Contest Announcement: Blurred Lines

Heads up!

I'm judging a short story competition hosted by Dark Futures Magazine.

The there of the challenge is "Blurred Lines":

One of the greatest characters in fiction is that of “the other”, those nearly but not-quite human characters we see so much of ourselves in. The best monsters, robots, and aliens blur the lines between us and them and it’s that push on the edges of our humanity that helps us understand who we are. Give us blurred lines, pushed boundaries, and others that make us ask, where do we end and they begin?

First place gets $15 and publication on the Dark Futures website as well as the next issue of Phase 2 Magazine. No fees. Awesomely handsome judge.

Click HERE for details.

For those of you keeping track, that's two big announcements this week. But I'm not done! I've got another one for you next week so stay tuned!

Sponsor Your Own Writing Challenge through Dark Futures Magazine!

So I think this is pretty cool. Dark Futures is running a pre-order/funding campaign for their First Annual Anthology (which I happen to have a story in) and for $25 you can sponsor a writing contest run through the magazine based on a theme of your choice!

Want more cycloptic time-traveling strippers in your fiction? Done! Fewer cycloptic time-traveling strippers...what the heck is your problem?!?! The point is, you could have some serious fun!

Check out their cool cover art!

As an added bonus you get a pdf copy of the First Annual Anthology (and my story) or a paperback version for $30.

I for one am going to give myself an early Christmas Present and jump on this (so you should probably get you cycloptic time-traveling stripper short-stories polished up).

DO IT!

Best Rejection Ever and Two Contests

Rejection is part of writing.

It certainly isn't my favorite part or something I look forward to, it's just part of the game. It comes in many flavors; everything from super bland form rejection letters to burn-your-face-off-spicy public critiques. Every once in a while though, rejection can be pleasant or even sweet. For me, all it takes is a little personal touch for a "No" to go from hard-to-stomach  to easy to accept or even encouraging. I know that everyone in this industry is super, crazy, can't-find-my-pants busy and it's not realistic to expect personalized rejections on a regular basis. But for those who can pull it off, even the briefest personal touch can make a huge difference to us aspiring writers.

I've told you before about one my bucket-list contests, the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest. If you write science-fiction or fantasy I seriously suggest you check it out. It's SUPER competitive but also super cool. Plus, entering a story into one of their quarterly contests is free!

I entered a short story into the 2nd quarter contest a while back. I didn't expect to win but hey, you don't know until you try, right? I had been a little disappointed about how long it took to get the results but I was pleasantly surprised that when I did get the notice that I hadn't won, it was a personalized email from the Contest Director. The email was brief but polite and obviously written specifically to me (as opposed to a form). She was even good enough to attach a word document of some quality writing tips by author David Farland (the tips were copy and pasted from a post on his website).

It was still a no, still a rejection, but one that was very easy to stomach. A little humanity can go a long way and I sincerely appreciate it when a professional takes the time. 

ALSO:

A heads up about a couple cool writing contests going on write now (ha, I'm punny).

Writers Digest has their monthly short story contest prompt up and it goes something like this:

"A nosy man eavesdrops on his co-workers and immediately regrets it."

You get 100 words to tell a story. It's always a SUPER competitive contest but it's fun and it's free! Entries are due by August 27, 2012.

The other contest you need to check out is WRiTE CLUB. It's like fight club but slightly less bloody and with more metaphors. Check out the like for full details.

MSFV Baby Slushpile First 500

You may remember that last week I was lucky enough to have my query letter randomly drawn (from 125 queries) to be critiqued on Miss Snark's First Victim.

I got a ton of great comments on my query, most of them saying that I need to do some serious cutting and pruning. I thought my query was solid (obviously, or I wouldn't be sending it out to agents) but it turns out it needs some serious work. I'm hopeful that with some revision, I'll start to get more of a response from agents.

Despite its rough reception, my query was chosen by The Authoress as one of her top 5 which means that I have been invited to post the first 500 words of my manuscript!

I've got to be honest, I've been feeling less and less confident about my story lately. Frankly, I'm expecting my first 500 to get torn to shreds.

BUT if it's going to get shredded, I would prefer it get shredded by my blogging family. So please stop by MSFV and tell me what you think!

Thanks!

MSFV Drop the Needle Action Scene

The amazing and wonderful Authoress over at Miss Snark's First Victim is hosting a "Drop the Needle" action scene critique today and yours truly is Entry #2. 

Go check it out!

I am stoked to have gotten in (the 25 open slots filled up in less than 1 minute) but also HORRIFIED to see TWO MISTAKES in the first two sentences.

WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH ME?!?!?!?

I have no defense. I read the entry at least a dozen times before submitting it. I could blame the fact that in order to enter I sneaked out of my Plant Systematics lab and sat in the hallway with my laptop (true story) but that's just not gonna cut it. I got nothing.

For the record

• The first line should not have a comma.
• The second sentence should read, "Most of the mob gave him a wide berth until two men stepped into his path, clearly singling him out for trouble."

Anyway, try to forgive my...whatever is wrong with me...and head over to MSFV to check out the action scenes!

A Little Love on a Tuesday

I want to brag a little.

As you may know, the always-awesome ladies at the Nancy Coffey Literary Agency have a great writing blog, Confessions, where they run the occasional writing competition. I entered the last one, a 100 word flash fiction challenge for a chance to win Claudia Gray's new book "Balthazar".

While I didn't win, I did get an honorable mention with my post earning the title "Best Description" from non-other than Suzie Townsend herself!

Sweet!

Luck 7 Writing Challenge

Kate Larkindale at the wonderful writing blog Fiction and Film posted a great sounding writing challenge that I have to jump on and you should too. Here's what to do:

1. Go to page 77 of your current MS.

2. Go to line 7.

3. Copy down the next 7 lines, sentences, or paragraphs - and post them as they're written. No cheating.

4. Tag 7 authors.

5. Let them know.


Here are my 7 from my fantasy manuscript "Sol of a Gladiator". Please let me know what you think!

           The young woman standing before him certainly appeared to be in better shape than his last spoil.  Sol, on the other hand, was a good deal sorer this time around, a fact that worried him.  He was barely through the Emperor’s birthday week and he had the whole of the Winter Festival to look forward to.  Things seemed to get a little harder every season.  He tried to remind himself that he wasn’t that old but at the same time he couldn't forget how quickly the stadium could age a person.

            The woman was small; short with a petite frame.  She was slim but not the skeletal-skinny the ladies in the luxury boxes worked for and the slaves in the tunnels couldn’t avoid.  She had generous hips and relatively long legs for her short stature.  Long curly chestnut colored hair hung down over her face as she stood with her arms crossed, head down.  Even in the dim light Sol could see the bruises on her thighs and arms.  He could also see the goose bumps.

            He stood up, slowly so as not to startle her.  Taking the blanket from his bed he handed it to her.

            “Here, it’s cold down here.  You’re not exactly bundled up.”

            She took the blanket without lifting her head and quickly wrapped it around her, covering the sheer outfit she had been provided.

            Sitting on the edge of the bed Sol spoke gently, “I’m not going to hurt you.”  He wasn’t sure she could even understand him.  “I won’t even touch you without permission.  My name is Sol.  What’s yours?”

            “You won’t touch me?” She was trembling, “You’ll keep away?” It was obvious she didn’t believe him.

Shout Out Thursday

The end of another week is almost upon us and I feel the need to have another shout-out-day.

The first shout out goes to Cara Bertrand who's been good enough to give me some great feedback on a couple posts. Cara's blog is the place to be for all fashionable writers.

My other shout out for the day goes to Magical Words, a must frequent site for any writer, especially for us fantasy minded folks. 

Speaking of Fantasy, just a reminder that fantasy writers need to check out the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest. This quarterly contest is perfect for new writers and is a great way to get your stories out there.

Hope your week finishes well and happy writing!

Shout Out Friday

To end the work week I'd like to give a couple shouts to two fellow writers/bloggers who have been awesome enough to help me out with my query letter. Check out their blogs and give them some love!

Feaky Snucker is the alias of a Canadian writer, blogger, singer who has great edgy writing blog where she unashamedly uses big words and bad words. She's awesome.

David Powers King is a fantasy author with a popular writing blog that just passed the 600 follower mark. Congratulations David!

I also want to want to make folks aware of a couple writing contest that are great for getting your creative juices flowing:

Writers Digest has a very cool Your Story Competition where you work from a prompt (a picture, a sentence, a list of words) to create part of or all of a story. These prompts come out on an irregular basis but there's one out right now that has a deadline of April 10th so get yours in. Plus it's free!

My other favorite ongoing contest is the Writers Weekly 24-hour Short Story Competition. These are held on a quarterly basis and, as the name suggests, writers are given just 24-hours to come up with a short story based on a prompt. The Spring 2012 contest is coming up April 28th and registration is limited to the first 500 people. It's only $5 and it's a ton of fun.

Have a good weekend!