Ten-Minute Blog Break - 6th May

As I write this, it's Bank Holiday Monday, the sun is shining, and yet here I am inside, ironing shirts for the week ahead while simultaneously typing on a laptop (no, really I am). Oh, how we must suffer for our art!


Sue Hyams has some home truths for us this week, specifically 5 Truths We Must Face Up To When Writing A Novel. She kicks off with "The story doesn't write itself" and it turns out this applies to the Blog Break too (makes mental note to investigate automated RSS web doohickeys and robot ironing boards before next week).

Paula Harrison celebrated an amazing achievement last week - the publication of the twelfth and final Rescue Princesses book. Somehow, she also found time for a bit of blogging, writing a post for Girls Heart Books. It will surprise no-one to discover that the prolific Paula has a brain full to bursting of book ideas and other "mum stuff", but she also manages to give some great tips on how to point your brain in the direction of the right story when you sit down to work.

Anyone who remembers John Shelley's amazing interactive world map from last year is in for another treat! This time, John has been commissioned by the Japanese Mainichi Newspaper to produce a map focusing on Japan, and it's packed with all the humorous detail we've come to expect from this meticulous illustrator.

I feel a little remiss in not giving much attention to The funeverse in this column. Still, that doesn't seem to have harmed the poets' output of funny verse, nor the parade of guest artists who have generously offered their artwork as the creative seed for those poems. Loretta Schauer is the guest illustrator for May, and so far Katherine Lynas and George Kirk have married their verse to her illustrations (viewers of a sensitive disposition should be warned that George's post contains shameless overacting).

Are we about to see a whole new side of double Crystal Kite winner Candy Gourlay? Well, it seems she's taking a course in creating graphic novels and drawing her own diary in the form of a comic, so maybe...

Nick.


A SCBWI member since 2009, Nick Cross is a former Undiscovered Voices winner who currently writes children's short fiction for Stew Magazine.

Nick's life as an author is filled with ups and downs, so he made a graph of them! Ride The Roller Coaster of Writerly Emotion.

2 comments:

  1. Overacting? Moi? And I'm usually so subtle and understated.

    :-*

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes you are, Daaahling. Thanks for the mention, Nick.

    ReplyDelete

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