My Passion's Pen
Helping to polish what your passion pens.
Submission window open for Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction
Submissions are open from April 1 to May 31, 2019.
Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction
“More than seventy short-story collections have appeared in the Flannery O’Connor Award series, which was established to encourage gifted emerging writers by bringing their work to a national readership. The first prize-winning book was published in 1983; the award has since become an important proving ground for writers and a showcase for the talent and promise that have brought about a resurgence in the short story as a genre.
Winners are selected through an annual competition that attracts as many as three hundred manuscripts. Submissions are open from April 1 to May 31 each year. Winners of the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction include such widely read authors as Ha Jin, Antonya Nelson, Rita Ciresi, and Mary Hood.”
Roxane Gay is the series editor.
Submissions are open from April 1 to May 31, 2019.
https://ugapress.org/series/flannery-oconnor-award-for-short-fiction/
#ownvoices #weneeddiversebooks Contest
Forever Books (Romance imprint of Grand Central) has a very short submission window for its diverse/own voices Romance and Women’s Fiction contest. You must send your complete full-length, adult novel and a synopsis.
Submissions close mid-April.
Find more information about the “All Love, All Voices” contest HERE: https://www.read-forever.com/imprint/grand-central-publishing/forever/page/diverse-romance-open-submissions/
Good luck!
Character development is mostly unseen
I spend a lot of my editing energy helping my clients refine their characters. And in my own writing I can never know too much about my characters. But readers don’t need (or want) everything about the inner and outer lives of our characters presented like a stenographer’s notes. It’s my belief that character is revealed through action on the page, but the motivation for that behavior is all off-screen. And motivation is the pulse of a story. That’s what keeps us turning the page.
We’ve all seen the iceberg analogy, and it’s one of the most universally true writing axioms: 80-90% of the story is behind the scenes and, in my opinion mostly embedded in characterization. Characters, though, are their own icebergs.
Image from Seopresspr.com
Screenwriting guru Scott Myers explains here: “Screenwriting Tip: Character Work as Iceberg.” https://link.medium.com/9ufJeoRdRS
Happy writing!
Why writing is EXACTLY like running, except for the part about words
Most of the folks who follow this silly blog are creative types–novelists, editors, journalists, photographers and other brilliant, beautiful people.
So let’s talk about creativity.
Are the arts a habit? Or does the muse randomly descend upon your noggin, so long as you make the right sacrifices and entreaties?
Though my love for the muse is strong, I’m making the case for habit.
All the way.
Because writing–and other creative work–is a hell of a lot like running. Here’s why.
1) The more you do it, the easier it gets
You can take classes about writing (or running), read books, watch videos and listen to experts.
In the end, though, there’s no substitute to getting off your duff and doing it.
And the more you write, or run, the easier it gets.
The first time you run a mile, or write something Serious, it’s painful.
Sometimes so painful that you question…
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“FLASH SALE: 50% Off ProWritingAid for the next 48 hours!”
I’ve been a causal user of ProWritingAid for quite a while and find the editor helpful. Although no editor (AI or human) is perfect, ProWritingAid’s suggested edits are parsed out by category so writers can focus on one element at a time. And that, in my opinion, makes edits less intimidating. They’ve made some updates to the program, but I haven’t played with most of the new features yet.
Now that school is back in session, why not grab a lifetime license. It’s a good investment even for causal users like myself. The linked article has a coupon code.
“FLASH SALE: 50% Off ProWritingAid for the next 48 hours!” @sandfarnia https://writingcooperative.com/flash-sale-50-off-prowritingaid-for-the-next-48-hours-b5dff403bf00
One man’s love letter to romance authors and readers
Listen: romance novels don’t get enough respect.
Not for the amazing army of authors. Not for the editors and literary agents.
And not for the millions of loyal readers.
That should change. Here’s why:
1) The world needs books more than ever
If you care about ideas and words, you should care about books.
Newspapers and magazines are below books on the food chain of ideas and insights. I say this as a former journalist who bleeds newsprint if you cut me.
Only books give a writer enough space and time to truly dive deep into a topic.
Every library is an arsenal of liberty and each book is a foot soldier in the war against ignorance, apathy and hate.
We need books more than ever, with propaganda, misinformation and tyrants—or wannabe tyrants—one the rise around the world.
Books matter. When it comes to ideas, they are irreplaceable.
Oh, television and movies…
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6 Tips for Finishing Your First Draft | A Well Told Story
Tackling a first draft can be a serious challenge! Here are six tips to help you power through and finish your draft–and maybe even have some fun too!
Source: 6 Tips for Finishing Your First Draft | A Well Told Story
My Passion's Pen 