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New Southerner Literary Contest

September 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Only a couple weeks remaining. Please send your best work and help us spread the word!

The deadline to enter the 2010 New Southerner Literary Contest is Oct. 1. Please send your best, previously unpublished poetry, fiction and nonfiction. The contest theme is open. We are especially interested in work that relates to our mission, which is promoting self-sufficiency, environmental stewardship and local economies.

  • Prizes: $200 for winners of Fiction, Nonfiction and the James Baker Memorial Prize in Poetry; publication in the literary edition; invitation to read at a special event;
  • Submit fiction and nonfiction up to 5,000 words;
  • Submit poems up to 100 lines;
  • Contest fee: $10 per entry;
  • Multiple entries are accepted;
  • Simultaneously submitted entries are accepted as long as you notify us promptly if your work is accepted elsewhere; entry fee is not refundable;
  • Postmark deadline: October 1;
  • Winners will be notified by November 20;
  • Finalists and winning entries will be announced in The New Southerner Literary Edition, available online and in print at www.newsoutherner.com in December.
  • Final judges are Sena Jeter Naslund (fiction), Jason Howard (nonfiction) and Jeff Worley (James Baker Hall Memorial Prize in Poetry);
  • Easy online submission process.

To enter, or for more information, go to http://www.newsoutherner.com/contest.

Bobbi Buchanan
NewSoutherner.com
375 Wood Valley Lane
Louisville, KY 40299
502-239-3438

Filed Under: Contests

Writer’s Digest Competitions

September 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Writer’s Digest always lists competitions that help hone the writer’s skills. Here is a list of the ones with deadlines in the next few months.

Popular Fiction Awards

Entry Deadline: November 1, 2010:

Short Story in five categories — Romance, Mystery/Crime Fiction, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller/Suspense, Horror.

The Grand Prize-Winner will receive a trip to the Writer’s Digest Conference in New York City, $2,500 cash, $100 worth of Writer’s Digest Books and the 2011 Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market. Find more information here.

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11th Annual Short Short Story Competition

Entry Deadline: December 1, 2010.

Bold, Brilliant, and Brief — short stories in 1500 words or less.

First Place: $3,000 and a trip to the Writer’s Digest Conference in New York City
Second Place: $1,500
Third Place: $500
Fourth Through Tenth Place: $100
Eleventh Through Twenty-Fifth Place: $50 gift certificate for Writer’s Digest Books

* The names and story titles of the First-through Tenth-Place winners will be printed in the May/June 2011 Writer’s Digest, and winners will receive the 2011 Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market and Agents, Editors, and You: The Insider’s Guide to Getting Your Book Published. Plus, all First through 25th place winners will receive a free copy of the 11th Annual Writer’s Digest Short Short Story Competition Collection.

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6th Annual Poetry Awards Competition

Entry Deadline: December 15, 2010

All styles of poetry accepted.

First Place: $500 and a trip to the Writer’s Digest Conference in New York City
Second Place: $250
Third Place: $100
Fourth Through Tenth Place: $25
Eleventh Through Twenty-Fifth Place: $50 gift certificate for Writer’s Digest Books.

* The names and poem titles of the First through Tenth-Place winners will be printed in the August 2011 Writer’s Digest, and afterwards their names will appear on www.writersdigest.com. All winners will receive the 2011 Poet’s Market.

Filed Under: Contests

KYOWA Writers Group Meeting

September 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

September 25, 2010 @ The Boyd County Library

Filed Under: Newsletter

To Plot or Not To Plot…Is That the Question?

September 14, 2010 By 1 Comment

I really want to be organized when I write. I want to have a neat outline from which I can start typing and, by the time I finish, have a wonderful manuscript ready for submission. Alas, that just doesn’t fit in with my spontaneous personality. I spend a lot of time visiting my WIP world in my brain. I scratch down some scene ideas, which I may or may not use. Then I sit at the computer and let fly whatever will come out of that hodge-podge. It sorta works for me…

Until I get to that sagging middle part. Some scenes are necessary for the story progression but aren’t as much fun as the action or love scenes. I don’t want to bore my readers, so I struggle to make the flow smooth.

I was relieved to read several posts by author Terry Odell that address this subject. In Don’t Ask Me for Blueprints, Terry says, “Plot points come and go.” In another post, Terry quotes Eileen Goudge from The Writer 2007: “Keep in mind that an outline isn’t a blueprint; it’s merely a rough guide. You can change directions at any point. In fact, you most likely will. As you get to know your characters, they’ll develop minds of their own. Plots, too, are organic and will often shift course as they take shape. If you’re not sure about something, sleep on it. If it still makes sense in the morning, it’s probably the way to go.”

Stephen King, in On Writing, addresses this scary subject:

The Basics: Forget plot but remember the importance of “situation”…

I won’t try to convince you that I’ve never plotted any more than I’d try to convince you that I’ve never told a lie, but I do both as infrequently as possible. I distrust plot for two reasons: first, because our lives are largely plotless, even when you add in all our reasonable precautions and careful planning; and second, because I believe plotting and the spontaneity of real creation aren’t compatible.

A strong enough situation renders the whole question of plot moot. The most interesting situations can usually be expressed as a What-if question:

What if vampires invaded a small New England village? (Salem’s Lot).

What if a young mother and her son became trapped in their stalled car by a rabid dog? (Cujo).

These were situations which occurred to me – while showering, while driving, while taking my daily walk – and which I eventually turned into books. In no case were they plotted, not even to the extent of a single note jotted on a single piece of scrap paper.

And the queen of romance writing, Nora Roberts, said in a February 2008 interview with Writers Digest magazine: “I don’t plot. I don’t sit down and plot a book. It sort of unreels as I write.”

Well. With those endorsements of my seat-of-my-pants style and as long as I remember that while success in writing does depend on attention to detail, it doesn’t depend upon it in outline form, perhaps I can feel comfortable knocking out another chapter today…

Filed Under: Outlining & Plotting, The Write Stuff

Cat Shaffer Book Signing

September 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

When: Thursday, September 16 · 6:00pm – 8:00pm

Where: 13th Street Tim Horton’s, Ashland KY

What: Cat will meet readers and offer her new novel, Kentucky Blues, for sale.

You can RSVP this event if you like, or contact Cat on Facebook here.

Filed Under: Book Signings, Member Milestones

Book or Bust!

September 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment
How to…start that book…finish that book…and submit!
Saturday, October 23
9:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Flatwoods Senior Center
(adjacent to city park)
Flatwoods, Kentucky
This lively, interactive program will help writers go from idea to completed manuscript. From how to avoid the “sagging middle” that stops a writer cold to how to find a publisher. Write Now! will help participants develop a system that works for them.
Registration fee of $25 includes
• coffee and doughnuts at 9:30 a.m. & get acquainted session
• lunch
• Post-workshop critique of first five pages
Pre-registration is requested by e-mailing mizcathie@yahoo.com or calling 606/831-5834 – Payment can be made on the day of the workshop.
For a printable Book or Bust! workshop flyer, click here.

Filed Under: Workshops

Jennifer Johnson Book Release

September 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Rescue Me, the new novel by Jennifer Johnson, was released by Turquoise Morning Press on September 13, 2010.

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Information on purchasing the book is available on the publisher’s website.

Filed Under: Book Releases

3 Reasons to Blog Even Before You Are Published

August 11, 2010 By 1 Comment

The debate is wide: Should unpublished writers blog? I say a resounding YES!

Here are 3 reasons writers should blog:

1) Accountability

When you commit to blogging, you give yourself an audience who will expect regular posts. I started out participating in Memes. A meme is a “carnival” where each participant posts their own take on a particular subject and then links to all the other participants. Because I picked a couple that were weekly, I knew I had a deadline twice a week. That kept me writing on a regular basis.

2) Marketing

Even before your first book hits the shelves (or ebook market), you can build a following. While this won’t guarantee book sales, it will be a way to let people outside your immediate group of contacts that you have a book on the way.

3) Practice

A wise, but unknown, writer penned: “A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.” There is no truer advice than this. You can talk all you want about being a writer, but if you are not writing, you are just a talker. A blog gives you a chance to learn to write in small bites. A good blog post is only 300-500 words. If you have more to say on the subject, break it into multiple posts. You will get great practice at editing if you learn to limit your word count.

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Ok, blogging is also a form of narcissism…putting our opinions out for the world to see. But if we didn’t crave readers, we wouldn’t be writers. What would be the point? The words dancing constantly in our heads beg for a platform. When your manuscript is idling…the ideas aren’t coming…blog. On current events. On your favorite pasttime. On writing. On writer’s block. Whatever. Just keep the keyboard clicking because writers write.

Filed Under: Blogging, The Write Stuff