Published

Technically.

I'm currently in a class called Pictures and Words, which has been mildly stressing me out all semester. It is the reason I have (fussily) woken up at 8 am multiple times in the past few months. It has made me want to cry with frustration and with joy (it still does).

The basis of this class is to study how text and illustration can work together- but independently- to ultimately produce a more interesting idea and better overall story. Matthew & Robbi of Idiots' Books are our awesome (and tough!) instructors, and really we're doing what they do for a living. He writes and she illustrates.

So for the class, there are pairs of us (I'm a writer) and each group designed and wrote a sample project (Karen and I wrote a [brilliant & hilarious] Stalker's notebook from the viewpoint of a college girl). Then we all switched partners and Darby and I have created a book entitled "Elephants in the Road," as seen here.

It's about a cab ride.

We all started with a CONCEPT, not a plot or a story, then built a tale & pictures around it. Darby's (my new partner) job was not to just match pictures to what the words say ("The dog ran" and there he is, running.) but to add a new layer to the story. Of course, the collaborative process is important, and I think we did a great job.

Anyhow, we printed the books tonight, and I'm incredibly excited about it. Our class will be presenting this Saturday, and I recommend attending the Festival. Half of the class will be at 2pm, but Darby & I will be at 6pm. See you there! Bring a few dollars if you like us enough to buy a copy! We'll even sign it.