Vignette Writing Contest and Blog Blitz

I got this in my inbox from the illustrious Jessica Bell:

Vignette Writing Contest: 1,600 Euros in prizes!

Date: March 30, 2013 05:30PM
Venue: http://www.vineleavesliteraryjournal....
Location: Greece
Description:
Enter a vignette for a chance to win 1,600 Euro in prizes!

Visit the following link to enter: http://www.vineleavesliteraryjournal....

First Prize:
- A scholarship to the Homeric Writers’ Retreat & Workshop on the Greek island of Ithaca: http://www.hwrw.blogspot.gr/
- Publication in Vine Leaves Literary Journal Issue #07
- Publication in The Best of Vine Leaves Literary Journal 2013 anthology (print) 
- A detailed first chapter critique by co-publishing editor Dawn Ius.
- A copy of The Best of Vine Leaves Literary Journal 2012.

Second Prize:
- A detailed first chapter critique by co-publishing editor Dawn Ius.
- Publication in Vine Leaves Literary Journal Issue #07 (and the possibility of being chosen for the anthology).
- A copy of The Best of Vine Leaves Literary Journal 2012.

Third Prize:
- Publication in Vine Leaves Literary Journal Issue #07 (and the possibility of being chosen for the anthology).
- A copy of The Best of Vine Leaves Literary Journal 2012.

Winners announced on or before May 31.

See who else going and get more info. 



Also, THIS:

DL Hammons of Cruising Altitude 2.0 is at the head of a new movement to share some love around the blogosphere. The first blog blitz was a huge success! You can get involved, liven up the writerly blogosphere a bit! 

Add your blog to the blitzing fun here.

New Year's Revisions Blog Party! Rock on!

Happy New Year, everybody! We're officially in the next decade and 2011 is going to rock! I can feel it.

Okay, so revisions aren't traditionally fun, but who says it has to be that way?

This year, if you don't have a critique partner (or group), get a few. Find them here or here or here.

Write, revise and edit on your own, and then trade critiques with someone else who either writes or reads in your genre.

Revising will be a heck of a lot more fun when you have company.

Here are my goals for 2011:


1. Finish my current YA urban fantasy with sci-fi elements.


2. Reread it for cohesiveness and flow. Draw arrows and be open to big picture changes. Look for high emotional stakes, rising conflicts, and character arcs.


3. Make necessary changes. Let sit for a week or two while I critique for my CPs and cleanse my palate of my own work.


4. Reread again slowly for language problems, redundancies, weak word choice or purple prose.


5. Use the five senses test to see if my readers can see, hear, smell, touch, and taste the world in 3D the way I do. If not, add in the sensations.


6. One last line-edit for mechanics, spellings, etc.


7. Submit to beta-readers. Listen to all suggestions. Implement the ones that make sense.


8. Let the work sit for another few weeks. Reread again. Make any glaring changes. If none, start querying.

I figure this process will take me through March. I'm tempted to finish writing and send it off before the market gets swarmed with ideas too similar to mine (it's happened and it was tragic), but I know revision is a vital step. I'd rather risk similar books coming out than submit something less than my best.

The easiest part for me is the mechanical editing. I'm sure I miss things here or there, but mostly I'm pretty good at cleaning up my own writing. The hardest thing will be story structure and emotional stakes. Those are aspects I feel leave room for improvement. I think you'll agree they're pretty important! So it'll be worth the extra work to get my MS in shape before querying. I'll feel done when I can read through it without that nagging doubt that something's not quite right. When perfectionist-me can read over it and feel satisfied, then it will be done*.

*No book is ever done until it's printed, but for the sake of the querying stage, I'll be done.

New to the party?

Add your link and groove to the imaginary beat. Since it's all in your head, it can't be bad, right?

Revision is often touted by published authors, agents, and editors alike as the most important step in getting a book published. Incredible things can happen for us in 2011 if we make revision a priority rather than an afterthought. Enjoy your New Year!!

Christmas Blogfest!!

Yep, I'm a sucker for fun, spirited, holiday-themed blogfests! I found this one (hosted by Melissa and Jen) on Jen Daiker's lovely blog.

The only problem is I'm supposed to be listing my... well, I'll just paste the rules for you:

1.Blog Post to be posted on December 20th (whatever time you desire)

2.Show pictures of your decorations, holiday lights & Christmas tree!

3.Share your favorite treat (Recipe included, chance for others to steal the yumminess!)

4.Share your favorite drink (Recipe included, chance for others to steal the alcohol – or non)

5.Last but not least… visit others!!! Take part in their holiday cheer!
(Linky list)

Guess what! No Christmas tree!! I know, the horror! But I can explain. We live in an apartment without a yard and I have two boys under 4 years old. This means that if I put anything breakable down low, it will be broken. As such, we've been putting off the Christmas tree ceremony. We were going to do it last night, but postponed it again till tonight. Anyway, enough of the craziness that is raising boys in a two-bedroom cubicle of an apartment. I'll show you what we have done for Christmas:

Decorations: 

Gingerbread HOUSE!

Isn't this the most adorable gingerbread house and tree you've ever seen? And hey, I think that tree counts as our Christmas tree, right? Right? For now. I love the look on the 3yo's face. Good thing he has that handy toothbrush!

Favorite Treat (plus recipe):

Chocolaty Goodness is a great gift for the families you carol to on Christmas Eve. 

I'm gonna have to go with Chocolaty Goodness, a recipe my dad made up that is straight up raw cocoa powder, butter, honey, and wheat, with a few spices thrown in for good measure. 

I can't in good conscience post the recipe without linking to his marvelous health blog. Check out Coach G at Garner Healthy Living. And now for the recipe!

Chocolaty Goodness

2 c. cocoa powder

1 c. coconut oil (or ½ c. butter)

1 c. honey

2 c. wheat flour

A pinch of Redman’s salt*

A pinch of cinnamon

A pinch of cayenne or chili powder

*Redman's Real Salt is just a special salt that still includes all the minerals. It can be hard to find, so don't worry about it if you're only going to make this recipe once.

Mix it all together and spread out in a pan or on a plate. Chill in refrigerator. Because of the butter or coconut oil, the mixture will harden, so if you want to cut it into squares, do it while it's still soft but not sticky.

Another note: if you're sensitive to whole wheat, take this in small doses, especially at first. I've been snacking on wheat berries since I was a kid (yay, food storage!) so it doesn't phase me. Chocolaty goodness is my guilty pleasure every Christmas.

Favorite Drink (plus recipe):


There's really no competition for this one: EGGNOG!!

Some people make their own, but we drink it so fast, buying it is really the only option. But here's a recipe from allrecipes.com.

And now I am off to visit others!

Don't forget to sign up for the New Year's Revisions Blog Party! Resolutions never looked so good (to agents).

You're Invited: a New Year's Blog Party

Feel free to snag this button from my sidebar and spread the word!

We've all made New Year's Resolutions, but in 2011, I'm inviting you to make some 

New Year's Revisions!

Whether you did Nanowrimo or not, you've probably got something brilliant in need of a few revisions. This is a great chance to pick the brains of your fellow writers, to find out what revision tactics work for them, and what they're hoping to accomplish in 2011.

Join me, using the linky below. It's a promise to blog on January 1st about your 2011 Revision goals and insights. 

When you post, consider

• What you plan to revise
• The process you'll go through
• How long you expect it to take
• What you hope to accomplish
• What the easiest thing will be
• What the hardest thing will be
• When you'll feel done

Revision is often touted by published authors, agents, and editors alike as the most important step in getting a book published. Incredible things can happen for us in 2011 if we make revision a priority rather than an afterthought.

Everything's more fun together, right? Right! Let's do this!

Oh, if I were a rich man, doobeedobeedobeedobeedobeedobeedobeedo

Fire Opal: my "earth name" at the wilderness therapy program I used to work for.

My awesome CP, Kristal, is waxing poetic on her blog with the "If I were" blog party. Since I happened to read her blog, I consider myself invited to that party. And since you're reading this, consider yourself invited, too! Aren't blog parties so warm and inclusive? *happy sigh* I like them, too.


So here's the deal. Answer the question with the first thing that pops into your head, not the most brilliant thing that results from hours of careful contemplation. First thing. Promise? Okay, here are mine:


- If I were a season, I’d be Summer.

- If I were a month, I’d be July.

- If I were a day of the week, I’d be Sunday.

- If I were a time of day, I’d be 5:30am.

- If I were a planet, I’d be Venus.

- If I were a direction, I’d be West.

- If I were a tree, I’d be a Fig Tree.

- If I were a flower, I’d be a gerbera daisy.

- If I were a fruit, I’d be a banana.

- If I were a land animal, I’d be a puppy.

- If I were a sea animal, I’d be a killer whale.

- If I were a bird, I’d be an kildeer.

- If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be a hand-carved dresser.

- If I were a liquid, I’d be lava.

- If I were a stone, I’d be a fire opal.

- If I were a tool, I’d be a hammer.

- If I were a kind of weather, I’d be a hurricane (hee hee, oh, it's still not funny?).

- If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a flute.

- If I were a colour, I’d be yellow.

- If I were a facial expression, I’d be a wink.

- If I were an emotion, I’d be fear.

- If I were a sound, I’d be a dripping faucet.

- If I were an element, I’d be fire.

- If I were a car, I’d be an '85 Chevy Caprice Classic.

- If I were a food, I’d be caviar.

- If I were a place, I’d be Disney Land.

- If I were a flavor, I’d be lemon.

- If I were a scent, I’d be jasmine and lavender.

- If I were an object, I’d be a train.

- If I were a body part, I’d be a nose.

- If I were a song, I’d be "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" 

- If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be stilettos.

- If I were transportation, I’d be a giant goose.

- If I were a fairy tale, I’d be The Night Before Christmas.

- If I were a holiday, I’d be the Fourth of July.

- If I were a novel, I'd be Anne of Green Gables. 

- If I were a movie, I'd be Iron Man. 



Okay, some of those answers were crazy. First thing that came to my mind, mind you. Now let me know if you've done it so I can check out your corner of the blog party. 


Have fun and Happy Sabbath! 


p.s. Don't forget to enter my 100 followers contest for a chance to have your whole Nano novel beta read by yours truly. :)


p.p.s. Michelle wrote about Occupational Hazards on the OA blog today, so if you're a writer, you'll want to commiserate with her over there.