

Miss M. is largely focusing on circles: big and small ones for puppy-dog faces, oval-ish shapes for puppy-dog ears, spirals and sunbursts. That’s her smiley sun at the top of the picture.

The Baron is not yet producing art, though he did scribble on the floor with a pencil once. Today he tried to eat a crayon and “helped” Miss M. with a picture by drawing on her paper with a Tinkertoy rod. Better luck next time, baby boy!

One of the privileges of motherhood is witnessing the incredible developmemtal leaps that all young children make. Leaps in cognition, verbal skills, hand-eye coordination, art processes, fine and gross motor skills. What an amazing and awesome thing the human brain is!

Filed Under: creativity, kids at play

Five Things for a Writer to do in the Great Outdoors

July 26, 2009 2 Comments

I admit it: I’m a homebody. A lazy couch potato. A sedentary slug-like life form. If it weren’t for my children, I’d happily spend my days tapping away on my laptop, reading in the rocking chair, or doodling at the dining table. Nature? I can enjoy it from the window, thanks. If I lean to the right, peer over the neighbor’s rooftop, I have a mountain view–a small blue-grey slice of New Hampshire.

But since I have squirrelly children who need to be taken out to burn off energy (when, oh when, are they going to create the first child-powered batteries?), I’ve learned to enjoy (and cope with) the great outdoors. Along the way, I’ve discovered that yes, being outside is a help to my writing, a boost to my creativity. Here’s how:

1. Enjoy the sun: We in the Northeast have learned to get soak up as much sunshine as we can. Not only does the summer sun builds up those reserves ofVitamin D, it also clears away the cobwebs of doubt and discouragement crowding my head. All those negative thoughts shrivel away like little vampires. Its a lot harder to wallow in gloom and self-pity with the sun beaming down upon me.

2. Dig in the dirt: Ah, yes, my yearly spring fling with gardening. Not only does it give me something productive to do while the kids are off digging holes in the ground or making hay out of grass clippings, but the process of gardening–the preparing of the soil, weeding and watering, the waiting and transplanting–serve as a good reminder that creation takes time. That all seeds and stories need incubation, before they burst into bloom and fruit. Patience is a skill important for both gardeners and novelists.

3. Get exercise: The dreaded ‘e’ word. I hate exercising for exercising’s sake (you’ll never catch me on a treadmill unless I was getting paid for it), but pair exercising with a chance to window shop, gawk at the neighbors’ renovations, take pictures of plant life, chat with my husband and tire out my kids, and I’m all for it. Sometimes getting those leg muscles going is just the thing my brain needs to start those mental gears whirring.

4. Study my surroundings. Grass is green. Bark is rough. Rain patters. Sure, we all know that. We’ve read the books, seen the pictures, maybe even walked through the grass and past the trees on the way to somewhere else. But take the time to actually sit in the grass, study the texture of bark, and listen to the rain. Rain doesn’t just patter–it hisses and sizzles, too. The corpses of birch trees are mummified in their own smooth papery bark. Stubbly grass prickles underfoot. This year I’m getting a lot of interaction with slugs. Not my preferred nature experience, but I imagine they’ll crawl into a story or two soon.

5. Build a fairy house. What this has to do with writing, I’m not sure–maybe I can make some analogy to plotting, perhaps??–but hey, it’s fun to do. Not everything has to funnel into writing, right? Right?

Filed Under: creativity, gardening, inspiration, writing process

flower power

July 11, 2009 5 Comments

I enjoy taking pictures of flora. Unlike small children, they are not a constant blur of motion (Sir I.), do not scowl and hide their faces behind their hair if you try to take a picture of them (Miss M.), and are not constantly trying to attack your camera (the Baron). I snapped these shots on a recent walk around town:

Daylily. They are so pretty and they grow around our yard without me having to do anything to help them along (besides keep the hooligans away).

Small purple flowers (anyone know what these are?)

Small white flowers. I’ve narrowed this down to Queen Anne’s Lace (not as full as most of the Queen Anne’s Lace I’ve seen) or water hemlock (highly poisonous, highly unlikley, since this was taken by a roadside, not near a stream). Or is it yarrow? *throws up hands*. Whatever it is, nobody touched it, nobody ate it. I was the only one to stop to take a shot.

And, here’s a daisy (or is it an aster??) that we saw out on a hike through the woods. I like this picture, even though it looks like the flower is suspended in midair.

Anyone else care to share flower pictures from their current habitats?

Filed Under: creativity, pretty pictures
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