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A Peek at the Creative Space of JJ Johnson
It's my pleasure to welcome author JJ Johnson to Creative Spaces today. JJ's debut novel, This Girl is Different, was published this spring by Peachtree Publishers. It was recently named as a 2011 Parents' Choice Silver Honor winner. Here is a brief synopsis:
Senior year is about to start, and Evie is starting at a mainstream high school for the first time. Until now, Evie has been homeschooled by her counter-culture mother, which gives her a view of the world unlike you average teenager.
High school is a social minefield, and Evie finds herself confronting new problems at every turn, failing to follow or even understand the rules. Mainly, she is disturbed to encounter teachers who abuse their power and discriminate against their own students. That's when Evie, her best friend Jacinda, and boyfriend Rajas start an anonymous blog to give the students a voice.
Eventually, the three lose control of the blog and a number of students and teachers are attacked through increasingly abusive and anonymous posts. Suddenly, Evie has accidentally gone from providing a forum for free speech to creating a place for online bullying–which is the last thing she wanted to do.
Kirkus Reviews said, "Outspoken Evie, with a voice so endearing and provocative that it will make readers pause often to think, quickly discovers in this witty debut that high school is full of biased rules, abuses of power and a lack of civil liberties. . . . Readers will never look at high school–or life–the same."
To learn more about JJ Johnson visit her website.
Describe your workspace.
My workspace is my MacBook Air and an imaginary bubble surrounding me. As much as I'd love a home office with an antique desk, bookshelves, art, and dappled sunlight filtering through the windows, that is so not my reality. My house is too tiny for an office, and my daily obligations wouldn't allow me to spend time there anyway. So I take my work—and my bubble—with me. I write in coffee shops, at my child's school, the public library, the dining room table while kids light-saber duel around me.
Describe a typical workday.
Honestly, there's no such thing. I grab time whenever and wherever I can. That said, I usually spend an hour or two on publicity stuff—website updates, interviews, Facebook, e-mails, etc—and when that's done, I write for a couple of hours. That's a good day. When I'm up against a hard deadline, though, all bets are off, and the house goes to pot, because I just have to get it done.
List three of your most favorite things in your workspace and why they are meaningful.
1. I have a sticker on my computer. It's a stained-glass-ish painting of a kangaroo bounding in front of Uluru (Ayer's Rock) in Australia. My family lived down under in 2009-2010, and the country there occupies a huge part of my heart. It's a beautiful reminder that it's a big world, and that I want to experience as much of it as I can.
2. A postcard of art by Shepard Fairey (2005) that says 'Make Art Not War.' It reminds me why I do what I do—because I want to live in a world where people create more than they consume, where art and human kindness are valued over profits and violence.
3. Taped inside my notebook is the Marge Piercy poem "For the young who want to". The whole poem is great, but the last few lines really speak to me:
The real writer is one / who really writes. Talent / is an invention like phlogiston / after the fact of fire. / Work is its own cure. You have to / like it more than being loved.
To me, it means that your reasons for writing, your motivation, your validation, everything has come from within. By all means, accept critique from trusted friends and editors, but the rest of it you must block out. You can't get distracted by rejections, bad reviews, or any of the other machinations of the publishing industry. "Work is its own cure." If that's true for you—if you can't not write, then you write.
Do you have any rituals in your work habits? If so, describe them.
I make or buy a yummy drink and I clear off whatever table/couch/bench/rock where I'm sitting. I usually start with editing, so I'm not confronted immediately with the dreaded blank screen of a new chapter.
What do you listen to while you work?
I've never been able to listen to music when I work. I listen to the brown noise option from the sanity-saving SimplyNoise.com
What is your drink and/or snack of choice while you're working?
Each of my novels has its own drink. This Girl is Different was iced coffee. Random was chai. The novel I'm currently writing is unsweetened iced tea. The drink becomes part of the ritual of focusing: make the drink, clear off the table, pop in the earbuds, take a sip, start writing. It becomes Pavlovian.
What keeps you focused while you're working?
The white/brown noise helps. But it's not an all-or-nothing venture; when I need a little break, I check Facebook or email, or I get up and walk around. I'm not a machine or anything. Really it just comes down to one basic question: Do you want to be an author, or don't you? A writer is someone who writes. It's that simple.
Do you write longhand, on a computer, or another way?
I generally start off a novel by writing notes longhand, although I dread doing so and kick and scream all the way. Then I put it in the computer—I use Scrivener, which is the best novel-writing software known to humans—and off I go.
How do you develop your story ideas? Do you use an outline, let the muse lead you, or another technique?
The writer Robert Olen Butler says everything you experience goes into a compost heap—everything you think and do and see and feel gets thrown in there, and breaks down into rich, fertile soil. That's what you grow your novels in.
I've learned to respect the time it takes to think up a novel. A few months of busy daydreaming—repainting the house, teaching myself to reupholster furniture—that's when stories coalesce. My house is filled with things I've made while "baking" my novels.
This painting of trees–eucalypts on the right, blending toward north american deciduous on the left, (24 x 36" acrylic)–is a product of my busy daydreaming while "baking" a novel.
When I'm ready, I start scribbling notes in my notebook. Then I take to the computer and get to page 50 or 100, and THEN I realize I probably should have made an outline. So I go back and write each scene on a sticky note and plot out a huge mind-map, which gets taped to the dining room wall for a while.
The map of my current novel. It's approximately 3×5 feet of newsprint, and the stickies are color-coded. Chartreuse = scenes & plot points (it's an escalating plot, you can tell by the shape of the line), Blue = "bad guys", Purple = surprises & plot twists, Pink = details to remember and character traits. Bottom right corner is a list of major themes. I've fuzzed the writing out because my editor would kill me if I gave away secrets!
If you were forced to share your workspace but could share it with anyone of your choosing, who would it be?
I'm constantly forced to share my workspace, and I can tell you who I LEAST like sharing it with: ice cube rattlers, cell-phone talkers, compulsive pen-clickers, and heavy sighers. Anyone else I can pretty much deal with.
What is the best piece of writing advice you've heard or received?
A fellow author once told me, "Your words are medicine for someone out there." On bad days, that keeps me going. Find what keeps you going. And may the Force be with you.
5 Responses to "A Peek at the Creative Space of JJ Johnson"
lines n shades July 18th, 2011
wonderful blog…glad to have stopped by 🙂
toquemag July 18th, 2011
My favorite quote from JJ Johnson in this interview is: "I want to live in a world where people create more than they consume, where art and human kindness are valued over profits and violence." Also glad to have the visuals–so important and often overlooked in blog posts!
As my oldest daughter is entering high school this fall, I'm thinking Evie is right up her alley. Thank you Jennifer and JJ.
mfantaliswrites July 19th, 2011
THis is a great interview, Jenn. What a natural talent, JJ! I love the book map. As a visual person, that just makes sense to me, and I think I should try it. It helps me to see what other authors do.
Elizabeth Varadan aka Mrs. Seraphina July 20th, 2011
I loved this interview. All of it. And I think the book's premise is so timely. I love the quote and the post card. Wonderful!
Miranda "Sibo" Paul July 22nd, 2011
What a great interview. Loved learning yet another great writer is also a Mac user (there seem to be a disproportionally large percentage of us using Macs), and sometimes makes an outline halfway through 🙂 Thanks for the post!


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What is Prosthetic Makeup?
Prosthetic Makeup Effects
Special Effects Makeup
Prosthetic Makeup School
Makeup Schools
Foam Latex
Prosthetic Make Up
Jessica Ellis
Prosthetic makeup is a type of effects makeup used frequently in film, theater and television. By sculpting enhanced body parts that are based on the wearer's actual body, makeup artists are able to achieve very real, believable results. With correctly applied makeup, a human being can age, grow, change shape, or become a whole different species, all through the skill of the makeup artist.
Application of prosthetic makeup may take several hours.
Most prosthetic makeup begins with making molds and casts of the actor's body. Using traditional sculpting techniques, the makeup artist or sculpture will create a lifelike model of the actor, giving them a base on which to work. This process, called lifecasting, typically is done during pre-production, long before the movie even starts to shoot.
A makeup artist may apply prosthetic makeup on an individual appearing in theater.
With the lifecast, the makeup artist can then begin to alter and change the form to fit the design needed. Depending on the needs of the production, they can add scarring, wrinkles, veins, or skin discoloration to create age or injuries. The prosthetic makeup process can also give alien features to a familiar form, such as pointed ears, extra teeth, or even additional appendages.
Prosthetic makeup may be applied to turn a human being into a whole different species.
The materials used in prosthetic makeup can pose some difficulty, as the finished product must be worn against an actors skin. Moreover, if the completed prosthesis is to appear real, it must move and look like skin. The most common materials used in final prosthetic masks and body parts are compounds composed of foam latex and gelatin. Good makeup artists must always have a backup plan, as some actors may have allergic reactions to one material and need a different choice.
For the Harry Potter film series, prosthetic makeup was used for the mask of Lord Voldemort.
Application of the prosthetic can take several hours, depending on the complexity of the mask or body part and the amount of blending needed to make the piece fit seamlessly with the actor's body. Using airbrushing and traditional makeup techniques, makeup artists will work around the edges of the prosthetic, making sure the skin tone matches and the edges are invisible. Because prosthetic makeup is now so commonplace in movie making, actors may have stipulations in their contract regarding how much time they can spend in a makeup chair per day.
Prosthetic makeup artists often work in concert with special effects wizards to create a completed effect. For the Harry Potter film series, makeup artists made the basic prosthetic mask for the evil Lord Voldemort, while computer effects were responsible for the character's snake-like, flattened nose. By combining the extraordinary abilities of prosthetic makeup artists and special effects designers, films are able to create creatures that capture the spirit of almost any fantastical creation.
Incorporating a wig might be part of the prosthetic makeup department.
With a B.A. in theater from UCLA and a graduate degree in screenwriting from the American Film Institute, Jessica is passionate about drama and film. She has many other interests, and enjoys learning and writing about a wide range of topics in her role as a wiseGEEK writer.
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What does a Special Effects Artist do?
What is a Prosthetic Foot?
What are Prosthetic Limbs?
How do Artificial Limbs Work?
cloudel
I have a friend who learned how to apply prosthetic makeup in beauty school, and she used her skills to make the most awesome Halloween costume for herself. She totally transformed into another being, and the mask looked so lifelike that some people were afraid to go near her.
Wearing prosthetic makeup is a lot different than wearing one of those cheap face masks that you can get from a costume store. The makeup is designed to stick to your face like a second skin, and any areas that need to be raised are built up in layers from the base, so there are no floppy parts wiggling around.
My friend looked like a combination between an alien and some sort of fairy. Her face had a glittery pink tone and an out-of-this-world shape. She even made herself some pointy ears to match.
@shell4life – Wow! That sounds like the most tedious job on earth. I couldn't imagine gluing on tiny facial hairs all day and trying to get an exact match with each one.
Just think, even after that, the actual prosthetic makeup application to the men's faces would take additional hours. I really don't know how anyone has the patience for it. I'm sure that the artists get paid really well, and so do the actors, but even if I were paid a large salary to do this, I think I would lose my mind!
shell4life
I saw a documentary on the making of a prosthetic mask, and the detail that went into it was unbelievable. There were two men who wanted to swap identities and see if they could fool their friends, so the prosthetic makeup team modeled the masks after their faces.
After the mask had been given its shape, it went on to another room, where actual human hairs were to be glued onto it. The artist held up samples to the men's beards so that she could get an exact color match.
Just gluing on the facial hair took hours. Things like small wrinkles and scars also had to be added, which took many more hours.
It amazes me what can be accomplished with makeup and prosthetics. It's actually kind of creepy to think of what people with the skills to transform others are capable of doing.
If a prosthetic makeup artist were to someday snap or become a stalker, they could totally disguise themselves as someone else and gain access to the person they were pursuing. They could manage to make their way into a person's home under false pretenses.
It makes me glad I don't live anywhere near a movie studio or Hollywood. The odds of someone in prosthetic makeup roaming around my small town are slim to none.
candyquilt
I don't know how actors are patient enough to get prosthetic makeup effects done on sets every day.
I read in a magazine that to simply get a bald look with prosthetic makeup, it takes four hours! Can you believe that?! That's just to cover up the hair! If that takes four hours, I can't imagine how long it took characters in Lord of the Rings to get ready for their scenes.
I don't think I would have the patience to sit through it, although I understand it's necessary for the film. It's smart of actors to put limits on this in their contract.
ddljohn
@burcin-- Artists who work in prosthetic makeup take courses or workshops on prosthetic making, makeup and mask making. Most of them are through beauty schools and some are workshops offered by people who have worked in the theater and film industry. Even if beauty schools don't offer these courses constantly, they often once a year workshops for them.
You can start out by reading up on the subject, there are a lot of books and even how-to-guides on prosthetic models. You can also buy a prosthetic makeup kit and practice at home. But you will still need to attend a couple of workshops for hands on experience.
Prosthetic makeup is fun but it's also hard work. I like being challenged so I enjoy it. But it has been becoming harder to find work in this area in the last couple of years. If you're planning on relying on this for money, you might want to do additional research to find out what the need for prosthetic makeup artists are in your area.
burcinc
I think prosthetic makeup is really cool and I would love to do this kind of work in the future.
The first time I was really impressed with prosthetic makeup was about a decade ago. I saw a foreign movie where the main actor played about six different roles in the movie. In one he was a young man, in another an old woman, in another an old overweight man and so on and so forth.
The makeup was so realistic that I didn't even realize it was the same person acting them all until I watched the making of it.
It's absolutely amazing how prosthetic makeup can transform people into something completely different. I'm so impressed and I think it must be a lot of fun to work in this area.
What kind of training do prosthetic makeup artists receive? And where do they take classes? I'm familiar with makeup schools but I don't think that they offer classes in this area.

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