Ten-Minute Blog Break - 12th November

Due to a scheduling mix-up on my part, we came about this close to not having a Blog Break this week. But it's OK, because no-one needs to know. Oh, wait - did I just say that out loud?



Continuing the comics theme from last week, Dawn Finch came up with this gem of a post. As both an author, librarian and owner of a cat named after a comic(!), Dawn puts the world to rights about graphic literature and its power as a "gateway drug" to lifelong reading.

Lorraine Gregory's latest post comes with a clear disclaimer: "the author accepts no responsibility for any harm that comes to you or others through using these techniques." What techniques are these? Well, Lorraine has developed a range of philosophies that writers can adopt to make their lives easier. Are you Superstitious Extremus or Optimism Overloadus? Find out here.

Jane McLoughlin's been practising her "no marking" dance this week. That's because, as an ex-teacher, when she goes to a school nowadays she doesn't have to judge the students, just enjoy their company. That's why she's blogging In Praise of Author Visits.

Writing a book without words sounds hard enough, but telling a wordless story about domestic violence for a special needs publisher would be way beyond my skill set. Fortunately, Anne-Marie Perks is more than up to the job, and her Big Little Tales post gives us a window on a creative process that is unusual, fascinating and rewarding.

Finally, Mark Jones is at it again, and as usual I've no idea if he is a genius or just a bloke in a hat who should get out more. But if you've ever wondered where awesome ideas come from and how to have more of them, Mark's your man. Probably.

Nick.

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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 on his blog, Nick outlined his Achievement Points system for making rejection fun! (OK, almost fun)