A Spring Playlist

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   I like to listen to music while I plan my stories; songs can provide either pretty background noise or inspiration for a specific scene (and I need both). I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorites from this month--expect a lot of soundtracks and an obscene amount of Celtic music.

Beautiful Day--U2

Wide open spaces, the outdoors, a feeling of openness. That’s about the best I can describe this one—it’s a song about possibilities (or at least I think it is).

Aniron--Enya

A really old favorite—Aragorn and Arwen’s theme from The Lord of the Rings.

Opening Title--Alex Heffes

From the movie Dear Frankie; it’s sweet and upbeat but also very soothing.

You Were Born--Cloud Cult

I first discovered this one through The Blacklist.

The Parting Glass--The High Kings

My favorite cover of a particularly bittersweet folk song. I listen to it when I’m planning ending/parting scenes.

She's Like the Swallow--Cara Dillon

Another folk song. Dark, tragic, and completely unearthly.

Perfect Day--Miriam Stockley

The main theme for The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends; it’s a lot less sugary-sweet than you’d expect but still quite whimsical.

Liam & Nuala--Mason Daring

The Secret of Roan Inish was one of my favorite movies when I was younger. Nothing captures the haunting, half-magical feel of the story better than this song. I can't listen to it without getting chills.

Where--Lisbeth Scott

You can find this in the CD soundtrack of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but not in the actual movie. "Where" deals with the sad/angsty aspects of leaving a fantasy world, something the books (at least The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) never quite got around to.

The Legend Spreads--James Horner

An essential when I’m planning adventure/fantasy. 

   What have you been listening to this March? Any favorites? Let me know in the comments!

Hello, March

Just a few thoughts…

 

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On Tasha Tudor--She was a 20th century artist who preferred an 18th century lifestyle, complete with petticoats, wood stoves, and very few modern conveniences. I rediscovered her last month, and while it all seems unbelievable and a bit crazy, I don't think her illustrations would have been so wonderfully detailed and unsentimental if they hadn't been drawn from real life. You can learn more about her here.

 

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On Writing--I have about a million different ideas composting in my head; the really good ones keep resurfacing with new inspiration. I’m doing a bit of planning, like a promised back in December, but at a (very) leisurely pace--most of my ideas still seem very half-formed and vague, which frustrates me. I’ve also tried drafting some flash fiction and short stories, but none of those have quite stuck yet.

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On Pelmeni--Russian wontons, basically. We made a batch over the weekend (they taste best homemade). Folding every single dumpling by hand is time-consuming and really boring, but eating them (with sour cream, or vinegar and red pepper) is always worth it.

Artist Spotlight: A Guest Post by Kelsey Hammersley

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    Hey guys! For this spotlight, I thought it would be neat to get an actual artist’s perspective on what goes into creating fairy tale illustrations. I've admired Kelsey’s artwork for a long time, and I’m so happy to feature her here! If you like her post, be sure to check out her blog and her Tumblr. 

    

First of all, I'd like to thank Alex for inviting me to write a guest post for Third Star to the Right! I've never guest blogged anywhere, so needless to say, this a squee-worthy experience for me. I love seeing Alex's artist spotlights on here (plus all of her pretty fairy tale pins on Pinterest), so I thought I would talk a bit about the impact fairy tales have made on my art.

Oh, and just so you know, my name is Kelsey, I live in Ohio, and I am a Christian artist who's interested in going into illustration.

Fairy tales have been a huge influence and inspiration to me over the years. The first real artwork I encountered as a child was H.J. Ford's illustrations from the Andrew Lang Color Fairy Books. I actually picked out the fairy tales I wanted to read based on how pretty or intriguing their illustrations were. I discovered some of my absolute favorite artists while browsing through the illustration gallery of the fairy tale site Sur La Lune Fairy Tales--artists like Arthur Rackham, Kay Nielsen, Edmund Dulac, and Walter Crane. I can't quite pinpoint what it is about fairy tales that attracts me so, but I think part of it is their hopeful examples of perseverance through adversity, along with how the tales ignite the imagination.

The Enchanted Wreath by Kelsey Hammersley

For creating my fairy tale-esque illustrations, my ideas tend to start with a vague sense of the emotion I want to get across and the style I want to use. I try to hold onto that feeling as I work on the project. Emotion plays an important part in art for me; I want to create something beautiful, but I also want it to have meaning, something that people can connect with. The method that works best for me right now for creating paintings is to start off with an accurate pencil sketch as a base. Getting the drawing down right can be pretty tedious for me (the shading and the coloring are my favorite parts) but it helps me a lot in the long run by (ideally) sparing me from making big adjustments when I'm further into a painting. Once I'm done fiddling with the drawing, I clean up the pencil marks as much as possible so that the graphite won't mix in with the color too much and make it muddy. When adding in the paint, I tend to go through a lot of trial and error, playing around with the project and doubting myself--basically jumping from This is so much fun!!!! to I am a horrible artist. I can't finish this. But perseverance really does pay off. 

Lately I've really been inspired by the work of Albrecht Durer, particularly his woodcuts and engravings. I love how the subjects in his prints push forward into space. My linework is frequently inspired by Arthur Rackham, who's pretty much my favorite artist. My ambition in art is to both use my imagination and take inspiration from the beauty of the world around me--and hopefully inspire others in the same way that fairy tales and their illustrations have inspired me.

I'll finish off with a few tips for other aspiring artists, or basically anyone who wants to get better at drawing. Tip #1: Look at the work of other artists. Better yet, practice by copying works of the masters. You notice and learn so much about something when you try drawing it yourself. Tip #2: Take classes, or get lessons if you can. If this isn't an option, there's a wealth of online tutorials out there. I know plenty of completely self-taught artists have found success, but getting advice from other artists is a great way to encounter new ideas that you would be hard-pressed to happen across on your own. It's kind of like having someone else read your writing in order to figure out where you could improve. Sometimes you need a fresh set of eyes, or a fresh set of ideas. Tip #3: Keep drawing! The best way to learn is to try. Even if you make mistakes (and mistakes are inevitable), with each attempt you make, you will see improvement.

Thanks again, Alex, for hosting me here! :)

Epic Reads Tag

    First off, huge thanks goes to Alyssa @ Insanity Inc. for tagging me. I love quizzes almost as much as I love books, so when you combine the two…needless to say, this one did not disappoint. 

1.) If you could invite one author and one of their fictional characters to tea, who would you invite and what would you serve them?
    I couldn't pick just one character, so: I’d invite J.R.R. Tolkien and the entire Fellowship of the Ring, plus Eowyn. I’d serve them lemon scones with clotted cream, which we'd eat while swapping stories in front of a toasty fire.

2.) What book do you wish the author would write a prequel for?
    A Discworld prequel, featuring any of the characters as kids, but especially Sam Vimes or Lord Vetinari. 

3.) Which two characters (NOT from the same book) do you think would make a good couple?
    Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter) and Nobody Owens (The Graveyard Book). Bod is a free spirit and a loner; I feel like Luna’s more outgoing personality would complement his pretty well. Plus, she’d find his supernatural backstory (raised by a vampire, a werewolf, and a family of ghosts) fascinating. 

4.) If you ran into your favorite author on the subway and could only say one sentence to them, who is it and what would it be?
    There’s no way I could pick a favorite author. (J.K. Rowling, maybe? Or S.E. Hinton?) But if I actually worked up the courage to say anything, it would be pretty standard: “I love your books!” or “Please sign this napkin.” More likely, I would just stare and hyperventilate from afar. 

5.) What book made you a reader and why?
    The first book I remember reading by myself and actually enjoying was Inspector Hopper. I also loved The Chronicles of Narnia and The Royal Diaries and Dear America series.

6.) Incendio! Your bookshelf just caught fire! Which is the one book you would save?
    My copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I’m very attached to it, in spite (or because) of the fact that it’s ripped in half and held together with about a pound of scotch tape. 

7.) Which dystopian world would you want to live in and why?
   Pre-Return of the King Gondor. It’s about the only place were I’d have even a slight chance of survival. 

8.) What is your most Epic Read of all time?
    Recently, it’s been Betwixt and Between by Jessica Stilling. It’s a retelling of Peter Pan that feels slightly off and otherworldly from the beginning, and gets at the sadness of the story in an absolutely gut-wrenching way. I read it in three days and cried at least once on every one of those days.

   I tag Kelsey @ The Book of Kels and Rebecca @ The Silver Flute to answer these questions. Don't do it unless you want to, but I'd love to see your answers!

What’s your most Epic Read? Let me know in the comments!

8 Writing Essentials

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 If I’m going to be honest, I’d have to say that I love reading about writing almost more than I love actually writing. For one, it’s easier--but learning about other people’s writing processes has always helped me understand mine better. And who doesn't like getting a chance to peek at the details of someone else’s life? (I realize this makes me sound like a voyeur. However, without people like this, blogs wouldn't exist.) Anyway, since I love these kinds of posts so much, I decided to cook up one of my own. Here are the eight essentials to my writing process.

1. Notebooks
Most of my writing starts in notebooks: freewrites, story notes, and first drafts. The best ones are pretty utilitarian--spiral-bound, college ruled--so I don’t have to worry about “ruining” them with less than perfect writing. I also keep journals, which are usually a bit fancier. At the moment, I’m trying to manage two; a normal one and a ten-year journal. I don’t write an entry every day, but I do try to update a couple of times a week.

2. Pens, Pencils, & Markers
For some reason, I prefer pens with blue ink over pens with black ink. I use markers and colored pens to mark up drafts when I’m editing.

3. Index Cards & Post-It Notes
I used to jot down my ideas on index cards, and now I keep a shoe box full of them on my shelf. It’s full of random bits of inspiration that don’t have a particular story yet--observations, quotes, titles. I don’t use post-its much, except when I’m editing. I like to mark up my drafts, and sticky notes help keep things a little cleaner.

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4. Iwako erasers
They're completely useless, since I can't imagine using them to erase anything. They do make my desk a place I want to be, though. I own the dessert and sushi sets. 

5. Binders
For storing drafts, print-outs of my favorite articles, worksheets, and just about anything else.

6. Spotify Web Player
I do create playlists for my projects, but while I’m writing I prefer instrumental, ambient music rather than songs with lyrics, which make up the bulk of my playlists. If I do listen to a specific song, I’ll replay it until I can’t stand it anymore. Either way, Spotify is my favorite site for streaming music. I also have accounts with 8tracks and Grooveshark, but neither has suited me quite as well.

7. Pinterest
I've been trying to cut back on my time there, since it’s so addictive, and, yet again, much easier than actual writing. It’s not exactly an essential, either, but it is lots of fun and a great place to collect inspiring images, which are.

8. Books
For inspiration, research, and enjoyment (I tend to forget that it’s enough to just enjoy a book). A couple of my favorite writing-related books are The Craft of  Writing the Novel by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, and Wired for Story by Lisa Cron.

What are your writing essentials? Let me know in the comments!

Publication News: "Jenny of the Road"

   A pretty short post this time, but hopefully my news makes up for it. One of my short stories, “Jenny of the Road”, was published last Friday in Inkblots and Typing Spots!
    
“Jenny of the Road” is basically a mash up of two traditional ghost stories retold by Kevin-Crossley Holland in his book British Folktales: New Versions. I love ghost stories, and I wanted to write something truly scary in the style of a folktale. I’m still not sure if I succeeded, but Colette, the Inkblots editor, was kind enough to suggest some changes that helped make it 10x better (and about 600 words longer) than it was originally. My sister, Claudia, was also a HUGE help in going over drafts :) 
  
   Inkblots and Typing Spots is an online magazine that publishes some seriously fantastic stories by young and aspiring writers. Be sure to stop by and have a look around--some of my favorite stories are “The Bells of Campden” by Miss Smiley and “Lift Girl” by Fantasy Girl. You can read my contribution here.