My Pretty Awesome Birthday

You all know I don't like to play favorites......but this is my favorite birthday present this year!! Drawn by my disgustingly talented BFF Gabby. I think she captured me wonderfully

You all know I don’t like to play favorites……but this is my favorite birthday present this year!! Drawn by my disgustingly talented BFF Gabby. I think she captured me wonderfully!♡♡♡

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Couple shots from the festivities…

So yeah, it was very fun! I’ve had such a crazy year, from making the Shivering Snivels Trailer and graduating, then stumbling as I figured out how to be self-sufficient. Now, finding balance and fulfillment, I appreciate my friends more than ever.

This, above all, was the year I found them again.  ♡

 

Quick little character study for Snivels

Quick little character study for Snivels

Thanks Kara <3

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Hiding In My Closet…

A Self Portrait

A Self Portrait

A Self Portrait for #tbt
Isn’t funny how we can forget the person we used to be? I’ve been doing a lot of growth and self-improvement lately. So when I rediscovered this photograph I was kind of blow away by how the “person I am trying to be” was sitting there looking up at me from the past.

Now, I’m not saying I want to revert to that person I was. I’ve learned a lot since then and grown in many good ways. However, I’ve also been knocked around by life a lot since then, and I think I lost a few things I loved very much on the way.

I’m not sure exactly what the lesson here is. If there is one at all.

I just wanted to share this little part of my personal journey; something I’ve never been that interested in doing in the past. I’m very excited to see where my long and winding road takes me.

What else will I find

as I chip away at my cocoon

and reveal the girl inside?

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A Clean Workspace is a Happy Workspace :) 

A Clean Workspace is a Happy Workspace :) Apartment remodel coming along. Got my desks back today! Got a crazy rose, so I warn you now...I may begin to post way too many pics. Alright. Time to finish our Mock Book

Apartment remodel coming along. Got my desks back today! Got a crazy rose, so I warn you now…I may begin to post way too many home garden pics.  Alright. Time to finish our Mock Book! #nomoreexcuses

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Even Bureaucrats Can Have Fun!

Found this little gem while doing research for Snivels.

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The Orlando shooting happened yesterday, and I bought my first newspaper.

Two, actually.

Obviously, I am deeply saddened by this horrific event, but I am also discouraged by the reports that the gunman aligned himself with Muslim beliefs.

With the coming election, this tragedy will be paraded out at every opportunity as evidence of each candidate’s opinions. I imagine this may prove to be the most grotesque part of the attack.

Please. If you truly wish to honor the memory of all the beautiful souls we lost, please remember the only lesson that can be found in this devastating event.

Please, do not hate.

Don’t waste your time and energy hating. It is understandable to be angry with a singular person who has caused harm, but please don’t hate a group.

No matter how you choose to segregate society, there will be members of each group that cause harm. Equally true, however, is that the vast majority is made up of wonderful, kind, and prismatic individuals. They love freely. They believe truly.

And they do not hate.

To Rhyme Or Not To Rhyme: The Writing Process

A sneak peek into the “glamorous” work of a writer.

I know, as a young author, I need to be blogging as much as possible. However, I struggle to know what’s worth blogging about in the first place. Perhaps it’s my visual arts background that makes me feel that if there’s nothing worth looking at, there’s nothing worth reading. The process of writing a children’s book, while challenging, is not very visually stimulating.

However, until we have new art, I thought I’d give you a peek at the writing process.

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One thing I wish more authors did was show us there crumpled up piles of rewrites. It’s easy to assume that the amazing book you just read was written in just one sitting. As if god was speaking directly to the author who only had to transcribe each perfectly placed word.

In reality, for most of us at least, writing is a long and grueling process. Similar to chiseling away at a sculpture, and wondering if you’re even using the proper hammer.

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The biggest challenge for any children’s book writer is deciding whether or not to rhyme.

Yes, if you can manage to craft the perfect meter and rhyme, your book will be beloved, at least by relieved parents. However, a clumsy attempt can ruin your otherwise delightful tale.
So for the last few weeks I tried my hand at a completely rhyming draft of Shivering Snivels & His Shadow. It was not far off in the first place, since I found many of my lines were already beginning to rhyme.

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Since I majored in Filmmaking, not writing, my first step was to study rhyme and meter. Then I broke down my manuscript (as is) into all of its respective parts.

How many words are in each line? How many syllables? Is there a pattern?

(Because there should be)

Then came the crafting. Taking the lines that didn’t fit the pattern and rewriting them, over and over again, until they fit with the rest.

Now I have to ask myself, “Is it good enough?”
Is it close enough that a little editing will bring it home?

Or should I go back to an earlier draft?

I’ll let you know the answers when I have them!