Look Both Ways by Christy Hale

This past weekend I was one of eight illustrators invited to speak at the MAZZA Museum (International Art from Picture Books) Fall Weekend Workshop. I was impressed by each speaker and came away with many nuggets. Marla Frazee spoke of an early project she had struggled to write and illustrate. She enjoys a close relationship with her editor. Marla said, “An editor’s job is to believe in you.” What a privilege it is for creators to have someone to fill this role. What a necessity!

My first critique group began when I was only eleven. My best friend and I walked home from school together and spent many afternoons writing stories. Then we read these works-in-progress aloud and became a part of each other’s creative worlds. Friends, family, classmates, critique groups, editors have all been a helpful, offering both encouragement and insights. Outside connections provide structure and even deadlines, which spurs the writing along.

I have always liked this quote by Madeleine L’Engle (A Circle of Quiet)

“I think that all artists, regardless of degree of talent, are a painful,
paradoxical combination of certainty and uncertainty, of arrogance
and humility, constantly in need of reassurance, and yet with a
stubborn streak of faith in their validity, no matter what.”

A response from the outside is certainly desirable, yet motivation from the inside is essential. The writing process appeals to me for these reasons:

I enjoy word play, the sounds of alliteration, assonance, rhyme and meter whether the work is poetry or prose.

I like ideas. Writing is a way of finding form for thoughts that cross my mind.

Writing helps me make sense of life. While I’m writing I see connections and patterns that never occurred to me before.