Ten-Minute Blog Break - 7th October

I'm not keen on doing research because I just want to get to the writing, even if that subsequently involves staring at a blank screen for hours! But the Blog Break forces me to do my research, because otherwise, what would I write about?

Hopefully, you read Sue Hyams' excellent W&P post last week all about research, and she's not the only SCBWI writer thinking about the subject. Dave Cousins turns in his own fascinating blog post for The Edge, taking us inside his unusual research methods (weather diaries anyone?) And I also have to give a mention to Mark Jones, who is getting very excited about drawing maps.

There's more useful stuff in the blog post Sheila Averbuch has written, summarising SCBWI SE Scotland's session on getting the best from a critique. Critique can be hard for any writer, so do yourself a favour and learn some new coping strategies from Shelia's post.

Sadly, my dream job of ice-cream-powered spaceship pilot has yet to come up, but fortunately Layn Marlow is having more luck. Not with dairy-propelled interstellar vehicles, but rather a job illustrating the website of much-loved author Dick King Smith. Layn blogs about the opportunity and shares some of her sketches.

It's great to welcome Jane McLoughlin back to the Blog Break with her brand new blog, after what she describes as "a major Blogger mishap involving malware and dodgy addresses and other befuddling and frightening things". Jane picks up the TGFW (Thank God For Writing) baton that I mentioned a few months back and talks about the power (and pitfalls) of escaping into your own imaginary world.

After all that reading, here's a post that's mostly pictures! Candy Gourlay is just back from an incredible school tour on behalf of the Siobhan Dowd Trust and Authors for the Philippines, and she shares her vivid experiences.

There have been so many great posts this week that I've gone way over my self-imposed five link limit. But I just loved Vanessa Harbour's sage advice on redrafting and the marvelous title of her post: Are you STILL writing that book?

Nick.

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A SCBWI member since 2009, Nick Cross is an Undiscovered Voices winner who currently writes children's short fiction for Stew Magazine (September issue out now).

Nick's most recent blog post takes a look back at a year of Stew Magazine stories and teases out the common threads that bind them. What's the Story?

Ten-Minute Blog Break - 29th April

What does it take to get a book published? Is it simply a matter of persistence and luck? Can we writers/illustrators influence the process at all, or should we just get out of the way and let the gatekeepers decide?


These are the questions that the first of today's Blog Break selections had me pondering. Mike Brownlow's Ten Little Pirates has been a great success, yet it came very close to not happening at all. Mike's candid and fascinating article is the first of two great posts from Picture Book Den this week. The second comes from our Regional Adviser Natascha Biebow, who shows us Ten Really Cool Picture Book Openings.

Sam Zuppardi is pursuing a rather different project than children's books at the moment, illustrating the pieces for a board game called Stormy Weather. It looks like a lot of fun, and in an attempt to get you to stump up for the Kickstarter campaign, Sam has been posting his illustrations of various weather-controlling machines. Check out The Light Sharpener, The Thunderiser and The Solar Wind Tunnel.

I mentioned Patrons of Reading last week, and Jane McLoughlin has just become one! Her first duty for Kincorth Academy in Aberdeen has been to write the foreword for an anthology of pupils' work, and she shares those inspiring words on her blog.

The writing process blog tour is unstoppable. It cannot be stopped, I tell you, until it has consumed every creative person with a Blogger or Wordpress account! This week's poor unsuspecting innocents are Maureen Lynas, K.M. Lockwood and (making his Blog Break debut) James Nicol. Thankfully, someone had the good sense to tag Mark Jones, who tries his best to make the blog tour implode by writing his entire entry in the persona of a "crazy mutant shrub."

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

Ten-Minute Blog Break - 18th March

Believe it or not, the Blog Break will be a year old next week. Sometimes (usually Monday lunchtime with an empty blog post in front of me) that year seems to have lasted an age, and other times it seems to have passed in a heartbeat. Either way, it's been quite a ride!

I encourage a leisurely approach to reading the Blog Break, complete with hot drink and optional biscuits. But it seems that Paula Rawsthorne wants us to get moving. Over at The Edge, Paula's asking if we're Fit to Write, because we have a profession that requires such a lot of bum-on-seat-time to achieve success. Paula has tips on how to squeeze exercise into your writing schedule and examples of what other authors do to stay fit.

There may have been a lot less cases of flu than expected this winter, but it does seem that there's a rather infectious blog chain doing the rounds instead. Candy Gourlay, Sally Poyton and Michelle Newell have all succumbed this week, discussing their latest works-in-progress and the processes they're using to write them. Find out why Candy keeps going down rabbit holes, how Sally risks lead poisoning for her art and why Michelle describes her writing process as "slow and erratic."

They (whoever "they" are) say write what you know, and Bridget Strevens Marzo is doing just that. I loved the idea that her own childhood experience of being culturally adrift in a French school has lead to Bridget's Book of English, a picture book of first English words for French children.

Heaven help us, but Mark Jones is at it again. This week, he's provided a "helpful" list of book ideas he's recently had rejected. Worse even than the thought of a pop-up picture book about psychotic kittens, is the fact that this post is the fifth in a thoroughly demented series. It's probably worth making sure you have The Samaritans on speed-dial before you tackle entries one, two, three and four.

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.

Nick is currently writing short fiction for Stew Magazine, issue 2 of which is out now!

Ten-Minute Blog Break - 11th March

I have emerged, blinking, into the light this week and put fingers to keyboard for my own blog again. It's a good feeling and I'm glad that our SCBWI bloggers have been just as busy, because that means the Blog Break is once again full of tasty treats!

They say that there's many a slip twixt cup and lip, and nowhere does that apply more than publishing. Miriam Halahmy is guest blogging over at Bookwitch's site to talk about a very nasty slip indeed, when her publisher withdrew their fiction list with one book of her trilogy unpublished! Read the inspiring story of how Miriam was able to push through and give new life to her Hayling Island trilogy when all seemed lost.

Given my own absence from blogging, It's a good thing that Mark Jones blogs so often. In fact, the latest installment of his Amazing Writing Advice series is all about How to Write a Blog Regularly. The funny thing is, I've looked back at his blog archive and I'm not entirely sure he's telling the truth...

Teri Terry has just been on what sounds like an exhausting tour of the UK - ten schools in five days. But Teri has recovered enough to write a tour report on how she did and also to distill her experience into a very useful list of Ten Tips for Book Publicity Tours.

While I've been wondering on my blog about how to find the heart of my story, Sue Hyams has been attacking the same problem in a different way, musing on how her stories start. Sue doesn't begin with a "what if?" concept, but instead finds inspiration in a sense of place.

Finally, here's a short but thought-provoking piece by Heather Kilgour at Big Little Tales about accidentally defining your characters' behaviour by their gender. The Joanne Harris gender test that Heather links to is priceless, and you might also enjoy Heather's earlier post on the subject of assigning gender to animal characters in picture books.

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 and currently writes short fiction for Stew Magazine.

This week, Nick is searching for "the heart of the story" on his blog and wondering what happens if he can't find it!

Ten-Minute Blog Break - 4th February

I'm sure you've been on tenterhooks since last week, wondering what happened to that enormous boil on Maureen Lynas's bum? Well, you can either find out here or you can read on for some blog posts that don't sound like an episode of Embarrassing Bodies...

Amanda Lillywhite hasn't blogged for ages, so it's great to see her joining in Hourly Comic Day with a comic strip all about her life on the 1st February 2014. As a special bonus, Sarah McIntyre also contributes her own graphical slice of life.

Mark Jones is someone else I haven't featured for a while, but his latest post about Resketch Books caught my eye. These are a terrific idea, sketchbooks made from paper that has been recycled simply by turning it over! So you get all kinds of random text and architectural diagrams on different grades of paper, interspersed with blank spaces for you to dream up your own ideas. As someone who suffers greatly from the tyranny of the blank page, I strongly approve.

Space on the Bookshelf have found space for Karen Ball this week, who undergoes a rigorous Q&A from Nicki Thornton all about the Book Bound Retreat that Karen and others are running in May. If you're really serious about getting your book published and you think you've got the writing craft part sorted out, this initiative could be for you.

We hear a lot about the benefits of SCBWI writing critique groups, but what about drawing critique? Shana Nieberg-Suschitzky posts at Big Little Tales with a fascinating example of before and after picture book drawings that have been improved by group feedback. And she even receives further useful feedback in the comments for her blog post. That's SCBWI in action, people!

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 and currently writes short fiction for Stew Magazine, an event that was recently celebrated on this site.

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)

Ten-Minute Blog Break - 1st October

For a while, this post was called "Lino Sniffing", which would certainly have looked interesting up there on the main page! But although I've bowed to convention with the title, you'll still find plenty of fragrant delights in this week's Blog Break.

Some advice falls on stony ground, and so it was with my suggestion to Rosie Best that she come up with different names for each of her blog posts. Rosie is up to Things and Stuff #13 now, and with her debut novel Skulk soon to be released, it's a good time to catch up with her. Along with the obligatory box of books photo and details of her launch party, Rosie also gives us a useful round-up of links from her blog tour and gets excited by a photo of Meryl Streep in a tree (no, I am not making this up).

Someone else rocking a blog name series is Mark Jones, who brings us Amazing Writing Advice #24: The Secret of Synopsiseses. I mean sinopsyes. Or synopsisis. Or something like that.

Space on the Bookshelf are doing another of their intensive 3D book review features this week, examining Anthony McGowan's novel Brock from every possible angle. The book is designed for dyslexic and challenged readers, so Sally Poyton (a dyslexic herself) kicks off by interviewing Anthony with the help of a teenage reviewer. Other features will follow later this week, including detailed reviews of the book and an interview with Anthony's editor.

Finally, I suppose I should come clean about the lino sniffing. This is what Anne-Marie Perks does to find out whether her piece of lino is in prime condition to print from. Anne-Marie has blogged at Big Little Tales with lots of beautiful images from her recent linocut course, but sadly no scratch and sniff. My campaign to make every post on Word & Pictures smell of chocolate starts here!

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's taking a long hard look at his life and wondering why it constantly feels like he's Spinning Plates.

Ten-Minute Blog Break - 17th September

Welcome back to the Blog Break - there's no crochet this week, but I can promise you giant dinosaurs, Asian superheroes and a time-wasting new spin on an old story format...



At the edge this week, Katie Dale takes on the size zero culture by surveying book covers and asking Are YA Girls Too Skinny? Is it that readers don't want to read about overweight or unattractive girls, or more that book covers don't accurately represent the characters within?

It's one SCBWI author interviewing another at The Enchanted Inkpot, as Caroline Hooton quizzes Sarwat Chadda about his recently-complete Ash Mistry series. The refreshingly outspoken Sarwat talks about Hindu mythology, the difference between Middle Grade & YA and why he thinks age banding for books was a "stupid idea".

Talking of outspoken, the Crabbit Old Bat (her description, not mine) Nicola Morgan has recently joined SCBWI and also restarted her seminal Help! I Need a Publisher! blog. Nicola's been blogging about finding a good agent over her last few posts and provided this very site with a condensed version of her wisdom. But it's worth checking out the full unexpurgated version on her blog, not least for this sentence: "I know that if Godzilla, egged on by a Dalek, lumbered into your garden and offered to be your agent, get you published and make you a millionaire, you’d agree."

Finally, you're probably procrastinating already by reading the Blog Break, so why not make it official by visiting Mark Jones' latest blog post. In a symphony of interactive meta-fiction, he invites you to descend into The Fidgety Pit of Procrastination: A Choose Your Own Adventure.

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 hasn't written another word of his novel but is somehow feeling much better about it. It's all because he's been Taking Stock.

Congratulations Mark!

We're delighted to celebrate with this recently agented SCBWI author...

"You may as well all just give up and stop writing," says Mark Jones.

(DON'T do that! - Ed) 

“It's the biggest development in the literary world since Johannes Guternburg failed to invent the alphabetti spaghetti making machine” screamed blogger Basil Obvious, “Whatever he writes, it'll be the book to end all books!”.
Of course you've guessed right, Mark Jones has got an agent. After only 14 minutes of writing on the back of a beer mat Mark secured representation with Alice Williams from David Higham Associates. A source on the street not close to the agency at all said, "They won't have time to talk to you now, every publisher in the universe is beating down their door. No other author will get a look in.”

Mark Jones has got an agent! 

Mark put his success down to, “being simply amazing”, before saving a baby from a burning building. He denied that all other writers should just give up, saying, “It’s important to have a dream, even a futile one.” There have been 1,567,784 attempts on his life since then. Only four have been successful.*

The last known picture of Mark Jones (cunningly disguised as a beetle) before being forced into exile due to unprecedented success.

*None of the characters presented in the above work are based on real people apart from Alice Williams and Mark Jones. Mark’s been writing for too many years for him to remember and getting agent is down to hard work, nice people (mostly from SCBWI) and luck, though he is simply amazing.

He started writing so he could wear amazing author hats.

We're very pleased about Mark's success and look forward to reading his books which we're sure will be great fun!

Tania, her wonderfully creative post titles and her joyful zing will be back next week.

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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.

Ten-Minute Blog Break - 23rd July

I'm sure I can't be the only one wilting from all this heat, but our SCBWI bloggers march on regardless.
Grab a tall glass of iced tea and let's see what blog-sized treats are on the plate this week.


Despite living in the same town as ace indie bookshop Mostly Books, I’m a little ashamed to admit that I completely missed their recent special event, in which three Nosy Crow authors took over the running of the shop for the day! SCBWI writers Paula Harrison and Helen Peters joined Fleur Hitchcock to staff the shop, as well as answering all manner of questions from budding young writers and journalists. Sally Poyton tells us all about the event at Space on the Bookshelf.

Mark Jones returns to his Amazing Writing Advice column, after an unexpected break. But was the lay-off really because he was sued for publishing someone else’s book without their permission and did he actually take matters into his own hands in such a drastic fashion? You’ll have to read the post and make up your own mind...

Taking the idea of the Silly Season a step further are the bloggers at Notes from the Slushpile, who are having an, erm, Slushpile Silly Season. So far, Addy Farmer has blogged about silly character names via PG Wodehouse and Books With a Letter Missing. Have you read The Lion, the Itch and the Wardrobe?

Illustrators will get a kick out of Katriona Chapman’s post at Big Little Tales, detailing her technique for colourising pencil drawings using Photoshop. Sam Zuppardi’s brother won’t be getting a kick out of anything for a while though, especially when he sees the get well card that Sam sent him showing his broken leg. Yuck!

I'll be taking next week off to go on holiday (I know, what a shocking dereliction of duty), so the Blog Break will have a very special guest editor! Until then, happy reading and happy blogging.

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.
For his latest blog post, Nick is Desperately Seeking Symmetry with the help of Sara Grant's Half Lives.

Ten-Minute Blog Break - 18th June

Before I start the blog round-up, I'd like to thank everyone who's commented on or retweeted these posts over the last few months. Not only is it great to know that the Blog Break is being read, but also that you're reading the posts by our featured SCBWI bloggers.


To kick things off this week, Bridget Strevens-Marzo has a hugely inspiring blog post about the ShoutSouth! festival run by CWISL (Children's Writers and Illustrators in South London). SCBWI members including Bridget, Mo O'Hara, Sarah Mussi, Anne-Marie Perks, Sam Hepburn and Sara Grant took part in three days of writing and illustrating workshops with over ninety 8-13 year olds. You can see the variety and quality of the results over at Bridget's blog and it's an immense credit to the organisers that everyone donated their time for free.

Jane Heinrichs has written a terrific post about unleashing your inner creativity, something that sounds easy but can often be very, very hard. As someone who frequently finds themselves in front of an empty Word document, gripped by irrational fear, I found this list of simple tips very approachable and encouraging.

Cathy Brett's article for The Guardian on illustrated fiction for teenagers kicked off a fantastic debate on the SCBWI British Isles Facebook group. Why don't grown-up books have pictures in them? Are publishers the problem, or do book illustrations seem childish to older readers?

Meanwhile, over in the silly corner, Lorraine Gregory has a highly unscientific test to help you determine whether you're cut out to be a children's writer, and one of the comments on Mark Jones's latest blog post reads "Well, that was a waste of time". Depending on your mood, you may consider that a criticism or a recommendation!

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 considers the seemingly endless state of being an "Almost There" writer and yet finds optimism in Waiting and Learning.

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 - 9th April

Heavens, has another week gone past? I'm really glad all of our clever Scoobies have been blogging so hard this week, because it gives me plenty to talk about. So without further ado...



In the world of children's writing, we men often feel like an endangered species, so it's good that Mark Jones is joining me to bring up the testosterone levels (a bit). A self-styled Book Monkey, Mark has fearlessly continued his Amazing Writing Advice column this week, covering the tricky subject of book translations and how to do them on the cheap using Babelfish (I can only hope that his rampant xenophobia is meant to be ironic, or I'll have our illustrious Words & Pictures editor chasing me with a very large red pen). Mark's ramshackle advice is both useless and hilarious, and you can read the entire series by clicking here. Look out for the genius idea that is Game of Phones and find some simple but foolproof tips for increasing your word count (sample advice: "Make one of the characters a teenage girl. They never shut up.")

Not content with hogging the limelight a fortnight ago, Sally Poyton is at it again, starting a brand new group blog called Space on the Bookshelf. Together with fellow SCBWI members Jo Wyton and Nicki Thornton, Sally is looking to create a niche in the crowded world of children's book blogging, by offering in-depth coverage on each book via a range of perspectives. The first selection is My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish by SCBWI-BI's very own Mo O'Hara, and it receives reviews by the site bloggers and also by a real live child (who contributes some fetching drawings). In addition, Space on the Bookshelf offers interviews with Mo and her editor at Macmillan Books, as well as an innovative Spotlight on Writing feature that analyses the book from a children's writer's perspective.

In general, writers have been making a lot of noise this week, none more so than Jane McLoughlin (and if you've met her, you'll know that that's not an insult!). Over a couple of posts, Jane has been telling the alternately sad, bizarre and hilarious story of why she stopped writing for five years and how she started again. But our SCBWI illustrators have also been beavering away quietly in the background - our featured illustrator Bridget Strevens-Marzo gives us a whirlwind round-up of her recent projects, Trish Philips shows us step-by-step how she created a stunning mixed media artwork, and Sam Zuppardi (another man, hooray!) has found something very nasty living in the wallpaper.

Elsewhere, it's been a sombre couple of weeks for the arts, with a raft of much-loved people passing away, including brilliant actor Richard Griffiths and quintessential American film critic Roger Ebert. Like many others, I was greatly shocked by the news that author Iain Banks is "officially Very Poorly" with terminal cancer. Banks is one of our greatest living novelists - let's hope this advance notice will give us the chance to celebrate that fact before it's too late.

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 on The Art of Transgression.