While I absolutely consider myself a writer, I never thought of my talent in terms of art. When it comes to things like painting, drawing, pottery, sculpting, jewelry making, knitting, sewing, or ANYTHING considered artsy, my talent glass is empty. Damp (I can draw a mean stick figure), but empty.
Therefore, when I logged in to update my author website in my SCBWI profile and saw that there was a blank in the "My Artist Statement" space, I cringed. This is a profile nugget I've been avoiding since I first joined SCBWI.
I'm sure I skipped it years ago because I assumed it was for the "I" members (illustrators) of SCBWI.
Today, I reconsidered.
"W" members (writers) are artists, too. Our medium is the written word. We manipulate voice and sentence structure. We evoke emotions and inspire conversations (sometimes heated debates) with our pens and keyboards.
So here it is. My first stab at a writer's Artist Statement:
Through writing, I endeavor to develop and nurture a love for reading and writing. With wholesome, relatable early reader chapter books and challenging middle grade low-fantasy novels, I hope to inspire children to be better, more compassionate, and more tolerant than the generations that came before them. I want to inspire young readers to unlock their own creativity and follow their dreams.
Your thoughts?
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