Start the Year off Write 2014 Writing Challenge

I'm proud to say I will be participating in Shannon Abercrombie's Start the Year Off Write 2014 writing challenge, which will run from January 5 through January 26, 2014. The idea is for those of us who have stories to revise, to spend 21 days in January working on, and revising, those stories and ideas. There will be a writing exercise to do each day. Hopefully, by the end of the challenge, some of our stories will be ready to find "new homes" in the publishing world.

Sounds like a great idea, doesn't it? Yes, it is! Even though you will be working by yourself in the comfort of your own home, you can share the experience with all the other writers who will be participating in the challenge.

How much does it cost? Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Nada. It's FREE!!!!

Who can join? Anyone can!!

Why should you join in? Well, in addition to the fact that you will be part of a community of writers who will be doing the same thing as you, and in addition to the hope that you will end up with some marketable manuscripts, ALL participants who follow the rules (and yes, there are some rules to follow) are eligible for PRIZES!!

What are the rules? Glad you asked. Here they are:

• You should Tweet, Facebook, blog or if you’re not tech-savvy, sing from the mountaintops that you are participating in the challenge. There is no registration required. You just have to follow!
• Display the "Start The Year Off Write" badge on your, which I have at the top of this blog.
• You MUST either join the Start the Year Off Write Facebook Group OR sign up to receive updates via email (in sidebar).
  
• You MUST comment on each exercise you complete in order to earn an entry towards the grand prizes. 
  
• If you complete EVERY exercise during the challenge, you will be eligible for the SUPER SECRET GRAND PRIZE.

Sound too good to be true? Trust me, it's true. I participated in Shannon's 100 Days of Summer Writing Challenge. Yep, that's right. She sponsored a writing challenge that lasted for 100 days. Participants were encouraged to follow daily writing prompts. Everyone who completed a prompt was eligible for weekly prizes. It was fun and it kept me writing during the summer.

Now I can hardly wait to Start the Year Off Write!

Are ya ready to join in??? I hope so....

Roger the Reindeer - Contest Entry

I'm posting this Christmas story, ROGER THE REINDEER, as my entry into Susanna Hill's latest Holiday Mishap contest (click the link to read more contest entries). The challenge was to write a story of 350 words or less that had something to do with a holiday mishap, mix-up, miscommunication, mistake or potential story. I think this fits the bill.

Here's my story:

ROGER THE REINDEER – word count 306

 

“Are you ready, Rudolph?” Santa asked.

“Ready, Santa,” Roger said.

Roger pranced proudly beside Santa. The fake, glowing nose Roger had rigged up must be working if Santa didn’t suspect anything

Roger was tired of Rudolph getting all the attention. First, everyone made fun of his nose. Then, everyone thought it was wonderful he could make his nose glow. Roger had been working his way up the ranks to be on Santa’s team, and then Santa chose that upstart Rudolph.

Roger had put Rudolph out of commission by lacing his oats with sleeping potion. Rudolph wouldn’t sleep all night, but by the time he woke up, it would be too late. Roger would be flying high through the skies, pulling Santa’s sleigh.

“I need you to line up with the rest of the reindeer.” Santa led Roger in front of Dasher and Dancer. As he was about to snap the lead in place, he said, “Rudolph, what’s wrong with your nose?”

“I don’t know, Santa. What’s it doing?”

“Your nose is blinking. Shouldn’t it just be glowing ?”

“Um…” Roger stammered. He scrunched up his face “Is that better?”

“No,” Santa said, as with a spit and a sputter, the light in Roger’s nose went out.

“What’s wrong Santa?”

“Your nose. It’s not glowing anymore.” Santa leaned over Roger. “It looks like there’s something on the end of it.” Santa touched it. “What’s going on?” When the fake nose slipped off, Santa asked, “Who are you?”

“I’m...I'm...um... Roger.”

“Where’s Rudolph?”

“He’s asleep in the barn.”

Pointing at some elves, Santa said, “Go get Rudolph.” To Roger he said, “I’ll deal with you later.”

When Santa took off with Rudolph in the lead, Roger hung his head, ashamed at what he’d done. “It sounded like a good idea at the time,” he said to himself.

Little Chicken's Big Christmas

Here I go again, with another book review on my blog page. But, I have a really good reason for putting this one here. I am taking part in a new venture. Katie Davis wrote a book called LITTLE CHICKEN'S BIG CHRISTMAS, as a companion book to her previous title, LITTLE CHICKEN'S BIG DAY. The first book had been published traditionally by S&S. 

But, she wanted to do something different with this second book. She decided to go the "indie" (or independent) route. In order to get the word out about the book, she invited people to become part of her Launch Team. Those who volunteered (like myself) were able download an advanced copy of the book. Then, we were supposed to write a review and post it on the Web. So far I've posted this review on Amazon.com and added a link to it through my Facebook page and then mentioned it on Twitter. Now, I'm adding it to my blog.

Why am I doing all this? you might ask. Well, partly to help Katie out. And, partly to be a part of a new venture. And, I'll admit it, partly to give me a chance to win some cool prizes. 

Anyway, here's my review of her new book. I hope you like it: 

I have had the distinct pleasure to review an advanced copy of Katie Davis’ newest e-book, LITTLE CHICKEN’S BIG CHRISTMAS, which will be released the week of Thanksgiving. This book, like her previous title, LITTLE CHICKEN’S BIG DAY, features Little Chicken.

Little Chicken is a delightful little character who, like many children, can’t wait for Christmas. He keeps asking, “Is it Christmas yet?”

Up until the big day, the reply is, “Not yet, Little Chicken.” But, there are many things to do to keep Little Chicken occupied while he waits like visiting Santa, going shopping, decorating the house, and wrapping presents.

This is a picture book with very few words. The illustrations, which are bright and bold, convey the story perfectly. This is a story both children and parents will enjoy. I laughed out loud at the last line in the book. I’m sure you will, too.



PS: Here's a link to the book trailer on YouTube.
PSS: Here's a link to the companion book, LITTLE CHICKEN'S BIG CHRISTMAS activity book, filled with 100 pages of stories and fun. Get your copy today!

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban

I recently finished reading this book. I had heard about Malala, but I wanted to read more about her. I'm glad I did. This is truly an inspiring story, one I think everyone should read.

This is not the spot in my blog where I usually post book reviews. But, Malala's story was so compelling, I wanted to share the review in the "Blog" section of my website. When this post gets buried under newer posts, you will still be able to read the full review by clicking on the "Book Reviews" icon at the top of this page. 

This book is about Malala Yousafzai, as the title says, she is “the girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban.” The story was written by Malala with the help of Christina Lamb. This is Malala’s biography, a brief one to be sure, but one that is unprecedented in terms of all that she has seen and experienced in her young life.

You’ve probably heard of Malala. She’s a Muslim girl who was born in the Swat Valley in Pakistan. Being born into a Muslim family generally means that a female life is not highly valued. But, Malala’s father does not think like other Muslims. Her father is a teacher, and he has always instilled in her a belief that everyone is entitled to an education, including girls.

When the Taliban took control of her valley, Malala was furious. The Taliban insisted that any school that taught girls should be shut down. Since her father ran the school she attended, she continued going to school and became very vocal, speaking out against the Taliban, even when her life was threatened.


On October 9, 2012, Malala was shot in the head, at point-blank range, by a member of the Taliban. She was fifteen years old at the time. Three bullets were fired at her, but only one hit her. The other two struck two of her friends. They were not seriously wounded, but Malala nearly lost her life. The would caused her blindness in her left eye, and the left side of her face is not quite fully functional. But, she is alive and she is still speaking out against the Taliban and anyone who says girls should not be educated.

Since the accident, she has left Pakistan and has traveled around the world, sharing her story, making a stop at the United Nations in New York. In part, she said:

"So here I stand... one girl among many. I speak – not for myself, but for all girls and boys. I raise up my voice – not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. Those who have fought for their rights: Their right to live in peace. Their right to be treated with dignity. Their right to equality of opportunity. Their right to be educated."

She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013, the youngest person ever to have that honor. She did not receive the prize, but she has gone on to inspire others. She started the Malala Fund, a non-profit agency. Its mission is to provide education to every girl around the world. “Education empowers girls to raise their voices, to unlock their potential, and to demand change. The Malala Fund’s solutions are grounded in inspired innovation: they are girl-centric approaches to education that support the Fund’s goal of creating a world where every girl reaches her true potential.”

Malala believes, “One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education First.”

New Literary Vocabulary Words

In the past few months I have had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of a number of great writers, found excellent websites full of writing resources, and been exposed to a whole new language in terms of literary lingo. I was already familiar with words and terms like fiction, nonfiction, literary agents, manuscripts, submission guidelines, synopsis and query letters. But now I have acquired a new vocabulary of terms I had never heard of before. Here they are:


New Words/Terms

Blog Hop - I don't know who came up with this term but it's a good one. The idea is to get new people to
visit your blog. It works like this: One person puts an article on their blog answering questions about themselves. The questions might be: Who is your favorite author? What do you write, fiction or nonfiction? Have you even been published? At the end of their blog, they will have a list of three names with links to those blogs. After you've read the host's blog, you "hop" over to the first name on the list and read their blog, then you "hop" on to the next name on the list, and again onto the third one. Each one in turn will have three names at the end of their blogs. Then, you can "hop" to those blogs, as well, as keep on going as long as you like. It's a great way to learn about other people with the same interests (in this case, I'm referring to writers sharing their blogs) as well as a great way to get other people to visit your blog. I've participated in two different types of blog hops (one of which was called a follow fest, but it's the same type of thing, and both were fun. Here are the links to my blogs: Blog Hop and Follow Fest.

 Pitchfest - In this context, a pitch is a very short description of a story you've written. A longer description of a story is called a synopsis, but a very short one is a pitch. You write a short description to pitch your idea to an editor or an agent in an effort to get them interested in reading more. Pitches can very in length. Some I've written were only as long as a tweet (a term used with the program called "Twitter"), which can't be more than 140 characters (including spaces and the "hashtag"), making it very short indeed. Other pitches were up to 35 words, which still isn't very long. These pitches were sent via email, rather than through Twitter. A pitchfest then, is a time frame set aside (a few hours or a day or two) when writes can pitch their ideas to editors/agents in a festive atmosphere (sometimes prizes are given out to participants), hence the term.

PitchMAS - PitchMAS is a type of pitchfest that takes place in both July and December. The first PitchMAS took place in December, the month of Christmas, hence the term PitchMAS. Now it is held in both December and July. Here's a link where you can get more information about this year's December event: PitchMAS 2013.

New Acronyms


MoP stands for Month of Poetry. According to the website, MoP is "a personal challenge to write one poem every day for the month of January." It's not a competition and there are no judges. You can write what you want. The idea is to inspire you to write poetry as well as to learn more about the art of writing poetry. If your interest lies in writing poetry, or if you'd just like to give it a try, you can get more information by clicking on the above link.

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. According to the website, "NaNoWriMo is an annual (November) novel writing project that brings together professional and amateur writers from all over the world. During NaNoWriMo, you write 50,000 words in the 30 days of November. The challenge may be hard, but the logistics are not! Here, let us guide you through ‘em." The event is FREE and you can win prizes for participating (in addition to being motivated to write a novel in 30 days! Find out more about it by clicking on the above link.

Paula Yoo hosts an event called NaPiBoWriWee, NationalPicture Book Writing Week. Participants are challenged to write a complete picture book draft each day of the week. Writers are encouraged to brainstorm ideas, do research, take notes, and even outline the books ahead of time, but the actual writing is to take place during the week. You can find out more about this challenge by visiting her website.

PiBoIdMo stands for Picture Book Idea Month. PiBoIdMo is similar to NaNoWriMo. Both take place in November, both offer prizes for participation, and both are great motivators if you're a writer, but there are some differences between the two. First, the event is for picture books, not for novels. Second, the idea is to come up with 30 different ideas for picture books during the 30 days in November. Also, you don't have to write a complete picture book, you just need to come up with 30 different ideas for pictures books. These can be titles, names of characters, simple plots, etc. Then, when the event is over, you will have a list of 30 picture book ideas to work on. Again, click on the above link to find out more about the event.

ReviMo stands for Revise More. The main idea behind it is for writers to take a week of their time (January 12-18, 2014) and revise manuscripts that they have already written. You can read more about it by clicking on the above link.

Angie Karcher hosts an annual event called RhyPiBoMo which means Rhyming Picture Book Month. In You can find more info at her website.

her own words she explains her Mission Statement: "My goal is to guide those aspiring to write rhyme and poetry through the process of learning the craft and offering resources, short lessons, writing prompts and the wisdom of experienced folks in the business to improve the quality of rhyme and poetry for children. Participants will need to reference a different rhyming picture book for each day of the month and make notes on them throughout the month.
 

SkADaMo stands for Sketch A Day Month. Like both PiBoIdMo and NaNoWriMo, SkADaMo takes place during the month of November. This event is for illustrators. Find out more about it by clicking on the above link.

PiBoIdMo

Well, folks, it looks like I'm now an "Official Participant" in PiBoIdMo. And just what is "PiBoIdMo"? Glad you asked. It stands for Picture Book Idea Month. Clever, eh?

So now I guess you want to know more about it? Yes? Great. Here's the scoop:

* This is a special opportunity set up with children's writers in mind. As creator Tara Lazar says: 'The challenge is to create 30 picture book ideas in 30 days. You don’t have to write a manuscript (but you can if the mood strikes). You don’t need potential best-seller ideas.You might think of a clever title. Or a name for a character. Or just a silly thing like “purple polka-dot pony.” The object is to heighten your picture-book-idea-generating senses. Ideas may build upon other ideas and your list of potential stories will grow stronger as the days pass.'

* Participants will have access to daily blog posts by authors, illustrators, editors and other professionals who specialize in children's literature, that will hopefully serve as inspiration for the creations of a new file of story ideas.

* This is the fifth year for PiBoIdMo. When it was started in 2008 Tara Lazar was the only participant. Then in 2009, she hosted it on her blog. 2012, over 750 writers participated. She is hoping for even more this year.

* The event will take place during the month of November 2013, but registration is open now and will continue through the first week of November. When the event concludes in early December, participants will be asked to "take the PiBoIdMo Pledge," which states you have completed the challenge. Don't worry, no one will check up on you; you will be on the honor system.

* If you register for the challenge, you will be eligible for some neat prizes:

• Feedback from literary agents
• Original sketches by picture book illustrators
• Picture book critiques from published authors
• Signed picture books
• Jewelry
• Other Cool Stuff

You can't win if you don't register. 

* Guest bloggers for the month include an impressive list of kid lit professionals including (but not limited to):
Peter Brown; James Burks; Dianne de Las Casas; Kelly DiPucchio; Julie Hedlund; Carter Higgins; Emma Ledbetter, Assistant Editor, Atheneum; Wendy Martin; Debbie Ridpath Ohi; and Corey Rosen Schwartz

(Click on the names to read their guest posts)

Join me, and lots of other writers, for this sure-to-be fun event. This is my first year of doing it, so if you're a "newbie" too, don't worry about it. We can have fun together!

DON'T DELAY; REGISTER TODAY!

Picture Book University

I have been reading and following along on the first lesson in Pam Calvert's online Picture Book University. For Week Number 1, we were given an assignment to go to our library and pick out at least 20-25 picture books, read them and analyze them in terms of genre. In doing so, I found two very delightful books.

The first is called LOOKING AT LINCOLN by Maria Kalman. A little girl visits the Lincoln Memorial and tells the reader a story about him as she goes along. It's a biography of Lincoln from a child's perspective. It was a fun book to read and it gave me an idea of what to do with a picture book biography I'm working on about Frank Lloyd Wright.

The second book is called JAZZMATAZZ. It was written by Stephanie Calmenson and illustrated by Bruce Degen. The text is written in rhyme, which is done very well (which, as many of you know is hard to do) and is truly a delight. The rhythm and the word play are fun to read and the illustrations just make it so much better.

There’s a note in the back of the book where the author explains the idea for the story. She was emailing the illustrator, discussing the cold weather. Bruce mentioned that the field mice were coming into the house to get warm. The previous night one had walked across his foot while he was washing the dishes and then it ran under the piano. Stephanie said, “Train the mouse to run on the piano – and play jazz!” That’s where the idea for the book came from. The story starts with a mouse coming into the house, walking across the peoples’ feet and then jumping onto the piano where it starts playing jazz.

Isn’t that a great way to be inspired to write a picture book?!?

BTW, if you want to learn how to write children’s picture books, Pam Calvert’s online Picture Book University is FREE! Yes, I said FREE! The course is eight weeks long and covers several aspects of writing such as the different genres for picture books, storyboarding, and character driven picture books. Check out her website! You’ll be glad you did!