Ten-Minute Blog Break - 26th August

I'd like to start this week's column with a special message for the Space on the Bookshelf team. Stop writing so many interesting posts! It'll be your fault if no-one gets any further than paragraph two on this week's Blog Break.

Space on the Bookshelf, you may remember, have a special series of features running about comics, graphic novels and magazines. Let's start with their top picks for graphic novels for various age ranges, then move on to off-the-shelf and subscription magazines for children and a special spotlight on The Phoenix (as championed extensively by David Fickling the other day). Most recently, the site ran an informative interview with Emily Haworth-Booth, who teaches a course in London on making comics and graphic novels.

One SCBWI blogger who always seems to avoid appearing in the Blog Break is our very own Words & Pictures editor Jan Carr. She generally does this by not blogging very much, but this week I've caught her! Her latest post may be "shameless self-promotion" for her novel You're Magic, Duggie Bones, but it's also a chance to see the very positive kids' feedback that gave her the idea for the Chalkface Challenge.

Moving to illustration, Loretta Schauer contributes a terrific process post to Big Little Tales this week. After admitting her unusual phobia of sketchbooks(!), Loretta talks us through her recent life drawing classes and shares the results at each stage.

What made you the artist you are? Miriam Halahmy and her photographer brother have journeyed back to Hayes in Middlesex, where they grew up. In a reflective post for The Edge Miriam traces how this outwardly uninspiring suburban environment shaped her creative outlook.

Finally, author events can be scary enough for anyone, let alone if you have Asperger's Syndrome. So you have to applaud Julie Day's determination to get out there and meet her audience, as she does in her latest post about a children's workshop at Bexley Community Library.

Nick.

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

In Nick's most recent blog post, he enters phase 0.5 of his plan for world domination, sharing A Work in Progress.

Hip Hip Hurray for Jan and the Mass Book Launch-ers!

If you're feeling a bit of a party pooper for missing the SCBWI Mass Book Launch last Saturday never fear! Here's your turn to celebrate with the mother of all cakes... while we congratulate Jan for her Outstanding Contribution Award, and Julie Fulton gives us the full report of the evening. All photos courtesy of Candy Gourlay and Lisa Tweedie.

I was sooooo thrilled to hear that our lovely Editor Jan Carr won the SCBWI-BI Outstanding Contribution Award this year. Although I wasn't surprised as she's been so amazing setting up Words & Pictures. I asked if she could say a few words for those of us who missed her acceptance speech....

Jan said: "It was a very warm feeling when Jo told me I’d been nominated for the OCA. To think that someone thought I was worth nominating was lovely. When I looked at the list of other nominees I thought there are a lot of people on that list who’ve worked so hard and been so faithful for so much longer than me, I felt unworthy.

Jan Carr receiving the SCBWI-BI Outstanding Contribution Award from
 Jane Benson McLoughlin

"Words & Pictures is great because of the Team who have all worked so hard and joined in so cheerfully with my scheduling spreadsheet obsession. Everyone who’s contributed and everything they’ve sent has been brilliant too. It’s been overwhelming, in a great way. At the party last Saturday night, as it dawned on me that Jane and Mo were talking about me, it was like being filled to the brim with melted chocolate which is a very nice feeling indeed. It was a complete surprise and I still felt unworthy because I just do what I like doing and it doesn’t seem fair to get an award for that. I’d really like everyone to get one. But I am so honoured and encouraged that people think well of me and hope I can continue to live up to that good opinion.

"Volunteering for SCBWI has been a brilliant. Everyone’s committed, passionate, encouraging and supportive. I’ve met so many lovely people – published, unpublished, authors, illustrators, agents, editors – everyone’s in it together! Benjamin said Words & Pictures was a great opportunity and it certainly is. Thank you SCBWI."

Now Julie Fulton tells us all about the Mass Book Launch...

As one of the lucky writers to have had a book (or books) published this year, I attended the Mass Book Launch party on the Saturday evening of the SCBWI conference.

Held in the Bapsy Hall within Winchester’s Guildhall it was a grand setting, although I must admit to feeling a little as though I’d had an unforeseen trip in Dr Who’s Tardis and travelled back to an early 1980s disco.

SCBWI Mass Book Launch-ers

Only being there for the evening, and with everyone else already having met up with old friends or made new ones during the day’s workshops, I could have worried about being left on my own as Mrs No-Chums.

But this is SCBWI. Members are so friendly and welcoming, it’s like being a part of one big family.

And that’s what makes the Mass Book Launch and the Awards so special.

Every person in the hall is genuinely delighted for each achiever. When Jan Carr was named as winner of the Outstanding Contribution Award the applause/cheers/grins were widespread.

As each massively launched writer stepped forward to the front of the stage to wave their new book about a cheer went up - and there were a lot of massively launched writers, but the cheering never faltered.

The whole awards section was ably led by Jane Benson McLoughlin and Mo O’Hara, or was that a cyber man and a dalek?

The rest of the evening was spent catching up with friends and schmoozing with a wide variety of industry professionals. The drinks flowed, the buffet was devoured and business cards were swapped.

Oh yes, and there was a spectacularly large and stunning cake. Did anyone else notice the cake? Roll on next year!

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Julie Fulton grew up on the likes of Dr Seuss, Hillaire Belloc, Edward Lear & Spike Milligan, so it's little wonder she enjoys writing silly, rhyming stories like the Ever So series. She now lives in rural Worcestershire where, apart from trying to find more time to write her picture books and MG novels, she teaches music, reads, gardens, dances and sings. It keeps her out of trouble, usually.

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Tania Tay is an ex-advertising copywriter and has been published in Sable LitMag. She is currently writing a YA romantic thriller, and is on the editorial team at Words & Pictures.

Who scored a Highly Commended and an agent this summer?

What a fabulous summer it's been for Scoobies.... This week, we're toasting the double achievement of Helen Dineen, who won a Highly Commended at the Winchester Writers' Conference and is now celebrating signing with the Anne Clark Literary Agency.

@aitcheldee

Southampton-based SCBWI member Helen Dineen has been concentrating on writing picture books, inspired by her two children and dog. She was awarded Highly Commended in Writing for Children aged 4-7 at this year's Winchester Writers' Conference, just before she received the offer from Anne Clark. 

“I am thrilled to be working with Anne, and am very pleased that she has so much confidence in my work as a new writer,” says Helen. She adds, “I joined SCBWI in early 2013, and have learned a great deal from the online resources like Word & Pictures and the Yahoo group (although I admit to being a skulker and not posting a comment myself yet!) And I was very lucky to join just before the Southampton goal-setting meet ups were started by Jan Carr. One of the main benefits I have had from my SCBWI membership is this chance to meet with other writers and illustrators every month to cheer each other on - or up if needed!” 

"... she establishes appealing characters and tells a satisfying story in a few hundred words."

Anne Clark says: "I'm so pleased to be representing Helen Dineen. I was immediately drawn to the combination of warmth and wit in her picture book texts, and the way she establishes appealing characters and tells a satisfying story in a few hundred words. Helen's presence as a blogger about children's apps is a significant bonus. I'm really looking forward to working with her!"

After such a exciting summer, Helen is looking forward to seeing what the rest of 2013 might bring! So let's say a big Hurrah! to Helen and wish her every success!

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Tania Tay is an ex-advertising copywriter and has been published in Sable LitMag. She is writing MG and YA fiction, and is on the editorial team at Words & Pictures.

Ten-Minute Blog Break - 4th June

When Jan posted at the weekend that we hadn't missed a day on Words & Pictures yet, I instantly began to worry that it would be me who left us without content for 24 hours! Luckily, you've all been blogging up a storm as usual...


Rosie Best is still skulking around and still blogging (though she will have to work on her post titles). In the catchily named Things and Stuff #4, Rosie serves up a couple of great links that delve into the reasons behind John Green's recent success, talks about her appearance on The One Show, shows us some awesome nail varnish and points us towards a cool webcomic. Actually, I don't know what title would have linked all that together, though maybe you could suggest one in the comments section.

On the Demention blog, Claire Merle discusses false starts and the slightly mysterious process that is Finding Your Voice. As Claire says, "There’s nothing more magical than running after a story, trying to keep up with it, rather than pulling it along behind you" and she gives some tips to help writers achieve that state of bliss.

Meanwhile, over at the edge, Sara Grant is revisiting her youth, but with an eye to the future. How, her blog asks, can writers keep up with the youth of today when the teenage world evolves and changes at such an accelerated rate? (Readers are warned that part of the answer involves going to a One Direction concert). The blog also features a photo of Sara from 1986 that suggests she used to be a part-time fire-fighter and always looked much cooler than me, even back then.

Sneaking in as a late addition, is Emma Greenwood's wonderfully indiscreet post on Notes from the Slushpile. Emma compares Imogen Cooper to Steve Irwin, talks about nipples on a polite blog and generally gives some fine advice about not holding your characters to the same moral standards you might wish to follow. Sadly for me, it seems that Emma was also a much, much cooler teenager than I was.

There's usually nothing worse than having to sit through a slideshow of other people's holiday snaps, but over at Big Little Tales, Katriona Chapman shares some evocative sketches from her Scottish jaunt that are well worth checking out. Sam Zuppardi isn't sharing any illustrations this week, but he has just been inducted into an online database for authors and illustrators with unusual surnames. Who knew?

Nick.

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Nick Cross is a children's writer, blogger and all-round digital guru. In 2010 he was a winner of Undiscovered Voices with his zombie comedy Back from the Dead.
Read Nick's latest blog post, in which he talks about The Book as Object, and how its role is changing in the digital age.

Ten-Minute Blog Break - 23rd April

I always enjoy reading Jan's editorial, and it's fascinating to see how the themes we explore on this site are reflected elsewhere on the SCBWI Blog Network, as members approach the issues in their own distinctive ways.


If Bryony Pearce's heartfelt Words & Pictures article struck a chord with published authors, it was Lorraine Gregory's blog post "Desperation Station" that did the same for the unpublished (among whose ranks I number myself). It's been fascinating to watch Lorraine's growth as a blogger and writer over the last year, and I reckon this is her best post yet.

The blogosphere likes its writing guidance a little more, erm, fast and loose than what we provide on Words & Pictures. Accordingly, Mark Jones weighed in with another awesome slice of advice this week, and even better, he's answering your questions about writing. OK, not actually your questions, but someone's. Probably.

At the edge, they don't do guest blogs the way other sites do. Instead of inviting book blogger Vivienne Dacosta over for a cup of tea and a natter, they broke out the thumbscrews for a YA Interrogation! Actually, I have to admit that I'm not much of a YA expert, so Vivienne's book recommendations are very useful.

Those who like their fairy tales "pitch black, creepily unsettling and deeply affecting" may like to check out Sam Zuppardi's book recommendation. In fact, he enjoyed the book so much that he's started providing his own illustrations!

Elsewhere, there was proof that it isn't only children's writers who have trouble putting away childish things. When I first read the story of the forty-year-old men who have been playing an epic game of "it" for the last 23 years, I imagined what a funny comedy it would make. Well, I wasn't the only one thinking that, because I saw today that Will Ferrell and Jack Black are attached to a film version of the tale. If only I could get the funding for British Bulldog - The Movie...

Nick.

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Nick Cross is a children's writer, blogger and all-round digital guru. In 2010 he was a winner of Undiscovered Voices with his zombie comedy Back from the Dead.
Read Nick's latest blog post Anything for a Laugh?, responding to Celia J. Anderson's Words & Pictures article on Writing Humour for Children.

Ten-Minute Blog Break - 2nd April

Welcome back to the Ten-Minute Blog Break. I hope you had a good Easter, and the time off has filled you with new ideas, or chocolate, or both!



Talking of ideas, Sara Grant blogged this week at the edge about the value of exploring your "bad" ideas. As she tells it: "I found success as a writer when I stopped worrying about looking stupid." I've taken this advice to heart and am writing this article in a clown suit while painting my head blue. Fame and fortune here I come!

I wanted to throw a spotlight on Amanda Lillywhite this week. As you may know, Amanda will be launching her webcomic Duck and Bear this coming Friday 5th April, exclusively on Words & Pictures. If you can't wait until then, you can find a sneak preview on her Tumblr blog, or follow the misadventures of Duck and Bear on Twitter. But there really is no end to Amanda's talents, because she's also started a new blog called Sequential Art, exploring "graphic novels, comics and online sequential art." The world of comics (especially indie comics) can be a bewildering place for the uninitiated, and Amanda is doing a great job of introducing it. Her posts on Sequential Art are honest, informative and rooted in her own emotional response to the work in question.

There's been a bit of a self-reflective theme this week (which Jan picked up in yesterday's editorial), as writers ponder the nature of the creative urge and what success might look like for them. Candy Gourlay has started a new book (hooray!), Kathy Evans can't stop writing and blames Stephen King (!), Lorraine Gregory wonders whether it's possible to satisfy herself and the market. To these, I'd like to add a story I spotted in The Guardian - what happens if you spend your whole life seeking artistic recognition, but it never comes? Felicia Bromfield tells the bitter-sweet story of My Dad, The Next Big Thing.

Nick.

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Nick Cross is a children's writer, blogger and all-round digital guru. In 2010 he was a winner of Undiscovered Voices with his zombie comedy Back from the Dead.
Read Nick's latest blog post - The Price is Write - on the subject of investing in your writing.