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As outlined in a previous post, I called upon a variety of children’s book authors and illustrators with a basic question:
What do you do, if anything, to cultivate your own creativity?
Today we’ll look at the answers I received from Travis Jonker, Paul Acampora, and Michelle Knudsen.
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TRAVIS JONKER
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Well, I didn’t think I would ever share this with anyone, but since you asked . . .
Whenever I begin a new notebook, I write the following in the back:
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It’s a reminder to myself that I don’t have to do a whole lot to express my creativity.
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Readers should run (don’t walk) to pick up a copy of Travis Jonker’s new picture book, illustrated by my pal, Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell.
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PAUL ACAMPORA
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My “creativity practice” is embarrassingly simple: I take notes. I am constantly writing down snippets of conversations, song lyrics, descriptions of found objects, occasional historical facts, and funny names of people, places, food, and dogs. My notes are not particularly noteworthy, but for some reason they catch my eye. Once a week or so I review what I’ve collected on scraps, post-its, and notes apps. I jot them onto a page in a dollar-store composition notebook for possible use at a later date.
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I’m usually disappointed to learn that my observations are painfully mundane, but then I remember Eleanor Rigby picking up rice after a wedding or a moocow coming down the road or how much depends upon a red wheelbarrow or a dog named Winn-Dixie, and I keep taking note of the simple things that might be the seeds for my next story.
Paul Acampora’s most recent middle-grade novel is the achingly beautiful (and funny), In Honor of Broken Things.
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MICHELLE KNUDSEN
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Three things that help me with writing are walks, music, and Post-It Notes.
Walks are good for having ideas, for thinking through tricky plot points, for shaking up my mind after too much time at my desk.
Sometimes music and walks go together. Sometimes I make playlists that I only listen to when writing or thinking about a particular book. Sometimes one song will get associated with a book, and then I’ll just listen to that song on endless repeat.
Music usually only works for novels though. I need quiet for picture books.
Post-It Notes work for everything. I have lots of colors and sizes, and I love how low-pressure they are. I can write a word or a phrase that seems to have potential and just stick it somewhere around my desk. Sometimes those turn into something more; sometimes they end up crumpled into little paper balls to amuse my cats. Either result is acceptable.
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Michelle Knudsen’s most recent picture book features a reunion with illustrator Kevin Hawkes, the team that created the all-time classic, Library Lion.
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PLEASE COME BACK ANOTHER TIME FOR MORE TIPS & STRATEGIES FROM SOME OF THE BEST MINDS (and creative spirits!) IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE.
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And while you are still here, I guess I ought to say that I first started working in children’s publishing in 1985 and never had the good sense to find alternative employment. Here are my two new books from 2024:
