This reminds me of something a teacher (a kid's book legend) said once, when I was starting out into children's books. She said to the class, "Miss your deadlines." And then she looked at me directly and said, "Anna, miss your deadlines." Of course, most art directors or editors might be appalled to hear this, but of course she meant it within reason, and knew I had too much of a completion complex (and background on the other side of the fence) to not need to hear it again. It was her way of explaining that publishers want your best work, when you know it's your best and you've given yourself the time to have good days and bad days with it. I've been telling my current illustration students this over and over as they start working on books, but I always need reminding myself. So thanks again, Julie for all your wisdom. I always look forward to your posts!
The concept of "miss your deadlines" threw me so much here that I really had to step back and process it for a bit. I am such a deadline-hitter. I take such pride in making deadlines. But. Ok. So. Yes, I see it. I keep thinking about the word "looseness" (I think Cindy Derby on the Literaticast this month said something about it? somehow it's lodged in my brain) and how to give myself space for being able to be loose in my work, relaxed, I need to, in effect, miss my deadlines. That it can't all be about just checking it off, done. Because it can't happen on a schedule.
That rhyming dictionary cover looks like it could be gracing a college textbook on Modernism. 😍 Also, it turns out this is exactly what I needed to hear today--as we get our final critiques back in my long-term picture book workshop! LOL! (I shared the video link with the whole group, because...#timely #relevant #relatable.)
Wait, FINAL critiques! That sounds both promising and ominous. Is it a crit group or was this something that had a final end date from the very beginning?
It was a critique workshop I just finished through InkedVoices, with Sean M. It was really great! Basically, writers submitted three pb manuscripts at the beginning, and we did 18 critiques (3 for each of the other 6 writers...though Sean had to do 21, of course! even crazier!) and then we chose one of the three to do another revision on, which then turned into six more critiques of the other stories, and then a final round of submitting our revised second version (and six more critiques). Maybe I'm making it sound more grueling than it was. It was...a lot. But it kicked off in August and ended now, so it wasn't all at once (thank goodness). AND it was honestly really great, even if it did feel like I always had something "due" for it (either my own next revision or a critique of someone else's). Luckily, as you know, Sean is both super nice and a rock star so we did get excellent guidance all along the way. Plus, the other writers and stories were really strong and interesting, so it was genuinely fun to read them/think about them. Still, I'd be lying if I didn't say that I'm glad for a bit of a break on that front now! (Particularly for the story I went three rounds on, which I think I need to set aside for a little while and "let marinate.") I feel a bit like that old anti-drug ad with the egg in the skillet, "This is your brain. This is your brain after an intensive PB workshop...." We just had our final Zoom critique session for it, so I'm going to go treat myself to a cocoa and some kiddo hugs to celebrate!
I definitely have been *trying* to make/take my own weird little DIY MFA program? Speaking of which, you are one of my favorite professors for that--you are truly giving a master's class on here! I may be going overboard with commenting (if so, please know I adore your responses but also never expect them!), but it's because I really am trying to learn as much as possible from you (which is not hard to do because you are so good about sharing so much and I still have a lot to learn!)
Anyway, the biggest downside of a DIY MFA is that it's run by a disorganized (if enthusiastic) program manager--myself. And I also think you are right that next year, I need to carve out more time to write and revise on my own, with the "due date by outside figure" training wheels off a bit more, in 2023. So, we'll see how that goes, too!
ELAYNE! I love all of this. Thank you. I am truly honored to be your professor! I will do my best to live up to it!
Give yourself some grace in your disorganization, if you decide you are in fact disorganized. What may seem like disorganization may in fact be your process. Processes are messy! Get curious about what seems natural to you, where your creativity wants you to go. It may actually be extremely organized, and extremely individualistic to you.
Aww, thanks, Julie! It's true that so often what comes natural is flittering between several things, over and over again. But so long as it's progress... maybe that's okay (and maybe that's just my thing!)! Hugs!
This reminds me of something a teacher (a kid's book legend) said once, when I was starting out into children's books. She said to the class, "Miss your deadlines." And then she looked at me directly and said, "Anna, miss your deadlines." Of course, most art directors or editors might be appalled to hear this, but of course she meant it within reason, and knew I had too much of a completion complex (and background on the other side of the fence) to not need to hear it again. It was her way of explaining that publishers want your best work, when you know it's your best and you've given yourself the time to have good days and bad days with it. I've been telling my current illustration students this over and over as they start working on books, but I always need reminding myself. So thanks again, Julie for all your wisdom. I always look forward to your posts!
The concept of "miss your deadlines" threw me so much here that I really had to step back and process it for a bit. I am such a deadline-hitter. I take such pride in making deadlines. But. Ok. So. Yes, I see it. I keep thinking about the word "looseness" (I think Cindy Derby on the Literaticast this month said something about it? somehow it's lodged in my brain) and how to give myself space for being able to be loose in my work, relaxed, I need to, in effect, miss my deadlines. That it can't all be about just checking it off, done. Because it can't happen on a schedule.
That rhyming dictionary cover looks like it could be gracing a college textbook on Modernism. 😍 Also, it turns out this is exactly what I needed to hear today--as we get our final critiques back in my long-term picture book workshop! LOL! (I shared the video link with the whole group, because...#timely #relevant #relatable.)
Wait, FINAL critiques! That sounds both promising and ominous. Is it a crit group or was this something that had a final end date from the very beginning?
It was a critique workshop I just finished through InkedVoices, with Sean M. It was really great! Basically, writers submitted three pb manuscripts at the beginning, and we did 18 critiques (3 for each of the other 6 writers...though Sean had to do 21, of course! even crazier!) and then we chose one of the three to do another revision on, which then turned into six more critiques of the other stories, and then a final round of submitting our revised second version (and six more critiques). Maybe I'm making it sound more grueling than it was. It was...a lot. But it kicked off in August and ended now, so it wasn't all at once (thank goodness). AND it was honestly really great, even if it did feel like I always had something "due" for it (either my own next revision or a critique of someone else's). Luckily, as you know, Sean is both super nice and a rock star so we did get excellent guidance all along the way. Plus, the other writers and stories were really strong and interesting, so it was genuinely fun to read them/think about them. Still, I'd be lying if I didn't say that I'm glad for a bit of a break on that front now! (Particularly for the story I went three rounds on, which I think I need to set aside for a little while and "let marinate.") I feel a bit like that old anti-drug ad with the egg in the skillet, "This is your brain. This is your brain after an intensive PB workshop...." We just had our final Zoom critique session for it, so I'm going to go treat myself to a cocoa and some kiddo hugs to celebrate!
I think the intensity of that sounds really cool -- what a great way to force yourself to go deep into stories.
I definitely have been *trying* to make/take my own weird little DIY MFA program? Speaking of which, you are one of my favorite professors for that--you are truly giving a master's class on here! I may be going overboard with commenting (if so, please know I adore your responses but also never expect them!), but it's because I really am trying to learn as much as possible from you (which is not hard to do because you are so good about sharing so much and I still have a lot to learn!)
Anyway, the biggest downside of a DIY MFA is that it's run by a disorganized (if enthusiastic) program manager--myself. And I also think you are right that next year, I need to carve out more time to write and revise on my own, with the "due date by outside figure" training wheels off a bit more, in 2023. So, we'll see how that goes, too!
ELAYNE! I love all of this. Thank you. I am truly honored to be your professor! I will do my best to live up to it!
Give yourself some grace in your disorganization, if you decide you are in fact disorganized. What may seem like disorganization may in fact be your process. Processes are messy! Get curious about what seems natural to you, where your creativity wants you to go. It may actually be extremely organized, and extremely individualistic to you.
Aww, thanks, Julie! It's true that so often what comes natural is flittering between several things, over and over again. But so long as it's progress... maybe that's okay (and maybe that's just my thing!)! Hugs!