After the loss of NaNoWriMo, it did not take the Crowvus writers long to realise how much we relied on this structured routine for our writing. For me, November had become the only time I was guaranteed to do creative writing. In fact - if truth be told - I've done very little at any other point of the year. Consequently, we decided to adapt to our own interpretation: Cro(w)NoWriMo - the W is in brackets because there was some discrepancy over whether or not it should be in there. The rules were simple: Write. As November went on, the end goal changed slightly for each writer. Was it 50,000 words? Was it to write every day? Was it to write an entire book? For me, it was about finishing a book. I haven't finished an historical fiction book in ages - though I've started plenty! Now, with four more writing days left on the clock and into the final chapter, I might finally be able to lay the ghost. The story I returned to was Poisoned Pilgrimage , the book I began as a submiss...
Friday 22nd November – Illustrations
I respond best to visual learning styles. I’m always looking
for pictures. Whether it’s a pre-existing landscape just begging to be
photographed, or the words of a writer on the page calling out to be
transformed into art.
I’m not the best artist in the world, but I can make a
decent attempt at drawing. But the hardest thing about illustrating a book is
pleasing the author, while the hardest thing about having your own work
illustrated is relinquishing your hold on it.
So, what I tend to do now is wait to be asked to illustrate
things, or else I illustrate my own stories. Over the last few years, I’ve
offered to illustrate people’s favourite poems for National Poetry Day, and this
year I had my first published illustrations in “Rosie Jane and the Swadgrump”. When
we launched the book in the school, the thing which most impressed the children
was how I’d managed to do the characters' hair(!) and how I’d reproduced the same
character, from scratch, in every picture. Their awe really gave a newbie like
me a massive confidence boost! This was the first time I’d shared any of my digital
graphics with the world, creating most of the pictures in strong, bold colours
using the computer’s shades rather than my own.
One thing I’ve learnt (although, not always done!), is not
to fill a picture. Look at the needs of your audience, and the needs of the
illustration itself. Sometimes, empty spaces aren’t blanks, they’re
vacuums which draw the reader in.
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