Things I found, things I am saving for winter

Cory's Pinecone Mound

Hi there!

I found some treasures for you:
Creepy Pair of Underwear by Aaron Reynolds

Creepy Pair of Underwear

If you have not read Creepy Carrots, then you must! Creepy Pair of Underwear is the sequel. Many Halloween picture books use black and white with minimal color for a retro horror flavor, but what makes this book unique is tight framing and uplighting, techniques standard in the horror film industry. The story is about a glowing, green pair of underwear that haunts a young bunny. No matter how hard the bunny tries to get rid of them, they keep coming back. But when they are gone for good, he realizes just how dark his room is without them.

By Aaron Reynolds
Illustrated By Dan Brown
  • A case for pictures in "grown-up" books. This article may have an entry fee for some people; I apologize.
  • Why you may need a mentor to point you in the right direction.
  • Why writing craft is more important than ideas.
  • A little Halloween reading: Genres like horror and thrillers help cope with darkness.
  • Mabs Graves hosts an October art challenge called "Drawlloween." I'll be participating every week. Here is my most recent addition: A Monster Self-Portrait.

Writing for Illustrators

As an illustrator, you may be comfortable coming up with ideas for visual storytelling, but when it comes to putting them to words, you may have a more challenging time.

Let me share a trick that I use regularly. It's a word association exercise that establishes a foundational vocabulary you can use in your writing.

Additionally, you can use word association to develop story ideas, frame the story's tone, and populate your world with rich details.

I used the following list to write a sci-fi short:

Team

Factions

Missions

Red Flag

End Conditions

Fail-Safe

Encryption

The Day's End

Next Level

AI

Robotics

Experience

Odds

Once you have created your list, you are ready to elaborate on the words through a short essay, poem, or story. Don't worry about how they want to manifest at first. Your poem can become a novel later.

There are many ways to start your list:

  1. Take words that stick out to you from your journal.
  2. List words that come to mind when you remember particular memories, such as school lunch.
  3. Use prompts from around the internet.
  4. Listen to a song and list words related to how it makes you feel.
  5. Highlight words or phrases from a magazine.
  6. Create top 10 lists.

If you have any questions about getting started with word association, feel free to ask me.

If you want to support me or show appreciation for this newsletter, consider purchasing art prints, digital goodies, or books at my shop​. Thank you!


xx Cory

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