Chalk + Ink: Episode 91; Open-Ended Questions Open Doors with Cindy Jenson-Elliott

In this interview, Cindy Jenson-Elliott lets us in on incredible interview tips. In addition to interview tips, Cindy talks about researching and writing simultaneously, nonfiction proposal dos and don’ts, and the importance of making connections.

If you're looking for teaching tips, don't worry. Cindy talks about using comics in the classroom, inspiring students to interview community members, and how a field trip with her son's class to Scripps Institute of Oceanography, followed by a field trip with her students, planted the seed for her book The Doomsday Detectives.

Do you have any field trips planned for the spring? If so, the trip may well just be the spark you need for your next manuscript. I personally haven't had a field trip inspire a manuscript, but participating on the interview committee for a math specialist planted the seed for 100 Bugs! The truth is in teaching you never know what interaction will spark an idea that sets your writing career on fire.

In the meantime, check out these books that Cindy recommends:

Adventures in Cartooning by James Sturm, Andrew Arnold, and Alexis Frederick-Frost 

Making Comics by Scott McCloud

​Making Comics by Lynda Barry

Cindy uses these books in her classroom to teach students how to represent information visually. Listen for yourself to learn how she does it.