2019 in a (Crab)shell...

I've been seeing a lot of year end posts, and even though I've been a little lax with the blog (okay, a lot lax), I thought it would be fun to write one too. But... since trying to squeeze a year's worth of happenings into a single post seems a bit overwhelming, I think I'll end the year with an update that circles back to where it began:

At the beginning of 2019, I had just created Crab...

I continued to play with, and develop, his character...

And, as I wrote and revised his story, his personality started to come through...

I ended up setting his story aside for a little while to work on other projects, but then in July I decided to revisit his story and apply for the #PBChat mentorship program...

Crab caught the attention of the amazing Brian Lies, and over the next few months Brian helped me polish my dummy.

Crab and I have been on an incredible journey this year. As I wait to see what's next for us, I'm looking forward to starting the new year with new ideas...

First up... Storystorm 2020!

Less than a week until...

Storystorm 2019!

This is my third year participating, and every year I come up with a flurry of new picture book ideas!  Some of the ideas are interesting, some of the ideas are ridiculous, and some of the ideas are ridiculous enough to make them interesting.  But, no matter what sort of ideas I come up with, the challenge is always fun!

And, to help keep me on track as I turn those ideas into full fledged stories

and picture book dummies, I am signing up for... 

Creative Every Day 2019!

2018: 8/365

Today's I am implementing some advice from Jess Keating's Storystorm post.  It was a fantastic post filled with so much useful information.  (I would highly recommend reading it if you're interested in learning more about tapping into the inspiration that is all around you.)  

January Update

Eggquiring minds want to know...

Did I come up with 30 ideas in 30 days for Storystorm?
Yes!  I actually came up with 46!  Woo-hoo!
(I know there are some stinkers in the bunch, but there are definitely some I'm looking forward to working on.)

Did I write the first draft for a new picture book for 12x12?
Yes!  (I also revised an old manuscript that I had set aside for years!!!)

Did I create a new picture book dummy?
No.  But... I did work on a number of new illustrations.

So far, so good...
The challenges seem to be keeping me on track!
(I'll keep you posted...)

Happy 2017!

Happy New Year, Friends!
I hope your year is off to a good start and that you are having 
lots of fun and productive studio time!

For me, the new year means lots of new characters and lots of new ideas!  (It also meant an explosion of masking fluid in my studio that led to an hour long clean-up and nearly having to cut my hair... Have you ever tried to get masking fluid out of a paintbrush?  If you have, then I'm sure you can imagine my near hair catastrophe! Hahaha!)

I digress...  Back to the new ideas...

In addition to the super fun projects I am already working on, I signed up for the Storystorm (previously PiBoldMo) challenge!  
The goal is to come up with 30 new picture book ideas in 30 days.  I have to say, inspiration is flying because we are about halfway through the month and I am already at 30 ideas!  (Some good, some not-so-much, but at least the inspiration faucet is on.)

I plan on putting some of those ideas to use in another challenge I signed up for: 12x12.  The goal of the 12x12 challenge is to write 12 picture book manuscripts in 12 months.  (I am giving myself the additional challenge of turning those manuscripts into roughly illustrated dummies... Wish me luck!)

I'll be sharing my progress here, so please check back soon...
In the meantime, I'll be in my studio 
(trying to keep the mess to a minimum)!