This week at girl and duck, we opened The Scribbles Academy. It’s been super exciting and lots of people have jumped on board.
Thank you!!!! I know you’re going to love your Scribbly experience!
But how did this all begin?
What’s the real story behind girl and duck?
I wrote about this a couple of years back. But, in those early days, I was more interested in talking about the community. How passionate it was and how it seemed to sprout from nowhere.
More time has passed and now I want to go deeper. I want you, dear reader, to know exactly how I began my online business.
How and why I started it. And who was there to help me.
Ding Ding Ding! Multiple Income Streams!
Back in 2011, it occurred to me that I might NEVER make a liveable income from writing. No matter how many books…
One of my favourite contemporary children’s writers is Jen Storer. Wise, warm and wonderful, Jen imparts her wealth of knowledge on Girl and Duck online with Scribbles courses, Questions and Quacks videos, Facebook live sessions and a yearly Masterclass.
Here is a letter from Jen Storer
Scribbles Masterclass 2019
Dear Children’s Literature Creators,
KidLit Vic is fast approaching and so is the annual Scribbles Masterclass!
Scribbles Masterclass
4.1 Hayden Raysmith Room
Ross House
247 Flinders Lane (That’s right. Across the street from Brunetti!) Melbourne Australia
Friday 24 May 2019
2pm – 5pm
Note: This year we have a SECRET special guest joining us!
If you would like to join me (and my special guest), please CLICK HERE to book your place by Wednesday, 15 May 2019 10pm (AEST). There are still a few spots left.
IMPORTANT: You do not have to be attending KidLit Vic Melbourne in order to join the Masterclass. We are not affiliated, we just time it that way because lots of Scribblers are in town!
Stay scribbly!
Jen Storer Children’s Author and Chief Inspirationalist at Girl and Duck.com*
*Girl and Duck is a flourishing online community of emerging and established children’s literature creators (authors, illustrators, publishers, editors, designers and enthusiasts) with members from all over Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Europe.
Someone recently asked, what’s the big deal about a shortlist?
What’s the big deal?
A shortlist groups together the best!
It acknowledges the most accomplished of a long and always healthy collection of entries.
It’s also how we make competitions like the Scribbles Creative Writing Awards, manageable — both for the judges and for the competitors.
Imagine if we only gave out two prizes, two ‘nods’, per category. Judges would tear out their hair. Creators would feel jaded and demoralised. And rightly so!
A shortlist gives more people a chance to shine. It spreads the love a little further.
Yes, indeedy. To be on a shortlist is a great honour. And a great thrill.
Not only can it boost us emotionally, psychologically and creatively, it can also boost our career.
Publishers and agents care about shortlists. Funding bodies care about…
Did you know that? In the spirit of The Duck Pond, here’s a heads up from author Jen Storer of Girl & Duck.
Exciting times! Jen’s SCRIBBLES CREATIVE GROUP (writing and illustration) is having a FLASH SALE on 30th September 2018. Join now!
Yay! That’s 30% off their signature online course – 30% off on the 30th. Ink it in, okay?
Then the SCRIBBLES CREATIVE WRITING AWARDS open on 1st October 2018.
Have you got an awesome picture book manuscript or a junior fiction story you think might fly in the competition? Middle grade? An exciting storyboard? There are FOUR categories and I bet you’ve got something creative worth entering!
To read all about the inaugural SCRIBBLES CREATIVE AWARDS plus prizes and how you can win a manuscript assessment and one-hour Skype coaching call with published author Jen Storer of Girl & Duck CLICK HERE.
Jen, creator of Truly Tan series and other children’s books, says “I hope this post flips your lid. But only in a good way!”
#keepscribbling #stayinspired
To keep up with all the news (and all the pretty pictures) follow Jen on Instagram.
Visit the website Girl & Duck and ask to join Jen, Zoe, Dulcie, Geek Duck (and me, and the other Duckies from around the world, talking children’s literature and stuff) in The Duck Pond, the most unique and supportive online kidlit group around – then join SCRIBBLES for even more fun! I will definitely be entering the Awards competition!
All the links you’ll ever need to write and illustrate brilliant kids books:
After taking one year off to immerse myself in the art of writing, my time is up.
New Year’s resolution: I will no longer be posting regularly on Facebook because it is the most all-consuming part of my day and ultimately hollow. Eight years ago I dropped out, as evidenced by the snapshot of this unanswered Poke. Author Jen Storer of Girl & Duck, The Duck Pond and Scribbles creative groups can be pleased she was the one who drew me back into social media to nurture my writing dream – you light up my life – thank you.
My unFacebooking is not due in any way to the calibre and overall enjoyment of the wonderful ‘friends’ I made, I will miss virtually following your daily journeys in writing and illustration. Conversely, we all are living two lives, the one on Facebook and the real one.
My departure is due to the links, Likes, highlights, comments, feeds, Facebook layout and general entanglements with people whom I do not know on a real level. It may feel personal but it is not; and I need to grasp reality, my home, my family and my proper writing.
A visit from a little red hen named Took got me back out into our overgrown garden and I realised the computer screen is destroying my creativity rather than enhancing it.
“Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instil in us” – Hal Borland, American author.
Happy New Year 2018, everyone, and much fulfillment!
♥Gretchen Bernet-Ward
Postscript : According to the 2017 Deloitte Media Consumer Survey, daily social media usage in Australia is down from 61 percent to 59 percent in 2017, and 20 percent of Australian social media users say they are no longer enjoying their time on the platforms. Likewise, almost one third (31 percent) of survey respondents said they have temporarily or permanently deactivated one or more of their social media accounts in the past year. Fake news is killing the media star with 58 percent of respondents agreeing that they have changed the way they access online content given the prevalence of fake news. So, folks, I am not alone!
Jen Storer is an established Australian children’s author brimming with imagination and inspiration. This post encapsulates her talent, personality and future plans. Jump into The Duck Pond and start paddling with emerging writers and illustrators! ♥Gretchen Bernet-Ward
I like writing blog posts at Christmas. No one expects much. Do they?
Writing: I finally finished Truly Tan: Baffled! (book seven) and delivered it to my publisher on time (working right up until December 15, the day it was due). Phew! Next year I’ll be waaaay more organised. Ahem.
Finalising: We signed off on Danny Best: Me First! Check out the full cover. Talk about The Best! 😉 Due out in Feb 2018.
Receiving: I received a Christmas card from a Tan reader. The letter attached said, I know you like wolves. So here’s a card with a fox on it. God, I love my readers.
Planning and: pondering 2018. I have some lovely plans for girl and duck, including a Scribbles Boot Camp in Feb, and an IRL (in real life) Scribbles master class in Melbourne in May. We will also be launching the Girl and Duck…
Jen, creator of Truly Tan series and other children’s books, says “I hope this post flips your lid. But only in a good way!”
Writing: I finally finished Truly Tan: Baffled! (book seven) and delivered it to my publisher on time (working right up until December 15, the day it was due). Phew! Next year I’ll be waaaay more organised. Ahem.
Receiving: I received a Christmas card from a Tan reader. The letter attached said, I know you like wolves. So here’s a card with a fox on it. God, I love my readers.
Thoughts Become Words 
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