C is for Contests

Seven Reasons Why Contests will Improve your Writing, Increase your Productivity and help you Find the Motivation you've been Missing.


Pick your poison, writing contests are everywhere. One line pitches to full length novels. With the internet, there's a contest to fit any genre and any taste. Contests can be a great way to boost your writing and broaden your skills, and I've got seven reasons why straight ahead.

But, before we dive in, I'd better give you the warning spiel. If you're entering the world of writing contests, make sure you pick your poison wisely, little grasshopper. Do your research into any contest you may be entering. Look into the sponsors and their credentials. Consider what rights and responsibilities they, and you, will retain when it's all over. It may save you a lot of headaches in the end.

And now, on to:
 
Seven Reason Why You Should Be Entering Writing Contests

Tick Tick Tick - Is That a Deadline I Hear?
Admit it, having a deadline is a great motivator. And having one set in stone  - by someone else - that you can't fudge - is even better. Committing to a contest pushes you to prioritize your writing. And that, my friend, will make you write more. And we all know that more writing tends to improve our writing. Bonus!

GPS for the Writer's Soul
Many writing contests have some theme or quote or idea as a jumping off place. (On the Premises is a good example of this). Sometimes half the battle of writing is finding that spark to get you thinking. Well, here's your spark. Themed contests may also help your imagination flow in new ways, opening you to different perspectives and new writing experiences.


Word Bean Counter
 Micro? Flash? Short? Novel? Each length has its own pacing and flow that makes a story work well. Experimenting with different lengths is a great way to understand your writing. You may be surprised at the insights you discover about your strengths an weaknesses. Need I add that shorter lengths will force you to learn how to tighten your writing?


UnCovered!
Many contests, particularly those hosted on writing websites, have an element of peer review or critiquing. This is a fantastic opportunity! You have the chance to see how a diverse audience views your work. Always consider everything people say, and not just about your own work. Critiquing others is just as useful. As you go through this process of give and take, you'll pick up so many valuable insights.


Finish It, Already
Quite frankly, contests are about the only thing that gets me to 'The End.' I could fiddle forever, changing this word, or that phrase and still never be satisfied. Are you the same? A contest forces you to 1) finish and 2) admit you're finished. That alone, for me, is worth the price of admission


Adrenaline Rush
There's nothing quite like the maniacal surety as you write that your story is the most awesome thing ever to come into existence. The butterflies as you hit send. The pins and needles of waiting. And the roller coaster as the results come in. Win or lose, the ride is addictive.
 
Fabulous Prizes
Okay, of course, the best reward is finishing, the camaraderie of fellow participants and getting those invaluable reviews. But, in  your heart of hearts, don't tell me you haven't secretly dreamed of Fame, Glory, and/or Monetary Gain. Also, ARCs, professional crits and all that other good stuff. Oh, aren't I the materialistic one to actually admit that on paper pixels?


Anyway, just a few reasons. But, if you haven't given contests a try, or if you're only an occasional participant, I'd recommend giving it a few more minutes of your consideration. You might just find something there worth writing about.

~Susan

Melanie's First Annual Name My Book Contest

 

(My dear daughter, the tumblr genius, made these signs for me while I was on vacation. She made a couple more, but these were my favorite. Thanks sweetie!)

Two weeks ago, I mentioned a contest to name my book--since I've never liked any of the names I've come up with myself. The current title, "Earth's Gate" makes it sound sci-fi, and it's not. I'm calling it "The First Annual Name My Book Contest" which is probably in jest. It would be lovely if I wrote a book per year, but I make no guarantees. Perhaps another author will take up the torch in 2013. I guess we'll see.

First, the contest rules.
There are two ways to win. First:
1. You can submit as many titles as you would like, but please be polite.
2.  Submit all entries to thecrousefamily @ yahoo (dot) com
3. The deadline is June 15, 2012
4. The winner will receive a free electronic copy of my book and their name in the acknowledgment section of the book. Woo hoo!
5. Mindy, Laurie, and Jessica will be the judges, though I reserve the right to tell them they are wrong. :^)


There will also be a random drawing for an electronic copy of the book. Simply leave a comment on this page telling me how to get in touch with you. You will get an additional chance to win if you tell me you have: tweeted about it, put a link to this page on facebook or put a link to it on a blog, for a grand total of four chances to win the random drawing. Good luck!


What else could you possibly need to know? Oh yes. It would help if you knew what the book was about. Here's the synopsis:

The book you are about to name is a young adult fantasy set in Andia, where love and magic are a dangerous mix. Together they shatter mirrors, free griffins from their magical chains, create hurricanes—and worse.

That doesn’t stop free-spirited Jenny from falling for a handsome mage-in-training named Arram. Arram can't get Jenny out of his mind, but the last thing he wants is to love a human on Andia’s side of Earth’s Gate. His family is trapped on modern day Earth, and they need him more than Jenny does.

Feeling rejected, Jenny turns to a charming Andian named Jack for solace. But Jack has his own reasons for courting Jenny, including a deep desire to hurt Arram. Then Jenny discovers her own powerful wild magic. If she can’t learn to control it, the Andian she marries will be able to—whether she likes it or not. Now she must choose between Arram’s painful methods of helping her learn to control her magic and Jack’s promises of effortless happiness. She doesn’t realize that she has become a pawn in a game much larger than anything she could have imagined.

Good luck! (And may the odds be ever in your favor. :^)

Write What You Love

And Love What You Write

Completely Unrelated Hunger Games Update: 

I took my older two kids to see it last night. It was fantastic. My kids were not quite so wowed. Perhaps it's because they have not yet become as cynical about books-to-movies as I am, so they had higher expectations. A piece of advice for all you who have yet to see it: Get there early enough to get good seats. We got SO sick sitting in the third row. There are a lot of extreme action close-ups and camera jumps that would have been so much better from farther away. I can't wait to watch it again from the comfort of my own home.

Write What You Love and Love What You Write:

I pulled out one of my old manuscripts this week. I'd been putting it off, but several die-hard fans (including my sister, my daughter and an incredible friend in Texas) wouldn't let me shelf it entirely.

It's a paranormal romance. For some reason, that has always embarrassed me. After all, I'm the one writing blog posts about how much I love romantic subplots, remember? But in this book, there is no mistaking that the romance drives the plot. It comes complete with blush-inducing elements like overpowering magnetic attraction and a love triangle. There's even a chapter where my main character stays in bed for a week after her hero leaves her.

I expected to cringe. I expected to shudder. I expected to X out long swathes of the story as I read it.

But it's good.

Yes, the dialogue needs tightening, and a couple of minor characters could use a facelift. And yeah, the ending has never felt quite right to me yet.

But! I'm smiling as I read it, and for whole pages I forget that I'm supposed to be editing. My villain is hot--and possibly redeemable. My main character is so much more adventurous than I'd remembered. There are shivery, smoldery moments.

It's exactly what Sheena talked about in her post and again when she said "Write the books you want your kids to read. If you think there needs to be more balance on one side or another, then write that kind of book." My story is the kind of book I would like to read. I need to stop worrying about the reaction of some imaginary audience, and simply have fun! In my opinion, the world can't have enough light-hearted love stories, so why should I be embarrassed to write them?

Perhaps I'm the only one who subconsciously believes that the rest of my stories have to be some cookie-cutter  duplicate of my first one. Especially in this day and age, that's a pretty silly thought. My next book could be hard-core science fiction if I wanted, and I could still get it out there. (It would take a lot of effort to write, though I suspect it wouldn't be as difficult as trying to write something contemporary. I don't know why that seems like such an impossible task to me. But I digress...)

So here, with all of you as my witnesses, I am making a pledge. Earth's Gate (Terra's Gate) will be published in 2012! Though it won't be called Earth's Gate OR Terra's Gate. Those are crummy titles for a paranormal romance. They sound way too sci-fi, and I haven't written that one yet. 

It's too bad The Lost Gate is taken. That might have worked. Or Funny Tragic, Crazy Magic. That would have been good too. 

I just had a scary, spontaneous thought:

Announcing the FIRST ANNUAL "NAME MELANIE'S BOOK" contest! Submit your entry by June 15th 2012! The winner will win a free electronic copy of my book and their name in the acknowledgement section. 

I haven't asked them yet, but I think I will ask the three above-mentioned "die-hard fans" if they will be the judges. 

I will post a synopsis next week, for those of you think that might be helpful.

I'm not certain if the submissions should be e-mailed to me or posted publicly. Any thoughts on that?