Ten-Minute Blog Break - 1st April

It's April the First, and I was tempted to write an entire Blog Break full of spoof posts this week. However, as there was no round-up last week that seemed a bit unfair. Plus, I'm not sure my brain's working well enough to do something like that!

One of the joys of being part of a community of writers is that moment of relief, when you discover that someone else is having the same problem as you. Michelle Newell's post about allowing yourself guilt-free time not to write is a must-read.

Cloud Riders author Nick Cook is chatting to Danl Tetley this week, talking about following his dreams (all the way to the bookshelf). In a lengthy interview, Nick discusses his influences, his passions and the perils of writing for editors when you should be writing for yourself.

I've always been a sucker for interactive fiction, spending my teenage years immersed in Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. So I'm always interested to hear about new attempts to bring interactivity to children's stories, such as the company that Sally Poyton interviews at Space on the Bookshelf. Freed Fiction are a small startup with big ideas, whose first iBook is based on Jeff Norton's MetaWars series.

Sticking with new technologies, Helen Dineen is blogging at Picture Book Den with an informative look at the pros and cons of picture book apps. And while you're at The Den, check out Juliet Clare Bell's excellent post about creative non-fiction picture books, including the amazing Cadbury chocolate-fest that is her latest commission.

For a final slice of picture book goodness, check out Loretta Schauer's post at Little Big Tales, where she's talking about endpapers. These easily-ignored elements of a picture book can be both a design treat and a sneaky addition to the narrative.

Nick.


Nick Cross is a children's writer, blogger and all-round techno-ninja. In 2010 he was a winner of Undiscovered Voices with his zombie comedy Back from the Dead.

This week, Nick is featured on the Stew Magazine blog, talking about the inspiration behind his latest short story The Door Keeper.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks, Nick. Now I've read Michelle's post, I think I might just have a quick break...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hehe! Just make sure your agents/publishers/editors don't hold me accountable for late manuscripts, dear writer friends ;-) In all seriousness though, I had a novel-free weekend of relaxation, then sat down yesterday and in five minutes had solved a major plot problem!

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