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All the Time in the World - Fun and Games: Wordsearch

 It is not long at all until our new Middle Grade book All the Time in the World  is released! We know you are as excited as we are about this book, so we've created a few activity sheets which we will be sharing right here on the blog throughout this week. Our first activity is a character wordsearch . We've hidden the names of some of the book's key characters in the grid for you to try and find. If you manage that, see if you can locate some of the extra words we've tucked in. If you're not sure what those words might be, we suggest you have a read through the blurb here . Once you've finished, you can decorate the border with your own artwork. We'd love to see your finished wordsearch, so please feel free to share a picture of it with us. You can do this via email , Facebook , or BSky . We can't wait to see them!

NANOWRIMO - The Writer's Desk


Sunday 3rd November 2019 – The Writer’s Desk


Photo by Frans Van Heerden from Pexels


I’m a person who loves my own space.  That being said, I’m anything but a “neat-freak”.  I’ve never managed to find a writing space which will work for all my books.  Sometimes, I’ll sit alone in a quiet room, other times I write with my two sisters and we’ll put out inspirational Spotify playlist on.  And on some occasions, I’ll give up on the laptop altogether and write by hand.

The most important thing I’ve found is that I’m flexible with where I write.  No two books are the same, so why should two writing desks be any different.  Here are a few staples I tend to rely on, though:

  • Always have a pen or pencil to hand – even if the majority of your writing is done on a laptop, you can never underestimate the number of times you’ll need to jot down notes to ideas, from a character’s age, to a major plot twist.
  • Food! Eating and drinking keeps your brain going. I’m not going to lie, chocolate and tea are favourites for me.
  • A music device – you may like silence when your writing, but if you're ever afflicted with writers’ block, stick on a favourite tune and words will flow.
  • Company – it could be human, canine, feline or ursine!  Having someone to share ideas with (even if it’s an inanimate teddy), can help get your plan in order.  A tricky piece of dialogue, or measuring the meter of a poem, it all makes sense when it’s spoken aloud.
  • Never go anywhere without *something* to write on and with.  You could be at the beach, up a mountain, or underground. Inspiration can strike you anytime and anyplace.  Your writer’s desk need not be a physical entity but a space your mind wanders to when inspiration comes knocking – take your desk with you, and you’ll never be caught high and dry!

During NaNoWriMo, remember every day is a writing day, and any space is a writer’s desk.

Virginia Crow
www.crowvus.com


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