Encouragement

We all need a little encouragement now and then.
Writing can sometimes be lonely.
We write and write and then sometimes we think about quitting.
You think and think and then you always write again.
It is in your blood.

I entered a local contest put on by our library.
The instructions said to enter your best Appalachian story,  memoir or poem.
They called me this week and said I was one of the winners.
The reception was Saturday and I found out I got first place in the adult division.

What did I get?
Along with a prize package consisting of three books and a gift card, I got the most important thing of all . . . I got encouragement.

The judge wrote at the end of my entry . . .

Lovely story, beautifully told. Keep writing!

I think I will keep writing. How about you?

Posted by Janet F. Smart on Creative Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

Check Out This Contest

If you are a writer, go over to The Bookshelf Muse and check out her contest.

The drawing is on the 29th, so hurry.

The prizes are:
5 - 1st page critiques
2 - 1st chapter critiques

and a special drawing for:
a 3 month mentorship with her!

I don't know about you, but I would love to be one of the lucky winners. My work could always use a little free critique.

Those second set of eyes are helpful in finding things that you or I can miss.

Contests Are Fun

Contests are fun to enter and if you are talented or lucky enough to win, it gives your ego a boost. Here are a few contests that you might want to know about.

I went over to Sherri Tales and she blogged about a fiction contest Highlights is having. But you have to hurry, it ends January 31st.

Erma Bombeck's writing competition is now open. There is a humor and human interest category. It also ends on January 31st. I'm not a very good humor writer, so I don't know if I'm going to be able to come up with a story to submit or not. But I may give it a try.

There is no entry fee for the above contests. But there is prize money offered. If you think you've got a story to enter, go ahead and give it a try.

The WVWriter's Annual Writing Contest is also accepting entries now. There is a fee for this writing contest. This contest is also open to children. There is no fee for children this year.
You have until March 15th to enter this contest.

I think contests are fun. Some may be in a different genre than you are used to, but you may find out that you are good at it.

I've won an honorable mention at the WVWriter's Competition before. It was with one of my picture book manuscripts.

Have any of you ever entered a writing contest before? Any of you win?

By the way, my January column for Two-Lane Livin' has been posted on line and if you go here, you can read it. Go to the right hand column on that page and click on Fun Facts for Kids and it will take you to my other columns from the previous months.

It's Over Until Next Year

Cedar Lakes was the place. . .



for the West Virginia Writer's Conference.




It was fun! I was only able to attend classes on Friday, but next year I'm going to make sure I have nothing else planned for the Conference Weekend and attend classes on both Friday and Saturday.

One of the best parts was that I met some very nice and talented writers.

One of the classes I attended was called "The Business of Writing."
Susan Reinhardt was the instructor of this class.
She is a humor columnist for the Asheville Citizen Times, a radio personality and author of: Not Tonight Honey, Not Til I'm a Size Six, Dishing With the Kitchen Virgin, and Don't Sleep With a Bubba Unless Your Eggs Are in Wheelchairs.
I enjoyed this class very much. One of her suggestions she passed along to the class was to - Build Your Resume. You can go for the gusto and send your writings to the New York Publishers first, but it's best to start out little. Send articles to newspapers and magazines. Create an audience and following for yourself.

When writing an inquiry letter the first and most logical thing is to get the person's name right. Then list your best accomplishment at the beginning of the letter. Describe your work, demonstrate that it has conflict and plot. In your description show that you're a good, creative writer. Include a short bio and don't forget the SASE!

I took a quick photo of her at the end of the class.



There was a writer's wall in the Assembly Hall at the Conference. Writer's attending could post a page or two of prose or poetry. An assigned number was put on your paper and it was posted for attendees of the conference to read and then vote on their favorite. I posted a section of my novel "Lucy of Tupper's Hollow" and ...



Winners were announced at the Banquet on Saturday Night. I didn't win anything in the Writer's Contest, but I am very proud of this. The people voted on it, and a big smile came to my face when they announced my name.

Boyd Carr is a poet, essayist and philosopher. He is also the official WVWriter's Conference Artist In Residence. He sat one over from me at the Banquet on Saturday. Two years ago he did a sketch of me when I was at the conference. After I got my award, the lady next to me pecked on my shoulder and said "Turn around, he wants to sketch you."


He is such a sweet guy and a real character. I secretly hoped he would sketch me this year, and I got my wish.

I was disappointed I didn't win anything in the Writing Contest, but I was not alone. Many others that entered did not win.

So, maybe next year. And in the meantime I'll write and write and write some more.

Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories Contest

The Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories Contest is open again.

I'm having trouble getting to the online form, a page keeps coming up saying the contest is closed.

But if you go here, it will show you the rules of the contest.

You cannot enter if . . .

• You are a professional writer, such as a novelist, magazine, blogger or newspaper writer who writes books or articles for pay.
• You have authored a work of fiction that has been published or is about to be published in exchange for payment.
• You are a volunteer of the First Book Advisory Board or an employee of General Mills, Archway Marketing Services, First Book or any of their respective parents, subsidiaries and affiliated companies, or a member of the immediate family (parent, children, siblings, spouse, regardless of where they live) or same household of such employees (whether related or not).

There is no entry fee, so what have you got to lose?

I entered it once, and I plan to enter again this year.
I'm hoping that next year I won't qualify. :)

Good Luck if you enter! The first place prize is pretty good.

The Form is now showing up. You can go here for the form!

That Time of Year

Yes, it's that time of year again.

Spring is upon us and so is the deadline of the annual WVWriters 2009 Annual Writing Competition.

Anyone can enter, but if you're not a resident of the state of WV, you must join WVWriters.
It only costs $20 per year to join. An application can be found here, if you join, please put my name on the referred by line.

Rules, contest judge bios and contest categories are on this page. Go take a look see. At the bottom of the page are names of past winners.

Last year my picture book won HM in the Emerging Writers category. Yea! Not bad for a beginning writer. My friend from our writing group, Susanna Holstein, won 2nd place in the Appalachian Writing category.

As always, I wait until the last minute to enter my stories. I plan to put mine into both the Children's Category and the Emerging Writers Category.

Now I need to decide which stories to enter. I have 2 MG stories and a number of Picture Books to choose from. I am going to enter more than one.

There is a special deal this year. Cost of entry is $10 per manuscript, but every 3rd entry is free! So everyone should enter at least 3 manuscripts. You'll get two entries for the price of one.

Entry deadline is March 15th. Late entry deadline is March 31st, add $2.00 fee for each late entry manuscript.

Winners are announced at the WVWriters annual conference, June 13th at Cedar Lakes, Ripley, WV. Cedar Lakes is only a few miles down the road from where I live. It is a beautiful place where cedars and lakes abound. An old covered bridge crosses one of the lakes and there is a lodge on the grounds.

I've got to hustle and get mine postmarked by March 15th. Wish me luck!