Showing posts with label inspiring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inspiring. Show all posts

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Social Media, Pinterest and Me

We all have our favorites. Favorite color - purple, favorite fruit - blueberry, favorite fish - salmon. How about favorite social media? They are many. It's a maze. 

The question I hear many authors ask is - "Which social media is best for my writing career?" No idea. There are too many variables. Do you want to reach other authors, agents, or editors? Or do you want to reach readers? Or do you want to communicate only with family or friends on social media? 

Your ultimate goal determines which social media is best for you. Personally, I can't keep up with the latest and greatest. My theory is that when a new site overtakes the social media I am now on, I will look into it. Life is too short to chase social media to the detriment of writing time. 

Okay, that said, my super visual self loves Pinterest. (don't judge.) I have a children's writing account, Picbooksrock and a science/steampunk/ 3Dprinting/non-fiction account, Sciwhisperer account. These are relaxing, stimulating, and fantastically fun places to connect! Show and Tell for adults! 

On Pinterest, I don't have to stress about which demographic is interested in an awesome illustration, "The Blue Monster" by Christa Unzne or intricate 3D art by Kevin Mack, Steampunk story starter, "Modern Steam Monobike 1896" by Stefano Marchettiv or picture book video, Caps For Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina. I just pin what strikes me and like-minded folks do the same. Perfect. 

Is is a time suck? Can be. Does it help me keep track of writing resources shared by others? Absolutely. Does it spark tons of creative ideas? Every day! But the best thing about Pinterest? It's FUN! and I am exposed to tons of many different people and their favorite things. 

Pinterest. Stop by and share a favorite. I will too. - Q

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Princesses & Even More Princesses

I bought The Secret Lives of Princesses recently. The art is fantastic and all the non-standard princess descriptions are just plain fun. It got me thinking of how many different fictional princesses there are in picture books. Here are some of the titles I found during a quick princess search at Barnes & Noble:

The Real Princess by Hans Christian Andersen


The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch 


Princess Baby by Karen Katz


Olivia the Princess by Natalie Shaw


Pirate Princess by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen


The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker


Princess Palooza by Joy Allen


Princess Pigsty by Cornelia Funke

Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole

Princesses, Princesses, Princesses by Julie Olson

Monster Princess by D. J. MacHale

Princess Penelope by Todd Mack

Princess Posey and the Monster Stew by Stephanie Greene


Princess Me
 by Karma Wilson


Paiute Princess by Deborah Kogan Ray 


Princess Peepers by Pam Calvert 

You get the idea. (And I didn't even try to list all the Disney princesses.) Why is this interesting? Well, it means they are still stories to be told about princesses, but perhaps more importantly, it illustrates that each writer brings something to children's fiction that wasn't there before; a different slant, touch of humor, adventure, or whatever. I find that exciting and encouraging. How about you? 
-Q