Perfectionism is the enemy of productivity.

1. It holds you back from completing and shipping a project.
2. It is an unrealistic goal.
3. And we are bad judges of our own quality, so how can we use perfection as a measurement of completion?

Quantity is more important than quality, especially at the beginning of a new goal. Nevertheless, it is uncomfortable to implement.

It means posting online knowing full well that I am not happy with how it turned out.

It means writing page after page, knowing there are errors and inconsistencies in the pages before.

It means taking videos without the best equipment, talking even though I have trouble getting the words out, and showing my face when I have a bad hair day.

It’s not pretty, but it is important.

Why is quantity more important? One of the biggest and most obvious reasons in my opinion is that algorithms favor quantity and consistency over quality. . .until it spills over into spam.

It’s not just algorithms, people favor it too. If the greatest artist in the world disappears for a few weeks you will forget they existed, but if a new photo or video pops up every day on your feed, you will be constantly reminded how great they are.

The second reason is not as obvious. Improvement does not come from creating one perfect thing. It comes from the process of creating over and over again, receiving feedback, and improving over time.

Here are 5 things more important than quality:

1. Consistency
2. Productivity
3. Accountability
4. Feedback
5. Improvement

These 5 things will appear when you commit to create something every day, and they will show their value through steadily ripening quality.

When you critique your own or another person’s picture book manuscript you can use my Picture Book Cheat Sheet as a guide to probing questions and analysis. Get it here.

Besides this, be a good reader. Your feelings and opinions will go a long way, helping you discover what works and what doesn’t.

Your critique is an argumentative response to probing questions, feelings, and opinions, supported by evidence from the text or visuals.

After you have interrogated the content, develop an argument describing how and why the content does or does not aid the creator’s objectives. Refer directly to related best practices and identify textual or visual evidence to support your argument.

You will have to take notes (they could be mental notes) so you can provide detailed examples.

A good critique focuses on the content.

Straying from the content leads to problems, such as:

1. Critiquing the creator rather than the creation
2. Misinterpretation or misrepresentation
3. And leaves room for your personal agenda

Provide a way forward. This does not mean you have to solve your partner’s problems. I become very suspicious of arguments that try too hard to solve my problems because they are prone to personal agendas, subjectivity, and misrepresentation.

Think along the lines of the 10-second rule: “If they can't fix in 10 seconds or less, don’t point it out.” Not really. Revising will always take longer than 10 seconds, but if there is not a clear and simple way to fix the problem, then there is not a path forward and you will leave your partner feeling lost.

Before you deliver your argument, analyze it as well. Be sure you can constructively deliver the argument.

There is no need to mince words. A direct and honest critique is the best way to get to the point and let someone else have the floor.

Start on a positive note, and end on a positive note (a Bad News Sandwich). I don’t like the bad news sandwich personally, because it suggests that critique is a negative thing. A critique is not about listing everything bad; it is about building.

Nevertheless, it is important for a healthy critique group that everyone leaves feeling like the experience was constructive. Because bad news is louder than good news, starting on a positive note and ending on a positive note will emphasize the constructive experience.

Finally, if multiple people support a critique, or say the same thing, there must be something to it. So, if you agree with someone else’s critique, chime in. It will let your partner know to pay attention.

Let me give you an example of a good critique following the points above:
“If your audience is 6 to 8-year-olds, who are reading books on their own, then you likely want to select words that are challenging but simple to understand from context. Words on lines five, ten, and twelve are difficult words to pronounce and understand without assistance.”:

A Good Critique Is:

1. Based on the Creator’s Objectives and Related Best Practices or Rules
2. Supported by the Text
3. Focused on the Content, not the Creator
4. A Way Forward
5. Direct and Honest
6. Constructive (A Bad News Sandwich)
7. Supported by Multiple People

Definitely an artist. I dressed up as an artist as an 8-year old when my friend had a "Come as what you want to be when you grow up" birthday party.

Books, tv, and the world.

I love Trina Schart Hyman, PJ Lynch, Joseph Zbvuik, The PreRaphaelites, Jonathan Stroud, and Lloyd Alexander.

Thumbnail, sketch, refined sketch, digital color study, print the sketch on watercolor paper, and paint. 

Illustrators: Trina Schart Hyman, Iris Compiet, Pj Lynch, 
Authors: Jonathan Stoud, Susanna Clarke, Marissa Mayer, Diana Wynne Jones, Lewis Schcaar, 

Yes. I have so many notebooks and sketchbooks.

So many. I love fairy tales. Someday, I'd like to do a retelling of The Three Spinners (A fairy tale kind of like Rumplestiltskin) because I think it's funny.

Watch k-dramas, walk, cook, read, and garden.

A story needs to have a reason to exist. A purpose in the telling, something that we can learn from and become better people because of it, plus feel emotionally connected to.

One that works hard with a goal in mind. 

I have a flipper tooth. It's a fake tooth connected to a retainer that I can take in and out. Someday I might get an implant but I'm kind of scared of that idea, plus they are pricey. So I just still have the flipper.

I'm working on an illustrated novel called The Magpie Magician. It's getting close to the point where I'll be ready to submit to agents and publishers and I'm excited. There is more info about the story on my website talesfantastic.com

Time-consuming or difficult changes top the list, not only because they are a major setback to progress, but also because they are incredibly disappointing. Understandably, it feels like a personal rejection.

Sometimes a critique partner will tell you to add something that is already there. And while it is deeply satisfying to point it out, it is also frustrating to feel like your partner did not pay attention.

When you fix a problem only to have a critique partner encourage you to change it back next month, you may feel stuck. It may cause you to question whether or not there is a deeper problem. Maybe there is. 

Similarly, it is disheartening to receive competing feedback from different partners. But, in this case, the solution is simple because you can choose to go with your intuition.

When a critique is vague or over-generalized, you are not left with a path forward. A good example is, "I don't like it." This is a bad critique.

​You don't need detailed solutions for every problem. I am wary of details. When a critique partner is too specific, I question the agenda of the partner. Perhaps they are trying to add their flavor or they are making assumptions about my experience. Evaluate detailed critiques with caution.

Not many people like being compared to others. It may make them self-conscious, or feel derivative. But it is an important critique because you need to know what impressions you are leaving on your audience. You need to know if your work is derivative, even if it hurts.

Sometimes a critique can be so off-base that you wonder where it came from at all. This is a good opportunity to evaluate how you are conveying your idea.

If a critique partner does not like rhyming picture books then they may pursue that agenda in their critique of your manuscript. This goes for any pet peeve, but it may also apply to partners who are in an adolescent stage of their careers and have a limited perspective.

Fortunately, I have not experienced this, but I have questioned the motivations of some critiques that were unnecessarily harsh. It is a subjective call. Perhaps the critique was simply tactless, or frustrating. Anyway, if you feel that your partners are working against you, then you may need to reflect on how you are handling criticism personally. If, after personal reflection, you still feel you are under attack, then perhaps the best solution is to ignore the criticism and find a new group. They can't harm your success.

This happens all the time! I suspect it is the most frequent form of critique among Illustration groups with members of competing styles. For example, a member from your group wants you to tighten a loose painting, or in a writing group, someone might like you to add humor. It is not a good critique.

This critique ignores the story altogether and instead makes assumptions about your experience, your qualifications, or even the way you introduced yourself to the group. No worries, this is just a bad critique and you can throw it out.

The Hardest Things to Hear in a Critique:

1. Rewrite / Redraw it
2. Do Something That is Already There
3. Change it Back to the Way it Was Before
4. I Don't Like it. . .
5. This Reminds Me of. . .
6. The Critique Reflects Misunderstanding
7. Your Partner Has an Agenda
8. Your Partner Enjoys Your Pain
9. Your Partner Wants to Add Their Own Flavor
10. Your Partner Makes it About You

Remember that just because they are hard to hear, does not mean they are not necessary for your growth.

What is your least favorite thing to hear during a critique?

Setting goals is like creating a road map to your destination.

Your journey is from one end of a picture book to the other.

In this context, setting SMART goals looks something like below.

Here are mine:

1. Collect Ideas
2. Fall in Love With an Idea
3. Develop the Idea Into a Story
4. Write Your First Draft
5. Rewrite Your First Draft From Different Points of View
6. Evaluate Your Drafts and Narrow Them Down
7. Revise
8. Show Your Work to Your Critique Group
9. Revise
10. Repeat Steps 8 & 9 Until You Are Satisfied With the Product
11. If That Fails, Repeat From Step 5

I visualize this process like a funnel. For every 50 ideas, you may fall in love with 20. 10 of those may develop into a story. Of the 10 that are developed enough to write, you may settle into 5. Of those, you may only show 3 to your critique group.

Make each of these goals attainable by preparing the tools you need to complete them before hand. For example, you can use my free Picture Book Writing Cheat Sheet to evaluate your drafts.

For example, you may participate in Tara Lazar’s Story Storm. You will set a goal to write down 1 idea for every day in January. There is daily inspiration from a collection of creators and if you choose to check in every day then there is added accountability.

Storystorm is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time based.

For when things don't go the way you’ve planned, which inevitably they don't.

What happens if you can't come up with an idea on January 15th? Maybe you were stressed, busy with work, or home life.

When I am feeling extra hyped or I have spare time, I come up with multiple ideas and put them in the bank. That way I do not feel bad when things happen.

When you accomplish a goal: celebrate! When things don't work out, go back and take a closet look at what happened.

When revising your goals look for micro-adjustments that you can make throughout your day to make a goal more attainable. Often, little changes can make a big difference.

1. Set SMART Goals
2. Set Your Milestones
3. Set a Schedule for Your Milestones
4. Set up a Backup Plan
5. Set Yourself Up For Success

Keep Going!

​xx Cory

In Picture Books, the text and illustrations will have varying degrees of responsibility.

Wordless Picture Books rely entirely on the illustrations to carry the story.

Other books, like BJ Novak’s The Book With No Pictures, rely entirely on text.

Most picture books marry the two extremes and use both vehicles to appeal to all the senses of the adult and child audiences.
​
Often, a writer creates a story with text and then publishers find an illustrator who can tell the same story with pictures.

But the role of the illustrator is not simply to elaborate.

Storytelling is multidisciplinary.
​
Illustration and text are only two vehicles used to tell a story. There is also:

• Music
• Dance
• Video
• Photography
• And Oral Storytelling

Exploring different vehicles to tell your story may help you flesh it out completely, or you may land on a vehicle that suits the story you are trying to tell better than others.

Happy creating!


xx Cory

​You can talk UP to children in your own books:

Open-Ended questions are questions that require a detailed response. For example, instead of asking, “Is it good to listen to your parents?” Ask “How does listening to your parents make them feel?” The two questions will guide your story in different directions. An open-ended question may also develop your story in more complex ways.

Get to know your characters well by developing them in your story. Make sure they do things they would do and say things they would say. Don't let adult characters control the kid characters or run the story.

Children are changeable, as are adults. As such, there is no need to limit them. A part of talking UP to children is to recognize that they grow and help them recognize it too.

If you have to share a message, don't tell your audience outright. Show them by example in the story you write and in the characters’ actions.

Maurice Sendak was known to say, “I don't write for children. I write and someone says it's for children.”

I appreciate the sentiment, but it is not exactly appropriate. Kids are not dumb, they are not simple, but they are an audience with special interests. The way I see it is, you must become an honest consumer of children’s literature. That way, the subjects you are interested in will also interest your audience.

1. Ask Open-Ended Questions
   
2. Let Your Characters Speak for Themselves
3. Avoid Stereotypical Labels
4. Show, Don’t Tell
5. Get Down To Their Level

xx Cory

xx Cory

As a child, I was adamant about writing on paper. I loved the smell of the paper, the feel of the pencil in my hand, the permanent lead mark on my index finger. The writing was visceral.

Today, I write for speed and so a computer is much more useful. And yet all my activities have moved to the computer and phone so that I spend most of my working hours in front of a screen.

If you want that physical feeling back, remember that you can choose to incorporate handwriting into your note-taking, plotting, and sketching.

David H. Baker, the Executive Director of WIMA said, “Though computers and e-mail play an important role in our lives, nothing will ever replace the sincerity and individualism expressed through the handwritten word.”

When you write on paper, you are less likely to take notes verbatim. You spend less time correcting and researching. You spend more time manipulating, summarizing, and synthesizing. Your voice will come out in your writing much more naturally.

Natalie Goldberg’s style of teaching writing is similar to the way I was taught Tai Chi. “You never ‘get’ it”, “Keep your hand going”, “No matter what comes up, you put it on paper and keep going.” You can watch 10 minutes of Natalie dragging pencil over paper here.

Writing is meditation or an exercise in letting your words flow into paper.

I use One Note by Microsoft to take notes. I use Word to write stories. They don’t take up physical space, I keep files for years, and they are searchable. Regardless, I still use a small notebook every day to keep track of ideas, quotes, and inspiration. My blog posts start in the notebook. This is Why Every Writer Should Write By Hand:

1. To take a break from the computer or phone
2. To manipulate, summarize, and synthesize details that are not yours
3. To eliminate distractions
4. To meditate
5. And finally, to get through Writer’s Block,

xx Cory

It has been a while since I have written actual poetry, but not long ago I fell into an emotional mess and poetry found its way back into my life. It is not because sadness or depression is becoming of poetry, but because I found myself in a position that I haven’t been in for a long time: absolutely alone with only my thoughts and feelings. I stopped working for a few days, I put my phone away, there was no tv or music, I didn't read, I found space away from everything but my emotions. I spent so much time with them that they found a voice of their own.

xx Cory