Writing Contests

So much going on in the writing world...entered NYC Midnight Flash Fiction, Operation Awesome and WOW Women on Writing contests, which is the subject of this blog, and drumroll...my daughter has jumped into the fray by entering her own query/first pages into  #querywars. Proud, proud mom!!!

While you're writing your WIP, you need a few distractions and what better way to do this than to enter a few writing contests? Instead of stressing over your blank computer screen, you need to dive into the great, wide ocean of writing contests. It's perfect writerly (I know that's not a word) training because:
 a.) There's a specific deadline--bye,bye writer's block.
 b.) Each contest has its own set of rules, formats, word counts, subject matter, etc--all great practice for your future querying efforts.
 c.)  You know the specific date and time you'll here something back, so there is no endless need to stalk your inbox every hour waiting for a reply from a recent query.
 d.) You may just be shortlisted or actually WIN something for your writing efforts. And maybe, just maybe someone, somewhere will take notice of your writing, and you'll be on your way.

Either way, it keeps you writing and sometimes, we all need a break from our current project.

I'll let you know the results (good or bad), and while I wait, I hope you'll scour the Internet, especially Twitter for a few contests to join.  

Weathering the Storm.

It's been a long time since I have posted, (shame, shame) but on the eve of the hurricane, I thought I'd do a little housekeeping and that included checking on my long neglected, but not totally forgotten, blog. While I haven't been blogging, I am happy to report that I'm now an intern for a rock star literary agent and it has been a blast!

Anyway for all those writers out there crafting the next apocalyptic or disaster novel, I thought this "Evacuation List" just emailed from our Senator may come in handy as a reference. Trust me, after enduring Katrina, it's amazing the things you realize you need to keep handy and the multitude of things you learn to do without. Some of the things listed are obscure, but here goes:

Cash(ATM machines might not work)


Flashlight Extra batteries

Bottled water - three gallons of water per person

Battery-powered radio (Do those still exist-ha?)

Battery-powered lantern

First aid kit and essential medications-prescription medications and list of medications for each person

Form of Identification Evacuation route maps (Official Louisiana Hurricane Survival Guide)

Canned food and non-electric can opener

Special items for infants, elderly or disabled family members

Ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits and vegetables

High-energy foods – peanut butter, jelly, crackers

Vitamins

Utility knife, shut off wrench, and pliers

Tape

Compass

Paper and pencils

Extra pair of glasses and sunglasses

Plastic sheeting (sounds a bit macabre)

Soap

Personal items

Plastic garbage bag and ties

Pet food

Protective clothing, rainwear

Clothing and bedding: a change of clothes, footwear and a sleeping bag or bedroll and pillow for each household member

Car keys and keys to the place you may be going (friend’s or relative’s home)

Written instructions on how to turn off electricity, gas and water if authorities advise you to do so (Remember, you’ll need a professional to turn them back on.)

Important papers (Take these with you in a portable waterproof container)

Driver’s license or personal identification

Social Security card

Proof of residence (deed or lease)

Insurance policies

Birth and marriage certificates

Stocks, bonds and other negotiable certificates

Wills, deeds, and copies of recent tax returns

Latest, Greatest, Vampy Series!

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Heather Brewer is a series of books about a boy who is half vampire. It features five books: Eight Grade Bites, Ninth Grade Slays, Tenth Grade Bleeds, Eleventh Grade Burns and Twefth Grade Kills. My 13 year-old daughter ate this series up...pun intended. Once she started reading, she had to have all the rest of the books...immediately. I think it took her 2-3 days to polish off the entire series. I haven't gotten around to reading them yet, but now that's she's finished with them, I may get my chance.



Great titles and cool fang smiley faces lure you in!

Blog Under Construction

My blog is under construction, so please pardon the mess. I would like for this blog to be a spot where writers can drop in, help others, and give feedback on the whole writing/publishing world. As I write for children, I intend on featuring some feedback from real-live teenagers (boy & girl) to aid those writing MG and YA. So, if you are a writer of MG or YA and want some feedback from your intended audience, please feel free to ask away.

A PELICAN'S TEARS

Pelicans.... dipped in caramel colored muck, their eyelids the only thing moving, trying to cry, but their tears have turned to oil. The ducks skim the water, flapping their wings till exhaustion sets in, but they cannot rise. So they sink. They sink to the bottom of the Gulf that has now been turned into the world's largest burial ground. And only in hell could one imagine such a scene, of smothered dolphins and sunken sea turtles.

And still the black death spews its toxins....51 days and counting, and we have not one human on this entire planet that can stop this insidious beast. A beast that man has created, but man proclaims he cannot stop. In this region where we reside (below sea level) we have been conditioned to ride out storms. And we have. And we have recovered. But how will we recover from this?

I'm furious... I'm sad...mainly, furious! I sit nightly on the edge of my seat waiting for CNN (Anderson Cooper you are my HERO) to relieve us of this heavy burden, to tell us that the disaster will eventually come to an end. That the hole has been plugged. But, that is not what I hear. I hear that it is 51 days and counting....

There really are no words to describe the enormity, or horrors of this abomination. The best I can say, CATASTROPHIC and APOCALYPTIC, but that does not begin to describe the magnitude, or scope, of this disaster. What sums it up is, 51 days and counting.... What are we counting, the animals that will die, the jobs that will be lost, the generations that will be poisoned, the species that will be annihilated, the land that will be lost....or simply the number of days that we have proved that we do not have the intelligence or ingenuity to save our own planet, our own race....