creative writing
Hello, dear reader! Today is Shortlist Day! So, what’s the big deal about a shortlist? Lordy lord! A shortlist groups together the best. It acknowledges the most accomplished in a huge collection of entries. It’s how we make literary awards (such as the Scribbles Creative Writing Awards), manageable — both for the judges and…
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So dear reader, you might remember I wrote about my Depth Year here and here. (Just wanna know about the new e-course? Scroll to the bottom, sunshine!) To recap, mine has been a Low Buy Depth Year. What does that mean? I committed to going deep with what was important to me and letting…
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Dear reader, If you’re in The Scribbles Academy you might be familiar with my confession. If not… Have I ever told you about the time I wrote a romance story? OMG. I still groan with embarrassment. It was the mid 1980s and the Australian Women’s Weekly in conjunction with Mills and Boon, was running a…
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Hey sugar! Missed Q and Q Friday last week? Doh! We talked about loads of stuff from hand-lettering in picture books (divine and tricky!), to the submission quirks of some publishers, to how long is a middle grade novel? No. Really. How long??? Plus, I had me a little rant. I want as many kidlit…
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Twenty-one Reasons Not to be Visible (These are only some of the ones I’ve used but, hey, we don’t got all day.) I’m too old I’m too fat I’m not cool, hip or trendy I’m not creative enough I’m not successful enough I’m not wealthy enough I’m not clever enough I’m not articulate, qualified, educated…
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Years ago when I was nursing, we used to attach long cardboard labels to the patients’ bedheads. The labels alerted the staff to any ‘peculiarities’; anything the doctors thought the staff should be aware of such as Nil By Mouth, Allergies, Diabetic. I remember one patient well. On admission she tore off her label and…
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In the world of girl and duck, I get this often: Jen, I feel like I’ve known you for years. I always feel like you’re talking to me, personally. This doesn’t happen by accident. When I decided to take girl and duck online, I knew I had a lot to learn. Especially about marketing. I…
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Since our first video in August 2016, Q and Q Friday has had almost 21,000 views. That’s a lot in a niche industry. A lot in a small country like Australia—with crap SEO. Hear me GOOGLE? Get your bloody SEO sorted! Help the little guys get seen! We’ve produced 107 videos (so far) and covered…
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Ever since I started coaching aspiring and established authors and illustrators over at girlandduck.com, I’ve been saying the same thing: This is a personal development bootcamp, honey! Remember when Goldie Hawn joined the US army in Private Benjamin? She thought it would be a lark. Maybe they’d do a little stretching, some ‘jogging’ (remember jogging?),…
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Confession. I should be working on my book. But. The house is quiet. It’s raining (softly). And I don’t want to write a book, I want to write a BLOG POST. And have a cuppa with you! But first. Keeping it real. Sometimes, I look at other writer’s websites. I’m especially interested in the websites…
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