Creativity Survey (Part 2)
Our creativity survey explores the deeper meaning behind what it means to be creative. Each month a different group of our authors and illustrators will share with us how they approach the artistic process and, most importantly, how they keep the creative flame alive. We think you will enjoy their answers, in both differences and similarities. Creativity is a gift, but it does not come free -- balancing art with life is a full-time job. Lee & Low appreciates the dedication of the following individuals and celebrates the wonderful books for children they have created.
We look forward to your comments.
   
(from left to right)
Jeannine Atkins is the author of Aani and the Tree Huggers, and Get Set! Swim!.
Bettye Stroud is the author of Down Home at Miss Dessa's.
Susan Keeter is the illustrator of The Piano.
Maria Diaz Strom is the author and illustrator of Rainbow Joe and Me.
(1) Do you have a regular writing regimen? Please explain.
Jeannine Atkins: Oh yes. I learned to discipline myself when I had a baby who never seemed to sleep the way babies are supposed to. If she took a ten minute nap, I wrote for approximately 9 minutes and fifty-five seconds, even if my hand knocked her head because I didn't dare move her off my lap. It helps to write every single day, so you don't waste time trying to pick up a thread you've put down for too long.
Bettye Stroud: I try to get to my desk early in the morning. I get my best work done before lunch A good day finds me back at my desk in the afternoon for several more hours.
Susan Keeter: Right now, I rarely have the opportunity to paint except on assignment. I have a full-time job other than illustration and I am a mother. When I have an assignment, I work every spare moment and cut out every non-essential in my life. I do most painting on weekends -- 8 or 9 a.m. until anywhere from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. I use weeknights to either draw and/or take care of family. Painting for leisure seems a distant luxury -- a fantasy.
Maria Diaz Strom: I write the initial ideas down. Often there is a problem with the story. After I have come up with the solution I schedule time to write. After I have a complete story I put together a dummy and do a few paintings.
(2) Where is your favorite place to work? Why?
JA: Where is your favorite place to work? I recently spoke with a friend who bemoaned the lack of doors in her life -- she shares an office at work, and there's not even a door on her bedroom. I'd really like to get her a door. I often scribble at the kitchen table, but I'm lucky to have a room of my own where I can stare out the window and work.
BS: I have a daylight office in our basement, at the far end of the house where no one bothers me. The shelves are lined with children's books, and momentos that help to keep me motivated.
SK: I have a studio in my house. The second-floor master bedroom is converted into my studio. In fact, one of the primary reasons I wanted to buy our house was this wonderful studio space. I like working here because I like to be HOME. The animals run in and out; the phone, refrigerator and bed are nearby. . . my daughter can wander in and out at will.
MDS: I have a desk in the apartment, but sometimes I go to cafes around San Francisco. There is one in the Mission District that I particularly like. The chairs are overstuffed and the place has a funky, laid-back feel.
(3) What/where is your dream place to work? Why?
JA: See answer #2
BS: I'd like working outside under the trees. Except when I take a legal pad out there, I am distracted by the birds at the feeders and the deer that amble by -- So I am not very productive outside.
SK: I'm quite happy working at home, although I'd like more room. I'd love to travel to work on a book. . . do research in a remote area, meet new people, draw, take photographs, learn about a place by alert wandering.
MDS: The picture book stories come together in my mind before I start writing. I see the scenes and characters and problem there first. This happens when I feel really relaxed, while walking or laying in the park or taking a bath. I'm not that picky about where I do the actual writing.
(4) Where do you get your ideas from? What inspires you?
JA: Ideas are all around us: in the shower, on walks, hidden between the pages of magazines. I like to write most about people I admire. Fortunately, there are thousands of amazing people in the world.
BS: From everywhere. I take copious notes of children at play and I develop character sketches that might one day serve as the basis for a book. I am always "on" to what is going on around me, lest I miss something that might inspire me.
SK: Much of it comes from the text I am presented with. People are a big inspiration. "You are my friend, I want to paint you." I like to make holiday cards, so I’ll look for ideas for those -- a phrase of a song, a funny statement. My favorite artists are a HUGE inspiration: Breughel, Edgar Degas, Edward Hopper, Thomas Hart Benton, Toulouse-Lautrec, Reginald Marsh, Jacob Lawrence, Picasso.
MDS: I work in my office at school because I have my computer there. Once I start writing, it doesn’t matter what physical place I’m in.
(5) How much does your work depend on inspiration?
JA: It's important, I think, to write at least a little every day. You slog and fumble and when
you least expect it, something dazzles.
BS: I work best when I am inspired, but I find I must work whether the inspiration is there or not. So I go to my office and try to produce.
SK: I am quite reality-based. I get my inspiration from people I know. Whenever I get an illustration assignment, I work very hard to find as much reference as I can in real life. Do I have a friend who resembles this character? Is there a building that fits this setting? Can I find or make the costumes?
MDS: The inspiration is just the spark. Inspiration happens in a flash. I'm always really grateful for it. Usually it's a visual image in my imagination. In Rainbow Joe and Me I saw the main character playing the saxophone and the rainbow coming out of it. That was the starting point for the story.
(6) How do you deal with writer's/artist's block?
JA: It's hard work to deal with a block. When I resumed writing after a long silence I discovered that my unwillingness to write certain messy and mean things kept me from writing anything. Slowly, gently, I made myself put thoughts that scared me into words.
BS: I am usually working on more than one project at any given time. If one project is not working and I can't get going, I move on to something else. The key for me is to stay at it. If I check my mail or chat with a writing buddy on the phone, I find I don't get to serious work.
SK: I have terrible ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ in my painting skills. Sometimes every stroke is beautiful; every color perfect, and I am thrilled by what I can create. Often, I struggle, flail about, and wonder if I could ever draw or handle paint. When I was younger, the bad days were devastating. Now, I just plug along and burrow my way through the clumsy time, knowing that the focus will return. I realize that the bad periods are just part of the process. Not fun, but hardly irreversible.
The assignments I receive are my sources of inspiration. I am amazed at how ‘connected’ I feel to the stories that I am offered. It is as if the art director/editor knows my background, my interests, and my life.
Before I began illustration work, I did huge gallery paintings, many of which were semi-autobiographical. I experienced artistic block then, I think, because I was focusing on my ordinary, little life instead of looking beyond myself to the more interesting, larger world.
MDS: I've learned to let it go and give up the illusion of control. If I just keep writing and writing and if nothing is working out I need to put down my pen and open my mind. Sometimes I need to go fill up on life, look at things differently. When I'm more relaxed the answers come to me.
(7) What do you do to stay focused?
JA: Once again, I write every day. If I don't focus, I start boring myself. There are only so
many pencils one can sharpen.
BS: I have quotes from writers and my goals posted in my office. I also give myself deadlines. I post them, too. When I want to "play in the sun," the goals dictate whether or not I have the time.
SK: Keep working. Tell yourself you do not have time for other activities. Period.
MDS: Because stories seem to have a life of their own, a routine helps me feel like I at least have control over my work life. If I haven't come up with an answer to a problem in my story I can always work on sketches for another story.
(8) How has your childhood or adulthood affected or shaped your work?
JA: I bring my own feelings of pain and joy to the characters I create.
BS: I grew up with a great-aunt and uncle. I find many of my stories are intergenerational, full of grandparents and extended families.
SK: Gad, this is a big question. Two things:
--My mother and stepfather were artists and ran an art school out of our house when I was growing up. I had access to art materials, instruction, and spent time looking at artwork. I went to exhibitions for as long as I can remember. It was a very good world -- I remember as a child truly falling in love with pieces of art. Making things has been profoundly satisfying for as long as I can remember.
--My focus on portraying African Americans in my artwork: This is very hard to explain. There are many reasons. I choose to live in a multi-racial urban area, at least partly to avoid the discomfort of lily-white suburbs of my childhood. My neighborhood, my workplace, and my volunteer experiences have raised my consciousness and offered me friendships that expand my world. My childhood, with its funny combination of Southern ‘gentility,’ small-town Yankee heritage, and Sixties liberalism, has given me an odd mix of experiences, and perspectives, all of which go into my artwork.
MDS: I think that I really enjoyed being eight years old. I seem to have retained my voice and sense of humor from that period of my life.
(9) Do you prefer to work on a single project, or multiple book projects at one time? Why?
JA: I find it's good to work on one project for a while, then put it away to work on something else. When I come back to the first manuscript, my eyes are fresher and I edit it more ruthlessly.
BS: I don't get bored when I am working on multiple projects. If I'm blocking or getting frustrated with one project, I can move to something else.
SK: I am a mother and have a full-time job other than painting, so multiple projects are a given. I’m relatively comfortable with the situation.
MDS: It takes a lot of faith to make a story happen. If I am working on multiple projects I don't have all my eggs in one basket. But there does come a time when you just have to finish something.
(10) Is research a large part of your work? If so, what kind of research do you do? What are some useful resources that you’ve found?
JA: When I write about people who live in other places or eras, I need to read about those lands and times. Illustrated nonfiction books help round out my sense of the sights, sounds, smells, and sensations that would be part of that person's world.
SK: Research is extremely important. Growing up, I was a disinterested history student. I often think that illustration was God’s way of forcing me to learn history.
The library is very important. Knowing your community and keeping your eyes open is important, too, because often you can find everything you need if you hunt. I also ask for advice from someone who is familiar with the subject matter.
MDS: Often I have to look up facts about a place or time. I am constantly looking for visual references to use in illustrating. I go to the library or download images from the Internet.
(11) How does your ethnicity and/or cultural background influence your work?
BS: The idea of "writing what you know" makes sense. There are wonderful, rich stories in my background that only I can tell. They are always bouncing around in my mind, begging to come forth. Though I know about all manner of subjects, my best pieces come out of my experiences or ethnic interests.
SK: See answer #8
MDS: Having a Mexican heritage has made me more sensitive to people who live out of the mainstream of society. I think that a lot of my characters are "outsiders" in one way or another.
(12) Is travel important to your work? If so, why?
JA: Most of my "travel" is done through books.
BS: Yes. We travel often, and I keep my eyes and ears open to situations that will lend themselves to or compliment my stories and settings.
SK: I’ve been only to the continental US. I have never had the pleasure of travelling to do research for a book, although I would love to. In the case of The Piano, it was very helpful to have spent time in the ‘old South’, with ladies like Miss Hartwell, and to be able to ask my mother and grandfather-in-law about particulars.
MDS: I love to travel. In Rainbow Joe and Me, Rainbow Joe was patterned after a musician I saw in New Orleans. I think that all of my experiences, including my travel experiences, are stored inside me. Sometimes something is strong enough to break into my consciousness and want to be written about.
(13) How do you usually respond to a rejection letter?
JA: There's always a big sigh or grumbling sound. Then, if there are comments, I have to think about whether or not I agree with the editor's opinion. If I do, I'll rewrite. If I don't, I generally get the manuscript right back in the mail to someone else.
BS: I developed a tough skin early. I know that everything I write won't be appropriate for every publisher. I don't take rejections personally. I tell myself that this manuscript did not work for that particular publisher at that particular time. And I move on with my writing and sending my pieces to my agent.
SK: Criticism is always useful and it’s good to stay as receptive as possible. It’s also good to be strong and know when you are smarter than the critic is, or not interested in molding yourself in response to the critic.
MDS: I put them in categories. If an editor writes a personal letter and has nice things to say, I consider that a victory. Sometimes I get a form letter. I try not to take it personally.
(14) What is the best editorial advice you have ever received?
JA: Like most writers, I've received plenty of form rejections with that well-worn line "of course this is only one person's opinion." That's polite, it's cliched -- but believe it. In college I worked for a while as an editorial assistant at a literary magazine, and I saw that even the wisest, most benevolent editors passed up wonderful writing for a variety of reasons. This taught me that I should write my best, rewrite like crazy, and believe in my own vision.
BS: Learn the markets. Study guidelines and match your work up with a publisher that sells the kind of thing you have written.
SK: Learn to work small on flexible paper.
MDS: I read an article that said to write a story that only you could write. I think that's great advice. There is only one me, so if I'm true to my own voice I can write something original.
(15) What is the biggest challenge about being a writer/illustrator?
BS: Life keeps getting in the way. There is never enough time for all the things I want to do.
SK: The biggest challenge is, I think, financial. I would love to be a full-time artist but I can’t afford to. Secondly, I think loneliness might set in because you spend hours and hours, every day, alone in your thoughts.
MDS: I think it's working alone. You can sometimes feel isolated. It's important to build a rich and
satisfying life outside of your work.
(16) Do you do anything special to make sure editors notice your work? Please elaborate.
JA: I revise my work enough times so that the people I live with wonder if I'm simply obsessive. But if I put my work away for a while then look at it again, I find not only ways to clean up awkward phrases but ways to go deeper into my characters, turn exposition into dialogue, and make imagery more vivid.
BS: I make every piece the best it can be. My pieces go out clean, edited and well-researched. I use hooks and hangers and try to develop the best POV character I can for my fiction.
SK: I’m fortunate because I have a very good rep who knows how to make my work look as strong as possible. From my non-illustration work life (as a creative director in a marketing dept.), I would say the most important thing to do is not waste someone’s time. Keep your message clear and brief. Remember you are providing a service.
MDS: I take a lot of care in rewriting, so the story is pretty tight when they receive it. Also, I take care to put together a nice-looking dummy.
(17) What other advice would you offer new writers?
JA: It's important to find a way to be comfortable spending time alone. Some kind of meditation may help take your mind off immediate problems and let you focus on an
empty page.
Then, once you've written, find or create a critique group that you trust. You might find one through joining SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators), a great organization. For ten years, I've met every two weeks or so with three other people. Their advice and encouragement are crucial and dear to me.
If you can't meet with people, writing guides can be like nice company. I especially like Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird and Elizabeth Berg's Escapting into the Open. For an excellent review of usage questions, I recommend Edward D. Johnson's The Washington Square Press Handbook of Good English. It's actually more compelling than its title makes it sound, and it's sort of fun to finally see the sense behind some of the things my sixth grade teacher said.
BS: Learn the markets. Hone your craft. Find an inner peace with your writing so that you can hold on until you find a measure of success. Don't be done-in by rejection; keep writing and become good at what you do. Someone will eventually notice. But you have to hold on.
SK: Work hard. Accept criticism. Put yourself in an environment in which you have to struggle to succeed. Learn to enjoy your talent. Live with the fact that many are more talented.
MDS: I think that you need to know who you are. Do something original.
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