🔥🏕️ On the second week of January the party gathered round the fire before embarking on their own solo quest. At art quest we turn the creative journey into a playful adventure. The focus of 2026 is writing picture-books, and building a system to get regular work as an illustrator.
It’s Part Education, Part Peer Group and ALL fun and games! The creative journey is a hard one, you don’t have to do it alone.
Adam: Jen, that was great! And you made a bear! Kait (Jen’s agent) will be so pleased!
Jen: And you wrote down the text to go with your thumbnails! Lydia (Adam’s agent) will also be pleased!
It looks like the rest of the party got their work done too. Some spent time writing stories, others on their “business-y stuff” like agent/editor spreadsheets, and quite a few polished up their author bios. Thanks for leading us in that, by the way. The “business-y stuff” is important, but it’s easy to put aside because it isn’t the “fun” part for most of us (ok, me. I’m most of us.) but setting aside this time to solo quest together every month really helps!
Adam: You refined your bio today too, right?
Jen: Yes! It went from this:
Jen Gubicza is an author-illustrator. She uses her skills in design, toy making, drawing and writing to tell stories, create charming characters and build ridiculous worlds for them to play in.
To this:
Jen Gubicza creates bold, tactile and immersive worlds filled with charming weirdos. If you’re looking for stories filled with heart, humor and characters that get into trouble, you’re in the right place.
I think it conveys a little more personality and warmth, and I got my “charming weirdos” branding in there.
Adam: That’s great! Now you just have to make more work that fits that bio.
Jen: So easy! ;)
For those who are watching the replay, note it’s in two parts. That was because I accidentally stopped the recording instead of the timer. So, be sure to watch both parts to get the whole thing.
Adam: And there’s more than one way to use the replay, right Jen?
Jen: Yes! You can play both parts through and use the 45 minute timers to get your work done and work alongside us if you need that accountability. OR, you can watch the parts where we give valuable tips and insight. Those are at the beginning of each video and then again at the very end. Just scroll through the 45 minute work time if you only want the chatty bits.
A note about next month!
Next time we meet for our party quest on March 2, we’re going to do a fun exercise where we all get the chance to play as bards! Each of us will read our story aloud to the group in whatever form it’s in. It could be a polished manuscript that you want feedback on, or it could be a rough idea that you’re working through. There’s something about reading your story aloud that brings all of the troublesome spots to the surface. After each person reads their story, we’ll open it up for the group to ask questions. Like, “Why did Bear want to make an egg sandwich?” or “What made you want to tell this particular story?” Questions that dig a little deeper and make us think through our stories a bit and point out areas that might be confusing to your reader.
We can’t wait to see you all March 2! Happy writing and illustrating!
