Why an author writes for the age group s/he chooses is a question that comes up often at seminars and workshops. Why do you write picture books? Middle grade? Young adult? Reasons are as varied as writers themselves. For myself, I often decide what form the work will take from the voice that brings me the story. This is because when a story idea begins to form it comes with a point of view, a tone of voice, a setting, and a problem or concern that needs a solution. These elements, taken together, tell me who the story is meant for. Sometimes the subject matter and the problem to be solved fixes the story as a picture book, or older. Sometimes this matching of story to audience is dynamic; a story that, at first, seemed most whole as a picture book can evolve into a middle grade novel, and vice versa; the book can even age up or down several times. So I would have to answer this question with ‘because that is who this story needed to be written for.’ Not very helpful, I have to admit, but it’s really true.
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Showing posts with label Hazel Buys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hazel Buys. Show all posts
Monday, November 21, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Illuminations From The Illustrator
The Emotions of Color: Red
What color do we see when we look at the longest wavelength of the visible light spectrum? Red. Red is visually dominant which explains why we respond to red as we do and how it can be used effectively in illustration.
Neurological studies have shown that humans react to colors at a primal level; red stimulates and attracts, makes us more alert, even aggressive. In a group of colors, we see red first. In many cultures red is considered the color of good fortune, luck and prosperity. Red also plays roles in the animal kingdom. The poison-dart frog from Ecuador and the Texas coral snake both use variations of red in their body color to signal danger. Ever wonder why bright orange is worn by hunters? Deer cannot see red or its variations but it allows hunters to more easily see each other.
So, considering all this, how does an illustrator make good use of red? One way is to clothe the protagonist in red. In Last Night, by Hyewon Yum, red is used sparingly, barely present in a story that takes place at night. But the little girl wears a red nightgown thus preserving her leading status even when other creatures are drawn much larger or dominate the action on the page.
In The Three Questions, written and illustrated by Jon Muth, red is used so sparingly that at first it only appears in the brilliant red kite that the boy flies as he plays. It symbolizes wisdom. Near the end of the book, red is used in the boy’s shirt, appearing simultaneously with the text that tells us the boy is learning the lessons the old turtle has been teaching him. Red visually binds the boy to what he has learned.
Red can become a character all its own as it does in the illustrations of Pamela Zagarenski for Red Sings from Treetops, by Joyce Sidman. In this book, red is not only the cheerful harbinger of spring, it is the brave, buoyant, hardy spirit that transcends all seasons, never quite fading or disappearing completely from the winter landscape. It reappears the next spring as the snow melts, symbolizing a wonderful resurrection.
On a more direct level, red can be used to alert the reader that the action is about to move faster or become more emotionally intense, even explosive. We see this when red is used to visually represent anger or rage.
Do other colors have a range of emotions this wide or deep? I’ll explore the contributions of other colors in later posts. Keep watching!
What color do we see when we look at the longest wavelength of the visible light spectrum? Red. Red is visually dominant which explains why we respond to red as we do and how it can be used effectively in illustration.
Neurological studies have shown that humans react to colors at a primal level; red stimulates and attracts, makes us more alert, even aggressive. In a group of colors, we see red first. In many cultures red is considered the color of good fortune, luck and prosperity. Red also plays roles in the animal kingdom. The poison-dart frog from Ecuador and the Texas coral snake both use variations of red in their body color to signal danger. Ever wonder why bright orange is worn by hunters? Deer cannot see red or its variations but it allows hunters to more easily see each other.
So, considering all this, how does an illustrator make good use of red? One way is to clothe the protagonist in red. In Last Night, by Hyewon Yum, red is used sparingly, barely present in a story that takes place at night. But the little girl wears a red nightgown thus preserving her leading status even when other creatures are drawn much larger or dominate the action on the page.
In The Three Questions, written and illustrated by Jon Muth, red is used so sparingly that at first it only appears in the brilliant red kite that the boy flies as he plays. It symbolizes wisdom. Near the end of the book, red is used in the boy’s shirt, appearing simultaneously with the text that tells us the boy is learning the lessons the old turtle has been teaching him. Red visually binds the boy to what he has learned.
On a more direct level, red can be used to alert the reader that the action is about to move faster or become more emotionally intense, even explosive. We see this when red is used to visually represent anger or rage.
Do other colors have a range of emotions this wide or deep? I’ll explore the contributions of other colors in later posts. Keep watching!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Story Elements Series: Got Plot?
by Hazel Buys
You’ve come up with a great plot, one you know will keep the reader’s interest. It will surprise, fascinate, scare, amuse and even educate the reader. A real winner!
But is it logical? Developing a plot that is rich with twists and turns and still makes sense from beginning to end is one of the most difficult tasks a writer faces. It’s easy to put in a plot twist and never get it turned back to the original problem you devised for your protagonist.
Ask yourself, does the solution presented at the end of the story match the problem set up at the beginning? One way to test this principle is to state your premise and your conclusion in a sentence or two. For example, you want to write a story about Rover, a puppy. At the start of this story, Rover, more than anything in the world, wants a home where there is a little boy to play with. But there are no little boys where he lives. The conclusion is that at the end of the story, Rover finds a home with a little boy who, more than anything else in the world, wanted a puppy to play with.
Compare your statements with your story. If you’ve written a story that concludes with Rover finding a home on a farm where he learns to herd sheep, that’s a great outcome. But it doesn’t match the problem you set up. If Rover is taken in by a family with three little girls who love him and give him lots of attention, that’s also a great ending. But you are still missing your mark.
Some mis-matches are obvious, like the ones I outlined above, but many are subtle and easy to overlook. And even the little misses make a difference. Your story will seem off kilter and, although they may not be able to tell you why, readers will not enjoy it.
You’ve come up with a great plot, one you know will keep the reader’s interest. It will surprise, fascinate, scare, amuse and even educate the reader. A real winner!
But is it logical? Developing a plot that is rich with twists and turns and still makes sense from beginning to end is one of the most difficult tasks a writer faces. It’s easy to put in a plot twist and never get it turned back to the original problem you devised for your protagonist.
Ask yourself, does the solution presented at the end of the story match the problem set up at the beginning? One way to test this principle is to state your premise and your conclusion in a sentence or two. For example, you want to write a story about Rover, a puppy. At the start of this story, Rover, more than anything in the world, wants a home where there is a little boy to play with. But there are no little boys where he lives. The conclusion is that at the end of the story, Rover finds a home with a little boy who, more than anything else in the world, wanted a puppy to play with.
Compare your statements with your story. If you’ve written a story that concludes with Rover finding a home on a farm where he learns to herd sheep, that’s a great outcome. But it doesn’t match the problem you set up. If Rover is taken in by a family with three little girls who love him and give him lots of attention, that’s also a great ending. But you are still missing your mark.
Some mis-matches are obvious, like the ones I outlined above, but many are subtle and easy to overlook. And even the little misses make a difference. Your story will seem off kilter and, although they may not be able to tell you why, readers will not enjoy it.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
QR Codes, Tags and the Emerging Multi-Media World of the Writer
by Hazel Buys
You want to get the word out about your writing? Be prepared to do it yourself! The World Wide Web, and all things digital are on the leading edge of this DIY strategy: build a web site, write a blog, develop a Facebook page, get a Twitter account, post a book trailer on YouTube, network in the cloud in a universe of virtual interviews, presentations and publicity mailings. Technology is the modern way of building your brand, an abbreviated representation of you as a writer. But how do people find you, in the vast expanse and countless choices of the internet?
You want to get the word out about your writing? Be prepared to do it yourself! The World Wide Web, and all things digital are on the leading edge of this DIY strategy: build a web site, write a blog, develop a Facebook page, get a Twitter account, post a book trailer on YouTube, network in the cloud in a universe of virtual interviews, presentations and publicity mailings. Technology is the modern way of building your brand, an abbreviated representation of you as a writer. But how do people find you, in the vast expanse and countless choices of the internet?
Enter the virtual equivalent of the retail bar code, the QR Code or Tag. A QR Code or Tag is a small graphical image that carries a digital pointer to a location on the web. This could be your web site (or a page on your web site) or blog, Facebook page or book trailer on YouTube or text, almost anything. It’s a real world connection to your virtual world. And it’s all free!
If you read the newspaper, or almost any publication these days, you have seen QR Codes or Tags. They look like this:
QR Codes were the first virtual bar code system and have been widely used, starting in Japan. The Tag is a Microsoft product and is a second generation bar code system. It offers many improvements over the QR Code, although it is less well known. Microsoft Tags can be read on every smart phone platform and can be fully customized (meaning your logo can appear on your Tag), scalable (you can get different sizes), is tolerant of different camera lenses and lighting conditions, and is very reliable (scans easily).
The link between the Tag (and QR Code) and your web presence is any “smart” device, a phone, e-reader or laptop that has a camera lens and a connection to the internet. To read the Tag, download a small application (app), free for the asking, onto the smart device. Click on the app and the camera lens becomes a scanner. Hold the device so that the lens can “see” the Tag and presto! The app reads the embedded web location and automatically displays the web page on the device. A single source gets you started with a Microsoft Tag reader app and a Tag:
I created a Tag for my web site and it has scanned perfectly every time. Think of the possibilities! You can put it onto the cover of your best seller, print it on bookmarks, business cards and postcards, directing your readers to your web site, blogs or videos. Its uses are limited only by your imagination. Welcome to the 21st Century ad agency – you and your Tag(s)!
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