lara willard

casually geeky writer/editor/fangirl

[larawillard]

My beautiful motivation to get my homework done this weekend 😍😍😍😍😍😍 https://www.instagram.com/p/Boh-lG7H3g6/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1gnne59h4q3iv

[larawillard]

#socksunday and my favorite fall read. I can't even remember if Tuck Everlasting takes place in fall, but this cover says autumn and the book says love. 💛📙 This old paperback belonged to my Mami, my childhood BFF's mom, in whose house I practically lived for the better part of my adolescence. We are coming up on the anniversary of her death. I'm so thankful for the stories she shared with me and my juvenile writer heart she nourished. https://www.instagram.com/p/BoWt9U1nlOy/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1699jhf6fmqs8

[larawillard]

I'm not immature because I read middle grade as an adult. I'm immature because I DID NOT ANTICIPATE THIS DRIP OF ICE CREAM. 😨 By the way, Merci Suárez Changes Gears is available in stores! I preordered it but couldn't pick up my copy until today. And I'm already crying just from the blurbs on the back cover. 😭 I got to hear @megmedinabooks read a passage this summer at #HamlineMFAC and I'm already in love with this book. Suggested for ages 9-13 so I'll see if my 8yo is ready for it. He spilled WAY more ice cream than I did, for the record. (at Grand Ole Creamery & Grand Pizza) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bnzf1fJHi8y/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=3nv5lovb04uj

[larawillard]

🎶 On the second day of Labor [Day weekend], I did read and write: 4 craft books (rereading) 📚 1 history book (reading)📖 1 biography (reading) 📰 15 HANDWRITTEN PAGES OF NOTES🖊 4 conspiracies 🕵️‍♀️ 3 causes of death ☠ 2 new characters 🕺🏻🙇🏽‍♀️ and ... 1 revised outline due to-night 📑 🎶 I've got about half a day left to keep writing and make sense of it all before tonight, when I turn in this revised story plan! I haven't been this excited about a project in a long time, and I still have SO MANY questions with no answers. Maybe that's part of the fun! #MFACLara https://www.instagram.com/p/BnRVqx0lltY/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1kjtfz1hkstly

[larawillard]

Did some more rearranging. Everyone should have a teal room if possible. I highly recommend it. Spacing looks a bit awkward from this angle, and that lens flare is distracting, but I'll forget to take a picture later! I still need art for that mint frame. I don't want a portrait. No people; not journalistic. Foliage or naturalistic or abstract or aerial. Blues or greens or black and white. Any recommendations? https://www.instagram.com/p/BnFdztHFK2E/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=y7n88cfe9be2

[larawillard]

I can't share the other books I'm researching for my creative project because it would be 100% obvious what I'm writing about, but here's what I'm reading today. P.S. Any tips for writing Slytherin characters? #MFACLara https://www.instagram.com/p/BnDFNOCFR4V/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=mi1e8ms97sdw

[larawillard]

MG books read to the boys this month: The Tale of Despereaux and The One and Only Ivan. Now reading: Out of My Mind

[larawillard]

This whole book is SO PRETTY I'M GONNA DIE. #theprinceandthedressmaker The colors and the dresses and the character design oh my!

[larawillard]

Forgot how to do #socksunday (sock selfies are HARD, okay?) so I might just do #ShakespeareSunday now tbh. Read Romeo and/or Juliet this morning for a bit. Not my favorite play, but Ryan North is ridiculous and knows how to have fun with the choose-your-own-adventure genre, pushing it with books-in-books, secret unlockable playable characters, and even a power point presentation? Also shown here, a full-color spread from another book on R&J. Funny, all of my Shakespeare books are illustrated, even the classic one, because it has etchings. 😍

[larawillard]

View this post on Instagram

Re-read Understanding Comics and Making Comics ✔✔ Sketch out log lines of story concepts ✔ Re-read some sections again ✔ Research plot ideas ✔ Brainstorm settings and themes ✔✔ Still have no idea what I'm going to write 💢💥✔

[larawillard]

Still in shock/wonder/gobsmackdom that I'll be working with Gene Luen Yang this semester on a new graphic novel script. The man is a legend. He's also really nice! Now excuse me for the next 6 months while I attempt to prove (mostly to myself) that I can write another book. *rummaging* There's got to be another graphic novel in here somewhere... #HamlineMFAC #GENEius

[larawillard]

"Sometimes it feels / all I'm worth is under my skirt // and not between my ears. / Sometimes I feel / that turning the other cheek // could get someone like my brother killed." I just opened up a page and typed in one part I underlined, but I could pick from any note on any page, and it would mean something. Let me tell you, I haven't marked up lit like this since undergrad and I've been reading academically again for months. Sometimes seeing how a word is set on the page sets it deeper in your soul. I can not wait to teach this novel in verse. Will this baby be the merengue-thumping heart of my critical thesis next year? So much to unpack. I'll just give one hint, one small, simple spot to start: look for the couplets. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 Content warning: religious triggers (as in, if you're afraid of questions and confessions, this will scare you. As in, portrayals of forced repentance, painful "piety"), sexual harassment, familial sexism (boy did this one RESONATE), some self & consensual sexual content #thepoetx #novelinverse #versenovel #elizabethacevedo #epicreads

[larawillard]

New shelves up in the dining room! Still deciding on staging them, but I'm quite pleased with our project. 🤓 #shelfie

[larawillard]

I've been working like a dog. So happy to be able to return to a book and spend a little time beachside before returning to the hustle. #lakelife #beachread

[larawillard]

I've been working like a dog. So happy to be able to return to a book and spend a little time beachside before returning to the hustle. #lakelife #beachread

[larawillard]

Read The First Part Last on Father's Day weekend and didn't even plan it that way. The First Part Last is about a 16-year-old becoming a father, and the tension and juxtaposition between innocence and maturity, fun and responsibility. It captured so well the complicated feelings surrounding parenthood, especially unplanned parenthood. The audio book was perfectly performed and intimate. It felt like Bobby was sitting in the seat next to me, just talking. A short read or a short listen (2 hours only!)--pick it up! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Swipe to see a pic of my own "baby-with-a-baby" daddy and me, taken 30 years ago on Father's Day. I love you, Dad! Thanks for keeping me 😭

[larawillard]

Finally got to go to another Tweet Up this month! If you are a writer or editor in the Twin Cities, follow MN Publishing Tweet Up on Facebook or @MN_Pub on Twitter to find the next happy hour where publishing nerds get together to mingle. My question of the day was who everyone thought should write the MPRRaccoon picture book. (at 612BREW)