Together let’s pop the confetti: Co-creating a story about celebrations in DRIN’s workshop

By Sara AlHomsi & Saliha Soylu

Why we joined the DRIN’s children’s book workshop

Sara
From my previous experiences, both as a kindergarten teacher and as an assistant psychologist, I have read stories to children of ages 3 to 5 years old. I enjoyed reading those stories of topics on cultural diversity, neurodiversity and those written specifically for certain behavioral challenges. I realized not only how important they are for children's development, but also how they impact adults, including myself, to better understand children. That was it until I found about the DRIN workshop, which explicitly invites authors and illustrators to create picture books for young readers that address diversity shining a light on minority groups. This time, I chose to try not just to read but also to create stories. I knew from the first workshop meeting that this experience will be valuable. Everyone who took part has intercultural experiences and an interest in children's books. And, as a member of the authors' group, it really touched me when I heard each of the authors' amazing work, whether it was about a loved one, a special fruit, or a minority community with deep-rooted traditions. The atmosphere was inviting and safe for us to tell our stories. To be clear, the great majority of us were simply putting ourselves out there and pushing ourselves to our limits; very few of us were already published children's books authors. Despite this, each author successfully completed one complete story during the workshop.

Saliha
I love drawing since childhood and I've always wanted to become a children's book artist, so ever since I started my career as a freelance illustrator, my goal was to eventually illustrate children's books. However, as a self-taught professional with a perspective beyond the white-centered mainstream market, I struggle to find access to this sector. When I found out about the DRIN project and its workshop, I instantly knew that it could be a great chance on my way to making my dream come true! I hoped to connect with other authors and illustrators of Color, to learn and grow together with them, and to create strong and beautiful narratives for children that do justice to the diverse realities that they live in.

Becoming a team: How working together took effect

Sara
During the workshop, we, as authors, were asked to choose three possible illustrators with whom we thought we could collaborate. The illustrators by then, showed pieces of their art; meanwhile they read our stories to pick their match from our group. They shared their art styles and colors. I enjoyed every presentation, but after seeing your sketches, Saliha, I looked further into your work on Instagram. I immediately made my mind up and decided that your style stands first of my three choices. I knew that you already invested time and effort in your art to be inclusive. I saw that the characters you drew were child-friendly and reflected a multicultural experience. And this is exactly what my story needs in order to be alive. I was contented to have us matched as partners! It was a happy moment. I knew that working with you, Saliha, would definitely be a space of enjoyment and creativity.

Saliha
The authors’ group presented their stories in the form of a short pitch, a synopsis of the story and a few lines from the original text. In this way, we, the illustrators, got a first impression of the authors’ work. While listening, I tried to pay attention to my gut feelings: What imagery comes to my mind intuitively? Which stories move me emotionally, make me laugh or think about it? Which characters and narratives resonate with me? As for your story, Sara, I immediately loved the interactive approach and the rhymes. I could easily imagine the scene of a stage and a microphone ready for the kids to tell their audience about their favorite celebrations. Coming from both a multi-ethnic and multi-faith family, I easily identified with the idea to celebrate and cherish the multiple holidays in our world, to share the joy and happiness collectively. Obviously, I was very happy when I got the news that the two of us were matched!

First drafts, first steps and exchange of thoughts

Sara
My first draft was unquestionably not the final one. I revised it a few times before sharing it with the other authors in the group. Their feedbacks were enriching and helped me update my manuscript to a better version. When I shared it with you, Saliha, we both started to come up with more ideas, and it appeared to me that adding new things wasn't impossible. Your suggestions of introducing more celebrations resonated well with me and I was happy to hear all of your feedbacks. It takes good discussions and a clear ear to build better ideas. And after talking with you about my ideas, I found that this was pretty simple. I'm now happier with my final manuscript because I see it as more enjoyable and inclusive.
  After our first exchange of ideas, you revised the story, adding more characters
and more international holidays. I read the second draft and was simply amazed by the art of your writing skills! The way you wrote made me feel in my own body the joy, excitement and pride of the characters. I felt represented and seen with some of them, but I also learned about festivities and their traditions that I did not know before. The transition between the kids, one handing the microphone over to the next, was clever, funny and inclusive. Moreover, you did all of this in rhymes and in a very short time! I felt very happy and honored to be the one to accompany this beautiful story with images. I immediately sent you a voice message to tell you about my ideas for the illustrations and to thank you for this incredible work. Such a story was the best motivation for me to sit and draw! I just wanted to see this book come alive.

Growing together: expectations, progress, happy ending

Sara
In the DRIN workshop, the importance of connections cannot be stressed enough. Even if we didn't know each other before, the connection of people with mutual interest was a major factor in achieving our goal. Despite the fact that we had never met before the workshop, I found it easy for me to communicate with you, Saliha, as my partner. Many of the illustrated details you have created matched the details I had in mind when I was writing the story. I really felt excited to see how you understood what I exactly wanted to share! It was a great moment when I saw your first designed character of our story.

There were some challenges, though. The time gap is one to be mentioned. You got to begin your illustration work once the authors’ group turned in their finished manuscripts. Meeting your expectations was a bit challenging for me. Because at the time you started working on the project, I was feeling that I am already done with my part. That was challenging for you in the process, I discovered later when we talked about it; you desire it to be more reciprocal. In other words, you encourage authors to participate more in the illustration process by sharing their ideas for things like character designs or other elements. I agree totally with you, and it’s a great advice to keep in my mind for future projects. However, I think everything that happened throughout the process was beautiful. Saliha, I think we did a wonderful job of doing this together!

Saliha
Despite my enthusiasm, time got in my way. Given the publication deadline of the workshop, it all had to happen in a short space of time. Yet, to create and finish a 30-page children’s book within few weeks was impossible. Moreover, this project had to run next to all my other duties as a freelance illustrator with a daytime job. Soon, it became obvious that I would not be able to finish the whole book within time. I was glad and grateful that you, Sara, were very flexible, patient and adjusting to my capacities. However, I would have loved to work more closely with you at some points. I sent you my drafts in the beginning to get your feedback, but in the end, shortly before the deadline, I wanted to finalize at least two more spreads, so I skipped the sketch-and-feedback part at your expense. You were only to see my finished drawings, something I usually never do with my clients, even less I would have liked to do this with the very creator of the story! That it still turned out well (you liked my illustrations, yay!) was only because we somehow shared a strong common ground in our collaboration: Was it magic vibes, your incredible writing skills, or just good communication – the imagery we both had in mind matched perfectly! So, besides skills and time, this may be the most promising part of a successful author-illustrator team: When the chemistry is right between them, the results will be as well. Thank you, Sara, for this unique and encouraging experience!