Step One

"Writing is the first step of the journey. Rewriting completes it."
—Mike Rich*

Bike and biplane bookplate by Kamil Lhoták

*Via Scholastic, The Writing Process
 

The Writing Apprenticeship

"I never have found out all I want to know about writing and realize I never will."
—Lloyd Alexander*

Cannon with bird's nest bookplate
by Belgian-Canadian artist André Linglet
Courtesy Frederikshavn Art Museum

*Via Kidsreads

The Lilt of Your Voice

"Voice is like an accent. You never hear your own. But that doesn't mean you don't have one." 
—S.P. Bowers

Color landscape bookplate by Peter Dietzsch
Courtesy Frederikshavn Museum

The Artistic Gap

"It's only by actually going through a volume of work that...the work you are making will be as good as your ambitions."
—Ira Glass*

Bookplate from the British Museum,
via Pinterest

*Brain Pickings

Who's Stealing Your Joy?

 "The only writer to whom I should be comparing myself is the writer I was yesterday." 

—Emma Dryden

Art Nouveau style bookplate by Ludwig Hohlwein
Courtesy Iparmuveszéti Múzeum

Portfolio Perspective

“If you can look at your earlier work and cringe a little, that means you’ve improved.”
—Dan Santat*

Library Trees bookplate by Melanie Amaral

*Via SCBWI: The Blog

Narration Is About Gesture*

"You really can accomplish a lot if you are willing to get up out of your chair, change your environment, and act out scenes in your book."
—Will Terry**

The Dance Teacher, bookplate by Elita Viliama
Via Pinterest

*also a quote from Will.
**Via Tara Lazar