Resolutions and a Poetry Contest

Thought for the Week: We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. ~  Edith Lovejoy Pierce 

I don’t normally bother with New Year’s resolutions, but my productivity faltered in 2012 because I lost my focus and took a scattered approach to submissions. My 2013 writing resolutions help me focus on what I really want to do and where I’ve had good results in the past. They are:

1. write magazine articles for both print and e-pubs

2. write nonfiction pieces for anthologies

3. schedule weekly time to work on my novel (includes both historical and writing research) and hopefully complete a first draft by year-end

4. dabble in flash fiction or a short story when the muse strikes

5. create a more professional web site

The third one qualifies on only one count – it’s what I want to do and now feel I must do. I started a historical novel several years ago but never finished. I became bogged down in research and felt I needed to work on my craft by writing short work first. 

I’ve kept the book on the back burner so long it’s boiling over and blocking me from other things. By scheduling a fixed amount of time to work on it, I hope to keep it simmering as a side dish for nonfiction. Don’t all cooks experiment now and then?

What are your writing resolutions? If you have resolution block, check the the list Joe Konrath accumulated over the years.

If you’re still procrastinating about the social media January bootcamp I mentioned last week, you have until midnight Dec. 31 to sign up. (The sponsor is on the U.S. West Coast, so presumably that's western standard time.) I’ll be there.

CHA POETRY CONTEST

Theme: Betrayal

Deadline: January 15, 2013
No entry fee

Each poet may submit up to two unpublished poems (no more than 80 lines long each). Cash prizes and publication in the March 2013 issue of CHA for three winning and up to five highly commended poems. 

Pays via PayPal, which handles currency conversions.

Social Media Smarts

I don't know about you, but I'm still learning how writers make the best use of social media. If getting more social media savvy is on your list of 2013 resolutions, check out the January bootcamp offered by Renegade Writer Linda Formichelli and Carol Tice of The Writers Den and Make a Living Writing.

It's a series of 4 one-hour live sessions with emphasis on LinkedIn and Twitter, and includes a critique of your social media profiles. If you can't make the live sessions, recordings and transcripts are available soon after the calls end. I've attended two of their bootcamps and can tell you they pack a lot of information in them so the downloadable recordings come in very handy.

Between now and Dec. 31, the cost is only $97, which also includes a one month membership in the Writers Den, giving you access to their previous webinar recordings and other writer resources. The Den is currently closed to new members except for people who sign up for this class. The nonmember  price goes up to $197 as of January 1, 2013. You can check out the details here.

Literary Magazines that Pay

Writer’s Thought for the Week: Santa’s helpers are subordinate clauses.

LITERARY MAGAZINES

I often read that unknown writers should submit to literary magazines to help further their careers. Agents and editors read them, we’re told. What bothers me is the “no pay” feature of many of these publications.

Want an easy way to find out which ones pay? There’s a handy list of them at The Review Review.

Getting Ideas/Micro Fiction Contest

Thought for the Week: Life is part positive and part negative. Suppose you went to hear a symphony orchestra and all they played were the little, happy, high notes? Would you leave soon? Let me hear the rumble of the bass, the crash of the cymbals, and the minor keys." ~ Jim Rohn

IDEAS

Do you ever run out of ideas? Need a plot twist for your novel or inspiration for new stories to write in 2013? Maybe this list of prompts can help.

 

THE MICRO AWARD
Deadline: December 31, 2012
No entry fee

Prize: $500 US

The Micro Award is presented annually for a work of prose fiction 1000 words or less, written in English, of any genre. Stories considered for the 6th Annual Micro Award must have been published originally in 2012. Qualifying venues are any form of print or electronic publication designed for public display. Self-published stories are eligible.

Digital Imprints/Short Story Contest

Writer's Thought for the Week: Do give books - religious or otherwise - for Christmas. They're never fattening, seldom sinful, and permanently personal. ~ Lenore Hershey

RANDOM HOUSE has three new digital imprints in addition to Loveswept:

        Loveswept  romance and women’s fiction

Alibi     mystery and suspense

Hydra   sci-fi, fantasy and horror 

Flirt     new adult

Although there is no official word count limit, the editors are interested in short submissions (15,000 to 30,000 words) and full-length works (40,000 to 60,000 words.)

ANDERBO SHORT STORY CONTEST

Deadline: December 31, 2012

Award:    $500, trophy, and publication on Anderbo.com

For an unpublished short story 3,500 to 5,000 words

No fee; limit of one submission per author.

Get Paid to Blog

This Thursday, Dec. 6, at 3:00 pm EST the Freelance Writers Den is sponsoring a free online session on getting good-paying freelance blogging work. You can check it out or register by going here, clicking on Events, and scrolling down. I know I'll be listening.Most of these sessions are restricted to Writers Den members but this free call is open to anyone.

The Writers Den is closed to members right now, but should be opening again soon if you like what you hear. I joined several months ago and find the sessions, workshop discounts, stored transcripts, resource materials, and connections with writers in various fields very helpful.

Dashes Demystified/Anthology Call

Writer’s Thought for the Week: One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.  ~ A. A. Milne

Dealing with Dashes 

There’s the em-dash, the hyphen, and parenthetical dashes. Although the dash is more free-wheeling than other punctuation marks, this article in the NY Times aims to time those mad dashes. 

Anthology call: Stepping Up: Stories of Blended Families 

Deadline: January 1, 2013; some decisions being made as stories come in

Pays: $100 plus two copies of the published book

Queries and submissions to samanthawaltz@comcast.net

Looking for first-person essays from people who are or have been part of stepfamilies that are nurturing places, and from those where family members must find ways to rise above the challenges they faced at home. For details see:

http://www.pathsofthought.com/stepping-up-stories/

https://www.facebook.com/notes/stepping-up-stories-of-blended-families/call-for-submissions/340245469397644