Doodle Your Way into the Writing Life

As the new SCBWI Germany & Austria blog coordinator, I'd like to briefly introduce myself. My name is Linda Hofke and I write picture books, articles, and poetry for children. I'd like to offer a broad range of blog posts this year. If you have topic ideas and/or an interest in contributing, please feel free to contact me.

Today's post is from Laurel Decher.

DOODLE YOUR WAY INTO THE WRITING LIFE

My doodle for the SCBWI Europolitan Conference in Belgium. ©Laurel Decher, 2017.

Whenever I got to a workshop or a conference, I get inspired to read new books, try new things, stay in touch with new people and remember important insights. Last year, I tried a bullet journal for my writing life and I liked it so much that I have one again this year. As these doodles make very clear, I'm a writer for excellent reasons :) 

A friend gave me fancy Japanese erasable pens (Thanks, Kazi! Brilliant for writer people who want to 'fix' things) and I stole my husband's colored pencils. When I see the colorful doodles, they invite me in. I'm much more likely to play with a new technique if I can find it quickly in my bullet journal.

Hanging out with all of the illustrators at the 2017 SCBWI Europolitan Conference in Belgium must have rubbed off on me. I created the doodle above on the train ride home. Just what I needed, a quick way to 'revisit' the conference in the months to come, without wading through pages of notes.

"No one can tell you how to write your book." First doodle from Catherine Frank's Revise Like an Editor SCBWI Webinar. ©Laurel Decher, 2017

Doodling also helps me 'noodle' new concepts and see connections I wouldn't otherwise get. Until I doodled about Catherine Frank's Revise Like an Editor webinars, I didn't see how truly empowering they were. "No one can tell you how to write your book" was a message I really needed to hear (again!). Catherine Frank never said it explicitly, but it was the message underlying her whole presentation. She gave us litmus tests and tools, but we were the ones who had to decide. (Can you spell 'ideal editor'?)

Second doodle from Catherine Frank's Revise Like an Editor SCBWI Webinar. ©Laurel Decher, 2018.

The third way that doodling helps me with is figuring out when I might want to try a new market or technique. Melanie Welfing's SCBWI Webinar "Writing for the Children's Magazine Market" was packed with information about how and why children's magazines can be useful for writers. A doodle helped me separate out the 'how' from the 'when is this a good tactic'.

Doodle for Melanie Welfing's SCBWI Webinar "Writing for the Children's Market". ©Laurel Decher, 2017.

Do you have a way to touch base with webinars and conferences you've attended and craft books you've devoured? How do you help yourself grow as a writer? Would a little doodling be useful in your writing life?

Laurel Decher, © Jane Joo Park, 2017

LAUREL DECHER writes stories about all things Italian, vegetable, or musical. Beloved pets of the past include "Stretchy the Leech" and a guinea pig that unexpectedly produced twins. She's famous for getting lost, but carries maps because people always ask her for directions. Or find her on Twitter and on her blog, This Is An Overseas Post, where she writes about life with her family in Germany. She's still a Vermonter and an epidemiologist at heart. PSA: Eat more kale! Her short fiction for adults, UNFORESEEN TIMES, originally appeared in Windhover.

Meet our 2017 SCBWI Europolitan Mentee Linda Hofke

By Patti Buff


Taking part in a mentor program is a wonderful opportunity to "up your game" by working intensively with a publishing professional. Joining us on the blog today is our very own Linda Hofke, a writer living in Germany to talk about her work and why she chose to apply for a mentorship with Jill Esbaum.

2017 SCBWI Europolitan Mentee
Linda Hofke

We’d love to get to know you a little bit, so please tell us a bit about how you got into writing, how long you’ve been writing and what your preferred genre is to write?



I’ve been writing since childhood. I would make up stories or poems, write them down, and give them as gifts to relatives. In junior high I started writing for the school newspaper. My English teacher liked my creative writing style and gave me some advice, “When you go to high school, don’t get caught up in boys. Focus on writing. You have talent.” Well, though I didn’t go boy crazy, I had a crazy schedule. I took a double major of college prep classes and business classes, was on the newspaper and yearbook staff, secretary of student government, cheerleading captain, and played lacrosse and tennis. There was no time to write. And my new advisors spoke about how risky the writing life can be. I took the safer route and got my Bachelors degree in Elementary Education.

Then I became a mother. You know how that goes. My daughter is the joy of my life, but five years ago I decided to get back to writing. I started writing poetry and flash fiction for literary journals. One editor even nominated me for a Pushcart Prize. But the passion was missing. I took a step back and listened to my heart. It said write what you love most. Write children’s books. So I joined SCBWI and started learning and writing. Picture books are my favorite (both fiction and nonfiction) but I also write children’s poetry and magazine articles and have started a middle grade book.



Where do you like to write? What does a typical writing session look like for you?

Remember that school schedule I mentioned? Well, my life schedule is sort of the same. So my writing session is scattered here and there. I jot down ideas while on the bus, plot in between my various appointments, and write very late at night while my husband and daughter are fast asleep. But my favorite writing spot is anywhere in nature. I often get the best story ideas or figure out key points of works-in-progress while hiking in the woods.

Linda's inspiration?

Can you tell us about the story you submitted to the mentorship program and the reason why you thought a mentor would be able to help you?


It’s a chase story. My young MC must find a way to rid her house of a cute, home-invading squirrel whose funny antics aren’t so funny when her precious school competition invention is threatened.

What’s funny is I wasn’t aware that one of Jill’s first books is a chase story. Estelle Takes a Bath came out in 2006. I haven’t read it yet but, apparently, as Estelle is enjoying a nice bubble bath, a warmth-seeking mouse appears and the chase begins. The house gets trashed but all ends well. There are many similarities between the two stories. In fact, we seem to think along the same lines when it comes to story ideas. I am writing a spoof off the character Frankenstein and this year her book Frankenbunny was published. Last year Jill’s Teeny Tiny Toady was released. I have a frog story. Jill also writes books for National Geographic Kids, and as a nature and animal lover, that caught my attention.



What attracted you to the mentor that you chose? Out of the other three mentors available, what was it about her that made you think ‘that’s the mentor for me’?

Last year I attended the WOW Retreat in Helen, GA. Jill was one of the authors on staff. I found her to be both professional and friendly. But the winning factor was Jill’s story characters. I love scaredy-cow Nadine from I Am Cow, Here me Moo!, her brave toad Teeny, and Stanza, the thug who writes poetry. But the real kicker was when I read Elwood Bigfoot. I fell in love with Elwood, a creature with the same bird-loving heart as me. And so funny. With such fabulous characters, I knew that Jill could guide me in adding an emotional element to my stories through character development. She does it so well and I feel this is something that I need to improve upon in my stories.

Hopefully every writing path is as
lovely as this one. 

And finally, what do you expect to achieve by the end of this mentorship?


Fame, fortune, and the big movie deal. But seriously, the reason is simple. I want to improve my writing. By doing so, I am one step closer to my larger goals—finding an agent and being a published author.

Thank you for joining us, Linda! We wish you lots of luck on your new adventure and we'll check in with you again next spring. And thank all of our readers for joining us on this fun, new adventure. I hope you're just as excited to catch up with all three of our mentees next year! Until then, keep writing!