Heather Wright

Elora Writers’ Festival Competition – Open for Submissions

Elora Writers' Festival Theme - A Journey - photo by Tristan Millw

The Elora Writers’ Festival Competition 2012 is a great opportunity for you to challenge your writing skills. See the information below and get contest applications at http://elorawritersfestival.blogspot.com/

The 2012 Elora Writers’ Festival Writing Competition welcomes submissions from writers of all ages.
Categories:
1. Age 20+ (Entry fee $15; Prizes $200, $100, $75)
2. Age 15-19  (Prizes $100, $75, $50)
3. Age 12-14 (Prizes $75, $50, $25)
4. Age 11 and under (Prizes $50, $30, $25)
Theme: A Journey
Deadline: Postmarked by Friday, April 27, 2012
Title Page: Category #; Title of story/poem; Writer’s name, address, email address
Entry: Double-spaced; Writer’s name on title page only; $15 entry fee for Category 1 only
Send to:  EWF Writing Competition, c/o Elora Arts Council, Box 668, Elora ON  N0B 1S0
Winners:  Announced 12pm ET, Saturday, May 26, 2012 on the Elora Writers’ Festival blogsite
So, get writing – or pass this message on to any writers you know. The 2012 EWF Writing Competition is open for entries!

Journals: A Confession

Not all of these journals are empty and I’ve had some for a few years. But still–embarrassing.

If you’re a knitter, you know what a stash is. It’s the collection of yarn that you plan to use “someday.” For some of the yarn you have definite plans; for some, you bought enough to actually make something but you’re not quite sure what it is yet. The rest can fall into a couple of categories–“too gorgeous not to pick up and I’ll find something to go with it later” and “just too good a bargain.” Where and how you store/hide the stash is a whole other story. (I speak from experience here.)

But I’m a writer, too, and I have another stash–of journals–empty journals. And I just bought another one. I simply can’t resist looking at them when I’m in stationery or gift stores. There’s actually a store in my town that specializes in paper, pens and journals. I avoid it.

I have small journals that fit in my purse and others that are larger than 8 1/2 x 11. Why so many? Just like the yarn, journals are a tactile purchase. I like the look and the feel of them. The paper has to be just right (not necessarily lined), and it needs to be comfortable to write in, and of course, I have to love the cover. I have a friend who can’t be without her moleskin journal. I prefer more flowery covers and brighter colours.

How do you choose a journal? Do you have more than one?

Organizing 2012

Moira Allen’s site Writing-World is a site for writers of all genres and levels of development to find great articles and tips. At this link today (http://www.writing-world.com/) you can find several versions of a free writer’s calendar and a submission tracker. If you’ve made a resolution this year to get organized, these might be just what you need.

I use a similar calendar template from Word to keep my life organized. I print daily pages and keep them in a binder on my desk, and I have calendars that show the whole month so I can glance at deadlines, appointments, etc. easily. I’m a pen and paper person, and I like to organize things by writing them down. I also really enjoy the satisfaction of crossing tasks off once they’re completed. (To-do lists are my friends.) I’m going to use the PDF version of Moira’s calendar this year. It has all the space I need, plus the addition of a regular writerly quote to keep me inspired.

What tools do you use to organize your life, writerly or otherwise? If you have some tips, please share them. We can all use a more organized 2012!

Talking Writing with Writers

Once a month I realize how lucky I am. I belong to an organization called the Professional Writers Association of Canada, and am the president of our local branch. I’m lucky, because once a month we have a meeting at my house and I get to spend the evening with other writers.  Aside from the fact that it also means that, at least, the main floor of my house gets clean, it’s a real pleasure to talk writing with other writers.

I know my family loves me and supports my writing life, but no matter how much love and understanding comes my way, they just don’t quite get it. My fellow writers “get it.” They get that it’s actually normal to be excited about a rejection letter because it contained a personal note of encouragement from an editor. My husband says, “But it’s a rejection!” while I’m fist pumping at what, for me, is a breakthrough moment.

Tonight is one of those nights when the writers gather in my (clean!) livingroom and share what they’re working on, what they need help with, and what’s ahead in their writing life. Amid the tea and goodies, we share the ups and downs of the freelance writing profession with humour and support, knowing that everyone in the room “gets it.”

Priceless!

Writing Prompts

It felt really good to finally finish the draft of my story, in spite of all the delaying tactics. It’s been set aside for a week or so and now I’m in editing mode. Yay! And not a moment too soon since it’s due on January 15th.

I decided to give myself a treat for the new year to keep me inspired for 2012–a copy of Writer’s First Aid by Kristi Holl. I enjoyed Kristi’s second instalment, More Writer’s First Aid so much, that I thought I would get the first one, too. The book is still en route, but I’ll post a review as soon as I’ve read it.

I’ve been creating writing prompts for The Writer subscriber’s website since July and have enjoyed reading the various responses to them. They’re such fun to write, that I thought I’d create some just for this post. Hope they give you a creative boost into the new year. For more prompts, check out http://wrightingwords.wordpress.com/writing-starters/

1. Use one, a few, or all of the following words in a story or poem: tree, calendar, photograph, link, ribbon

2. Brainstorm around the word ice-cream. Write a poem or an opening paragraph with the images you see.

3. Think of all the meanings, expressions and words that use the word “run.” Here are some examples: silent running, run (in pantihose), the run around, running in circles, run for your life, end run, in the long run, runny nose, rum runner … Play with these and any others you can think of until one of them leads you to a story or poem.

4. Use one, a few, or all of these words in a story or poem: window, sheet, key, mark, drop

5. Think of the longest trip you have ever taken. What are your best memories of that trip? Write them down and share them with the people you travelled with, or illustrate your memories with photos from the trip and save them in  a special travel diary on your computer or in a binder just for you.

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