Picture Book Authors

Do any of you write picture books for children?
Please reply to this post if you do.

A Night of Critiquing

 For a first experience with a critique group it was good. I feel I may have offered more help than I received – but I have now got a whole page of notes to work on the manuscript with.

We are told not to be too precious. I think I will have to work on that because it seems that I have to rework my idea and may loose the very essence I started with. Which builds the plot. I may get around this with a bit of research. It is good to know and take the advice though – I have built a much stronger manuscript about something completely different (focus) since the 1st critique.

It was lovely to see everyone again from the classes and meet a new writer who was an excellent thorough critic.
I wish we had been able to stay for drinks and chats, but my friends are up from the South-East and were staying in a hotel not far from our venue, so I went for a catch up after instead!

(Bit of a mission as all the roads are being worked on in the city and the ones open are only for public transport so I had to go a strange way! I know the city better by foot so in the end I parked up and walked back to them!)

I got in just after midnight with the writer inside me begging for time – but I was exhausted. It was hard to get myself out of the door at teatime as it was, especially as a good friend had come over to drink with Mr G in the garden and funnily enough drinking was the one thing I associated with leaving work!

Message to tired writers;
Push yourself through it! It is ALWAYS worth it!

Drafted First Children’s Book Manuscript

I have the 3rd class tomorrow in the City – Writing for Children, as part of a homework assignment we had to work on our manuscripts. Focus: on language.
I had no manuscript, my children’s writing stretches as far as a page of ideas and some notes from training I had at Writing School 16 years ago!
I chose the 2nd homework – using our notes from the last meeting to write something. My something (scenes were suggested) became the skeleton of a story and then a full manuscript. Now in it’s 3rd Draft.
Watch this space I may have discovered a new for me genre.
(I’ve already chosen my pen name!)