So...

I wrote a book.  Don't get too excited.  It's a 100-word children's picture book.  I didn't write Moby Dick or anything.  I have no plans of making my mark on the literary fabric of this our modern times.  No.  That's not the intention here, but I am quite interested in children's books, which I have mentioned before, but there's something I don't often discuss... I have actually written a number of children's books already. 

A number? Really Eric? Tell us more.

Okay, I will.  There are maybe four or six of them.  There's one about maintaining individuality within a friendship, a Halloween one about conquering fears, the one about the boy in the blue cape, one about flying.  It goes on and on.  Most have sketches that accompany them.  I was excited about each one as I was hatching the idea, but it always seemed to fade.  I'm not a writer.  Not really.  So each concept I tried to develop felt forced.  I lacked the confidence to believe the story was good enough to proceed.  So I didn't.  They got shelved.

Over Christmas break however, I started thinking that I wanted to address creative process.  Not specifically, like "this is the moment when a glorious idea comes into fruition."  Kids don't need that.  Kids have that.  It's adults who need that.  Kids already understand that their thoughts are valid.  They're willing to bravely bring their ideas to life.  Maybe they just haven't been beaten down by life yet.  Who knows, but there is a courage to the way children develop ideas.  No, what I wanted was someone to help them see, when self-guiding their activities, that there are lots of options to choose from when being creative.  So I came up with a little prose.  It talks about process and intention, and I'm pretty excited about it.

Tomorrow, a sample illustration.

To Be Continued...