On Friday morning at 8.30, I got on a bus in Heidelberg, bound towards Zürich. I spent the weekend at a conference for children's book authors and illustrators, the SCBWI Europolitan. SCBWI is the "Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators" and offers connection and opportunities to grow in your…
A few posts ago, I mentioned that I was brainstorming for new story ideas. One of them was the word "pineapple juice". I just liked the sound of it and thought it would make a great title. So, a few weeks later, this is what came out of it: A…
"Somehow something is Missing!": I have been working on this children's book project for 3 months. And in the last 3 days, I was working almost all day on the last illustrations. The result: a book you can look at from start to finish. It's what you call a "dummy…
"The sun did not shine, it was too wet to play, so we sat in the house all that cold, cold, wet day..." (Opening lines from Dr. Seuss' book "The Cat in the Hat")Anytime I looked out the window this week, I could relate to these words. Not a single…
One of my goals for 2019 is to make some significant progress on my children's books and illustrations. So, as a professional step, I have just (yesterday!) joined the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). I have put off this decision because I thought I wouldn't have enough…
When you only have little talent or responsibility, you might look up to someone who has more. You might feel jealous or unhappy, thinking that a "next level" would make you more successful in some way. I'm not a super-famous artist (yet), but even now I can tell you that…
Act I: The Adventure begins I was driving back to school on the highway. It was a Monday afternoon, and it was an easy ride. Nothing special, apart from an insignificant drizzle. When suddenly, the windshield wipers decided to start an arm wrestling competition with me as their captive audience.…
I told you about the steps I go through to write stories. Idea, Brainstorming, Outline, First Draft, Editing. And I'm not "done", sure enough, I will have to do some more edits eventually. But I think the story is ready to share with you. Tell me what you think, or…
I am writing a new children's story called "Gary's Noodles". I first went from the basic idea to an "outline". Here's what I did next: Step 4: First Draft When you have a rough idea where you are going with your story, you can start actually writing. Some people swear…
I like to teach. I like to write. And I like meeting family and new people. But doing all these things in one weekend is a lot of work. Now, I am resting from the events of the past 2 days. Visiting my parents. Greeting my brother who was in…
I told you in the last post that I wanted to write a new children's story. And just for fun, I thought I could show my writing process. This is obviously not the only way to write, but it's based on research from writing vlogs, articles and personal experience. Step…
I will start school this coming week. It's already my 3rd year at seminary. Time flies! That means learning for school. Less time for art. But I will try to continue with the anatomy courses and teach a handful of workshops. I also am starting to write a new children's…
Coming Up: I will get to teach an art workshop on Saturday! There are 14 people signed up, and the topic is "creativity in the church": We will learn that everybody is creative in some way because we are made in the image of a creative God. Creativity is applicable…
I would like to take the opportunity to recap the year, and thank those of you who followed along with me. Thank you to everyone who supports me, in what ever way. Everyone who comments, likes and shares my work, online or in real life, that really means something to…
Today I went to a critique group for children's book authors/illustrators in Stuttgart for the first time. I had connected to them via facebook and was excited for the day ahead. I had bought the train ticket, made sure I was at the station early and that I had everything…