Oh dear reader. I’m tired. So I’m blogging. Why do I always want to blog when I’m tired? It’s perverse, right? (Global comment. Expect more typos and grammatical faux pas than usual.)
It’s raining. Steady, soaking, let’s-pretend-it’s-winter rain. Somewhere it’s a Cup Day. Melbourne? Bendigo? Kyneton? Moscow? Dunno. There are so many cups and so many horses one has lost track. Hahaha. (Did you see what I did there?)
Last night (Melbourne Cup night) was the very last live coaching call in my beloved Scribbles Academy. Five years! Who would have thought I’d still be doing live coaching calls five years after opening the Scribbly doors?
That’s how much I LOVE coaching creative souls.
That’s how much I LOVED Scribbles. (Yeah, it’s closed now. Sorry!)
At the beginning of the call, I pulled some creativity oracle cards.
Check out the Wild Card (card number 4). LOOK at it! Not only has it got Melbourne Cup horsies on it, the message (on de other side) is PLAY!!!
I didn’t rig it. Honest!
The central tenet of the Scribbles Academy has always been Permission to Play. Why? Because we evolve creatively through play.
If I could convince people of how SERIOUS play is I’m sure I could get more of them to listen. Learn. Loosen up. Play.
Whee!
And Now a Page from Cottage Diaries
Here’s where The Editor sits to work on her manuscript, watch the rain and drink Hobgoblin Chai.
Nice?
Uh huh.
Closing the Scribbles Academy was a massive decision for me and came about for many reasons.
Some of them purely business: There’s a juggle goes on when you declare yourself an Author AND a Chief Inspirationalist…
Some of them personal: You know how Bilbo Baggins runs around wearing that kooky magical ring, feeling off his face and like ‘butter stretched over too much bread’?
Well, yeah, that.
Butter. Bread. Stretched.
But now my precious ones, as I narrow down the girlandduck options, all roads henceforth will lead to the Duck Pond! (With a few random but GORGEOUS e-courses thrown in.)
I’m super excited about what we’ll be able to achieve next year in the Ponderoonie when I has me undivided attention on it.
For instance, will I do regular live coaching calls in there?
Quite possibly!
Will we organise some IRL masterclasses in Melbs?
Quite possibly!
Sydney?
Yes, Ma’am!
And so on…
New e-Course in the Pipeline (a Masterclass with Yours Truly)
My Little Writing Book Adventures...
Remember that little book/memoir-ish collection that I wrote about creative writing? It’s name is derived from a Dick and Dora school reader. It’s called See Me Jump: 20 things I’ve learned about writing books for children.
That little book is now 561th (How do you say that out loud?) 561st. 561-ty in the Writing Skill Reference Books section of Kindle!!
561 in the world!!
To me that feels like a Gold Medal moment. Or in the very least a Fredo Frog moment.
Here’s the cover:
Right. Now I’m so gah gah I’m about to fall off my perch.
Time to put on my Charlie Brown ‘leisure suit’ and turn on Stranger Things. See what Joyce and Hopper are up to. Will they EVER get together? Where is season four when you need it?
And one more cup of chai. With honey.
Toodle-oo, dear reader! xo
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Oh I do love a Jen blog, especially with pics of your garden.
To quote Helen Keller “If we do not like our work, and do not try to get happiness out of it, we are a menace to our profession as well as to ourselves.” September 1930. Jen, darling, you have no hope of being a menace to your profession! 🙂 Gretchen.
LOL!!! that is divine! Love you, Gretch. x
Hi Jen, I too have a rainy day great to be inside writing away and reading. Love your work, liked reading your blog. Everything in the garden here looks so lush and green, spring might come back next week!