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All Novels Are Love Stories (But This Post Isn’t)
I think it’s Monday. Is it? I had these great plans to write a clever post about how every novel is essentially a love story in disguise, but those plans got derailed by Real Life. So instead, I’m just going to offer this bit of writing advice (I’ll get to the “love story” post another day): Sometimes you just don’t have anything to say. I don’t mean “sometimes you don’t have anything of value to say.” I mean sometimes you just don’t have anything at all to say. When these times come, it’s not about writer’s block – it’s about being empty. There are lots of reasons for this, most…
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One Friday Thing
It’s been a long week. My brain is scrambled, my heart more than a little broken. But I didn’t want to leave this page blank, so here’s the “One Friday Thing” promised in the title: All novels are love stories. Discuss. I’ll tell you why I think it’s true next week. Thanks for stopping by. Now go tell your significant others “I love you” and have a good weekend.
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More Good Words from Contest Entries
As promised, here are a few more entries and excerpts to illustrate just how talented all of you are. I had a great time hosting this contest and loved reading all of your entries. I am well aware you have a limited time to spend reading blogs and I’m grateful you have taken the time to read this one. Please let me know in comments or via email what I can to to improve the blog (I mean, apart from promising you first place in all subsequent writing contests). Okay, now the good stuff. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *…
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The Winner
If I open this post by saying something like “all of you are winners” will you promise not to throw up? Okay, then I will. Here’s why that statement is absolutely appropriate and not merely a “line” to soothe the pain for all but The Chosen One: you took on a writing task…and completed it. That’s a big deal. Do you know one of the biggest differences between published authors and unpublished authors? The published authors actually completed their books. Okay, there’s a whole lot more that goes into getting published, but I can assure you you’ll never get published if you don’t finish your book. (This is a sentence…
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The Finalists – Part Two
Yesterday I introduced five of the top 10 entries in my writing contest. Today, five more. If yours isn’t here, take heart, you’re still in the top 35. And I will have another contest, too. Lots of them if people keep reading my blog. I already have the prize picked out for the next one. Well, half of the prize, anyway. If you’ve been to the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois, you’ll be familiar with it. Here’s a hint: Mold-a-rama. Google it and be entranced by injection molding technology for the zoo-going masses. And now, on to the rest of the top 10. * * * * * * * *…
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The Finalists – Part One
Before I explain how this works, let me say one more time how impressed I was by the quality of the submissions to the writing contest. They ranged from “needs work, but not a bad start” to “that’s amazing.” Even if you didn’t make the top 10, you can rest assured your entry wasn’t horrible. If that’s not reassuring enough for you, consider this: judging writing is a subjective thing. What I love may be very different from what another editor (or agent, or publisher) loves. Please don’t throw rocks at me if you disagree with my selections. Here’s how I chose. First, I read each entry once through without…
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Brief Sunday Update
A quick thanks to all of you who entered my contest. There were a total of 35 entries, and while that may not seem like a lot, I’m very pleased with the response. After all, this blog is only 4 weeks old and the contest demanded your careful thought and time. So…thank you, truly. I’ll be going through the entries in the next two days and will announce the winner on Wednesday. It’s gonna be tough, because there are some great ones. Meanwhile, I wrote a short story of my own last night – one of those midnight creations. It’s not a 200-word piece involving a wristwatch. Just something inspired…