A manuscript assessment competition for picture book writers ...

I've started this post several times and abandoned all the different iterations. None feel right for the current zeitgeist and if you folk are feeling anything like I am, being creative right now is a bit of a struggle. I should be revising something I finished a while back but I can't bring myself to open the document, and although I have been puttering along with a new picture book idea (which feels exciting), it is super slow progress. Usually by now I would have had it done and through several revisions. These are strange times.

It's hard to feel creative when we are all in a kind of limbo. My creative space is full of other people, their noises and interactions. There are worries, and I can't help but wonder how the world in general, and the publishing landscape in particular, might look when lockdown rules are finally relaxed. We can't know until we get there. Limbo.

So, anyways, I thought, like those 'pick a path' books we used to love, I'd ask you, dear reader, what sorts of things you might like me to talk about. Should I discuss...

1) How to develop a distinct picture book voice?
2) The good language techniques you should use (and the bad ones you shouldn't use) in picture books?
3) Survival techniques for the zombie apocalypse a.k.a. keeping your chin up while you still have one
4) or a topic of your choosing ...

And also I am running a competition. I will provide one free picture book manuscript assessment (usually $125) to the person who correctly guesses which is my favourite Harry Potter movie. Two entries only per person. All guesses in the comments here, on facebook or twitter will be accepted. This competition closes at 5pm on Easter Monday. All correct guesses will go into the hat and the winner will be picked by a random family member currently in lockdown with me. If no one guesses correctly, I will ask a new question. If no one enters I will cry myself to sleep after eating all the easter eggs :-)

This uninvited enquirer thinks excruciation should be a word...

I am a bit stuck in limbo again at the moment. I have been circling for days round the theme/thesis for a new blog post but have been finding it difficult to land. I guess I'm at the running out of fuel stage so here I am about to write about nothing in particular, because it's either come down on purpose, or crash and burn.

So ... those limbo times. A new book is out there (yay!! go Time Machine & Other Stories) trying to worm its way into the hearts of new readers and find its place in the world. There is little to say at this point about how it will fare (if wishes were bestsellers, writers would thrive). It is a special kind of torture. Also, I am some months away from the build up for my two new picture books so there is nothing much I can do yet to help them along. This is a touch frustrating, but that's just how it is.

I have not been idle. I have been chipping away at a trio of new picture book ideas. The first is close (if not all the way) to completion, and the other two are coming along. I am quietly shocked at the progress I am making (who am I, and what have I done with the usual lazy-arse feet dragger?). I am also revisiting an old middle grade novel (over 29k words long already) with a view to wrangling it in to shape sufficient for submission. This is proving a much harder task. Sigh. I've been looking at some of the material I have already written for this project and think, actually, that's pretty good, which then intimidates me with the idea that I won't be able to match it now.

And I am dabbling in some 100 rejections activity, putting my name forward for things and making some official submissions to things like residencies. Putting my name forward for things uninvited is unpleasantly awkward. Do other people do this? Or am I the only embarrassing, pushy woman in town. Deep down I want to be invited without having to be all up in people's grilles, to get involved organically because of all my stunning works of genius (lol), not because I've begged them to think of me. It is anathema to my semi-reclusive, totally organic soul. But with the gap I had between published books I came to realise that I was going to have to do something to avoid total invisibility in the booky-sphere. Of course, all my efforts may still come to nowt. Which would be a jolly poor reward for the excruciation of willfully marketing and promoting myself. And because I have enquired rather than made a submission, there is no indication of when there might be results. Or if I will be advised at all. I may remain invisible. Time will tell. If anything comes to fruition I will let you know. But even if nothing comes of all my overtures, maybe you, dear reader, might be emboldened to put yourself forward for something that you might have wanted to try out for, but had been too shy to. Because I would feel far less awkward if I knew other people were also enquiring uninvited after opportunities. We can be awkward together! And how thrilling it would be if you succeeded!!