Getting away from it all...

Summer is exhausting.

My ideal holiday would be in the house on my own for at least a week having been hypnotised not to think about anything I have to do, only what I want to do. Obviously, that would be to travel to my own land of make believe, which I could explore from the comfort of the sofa, without the guilt of I really should be doing something about tea now. It would be a more proactive version of Total Recall,  the classic sci fi film based on the Philip K. Dick story where people in the future have virtual holidays by having the memory of that experience implanted.


Here and now however, virtual holidays still have to be of our own making and they need an empty house. My house is not empty. I'm inundated with vacationing students, my own plus hangers on. It's like living in a hall of residence... again.

So, again, I'm off for the weekend and again the destination is yet to catch up with the present let alone the future - there's no wi fi at the Purbeck Folk festival.  So here I am on Wednesday evening...

...feeling fairly confident that the track down to the Dorset depths
won't  be quite as muddy as last year.

Now for a look into the recent W&P past... 

• On Monday, I enjoyed Annie Neild's feature on critique groups, how they're not just lets turn up and chat about our work but  places, real and virtual, where good relationships and trust are essential, both of which take time to develop.
• Do you have thoughts about what you can and can't say to industry professionals on Twitter? Join the conversation with Social Sheila. 
• Tuesday's  Blog Break this week went from Breaking Bad to an Anne Shirleyish breath of Canada to very practical tips on how to be #amwriting. 
• We also had a taste of the  recent SCBWI Picture Book Masterclass with Egmont from Heather Kilgour.
• I was delighted to have the very hard working and wonderfully organised, Mel and Katrina in the spotlight on Wednesday.
• On Thursday it was lovely to see Lincoln back in the News again, to be able revisit Duck & Bear with the Making of Duck & Bear on Friday and to celebrate with Marie-Claire Imam-Gutierrez's success with Northern Writers on Saturday.

...and a glimpse of the future:

Next week among the delights are... a double helping of inspiration from K.M. Lockwood on Monday,  another craft book review, this time from Steph Williams and some great photos and reporting form The Norwich Illustrators' and Writers' Day.

Wishing you all a lazy and stress free bank holiday weekend,

Jan Carr

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Jan Carr is the editor of Words & Pictures. Her fiction is older middle grade, she blogs occasionally and loves to write in magenta. You can contact her at editor@britishscbwi.org.