The contest has begun!

The Clarity of Night short fiction contest has officially begun. The photo used for inspiration this time is titled "Ascension."

The deadline is January 14th, the word count limit is 250, and  the prizes are:

1st Place: $50 Amazon gift certificate, 8 x 10 print of the "Ascension" photograph (inscribed by Jason Evans)

2nd Place: $20 Amazon gift certificate

3rd Place: $15 Amazon gift certificate

4th Place: $10 Amazon gift certificate

5th Place: $5 Amazon gift certificate

Readers' Choice Award 1st Place: $15 Amazon Gift certificate, 8 x 10 print of the "Ascension" photograph (inscribed by Jason Evans)

Readers' Choice Award 2nd Place: $10 Amazon Gift Certificate

Readers' Choice Award 3rd Place: $5 Amazon Gift Certificate

For the rest of the rules and notes on how Evans judges the entries, check out the main post, and be sure to keep checking back to read and comment over the submissions. Let me know if you send anything in, and good luck all!

I see that smile.

Rejection quotes

There's a writing forum that I visit often and would recommend to anyone looking for a helpful community of writers and agents who are there to sympathize, support and motivate each other to do the best job they can. 

Absolute Write has every genre involved, sub-forums set aside for critiques and beta readers, and even a section for people wanting to investigate particular agents or agencies and make sure they aren't getting scammed (important! If you don't know why, be sure to ask me). 

Anyways, while browsing through there recently, I came across this thread that deals with quotes about rejections and thought it'd be fun to share. 

Here are two of my favorites for starters:

"I discovered that rejections are not altogether a bad thing. They teach a writer to rely on his own judgment and to say in his heart of hearts, "To hell with you."

-Saul Bellow 

"Practice, practice, practice until you eventually get numb on rejections." 

- Brian Klemmer

Got any quotes that have stuck in your head for a while? Ones that encourage or prod you in the rear to keep going even when you've passed the hundredth rejection mark? Share it here (or on the forum and then link to it here so we can all check it out). Happy Monday, folks.

I see that smile.

Sleep in late?

If you made a New Year's resolution to sleep in late more often (as is my constant wish) then here are some articles that should make you happy. 

This one gives you three reasons why it's smart to sleep in late, including the fact that making yourself get up to an alarm clock that sounds like a fire truck combined with a wailing baby is more stressful on your body.

And for the writers and other artists among us, you might be surprised (or not) to know that studies have revealed night owls to be more creative across the board.

Now, don't you feel better about staying up until 3am and sleeping in until noon? I sure do.

I see that smile.

Another example of how not to query

In a long line of embarrassing query attempts that make the rest of us writers want to hunt down and beat the guilty party (bit harsh, maybe? meh), here is the latest tale of horror and woe that befalls the slush pile.

Working alongside Jenny Rappaport, this agent had a disturbing run-in with someone who A. Never took off their capslock, and B. Tried for emotional blackmail with the death of a close relative. That's just wrong, folks.

Read the whole exchange in this post:

http://jmeadows.livejournal.com/643066.html

Here's a taste for those not yet brave enough to click the link:

Him:
I HAVE NOVELS BETTER THAN HARRY POTTER, I LOST EVERYTHING I OWNED BECAUSE OF A LIE. MY WRITING IS GREAT IF YOU HAVE IMAGINATION. GUIDELINES ARE FOR THE UNCREATIVE. MY NOVELS ARE SCI-FI-FANTASY-COPING. IF YOU ARE A REAL AGENT YOU CAN GET ME THE BOOK DEAL I WANT.

So...not that I think any of the intelligent, emotionally stable and certifiably not-insane folks that I usually interact with are going to pull this kind of stunt on an agent, but I just felt it was necessary to post this as a warning. Kind of like sticking the conquered enemy's head on a pike outside your castle gate, yaknow? Never done that? Come on. You know you have.

Oh, and Happy New Year, everyone!

I see that smile.

Prepare for the contest

Jason Evans, the moderator of the Clarity of Night blog, is gearing up for another short fiction contest. For those of you who have taken part in these before, you should be getting excited. For those of you who haven't entered this contest before, here's your chance.

The way it works is this: Evans posts a picture he's taken as a source of inspiration. All stories must draw somehow from the provided image. Usually the wordcount it 250 or less, and tons of people contribute, ranging all genres and styles.

Evans is planning to start the contest to kick off the new year, so keep checking back for official rules and entry guidelines. He has also provided the contest image a bit early so we can get our muses running on the hamster wheel.

Here it is:

I see that smile.

The Gift

Since I'm in denial that the holidays are over (and since we still have New Years Eve coming up), let me point you to the website of Jenn Reese, who has posted one of her short stories based on the Zodiac. This one is about the queen of the snow leopards and her son.

The Gift

Enjoy.

And how was your Christmas? Do tell.

I see that smile.

A great writing blog I recently discovered

With the tagline of "Kill your darlings," The Blood Red Pencil has post after post of excellent writing, revising and editing advice. Staffed by a growing number of magazine and book editors from all across the industry (their goal is to eventually have 50 editors contributing) BRP covers topics from dialogue to common writing mistakes to avoiding cliches to understanding proofreader's marks. 

Just browsing through past posts will have you stumbling across something that can be applied to your current work, I guarantee it. And these people know what they're talking about. So if you are an editor, consider joining and helping enlighten writers everywhere. And if you're a writer, pay close attention to this blog. We should never stop learning.

In holiday news, the blog will go on hiatus till after I get back from Christmas, which probably won't be until next week. Have a Merry Christmas everyone! See you in the new year.

I see that smile.