I did! With the holidays my work was interrupted and then it was a mad rush to get them done before the due date, but I did get them in! I am glad I did it because, win or lose, I feel like they are some of my best pieces to date. I will post them all when the long list is announced (whether I’m on it or not )

@demotlj awesome! I will get a discussion thread up this weekend.

So I'm working my way through the story and I want to clarify something that @Will-Terry was saying about the didactic story Rick Walton used to share in his classes. (I was in two of Ricks classes

It wasn't just a submitted manuscript that he begged from an editor or anything like that. He would make very clear in his classes that he would never ever make fun of an unpublished unfinished story because our rough drafts are always rough, etc. (Particularly since we would be bringing our drafts to share in class and he didn't want us to think we were just going to make fun of peoples work.) He told about how this author was very very successful, one of the big money makers for this publisher, and she demanded that the manuscript be published as it was.... and they did it to keep this author happy and continuing to publish with them. So it was actually a published book.

And yeah, it was an awful story. It was so perfect because it literally had all the most common mistakes you see in picture books--too many unimportant details, super preachy, adults solving problems for the kids, etc. etc.

So there seems to be at least a little bit of interest, so here is what I am thinking. I will start a thread to post about my progress through Growing Gills. If anyone wants to join that would be awesome, but if no one does I will still consider the thread a sort of accountability tool. Having others post thoughts and encouragement there, even if they aren’t working along, would help.

I am still recovering from travel, so I think I will start the thread in about a week, when we are all unpacked and recovered from jet lag

The Third Thursday prompts used to be more story based, but they have moved away from that. There were some nice things about those prompts, but I find I personally prefer the one word prompts. Doing some of each wouldn't be a bad thing, though.

Anyone at any level is welcome to participate.

@jennyjones I haven’t listened to the podcast but—the Ice Cream Cone Coot was my favorite book as a kid as well! We had an old copy I looked through over and over... I remember in first grade we had a book show and tell where we each got to bring and read our favorite book to the class. Even though it was slightly above my reading level at the time that was the only book I was interested in sharing with the class. Not much of a story, but the ideas were the attractive thing. I thought the ideas were so funny and different. I need to find myself a copy of that one.

I want to make books kids will love as much as I loved that one.

Happy New Year, SVS! Whether or not you’re into New Years resolutions, I think everyone here wants to learn to be more productive, organized, and creative. There are many books on those subjects that I am interested in reading, but I have realized that one thing that actually helps me with implementation is having an accountability partner or group. I was wondering if some people on the Forum here would be interested in reading books about Creativity/Productivity together and discussing them. Anyone interested?

The first I had in mind was Growing Gills: How to Find Creative Focus When You’re Drowning in Your Daily Life by Jessica Abel. https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Gills-Creative-Focus-Drowning-ebook/dp/B07284HSHQ

It has exercises to work though. We could take it slow, just doing one exercise each week. Other books could be taken at a different pace depending on the content.

One drawback is that everyone would have to find and buy or borrow their own copy, but I feel like that is a worthwhile investment.

Other books I want to get to include:
Deep Work
The Bullet Journal Method
How To Sell Your Art Online
Art, Money, and Success
The Artists Way

However, I am open to other ideas or suggestions.

Does this sound interesting or useful to anyone?

I thought it was “F&Gs” not “FNGs”...? For books that are “folded and gathered” but not yet bound. Right?

Oh, I wasn’t talking about doing all that now. I was speaking more of a “someday down the road” way. I guess I didn’t make that clear.