Me:
Using these ten words, write three different scenarios.
Words: contemplate, single, wonderment, fight, caution, slip, industry, finalize, juncture, easy
Scenarios:
1. Meeting a love interest
2. In a fight with a parent
3. When your character finds herself in a WWE moment.
Cheryl Van Eck:
I love when the ALA awards come out. For me, it’s more exciting than the Oscars and Golden Globes and Emmys all combined.
I think it’s because an ALA award is the ultimate dream for me. In my most secret dreams I see my book with one of those beautiful stickers on the cover.
Whenever I start to think like this, I try to talk myself down by reviewing my statistical chances of even being published, much less receiving any kind of award. The odds are not in my favor.
But then I remember the most encouraging words I’ve ever heard: Stop with the statistics. Getting published isn’t a lottery. The editors don’t pick stories out of the slush at random. If you’re good, you will get published.
And if I can get published, I have a shot at winning an award.
But before any of that can happen, I have to sit down and write. None of this year’s winners won by wishing for it. They wrote and rewrote and rewrote again. I can do that too.
And so can you.
Brenda Bensch
I entered a short contest a while back. The contestants had to give the sponsors permission to print their piece, and there was no compensation except for the award announced for the one and only first place author. The winner and the two runners-up were announced at the end of January.
I wasn’t the winner. Or even one of the runners-up.
So, does that mean I failed? Of course not!
I “won” because I promised myself I would enter, and I did.
I worked hard on what had to be 500 words or less.
I cut and cut and cut, because, you know me: verbose.
I got it in early on the day of the deadline — good job!
I was proud of what I submitted.
I overcame my initial reaction to giving them permission to print.
They put the winning pieces up on their blog. The first and second places sounded almost like travelogues. Good ones. Which made sense, as it was partially offered through a travel company — and I saw, going in, they probably wanted some snippets to put in their travel brochures. Both the first two offered that.
The second runner-up piece was my personal favorite: great description, and a little bit of a zing at the end.
But this is what else I “won”: I didn’t relinquish my ownership of the piece. And I think it may make a grand opening for a full novel. Maybe for WIFYR this year?
Promise yourself to reach some goal (long OR short term — writing or whatever else). Tell us when you “win”!
Throwing Up Words 