Ten-Minute Blog Break - 13th January

In the wake of the shocking Paris attacks, this week's column should probably be renamed "The Ten-Minute Freedom of Speech Break". Be warned though, this is one debate that's going to take a lot longer than ten minutes to reach a resolution.

Those looking for books to help them, and their children, understand the world in the wake of this week's events should check out the excellent list by Sita Brahmachari on the Guardian Children's Books site, which includes SCBWI writers such as Miriam Halahmy and Sam Osman.

One of the authors at The Edge uses their weekly blog slot to mount a robust response to the recent violence, arguing for the continued importance of unfettered freedom of speech.

K.M. Lockwood takes a more cautious (but no less thoughtful) approach in her blog post, and focuses on the risk of polarisation in the debate on freedom of expression.

Sarah McIntyre blogged her own detailed reaction to the Charlie Hebdo killings, and voiced her hopes that the events in Paris could ultimately lead to more people around the world taking up cartooning/comics to tell their stories. Commendably, Sarah then wrote a second, even longer post called I Want to Make Cartoons & Comics But I Have No Idea Where to Start, which is full of useful advice on how to make that happen.

As for me, I deliberately haven't weighed in on the subject up till now. But I will say that I identified most strongly with that Joe Sacco comic that Sarah includes in her first blog post - free speech is all very well, but what do we want to achieve with that freedom?

OK, time to leave the weighty topics for something lighter. And what could be lighter than snow? Catherine Friess has a list of snowy picture books to cuddle around while dodging the winter weather outside.

Larisa Villar Hauser has decided to stop juggling and just "be". It all sounds very zen, but it's really a way to cope with being a writer, publisher, translator, mother etc. without going completely mad!

Finally, Liz Flanagan has an interview with someone who "popped over for a cup of tea." That doesn't sound very exciting, until you realise that Liz has Melvin Burgess in her living room! In an entertaining blog post, Melvin talks about the current state of YA and shares some tips on writing for teenagers.

Nick.

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

On his blog, Nick is thinking about flashbacks, and their use as a narrative device: Flashback to the Future.

Ten-Minute Blog Break - 22nd July

Following Sarah McIntyre's celeb-heavy contribution last week, a couple of other SCBWI bloggers are giving us their perspective on YALC (the first YA Literary Convention) in London.


Liz Flanagan clearly had a whale of a time at YALC and left feeling a whole new sense of community. Lucy Coats, on the other hand, celebrates a community she already knows well - the tireless book bloggers who do so much to promote YA books by UK authors.

Candy Gourlay can often be found celebrating writing by children, but this week she makes a joyful leap into the world of children's art. On a visit to Grafton Primary School near Holloway, she finds a wonderful variety of artworks which she had never known were right on her doorstep.

Sarah Broadley is dealing with the knotty problem of regional dialect in rhyming picture books, after a crit group couldn't get their mouths around her rhymes. It's not what you say, it's how you say it.

It's great to welcome a couple of new faces to the SCBWI Blog Network this week. Vanessa Harbour is a frequent blogger who has escaped the Blog Break to date, which is something I must rectify forthwith. Much like Seinfeld (the show about nothing), Vanessa's written a blog post about not writing! Is procrastination a bad thing, or just something else for us to feel guilty about?

Marie Basting is also new to the Blog Network, and I enjoyed her thoughtful post about the ramifications of discovering her six-year-old son had written a story all about a murdered koala. Was it Marie's fault for exposing him to crime stories, or were there other social and environmental factors at work?

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.

Nick's latest blog post is a guide to writing flash fiction, to celebrate the July issue of Stew!

Ten-Minute Blog Break - 13th May

I was a little worried this week that no-one would have written blogs, due to the two different writing retreats over the weekend (one of which I was at). But luckily, our SCBWI bloggers haven't deserted the internet entirely!


Birthdays can be a time not just of celebration, but also ambivalence (I know this feeling because I have one myself later this week). Nick Cook's Cloud Riders had its book birthday last week, and he perfectly expressed his mixed emotions on his blog. When you've worked on a book for seven years, publication can feel like your child is leaving home.

I'm always pleased to discover new SCBWI member blogs, so it was a treat when Liz Flanagan sent me a link to hers. Liz is both a published writer and a coach, so her artfully composed posts range from this inspiring look at an outdoor children's storytelling event (which is full of neat activity ideas) to a post on dealing with a creative knockback.

Anne-Marie Perks has been filling her time between projects by taking an online course in Visual Storytelling. Despite (or possibly because) she was the only student, Anne-Marie gained a huge amount from the course and shares it with us in a detailed blog post.

Finally, if you'd wondered why England was feeling a bit quiet recently, it's because Sarah McIntyre was out of the country! Sarah took her large collection of hats and terribly understated clothes (ahem) on a tour of schools in Spain, and you can read about her experiences on her blog.

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, the May issue of which is out now!