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Author: Brian Lies brian@brianlies.com
If “early talent” is the most important key to success, I shouldn’t have become a picture book author and illustrator, let alone one with a Caldecott Honor and NY Times bestsellers. With an English teacher mother and organic chemist father, the adult circle I witnessed as a kid was mostly academic and scientific. I wasn’t even aware of many jobs outside of those worlds. And though I loved doing creative things, becoming an author was as distant to me as becoming an astronaut. How does someone even do that? To me, the books in the library might as well have been created by geniuses living in some colony somewhere, who sent stories down to us mere mortals.
That’s how I felt until fifth grade, when we had an author/illustrator visit. As a part of a story-making project, my school brought in Harry Devlin, whose books I’d loved when I was younger (some of you may still see the Wendy and Harry Devlin Cranberry books, including Cranberry Thanksgiving, in your school libraries).
As I listened to one of my childhood heroes talking about how he created his stories and pictures, it struck me that he looked like anyone’s father or grandfather—not some exotic genius. Something changed for me there in my school library—if he makes stories, then why not me?
My answer to that, though: no talent. I wasn’t the best artist in my class, so making stories still felt out of reach. I believed in the “myth of talent.” I wish we covered growth mindset concepts back then. I wish we’d talked about brain development, and how repetition of a task builds dedicated neurons in our brains that help us do those tasks better. I’m sure those both would have resonated with me—giving me a feeling of more agency over my own future. For most of the students we’ll encounter, skill is a developed thing, not innate.
It took me years of hard work and practice before I trusted my skills enough to try making stories, many years after that before I finally was creating the kind of stories I’d always wanted to do. And I’ve been visiting schools around the United States for about three decades now, working to close the big circle that, for me, started with an author visit. I believe strongly in their power to inspire!
So, a few big questions:
- What does an author visit actually do for our students?
To me, the goal of an author visit isn’t to create five hundred new authors or illustrators in a single day. The best possible messages for them to go away with are the ideas that good writing isn’t found, it’s crafted, and that we ARE asking them to do something difficult. But that we can all practice, and get better.
A good author visit reinforces the things that educators tell their students every day. I love it when I say something about revision, and students dart their eyes at their teacher. They’ve heard this writing tip before—but maybe it’s TRUE! I’m happy when teachers come up to me after a presentation and say, “you’ve just said everything we’re trying to get our students to do!”
And an author visit’s effect on students may be time-released, only emerging years later. I’ve had parents come to a presentation to tell me that their child, now in college, has said my presentation was their favorite part of elementary school! That’s powerful stuff to hear.
- Is this a broad enough program for all students to relate?
Yes! All students will come away with the idea that their visitor never thought he could become an author, but he did make it happen, through years of hard work. It’s a simple step from that to thinking “well, what about me, and what I dream of doing? Maybe it could happen for me, too!”
An author visit works for all ages, too— some folks believe that a picture book author/illustrator is only appropriate for younger students. I typically work with grades K-6, and simply level the material to be appropriate for the grades I’m with. A picture book manuscript involves all of the same techniques that sixth graders are employing, and is about the same length as most of their writing assignments, as well. Older students simply hear more about perseverance, frustration and the hard work involved in achievement.
Finally, a good author visit isn’t just someone talking at students—it’s interactive, with questions and back-and-forth throughout the program. It involves lots of visuals to entertain, even as the educational messages come through. I always show a thick pile of revisions for a single picture book, sketchbook drawings, and original art from books, so students can see the process in real life, not just images on a screen. I also show one of my own 2nd grade drawings, to prove that I wasn’t one of those “gifted” students. Students LOVE seeing a bad drawing from a published illustrator! And who doesn’t like a drawing demonstration—seeing a student’s suggestion come to life in a few minutes on a large drawing pad?
I’d be delighted to have a chance to work with YOUR students. If you’d like information about my school programs, please reach out to me at brian@brianlies.com!