The Easter Bunny knows me so well. In addition to the traditional treats, my basket had seeds for this year's garden and tools to plant with. It got me thinking how much writing a story is like growing a lovely garden.
First, there is the inspiration stage or getting the ideas together. Those are the seeds that the story will come from. I get those from all over - from current events, from memories of childhood, and sometimes from the students that I work with. I keep a list of story ideas in a few places and the students are blown away when they give me an idea and I write it on my list. I also keep a wall of artwork up in my office because those can inspire ideas as well. Next comes the preparation stage. In the garden, that means getting the soil ready for plants. In the studio, it means planning the story and researching as needed. As I tell students, I may write fiction but without 'doing the homework' my writing could have glaring mistakes in it. I could have meat-eaters in a vegan environment. I also plan out what illustrations might need to be done, and make myself a list of those.
Once the preparation is complete, it is time to plant those seeds. That is when I write the story and draw the illustrations. After a first draft is prepared, I send it to my editor for reading. We exchange notes in the shared document along the way and I start drawing and adding those pictures to the text. Unlike the garden, where planting goes rather quickly, this stage takes the longest. But I enjoy this stage of the process. Sometimes I realize, while I'm adding a picture to the story, that a section needs to be revised and do it on the spot. I like this stage because I see the story coming to life on my computer.
After the seeds are planted, it's time to wait for the garden to grow. You tend the plants, water, and remove the weeds. When I'm writing, this would be the stage where I finalize page layouts, revise the text one last time, and develop the cover art. Now, this is another time the two processes differ. In the garden, my family and I do Once all is done in the garden, I can enjoy the flowers or vegetables that I've grown. Once all is done in the studio, I have a new book to share with the young readers who hopefully enjoy the stories.
There is something distinctly satisfying about growing a beautiful garden. There is something equally satisfying about sharing a new story with young readers and seeing their reactions to it. I am glad to enjoy my garden, but I am honored to share stories with young people.
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