June is halfway over already. I feel like it just started. Monday marks the Summer Solstice, after which the days will begin to get shorter again. I tend to celebrate the Winter Solstice because it means the days are going to get longer, leading us out of the dreaded cold of winter. But I'm trying not to think too much about the Summer Solstice. I love summer, and I don't want to see it go away too soon. A lot of my days have been going by too fast lately.
As I mentioned previously, I'd meant to put up a large post in several parts this week, but it kind of got away from me. The topic was outlining, based on knowledge gleaned from Jon Franklin's Writing For Story, which I got at the library's book sale a month or so ago. I found as I was writing the post that, instead of just jumping in, I'd better read the whole chapter before trying to utilise advice based on its content. I'm still going to put that article up here, but it may take a bit longer than I originally anticipated.
The deadline for Toasted Cheese's Midsummer Tale contest is fast approaching and I have nothing to submit for it yet. I'll have to go back to my notes and see if I can put something together this weekend.
Qarrtsiluni's journal is seeking submissions for this month. Their deadline is June 30th. I hope to submit to them as well.
Showing posts with label contests. Show all posts
Showing posts with label contests. Show all posts
Friday, June 18, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
New Month, Lots of Opportunities
I'm having a hard time coming up with a topic for today. I have a lot of tasks to accomplish this week and the fact my mail/calendar suite keeps crashing is not helping me stay focused, as I instinctively try to chase down the errors and look a bug reports and figure it out, even though I know I ought to just leave it for now and get to my work.
Sigh. I am easily distracted, and computer issues are itches I can't resist scratching.
It's June already. When did that happen? It was just the beginning of May last time I looked... well, June is full of writing things for me. There are two contests/calls for content with June deadlines, a Writers' Cafe held by the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, and that same group's monthly meeting. I don't know that I'll participate in all those things, but it certainly makes my calendar seem full. And it's irritating when my calendar program crashes as I'm trying to add things to it.
I also have an edited article to submit this week. I need to take another look at it before I send it off. And speaking of editing, my manuscript is still awaiting my attention. Eeegh. What a mountain that is.
For those interested, Toasted Cheese has its Midsummer Tale contest, whose deadline is, handily enough, June 21st. Winners are published in the literary magazine and receive Amazon gift certificates for $20, $15, and $10.
The Qarrtsiluni online literary magazine is calling for submissions about "The Crowd". Pieces can be up to 1000 words or up to five poems, or photos, videos, or digitzed artwork. This isn't a contest, but a general request for material. Deadline for this one is June 30.
Oh yeah, and Associated Content. It's been far too long since I submitted to them. Time to get on the ball and get writing! Has anyone seen my energy? Did Ioan it out to one of you guys? No? Rats.
Sigh. I am easily distracted, and computer issues are itches I can't resist scratching.
It's June already. When did that happen? It was just the beginning of May last time I looked... well, June is full of writing things for me. There are two contests/calls for content with June deadlines, a Writers' Cafe held by the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, and that same group's monthly meeting. I don't know that I'll participate in all those things, but it certainly makes my calendar seem full. And it's irritating when my calendar program crashes as I'm trying to add things to it.
I also have an edited article to submit this week. I need to take another look at it before I send it off. And speaking of editing, my manuscript is still awaiting my attention. Eeegh. What a mountain that is.
For those interested, Toasted Cheese has its Midsummer Tale contest, whose deadline is, handily enough, June 21st. Winners are published in the literary magazine and receive Amazon gift certificates for $20, $15, and $10.
The Qarrtsiluni online literary magazine is calling for submissions about "The Crowd". Pieces can be up to 1000 words or up to five poems, or photos, videos, or digitzed artwork. This isn't a contest, but a general request for material. Deadline for this one is June 30.
Oh yeah, and Associated Content. It's been far too long since I submitted to them. Time to get on the ball and get writing! Has anyone seen my energy? Did Ioan it out to one of you guys? No? Rats.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Contests and Lifeclutter
I'm considering trying my hand at Toasted Cheese's A Midsummer Tale contest. The style is creative non-fiction and the topic is 'make believe'. There are more details on Toasted Cheese's contest page. The deadline is June 21st.
Speaking of deadlines, July is rapidly approaching and I have a lot of work to do on my manuscript before it's ready to be sent in for a proof copy. An entire chapter has to be rewritten. There are several transition scenes that need to be written. When I originally wrote this story in 2005, I hadn't quite gotten into the swing of National Novel Writing Month. I was struggling with the pace and I left out a lot. I was just trying to get to the end of the story. In the process I skipped over things which now need to get put back in to fill out the story.
The bad news is that as I try to get something going for Toasted Cheese's contest and finish my manuscript, I also have other creative projects clamouring for my attention. The worse news is that other things in life are taking precedence, mostly in the form of forcing me to sit here and try again and again to phone this person or that person, only to get voice mail or no answer. It's disruptive, as I ususally start around 9 am, the same time I really get going on my morning work and writing. It's very difficult to get writing flow going when you have to stop every fifteen minutes to call Mrs What's-Her-Name. Again. The sooner I get that done, the sooner I can dedicate my morning time to writing projects. I have a lot of them, and many have gone by the wayside. Poetry, short stories, articles. They've all been mostly shunted aside as other, more pressing things barge in and camp out on the sofa of my mind. Once I feed these freeloaders and send them on their way, I'll be able to invite my Muse back in for a cup of tea and some cookies. Gotta have the cookies.
I hope your creative projects are uncluttered and your Muse is unfettered this week!
Speaking of deadlines, July is rapidly approaching and I have a lot of work to do on my manuscript before it's ready to be sent in for a proof copy. An entire chapter has to be rewritten. There are several transition scenes that need to be written. When I originally wrote this story in 2005, I hadn't quite gotten into the swing of National Novel Writing Month. I was struggling with the pace and I left out a lot. I was just trying to get to the end of the story. In the process I skipped over things which now need to get put back in to fill out the story.
The bad news is that as I try to get something going for Toasted Cheese's contest and finish my manuscript, I also have other creative projects clamouring for my attention. The worse news is that other things in life are taking precedence, mostly in the form of forcing me to sit here and try again and again to phone this person or that person, only to get voice mail or no answer. It's disruptive, as I ususally start around 9 am, the same time I really get going on my morning work and writing. It's very difficult to get writing flow going when you have to stop every fifteen minutes to call Mrs What's-Her-Name. Again. The sooner I get that done, the sooner I can dedicate my morning time to writing projects. I have a lot of them, and many have gone by the wayside. Poetry, short stories, articles. They've all been mostly shunted aside as other, more pressing things barge in and camp out on the sofa of my mind. Once I feed these freeloaders and send them on their way, I'll be able to invite my Muse back in for a cup of tea and some cookies. Gotta have the cookies.
I hope your creative projects are uncluttered and your Muse is unfettered this week!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Markets, Contests, and Things
I spent some time looking at markets yesterday. Markets and contests and grants, oh my. There sure are a lot of them out there. It's going to take some research and a lot of question-asking to find the ones that are best for me.
Practicing Writing, a blog linked in my blog list over there, has a newsletter that includes marketing and other professional advice. I've signed up for a few other groups and newsletters in the past few days, including qarrtsiluni, an online literary magazine.
I also looked at Duotrope's Digest, which features a great search engine of markets. All its information is based on reports made by writers who've submitted work to these markets, and the search engine makes it easy to find what you're looking for. It doesn't reduce the sheer volume of markets, but it should help you find the slice of the market pie that's suitable for what you're writing.
So before I get too caught up in poking around for another new site/magazine/contest to mention, I'm gonna stop here. I think the caffeine in my tea has not quite made it to my brain yet, and the result is ...
What was I writing? Yeah, see what I mean? Back tomorrow with ... something. Be creative!
Practicing Writing, a blog linked in my blog list over there, has a newsletter that includes marketing and other professional advice. I've signed up for a few other groups and newsletters in the past few days, including qarrtsiluni, an online literary magazine.
I also looked at Duotrope's Digest, which features a great search engine of markets. All its information is based on reports made by writers who've submitted work to these markets, and the search engine makes it easy to find what you're looking for. It doesn't reduce the sheer volume of markets, but it should help you find the slice of the market pie that's suitable for what you're writing.
So before I get too caught up in poking around for another new site/magazine/contest to mention, I'm gonna stop here. I think the caffeine in my tea has not quite made it to my brain yet, and the result is ...
What was I writing? Yeah, see what I mean? Back tomorrow with ... something. Be creative!
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