Those of you who follow my blog will know that this year has been a little patchy for me so I thought a good way of giving myself a kick up my creative backside was by taking part in NaNoWriMo - yes, I really thought that writing 50,000 words in one month would be a good idea... Emma from NaNoEssex asked me to write a post for her blog and I thought it would be nice to share with you.  So here we go - this is my NaNo blog, I hope you enjoy it!

Halloween is almost here! I listened to the 'Halloween Adventure' the other night and it made me smile (Pat is such a good narrator!) so I thought I'd remind you that it is actually FREE to download both as an audio book and as an e-book. My favourite character is Frank, but it's a secret as to who or what he really is! 

Here are some of Rob's Halloween drawings to get you in the spirit (sorry, had to get in one small joke...). Have a fangtastic Halloween everyone!

I can't believe it's almost two months since I last posted on the Burly & Grum blog. Go on, ask me what I've been doing for the last few weeks! I'll give you a clue - I'm shaking builder's dust from my hair as I type. Yes, I moved from the house I'd lived in for 24 years to somewhere new.  Well, when I say new, it was built in the 1930s but somehow managed to get stuck in a 1970's time warp. Not that I'm against the 70s at all, it's just that after 40 years the wallpaper is looking a bit tired! I've been up and down ladders, knocked down walls, drilled holes, painted everything that doesn't move, and poor old Burly and Grum have taken a back seat. 
     Not that they've minded at all, they've been relaxing on the beach and have been sending me postcards to prove it.This one is from Grum...

I have to admit that over the last few weeks I've been wondering where I go next with Burly & Grum so taking the time to look back over the past year has been a good exercise; it's given me a few ideas and also a bit more faith in myself.  

I've been very impressed this week by the hard work of two creative ladies, namely Vicci Button and Karina Siba who, together, have together set up the Imagine In-Print project to link into the Chelmsford Ideas Festival 2013. 

What they wanted to do was to tap into children's creativity, to encourage them to write stories, poems, to draw, to explore their natural talents, and I have to say they have they done a brilliant job! For four days this week Vicci and Karina have been based in Chelmsford library working with children aged between 8-14 years old. Overseeing the whole project has been 'The Poet' aka MC Unicorn who wants to publish the children's writing in 'The Unicorn Horn', a monthly journal. As you can see from the picture below, Vicci wasn't always in the library but spent a great deal of time cutting out large sheets of coloured perspex into different shapes - birds, words, umbrellas, the sun, etc. The children wrote their poems and stories onto the perspex shapes. These are being hung (as I type) as a huge 3D mobile in High Chelmer Shopping Centre.  I don't have any pictures at the moment will will let you have some as soon as possible!                                             

So, how am I involved? Well, I will be at High Chelmer Shopping Centre, Chelmsford next Sunday, 10 November at 2pm to talk about writing and to encourage people young and old to give it a go. Some children will read out their own work and there will be lots going on - it's going to be a lively event! I hope that many budding writers will be encouraged to publish their own work - even the very young ones. As and when I have more information about the event I will let you know!

Last week I was gearing up for action after my summer break and it already it's all go!

I've had a wonderful couple of weeks holiday because yes, I dared to 'go bear'! Don't worry, it's not as shocking as it sounds, I simply took a leaf from Burlington bear's book, turned off the mobile phone, stepped back from social networking and now am feeling incredibly relaxed.