At the same time, for most of us, the rest of our lives continue. We have our usual things to balance: work, family, and (what often gets squeezed in last) our creative work.
Sometimes I try to compartmentalize, and when I write an email letting people know about another interesting interview with a Michigan writer or illustrator, I just write it like I normally would without acknowledging horrific scenes that almost all of us have seen on the news or social media. Sometimes it feels strange to not acknowledge what is going on in the world and the feelings of fear that many are experiencing and to just proceed with business as usual.
So, while acknowledging that our primary purpose on this blog is to talk about writing and illustrating books for children, I also wanted to have a space available for you to talk about how the state of the world affects you and/or your creative work, as well as to offer advice for your fellow writers and illustrators.
How are you feeling? Are you continuing with your writing/illustrating/submitting like usual? If not, what has changed?
Thanks for acknowledging this and offering this invitation, Sarah. I've felt the same struggles about the ways life goes on as usual in the midst of chaos and violence and heartbreak. For us as writers, our work is entwined with community. While we're bearing witness and raising our voices/lifting other voices, advocating, we still need to celebrate and appreciate joy and beauty, to find what grounds us, in order to take care of our ourselves, our families, and our greater communities. I'm a writer yet these are the times I struggle with words! That's why we often write stories or poems which give us a way to work through these feelings, to connect with our humanity. Thank you again. Much love.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I'd like to mention today's auction: Publishers for Minneapolis. It's a great way to help people in need and pull together as a community. On a personal level, I feel fractured as if I'm living in separate realities. Maybe I'm over-compartmentalizing and that's why I feel like I do. I want my values and beliefs to permeate all that I do, think, and feel. Today I heard a speaker talk about living as water, not as fire. Water flows. Today I will be water. I will be what fire can never be. Thank you for opening up this space for us, Sarah!
ReplyDeleteHey, Yall. It's Publishing for Minnesota! @publishingforminnesota
ReplyDeleteThank you for this opportunity! It is tough right now to focus, but I continue to submit picture books and write. But I'm writing short stories rather than children's books these past few weeks. I can't explain why but I think it helps to sit down and just write with no filter and no "editor" on my shoulder. See what happens. Listening to music is an outlet and my playlist is a little bit of everything: Rise Up/Andra Day, The Prayer/Andrea Bocelli, Here Comes the Sun/Beatles, Imagine/John Lennon, Count on Me/Bruno Mars, This is Why We Fight/The Decemberists, Shake It Out/Florence + the Machine, Better Days/The Goo Goo Dolls.....There is a theme. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sarah, for creating a space to be in community about creating through the dark times. In addition to doing the things I can to help, I keep trying to focus on what young readers and their caregivers need from my work to learn, grow, and, in turn, offer to the world.
ReplyDeleteThe last few weeks have been challenging. I am having trouble sleeping, and distracting myself with Netflix. The problem is my creativity and my revision powers evaporate when I don't have sleep. I am caught in vicious cycle of falling behind, being overwhelmed and then shutting down to avoid the bad feeling. I have to give myself the pep talk that if I give up, he (and you know who i mean) wins and kids lose out.
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