The 2015 Bold New Worlds Contest

You may remember that last year I started my own spec fic short story contest for high school students in the United States. It's that time of year again! Some schools are getting started and some still have a few weeks to go before the students get back to the daily grind, but it's time to spread the word for the 2015 year.

2015 Theme:

Creative Creatures! Whether it's machine, plant, alien, paranormal, horrific or some human hybrid, creative new creatures can elevate a story. Share your most creative creature with us this year. Make us believe anything is possible!

Here's an example. For my first novel I created a human dragon hybrid (I did it 14 years ago and now they're everywhere!). They were meant to be a bridge between the two races, a way to bring them closer. Of course things never turn out as planned, do they?

By Phillip Bartles 2013

The form to submit your story is now live HERE. You can also email your submission to boldnewworlds@gmail.com

One of our lovely judges, Elizabeth Arroyo, made this great graphic for us. 

Feel free to share it on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, your blog, wherever you hang out with your high school friends. 

Finally, if you'd like to read all the rules and see what the prizes are, you can view them HERE.

You can also Meet the Judges and learn about our Logo Contest that's running at the same time this year.  

October IWSG--What if no one comes?

Purpose of IWSG: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. I'm currently #87.

I've come to grips with the fact I will never be the level of writer I want to be. There's just not enough time in my day to devote to what I need to learn. But there are young writers out there already better than me. All they need is a nudge here and there to follow their dreams.

My High School Short Story Contest is live. No one has entered yet. What if no one does? The only goal I have with this contest is to provide a positive experience to encourage young writers. I've sent email after email to high school principals all over the United States. Not a single one has replied.

What if my email went straight to junk mail?
What if they never passed it on to the English department?
What if...

Arg! I need to stop.
It was just an idea.
There's still time for people to enter. The deadline isn't until November 10th. If I put it out there, surely someone will come? Right?

I have 4 amazing judges, and I hope to have something for them to judge. A wonderful friend donated $100 to add to my $100 in the prize pot, so now we have cash prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place! There is so much potential in this contest idea, but I'm afraid my inadequacies with marketing it will cause it to fall flat on it's face.

Do you live near a high school? 

Would you be willing to take a flyer to the front office for me? All you have to do is print the Info Sheet and ask the office staff to give it to one of the English teachers and ask them to share it with their students. It's free for the students to enter and they can win cash prizes and feedback on their writing.

Would you be willing to share this on your blog? I have a website set up with all the information and a form the students can use to enter the contest. It's called Bold New Worlds. You can read all the contest details, meet the judges and see the theme and prizes for this year.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

***I also need to apologize here. Since I'm subbing for a kindergarten class the next three days, it will take me a while to visit your blogs. Don't give up on me though! I will get there eventually. Please leave me a link if you comment so I can get there quicker. Thanks!***

The Subjective Nature of Judging

First off, today is the last day you can submit your inspirational stories to Unicorn Bell for the Real Imprints Contest.

Yesterday I received my batch of high school short stories to judge for the "Imagination Begins With You" contest. Brian mentioned that we have somewhere around 850 entries this year! 850 divided by 5 judges equals 170 for me to read through and pick my top 4-5 stories. I should mention that I've not been given any kind of rubric for how to judge. The only rule is to pick my  4-5 favorites.

Do you feel the weight of that task???

170 stories that are someone's brain child.

I try and look at how well the student used words with correct grammar and punctuation to share their story. Is there a beginning, middle, end? Is there something about the story that makes me think, or at least remember them after reading fifty more? Do they say something about humanity without being preachy?

Sometimes it's easy to mark one off my list. Other times I read one and it goes straight to my short list of favorites, but most of the time I end up with a long  "maybe" list.

Why?

Because reading is subjective. Some stories just don't do it for me even though I try and look at the quality of writing as well as the flow and emotion of the piece. But I'm always thinking of some teen somewhere wondering what the judges think of their story. You see, when this is all over two winners will be chosen. No one else will hear a thing about how their stories stacked up to the others.

848 people will lose. I wish I could tell them not to let losing bother them. The judging is so subjective I'm not even sure winning means much, other than you get money. Lots of really great stories will get passed by.
Reminds me how subjective the query process is and that as writers we can't let rejection stop us either.

Here are my day 1 judging stats.

My file contains:

• 293 pages
• 115,036 words

After 1 hour of reading:

• I read 13 stories
• 28 pages
• 1 poem
• 9 about death/suicide/murder/war
• 1 no
• 2 marked "consider"
• 4 marked "maybe"
• 6 were good but didn't stand out in any way to receive a marking
• Only 1 was science fiction :( You might not be surprised to note that it received two checks toward the "maybe". I can't help it! That's the way I gravitate.

If you were judging a short story contest, what elements would you be looking for?

High School Writing Contest with Opportunity for Feedback!

*sigh* Life is angry making at the moment. My family is on day 5 of no hot water and the home warranty company could care less. In order NOT to grumble too much about that, I'm going to focus on something I enjoy doing and see a way to improve on my participation in it.

Here's one more plug for the...

Imagination Begins With You High School Short Story Contest

I've been a judge for this national short story writing conference for a couple of years and wanted to make sure you knew about this opportunity. The deadline is March 15th to enter, the winner gets $250 and their high school library gets $50! You can get the submission guidelines at http://coolimagination.com/

Although I can't help with the writing, after the judging is over I will gladly look at your story with you or your high schooler and tell them where I would have placed it in the hundreds of stories I get to read. We can then talk through email or Skype about their writing and discuss ways to make it stronger.

Why would I do this?

Because last year I read tons of really great stories. These teen authors are way ahead of the game and I felt bad that if they didn't win they would have no idea how good their story might have been. You see, I think I'm the only judge drawn to the science fiction side of things, and sadly I get out voted. That doesn't mean the story wasn't amazing, it's just for a different audience.

ME!

So I want to give encouragement to those who just wonder, "Why didn't I win? Was my story that bad?"

STELLAR CLOUD is Live on Amazon

Well, I had a bit of an "accident" earlier this week. :)

I was in the process of setting up my Amazon account and testing the formatting for my short story anthology. It was late, I was drowsy from allergy medicine, and... Well, I hit "Save and Publish" instead of "Save as Draft".

Anyway, it is now up for grabs! I'd love for the reviews to come flowing in (hint hint). I also wanted to share the dedication page with you.

Thanks for always being here for me.

#Wipfire For My Anthology

Thanks for the great blogging ideas on Monday. Just feeling your support has helped me come up with stuff to write about.

Currently I'm focusing on just two of my writing projects--Fade Into Me (YA Fantasy) and Stellar Cloud (Science Fiction Anthology). They are the two that are closest to being finished so it's a logical place to start, don't you think?

Monday I went through two crit partners comments for Stellar Cloud and made a few tweaks. Then I went in search of an editor and cover artist. My goal is to get this done and self published by the end of October. I got so excited that I tweeted a wipfire for each of the six stories. Today I'm going to share them with you.

But first, did you know that 5/6 of these ideas started as something I wrote for a blogfest? True! They've changed a bit over the last year or so, but I just love the ideas in them. A couple of them have me asking, "How did they get here?" or "What might happen next?" But I have to say NO! Finish what I've got going and if I'm still thinking about these questions in a year or so I can pull them back out.

Here is a short blurb for each story followed by the #wipfire tweet.

The Rising
A soldier struggles with the emptiness left behind by amnesia until he learns he is more than the world would have him remember.

#wipfire If the vocalizers on the fallen ship still worked, the whole earth would feel his pain.

The Sleeper
The earth is desolate, and only one lonely ship of humans remains. They circle the solar system sending down one chosen man every twenty-five years to see if the planet is habitable.

#wipfire The other students chatted as they left, but Gareth stayed and wished for a real sky over his head.

Continuation
A woman must choose between a slow death from old age or submitting herself to the Continuation process. But does she really have a choice?

#wipfire Who knew that years of protesting Continuation would earn us the right to have our electrical impulses added to the human super computer?

Earth 4
A husband and wife may keep secrets, but this one could put an end to all of their dreams or be the beginning they longed for.

#wipfire Thank you for traveling on the Galaxy Gala. It’s been our pleasure to serve you and we hope you enjoy your new life.

Exiled
An assassin plays god, dealing out justice and mercy as he sees fit. When he’s put through the same process will he think it was merciful?

#wipfire I’d killed many men. Too many perhaps. This would be one of my saves.

Instinct
A mother’s instinct may be the only thing that can keep her alive on a deadly new planet.

#wipfire His last words echoed in my head, “Avalon is perfectly safe, I promise."

Thoughts?

A Peek Inside and Writing Goals

Some of you have been asking for pictures of the inside of the house. With the kids home every day right now isn't the best time for picture taking if you know what I mean. However, there are three rooms that I have good pictures for.

The living room.

Another view so you can see the high ceilings and the great windows. I love the light!

 The dining room, which we always turn into the music room.

More great windows on the other side of the music room.

K's massive plaster mask that she worked 3 months on in 3-D Art.

I don't know why the camera went spotty, but we rearranged the bonus room today. Now it's more open and inviting for games and movies. In fact this morning I went in there and did the Dance Central game on the kinect for my workout. I love when the kids stay up late in the summer because I get to enjoy quiet mornings...until about noon!

Writing Goals:

With my computer dead, and the only option hubby's tiny Toshiba, I might be doing a lot of notebooking it this month. But that will be better than nothing. 

1. Re-write Earth 4 from a different POV. It's going to change the entire focus of the story and I'm excited about that. Then I will almost be finished with my short story anthology.

2. I MUST decide if Search For Knowledge is necessary. It's feeling very blah and I'm wondering if the approach is completely wrong. Maybe I need one chapter to get me from The Magic Wakes to what was planned as the third book in the series. Or, OR!!! Idea explosion in my brain! Keep the good and important parts of SFN and make it a series of short stories to get us to Battle for Sendek...wanders off to see if that would work... 

Oh! And my weight loss is now at 15 pounds. :D

Story Problem #2: No Sense of Movement

#2 on Angela Ackerman's Top 5 Issues I Find When Critiquing is:

No Sense Of Movement
In dialogue heavy scenes, another problem I see are characters who interact verbally, but not physically. To add a sense of movement, characters should interact with the setting and each other as they speak. Dialogue should flow quickly, but not so fast that there are no indicators of what’s happening to or around the speakers. Setting is not just a backdrop for the dialogue to take place in--it should be chosen deliberately and have specific meaning to the characters. Balancing dialogue with body language and movement will show emotion, reveal character and remind the reader that the conversation is not taking place in a vacuum.

The best suggestion I can make for this problem is to watch a conversation. Go to a restaurant or some other public place, sit down, and watch people interact with each other. You don't sit without moving.

• People wave their hands for emphasis
• They look around at what's going on around them
• Girl's push their hair out of their face when the wind blows it
• Or play with it in some other way
• People reach out to touch hands, arms, shoulders, face
• They get bumped by other people
• They cough, sneeze, drum their fingers on the table, jiggle their leg in nervousness, etc.

The list goes on and on. Watch people and make a list of the common motions as well as search for some unique movements. Using them in your own writing will add another layer of depth to immerse your readers in your world. Remember, we don't want them to remember they're reading at all.

Here's an example from a short story I started for a blogfest. I stripped all the motion out of the section and then put it back so you can see the difference.

TENSATI: “Come on, what’s wrong?”
LYRIA: “I can’t go to Earth 4.”
TENSATI: “Sure you can. We’re all paid up.”
LYRIA: “No, there’s something I haven’t told you.”
“Well, tell me now and then we can go look at our new home.”
LYRIA: “Ten, they’ll never let me set foot on that planet. I should have told you years ago, but I was so afraid.”
TENSATI: “Afraid of what? This isn’t another of your theatrics is it?”
LYRIA: “Do you remember when I was sick?”
TENSATI: “Sick? You haven’t been sick since,”  “your lung implants?”

And now with the movement and tags.

“Come on, what’s wrong?” He rubbed her shoulder.
“I can’t go to Earth 4.” She sucked in a ragged breath.
“Sure you can. We’re all paid up.”
“No, there’s something I haven’t told you.” She sat up and pulled her knees into her chest. Even at ninety-four she moved like a dancer.
“Well, tell me now and then we can go look at our new home.”
“Ten, they’ll never let me set foot on that planet. I should have told you years ago, but I was so afraid.” Lyria stared at the hand he had placed on her arm.
“Afraid of what? This isn’t another of your theatrics is it?”
She scowled at him, “Do you remember when I was sick?”
“Sick? You haven’t been sick since,” he ran through the years in his head, surprised at how far back he had to go, “your lung implants?”

I don't know if that's a good example or not, but it's still a rough draft. Anyway, the idea is that movement tags help ground the reader and provide subtle clues so they can imagine the scene. Otherwise it's like looking at a still picture with sound playing. Okay, but lacking on several layers.

Once again, you want to find the right balance. If you add an action, dialogue tag, or sensory description to every piece of conversation you will bog down the reader and lose your flow.

What's your favorite motion to add to your dialogue?

When I first started writing, mine was smiling. Yeah, we've all been there. Now it's a reaching to touch arm or shoulder or the one I used here--pulling knees into the chest. I've got to start branching out more. ;)

A Picture Paints 1000 Words--Earth Four

Today is the beginning of the blogfest hosted by Unicorn Bell.

Head over there for full rules and Mr. Linky. I'm participating for fun and to get a new short story started. That was the plan anyway, but I didn't get very far. I have a beginning. My biggest problem was the pictures to choose from were all wonderful--that's why I chose them. ;)

Here's the one I settled on over the weekend. Unfortunately, I wasn't home for much of the weekend. Here's my 200 word start. I don't even know if it's enough to hook someone and make it worth finishing the story. What do you think?

Earth Four

The ship’s engines pitched lower as it dropped out of hyper drive and powered up the reverse thrusters. It wouldn’t be long now.

Overhead lights dimmed then brightened signaling a ship wide message. Thousands of people paused mid-stride and waited.

“Attention all passengers, we are now approaching our destination. Earth Four will be within view of the front and starboard viewing halls in thirty minutes time. We will dock and begin debarkation in two hours. Remember, you may carry your own luggage or recycle it. If you choose to recycle, you will be issued a class two mandate for your stay on Earth Four. Gold members will receive an automatic upgrade.

“Thank you for traveling on the Galaxy Gala. It’s been our pleasure to serve you and we hope you enjoy the rest of your vacation.” The voice fell silent.

Tensati hobbled forward once more on his arthritic legs. He had to find Lyria so they could watch the planet come into view together. They had waited a long time to get passage on a cruise liner destined for a young earth. He wanted to enjoy every minute of it with her.

Two hours. 

Two hours until their dreams became a reality.

Small Blessings for Writers

I woke up this morning in excruciating pain. A fist sized area in my lower back screamed at me every time I moved or breathed. Not good. I probably slept weird or something during the 4 short hours of sleep I managed to get.

Nevertheless (it's a fun word to say out loud), I had to get up and go teach my 5:55 am class. We started Isaiah this week and I knew it wouldn't be fair to make the other teacher wing it since it was my day to teach. And since the other teacher didn't show up, this was a good call.

By 7:15 am I crawled back into bed after taking some ibuprofen and hoped to wake up in a better state. Eh, not so much. I got the kids to school and now I'm sitting here with hubby's mini massager plastered to my back.

It is HEAVEN. I can feel the muscles relaxing as I type. So, today I want to recommend this nifty little device if you get any kind of back pain from sitting in a chair all day writing.

Other than chocolate, what do you see as small blessings for writers?

Now, I'm finishing up my short story The Sleeper so I can submit it as my W1S1 this month. I've actually already submitted one story, so this will give me 2 this month!

Oh, and don't forget to go over to Unicorn Bell and sign up for our blogfest. There are PRIZES! One person will get to choose between a first chapter critique or a $20 Amazon gift card. Head over there for the pictures to choose from and the rules.

Birth of a Novel Feb Week 2

Faerie Wings--I now have a first chapter that I don't hate. It still might not be the best place to start though. Eh, I'll keep building from there and try to finish the story, then I can re-evaluate where to start.
Current word count: 34,498

Eleena of the Stars--I worked more on the first chapter. Visualizing an evacuation has been hard. All that comes to mind are the ones I've seen on TV and I don't want it to be just like all of those. Plus, TV doesn't help with the smells. Good thing I have a great imagination.

Over the weekend I realized something very important. I have a nine year old. That's how old Eleena is at the beginning of the book (but this is NOT a MG or YA for that matter). He also has a great imagination and I bet if we sat down and talked, I could do a better job at capturing that age's voice. *headsmack* sometimes writing really IS that simple.

Would it bother you to read a book that moves through so many years of time? My goal is to have Eleena's voice/vocab/ageness grow with her. Makes it a bit trickier, but could be amazing if I pull it off, right?
Current word count: 950--this is a guess since I can't access my computer.

The Sleeper--Well, I sort of got stuck. But no worries! I sent the draft to my CP with questions and concerns. She's always honest with me and has a great talent for telling me where to cut back and where to expand. That's what I need right now.
Current word count: around 1,500

Birth of a Novel January 9th

I should be hanging my head in shame. There is no progress to report on Faerie Wings or To Win the Game. I did however redecorate my living room. Although, that was only one day out of the week. We bought new couches and painted. Everything else still worked with the new design. Yay!

Most of the week was spent cleaning or enjoying the beautiful weather we had in North Carolina. The week started really cold and then perked up to a balmy mid 60s for several days. There was no way I was staying inside during such lovely weather. I carried my digital recorder with me and made some notes as ideas popped into my head for either novel.

I also played a bit with the Dragon software. One of these days I'll get around to posting about that, but I need to learn more before then. The day I played with it, I actually wrote a scene from Battle for Sendek (book 3 in the series). The other project I worked on was my short story Fallen Angels. It's almost ready to submit. :)

Wow! I guess I actually did get some writing done last week.

I also created a new website for homeschool cooking classes because I got a phone call about it. The lady was supposed to email me the details for the homeschool fair but I haven't heard back from her. I'm ready when she does though. If you're mildly curious THIS is what I do to earn some extra cash at times.

And finally, I worked some more on my new website. I'm considering switching to wordpress. It has some nice features, but it's taking some getting used to. I like the control that I have over the pages and the ability to create drop down menus.  It just seems easier to get organized and have areas for specific projects. But its easier (for me) to personalize the backgrounds here on blogger.

My biggest concern is will my followers move over there with me? For January I'm going to post here and there. Does anyone know if/how I can just reassign the link to this page to that page?

Anyway, the new website is more novel oriented in address at least--The Sendek Saga. 

How did your writing week go?

Science Fiction or Fantasy? RL cool stuff

I don't have a Birth of a Novel Report for you this week. The file was opened several times, and then I would get distracted by other things. I did finish the short story and have had three people critique it for me. The plan is final polish this week (today or tomorrow) and then enjoy the holidays.

In fact, I'll have at least 14 hours in the van over the next few days and I won't be driving. Maybe I can finish that novel I've been avoiding? Until then, here are some of the things that distracted me.

Why can't my life be this cool?

And here are a few other "neat" things that have caught my attention in the last month. I blame them for the lack of progress on my #wip.

Heck, my space ship was ready a long time ago! This is what it looks like. My very own, one man space ship.

How about this? (Confession: I couldn't finish the new Tron movie. It just didn't pull me in, but the bike is cool.)

And finally, because Sendek is always orbiting in the back of my mind...

Don't forget to come back tomorrow and find out who won my Giveaway. Three prizes, three winners!

I Write Like...

Today is the first day of Girl's Camp. That means a whole week without internet access!!! Hope I survive.

But, I'm not leaving you high and dry. I've scheduled some posts for the week. Enjoy and I'll reply to comments as soon as I get back.

I know you've seen these before, but have you plugged in your writing?

This is what I got when I plugged in Sendek: Arthur Clarke

This one blows my mind because I don't see it. Faerie Wings: William Shakespeare

Then I started plugging in my short stories and got more Arthur Clarke (Continuation, Elina's Tale, Shadows) and these.

Online: Anne Rice

The Chosen (This one also made me excited): Isaac Asimov

It's nice to see that most of my writing falls into the Arthur Clarke category. That makes me feel like his name wasn't a fluke, you know? Now if only I could use that in my query letter.

Dear Agent,

I write like Arthur Clarke. The website says so four out of seven times. He's considered one of the "Big Three"* in science fiction so don't bother to read my book. Just pick up the phone and make that offer.

Charity

* For those who don't read science fiction, the Big Three are Robert Heinlein, Issac Asimov, and Arthur Clarke. BTW, I've read and love all these plus: Orson Scott Card (My brother-in-law served part of his mission for our church with Card's son. Wish I was brave enough to use that small connection), Linda Nagata, Larry Niven, and David Gerrold.

In fact, I need to share some of my favorite titles from these authors with you in the next blog post. They are stories that I find myself thinking about years after having read them. Now that's good writing!

Post Nano Series: The Short Story as a Tool

Why are short stories so hard?  Maybe they come easily to you, but I tend to be wordy.

Wait! Aren't we supposed to be talking about my novel? You know the one I worked so hard to finish. The one that I needed more words for?

Yes, and we will, I promise. First a visual, because I like them.

Your Novel. This is a marathon. There are lots of miles to settle into a good pace. Pace is all important and it can make or break the run--or your novel.

The Short Story. You've got to give it all you've got from the very first sentence as you push yourself to perform.

 I mentioned that I tend to be wordy. Sometimes I overwrite, and then I have to revise the dickens out of those sections. Overwriting is one of the things that can keep your novel in the slush piles (the stack of unsolicited novel queries from aspiring writers aka no-bodies-in-the-publishing-world-yet) of agents everywhere.

So, what is overwriting? Here's a summation of a great post by Roni at Fiction Groupie.

1. Too many adjectives and adverbs. 
2. Using a fancy word when a simple one will do.
3. Describing things as if you were a set designer (aka so much detail that the reader could build the set. This doesn't leave any room for the reader to use their imagination, and it takes time away from the action.)
4. Simile and Metaphor overload.
5. Redundancy (this is my problem. I tell and then I show, and sometimes I recap. It's like hitting your reader over the head and screaming "Pay attention to this! Don't miss it! Look, did you catch what I'm hinting at?" Yeah, readers don't take kindly to being talked down too.)
6. Too much introspection (Roni called it Navel-gazing. A little is good, but break it up with action.)
7. Trying too hard. (Passages that sound like you're trying to be a writer. Roni points us to the times Simon Cowell called a performance "Indulgent")

I'm using the short story, flash fiction in particular, to hone my writing skills and stop overwriting. Here are my top three reasons to try and write short stories.

1. Writing a complete story in 1000 words or less (flash) forces you to be clear and concise in your word choices.
2. Crafting and selling short stories to reputable venues is an excellent way to build publishing credits to add to your query letter, helping you sell that novel.
3. Writing a short story can provide a much needed mental break from the novel you are perfecting. 

Care to give it a try? Here are some options to play with:
Twitter Story--140 characters, not words!
Drabble--around 100 words
Micro-fiction--the average is less than 400 words, but some reach 750 (source)
Flash Fiction--around 1000 or less
Short Story--depends, but looks like anywhere between 7K and 9K words. Wikipedia states, "In contemporary usage, the term short story most often refers to a work of fiction no longer than 20,000 words and no shorter than 1,000."

The point is to work on economy. Choosing words that pack the most meaning and emotion into that allotted word count.