Kids Book Update #9

     I feel like coming up with a decent title for the book is going to be the death of me. Seriously, even though I've sweating over every single pixel of the illustrations in the editing process this past week, it seems like the title thing has been giving me more of a headache. The all-knowing experts on the internet say that the title is a critical element to the books appeal. Name it something safe and generic, and it'll never see the light of day. Give it a title that's too snazzy, and it'll go over your readers heads (remember, they're supposed to be like 8 year olds). Ideally, I'm supposed to name it something that hooks the readers and gives a general sense of what the book is going to be about, without giving away the ending. That's easier said than done. And I know some of you are thinking "Dude, take it easy, it's just a title". And to you I say, I know that it's just a title, but It's been stressing me out that I haven't been able to think of a single one that seems to fit, and that whole "Don't judge a book by it's cover" rule totally doesn't apply to kids. They aren't going to give me the benefit of the doubt if my book doesn't interest them from the start. It's actually kind of hard to think of calling the book by its name. I've spent so long referring to it as the book, that I feel like that's just its name now.

     Other than that, I've just been plucking away on the computer coloring and editing the pages. All of the illustrations are colored, and I've begun the editing, which is hard, because I've never used Photoshop before. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm learning as much as I can, as fast as possible. The pages are looking pretty sweet though, and I have begun to import the text onto the pages using Illustrator (which is another program that I've never ever used). So it's slow and steady, but at least it's progress

Here's what's up

     In a ditch effort to keep my identity as a part-time blog enthusiast, I've decided that I need to, ya know, actually blog once in a while. So that's just what I'm gonna do. From now on, I'm saying no to these weeks and months of no word of my adventures. No more of these slumps where I allow stale posts to clog my feed. I'm planning on adopting the same sort of mindset I had during my Jack of all Trades project, which was, "post every day". I feel that my writing skills are gaining nothing but dust, and that goes for my creativity and my double for that forgotten voice in my head that encourages me to try new things, and to see new places, and to never accept things just the way they are, and (most importantly) to be OK with making an ass out of myself every now and then. Even though I'm not totally clear about what I want this blog to be, I know that I want it to be updated as often as I plan on improving as a person, which is constantly. I want to consistently immerse myself in creativity. I want to condition myself to argue ideas poetically, and effectively. I want to look back and see nothing but leaps and bounds of progression. I want to expand in all directions, and become well versed in all genres. I don't hope for improvement, I demand it.


 I'm back, I'm recharged, and I'm ready to blog. =D

Project Kids book Update 8

Hey there, remember me?
It's me, Kyle.
You know, the kid that was writing his own kids book and was updating his progress every so often for nice people of the internet like you to see?
No you don't remember?
Well that's a shame, but it's not like I can be sour at you for forgetting, it's been a while since I last updated you with news about my little kids book venture.
Sorry it's been so long, but you know how things are, I've been busy and all, and I didn't really feel like typing anything most days, and I get this annoying narcissistic feeling whenever I write these posts...but here I am, and here's your update.

     The story is about as done as it's gonna be and the inked illustrations are drawn up (those bad boys were a major part of the holdup).  I've recently upgraded to a computer with more computing power than your run-of-the-mill stopwatch and am using it to add color to, and edit, the 17 or so 17x11 inch pages that make up the illustrations. The Photoshop process is a tough one, and one that I'm not well versed in, but I've enlisted the help of Mouse (who happens to be a wiz on the subject) to try and teach me anything he knows, cause God knows I could really use it. At this stage, I'm really digging how the art is looking. Gadget (the robot, ya know, the robot that the book is about) is full of color and looking fine. I'm still testing a few ideas out that I'm not sure will stick; I've been thinking about making the background semi-opaque so that the characters and objects of interest would pop out more, but I haven't decided either way. I was also thinking about color schemes and whatnot, but that's all boring technical mumbo-jumbo...and that's when I say, on to the exciting news!

Rough take on the first page

     So I don't know how much you all know (cause, well, I don't know you), but I've got some exciting news to type about. My aunt (whom I owe a great deal more than just a big hug), has somewhat of a connection in the children's book game, and she has been so kind as to send my work-in-progress of a kids book on to the powers that be over at Random House Publishing. She sent my stuff to a woman named Alexandra, who looked it over (and hopefully enjoyed it). I'm going to be a little vague with the details of the rest of this story, partly because I don't know the entirety of what's happening, and partly because I'm scared to be too optimistic. In a nutshell, what happened so far is this; I got an email back from Alexandra a couple weeks ago (which both blew my mind and made my day all at once) saying that she had taken a look at my work, and that she was "impressed". She said that robots are "in", and that she thinks that it has "wonderful potential to be a series", which made me fell all sorts of happy when I read it. She wanted to know when I'd be able to have her fiance (who is an agent for the company) take a look at it so it could be presented to somebody in their children's book division. Since then, I've received a few emails from her, which I'm super stoked about considering how busy she must be. Her emails have always been helpful and much appreciated.

Fancy brick layering n' such

     Again, I don't know what all this means, but it sure is exciting. Thanks to my aunt, I've got people (who make children's books professionally) taking an interest in my book. My jaw feels like it is still in the dropped position due to the sheer amount of kind words heard and support offered to me since starting this project. I can't stress just how much I appreciate the interest friends and family have taken to the book, and that only solidifies my desire to produce a quality work, that I'm truly proud of. Thank you!

P.S. I still don't have a tittle.

Fear

I believe that I am fueled by fear,
I believe that as far as fuels go, fear, is by far the most potent
Fear of slowing down, fear of losing my "prove them wrong" attitude
Fear of being boring

I'm afraid that there may come a day I'll be told, my life is just like one that's already been lived
That I have failed to be bold enough to be distinguish from the crowd
That my trials and victories were not uniquely my own, but a cheap imitation

I believe in a healthy sense of denial towards what other people think
And that your foresight has as much potential as your reflection

I believe that it is an insult to the astronomical odds stacked against my very existence to waste a single day of my life on people and things that I don't absolutely, wholeheartedly, love

I believe that fear isn't something that should be conquered, but rather, something that should be harnessed.