Taking Time to Relish Acccomplishments

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Last Saturday I made a major accomplishment: I submitted a portion of the memoir to a publisher's nonfiction contest. I've spent a lot of time on the memoir - and it's not quite done. And I've put in many hours on this submission. I've written about the different levels of completion of the parts of the book - some were written four years ago and barely touched since. Some have been written in the past couple of months. Some were written before I re-found my voice and some came out in near ready form.

I've printed out a copy of the whole memoir so far, with inserted pages for the missing pieces. Some chapters/stories have been printed several times, as I've found older versions with parts I want to incorporate into newer editions. Or I thought I had the most recent, edited version so I printed it - then discovered there was something better in the other computer or uploaded to my cloud.

So I've also learned in this process about setting up systems. What systems work for me, or work for me now; what was a good idea but wasn't practical; and so on.

And on Saturday I turned in 119 pages of my memoir. With a one paragraph bio that was difficult for me to write. I had many versions of the bio written before I just had to say "enough - that'll do." I cut out a lot. At one point I let myself write whatever I wanted and then trimmed back and cleaned it up; sometimes I'm verbose and say in 20 words what could be said in 5; sometimes I don't say enough. But I figured it out and I was comfortable with it. The submission also included a 3-sentence description of the whole book. The *whole* *book* in 3 sentences; now, that was tough. I'm not completely satisfied with that - and that short "elevator speech" bio could do in my chances - or not. I also had to send a project summary (outline), which included the status of the overall project - which I feel good about.

I was going to wait until I got home from the beach to submit my manuscript and everything - but decided I wanted it out of my hands. If I held onto it, I might start digging into it again. Maybe. I'd wonder, anyway. But with it sent in - it's there; done.

I was surprised to find myself a little tired. Well, I shouldn't have been surprised at that - I was up long hours and late hours (you know: stay up one night late to work on something creative; then you sleep late because of that; which puts you up late again because the project isn't finished - that!). But I was surprised to find myself feeling a little "flat" or a little blue or stuck.

Then I remembered. It's the post-play-opening blues. Or the end of the relay training let down. Or the post-adrenaline slump. Yes.

The good thing is that I realized it. I didn't let the slump take over and start down the drain of "woe is me; what do I do now" path. I thought: I didn't really celebrate that I made this major accomplishment happen - I really, really did it! I have more to go, sure - about another 20% of the book to write or finish editing (no, I didn't submit everything that is editor-ready)) - but I did this big thing. Which was a big deal. I sent a chunk of my memoir to a publisher, in hopes of becoming a winner and getting a publishing contract. But even if I don't, I proved to myself I can do it and I have that much more ready for the final project.

So, I went on a YouTube search for an appropriate video. After viewing many videos and some which were totally not what I wanted, I did find this: Dave Matthews "I Did It." It's a little 'odd' but it's also kind of accurate to my experience. Including being overwhelmed by big blue figures, feeling my legs knocked out from under me, things not always being what they appeared, and more. It's fun, it's a little sexist or maybe not - I guess even some of the guys are scantily clad. It also reminds me of the essence of PICA's T:BA, which is coming up pretty soon (and I already bought my immersion pass) - so I like it for that reason, too.

Yes! I did it!



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Creative Non-Fiction Update

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There is a non-fiction book length project competition (which includes memoir) with a deadline quickly approaching. My submission isn't ready yet - but I'm getting close.

I have chosen a section to get ready and have about 3000 words over the minimum required, for the sake of flexibility. I have printed the sections with expanded margins for revision work.

Now, to revise!

Fly, fingers, fly.

GIF from "Teach-A-Task"

submission

View from the Oceanside cottage.

The memoir piece has been submitted. A few more tweaks after I got home and voila - I consider it done.

I showed it to my partner who is, in addition to an artist and an educator and a therapist, a former copy editor and proofreader. So she catches some of those little things. We had a brief discussion about alright versus all right. I've had this discussion with others and read articles about it. I went to the 'net. I thought about it. And decided to go with her suggestion this time. Where I'd used it, the two-word and more correct version was absolutely the better choice. And was not what I'd put on the page.

It feels really done. This has had a lot of editing. And I can say it's probably the first time I can say that I enjoyed the editing process.

Editing is not my favorite part of writing. I know it's necessary; but it doesn't usually feel as creative and productive and can be tedious. But this one wasn't. And I could track the changes and improvements.

Now to find my next submission goal!
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Editing Takes Time

That's probably a great big "duh, Dot!". Of course editing takes time.

But this short trip to the coast has proven my whining - er, I mean, theory - that I need blocks of time for editing. Not for the shorter pieces: short stories, flash fiction, poetry - those I can usually do fine with sessions.

But with the longer memoir/creative nonfiction submission I just completed, I needed a longer, focused, continuous block of time. This piece started out around 8600 words. The word limit for the contest is 7500. And I needed a couple new sections to bring it all together.

With a compressed period of time, it was easier to keep track of the parts. To know where I'd said what when I found something I'd already written in another section where there were conflicts in facts - like saying it was a '66 VW Bug, a '68, a '69. All in one piece of writing. No - pick one and stick with it (I don't remember right now which it actually was; it wasn't my car).

I was able to get in the flow of the piece and move, remove, add, and alter the story to make it work. I've done probably five major edits since Thursday. And it feels done.

When I get home I will pay the fee and submit the story. After my partner gives it another read. She's only read the copy I left her Thursday night. There've been many changes since then. But our conversation on the phone tonight helped; we talked about her feedback for the last known edit she read.

I believe it's ready; and another set of eyes is the final step in what I hope will confirm it's done-ness.
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Moving Ahead

I made a drive up the Gorge today to pick up two subscriptions of wine. In December I went with a friend and her husband, and another couple, to a tour and tasting at one of the Hood River wineries. I was impressed with the wine and they have a great wine club. I joined at the 7 times a year plan, taking home one shipment, with the second one to be picked up in January. Due to snow and ice and winds in the Gorge, I put it off.

It got closer to the next shipment, so I waited. Then, today, I took my new car for a drive. It was overcast, a slight wind on the Columbia, a dusting of snow on the higher mountains, and additional waterfalls along the way.

I also took with me a printout of a memoir piece I'm working on for a submission. The original due date was 3/20. Later at night at home, I discovered that the deadline has been postponed until 3/25.

After I picked up the wine, I went to the Full Sail brewery and pub for dinner and a table overlooking the river. With a printout of the story. The editing went smoothly and I easily cut out one section; reducing the word count closer to the 7,500 word limit.

I just completed typing in the changes and the next draft is being printed as I type. I have about a 25 word leeway of the limit and already have one person lined up to read it and give me feedback. I plan to take a printout with me tomorrow when I go to Seattle to hear my writer friend, Jenny, read her award winning essay. I will probably have some time between the drive and the reading and will comb through it for more editing needs.

The pieces are coming together.
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Ploughshares contest

I will return to more regular posting after I get well. The illness I successfully staved off a couple of times got me this week. Ugh!

But, good news, I received this reminder email from Ploughshares today and I'm passing it along. (I already sent in my submission! Fingers crossed.)

Have you heard about Ploughshares' Emerging Fiction Writers' Contest? Win $500 and get published.

Since 1971, Ploughshares has been committed to promoting the work of up-and-coming writers. In the spirit of the magazine’s founding mission, the Ploughshares Emerging Writers Contest will recognize a story by an emerging fiction writer.

The deadline for this contest is March 15, 2011. To enter, and to read the full contest rules, visit the contest page on our website, pshares.org.

This is your chance to break out -- don't miss this opportunity to get published!

Sincerely,
Andrea Drygas
Managing Editor
Ploughshares Literary Magazine

PS: Here's a direct link to the contest page in case it isn't showing up correctly above: http://www.pshares.org/submit/Emerging-Fiction-Writers-Contest.cfm

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Serena Barton's Blog: Giveaway, part 2

C'mon all you writers! (And other creative types, artists, dancers, photographers...) Send Serena a poem, a short story, a piece of flash fiction. Looks fun - and you might win a piece of fabulous art, too. Click below for more information:

Serena Barton's Blog: Giveaway, part 2

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writing contest: New Works Competition

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Richard Hugo House: New Works Competition

As part of the Hugo Literary Series, Richard Hugo House seeks previously unpublished poems, short stories, personal essays or plays, of no more than 1500 words.

The theme is Born in the U.S.A., and the winner will receive $500, publication in City Arts Magazine and an invitation to read at the final Hugo Literary Series event on March 18, 2011 alongside authors Alan Chong Lau, Victor LaValle and Debra Magpie Earling. Entries must be received by January 10, 2011.

The theme: All manuscripts must reflect the theme, Born in the U.S.A., using the prompt below as a jumping point:

Since the birth of our nation, we’ve grappled with the uncomfortable question of who gets to be American and why. My ancestors came over on the Mayflower; yours made the “middle passage” on a slave ship. Your grandparents were interned in a prison camp during WWII; you serve in the U.S. Army today. My older sister can be deported because she was born before our parents crossed the border, but I’m a citizen because I was born here. Our declaration says all men are created equal; our pledge to the flag says we are one nation, indivisible—so why do so many of us still hyphenate our nationality? Whether you were born in Sarah Palin’s “real America,” The Daily Show’s “fake America” or somewhere in between, what does being American mean to you?

Submission Format: Five copies of the manuscript typed, double-spaced, pages numbered, in 12-point standard font. No name of author on entries; include cover page with name, address, phone, email, entry titles and genres. One cover page is sufficient for the five copies of your entry. SASE #10 for notification and SASE with sufficient postage if you would like manuscript returned.

Entry restrictions: The New Works Competitions are only open to residents of Washington state, Oregon, Idaho or Montana.

Entry fee: $10.00.

Submissions may be sent to Richard Hugo House, c/o New Works Competition, 1634 11th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122.

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submissions: NPR's Three Minute Stories

The basics:

Round Five Rules:
Your story must begin with the following line: "Some people swore that the house was haunted."

Plus, your story must end with this line: "Nothing was ever the same again after that."

Including these lines, your story must be 600 words or less. One entry per person. Your deadline is 11:59 p.m., EDT, on Sept. 26.

Three-Minute Fiction Round Five Official Rules

For more details, click on over to the NPR website.

The judge is Michael Cunningham.
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Three days to submit poetry for iPhone app

Yesterday, Sage Cohen wrote:

Four more days to submit to "The Life Poetic iPoem Contest!"

There's still time to submit to "The Life Poetic iPoem Contest!" Your poem could appear on an iPhone app that features a poem a day for a year.

Enter to win a variety of prizes, with a total value of more than $400 -- plus the priceless delight of having your poetry shared far and wide.

Get all of the details here!

On Its Way

Three minutes ago I bought the stamp, put it on the large manila envelope and dropped it into the mail slot.

My Oregon Literary Fellowship application is on its way.

With three copies of the application, three copies of the Women Writers Fellowship addendum, and three copies of 20 pages (the intro and three chapters) from my memoir. All collated according to instructions and paper-clipped together.

Fly, application, into the hands of the judges.

If nothing else, I got a good sense of direction and intent for my work. Not quite at the "elevator speech" level - but concise and clear.

graphic from sciblogs

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Razor's Edge 6/18/10

This is the day for the Razor's Edge. Instead of prompts, I'm going to share a story. A true story - but a story, still. The theme of this post is, Contradictions. How sometimes we have to take what is and look ahead and move on, even though it seems like we might want to pause. Or, at least I do.

This is another example of what Pamela calls, Resiliency.

I'm working on it.


Behind me here in the cafe, at the tall faux marble table along the inside wall, are two students studying their Chinese medicine. At first I wasn't sure what they were doing - talking about swollen lips and, by their description, it may have been a human specimen or a car or some unknown piece of machinery. But now they have moved on to talking about stagnant Chi and I know. It's Chinese medicine - and they are probably acupuncture students from the school out a couple miles, just past where I live. They've come here, a little further in toward downtown, to escape the other students that are crammed in the cafe just up the street from my house.

Stagnant Chi. That's what I'm trying to avoid by moving forward with this Oregon Literary Fellowship application.

See, today I found out that another submitted story was rejected. This is the life of the writer. Keep the stories going out and wait to see what happens, which is very often rejection. I'm not sure right now when the balance starts to tip so that there might be more acceptances than rejections, but, like visual artists, writers have to be able to take the rejections, which are numerous. For most of us. And victories are to be cherished and worn as badges of honor - such as honorable mentions, like my writing friend Christi just received from Glimmer Train. A big congratulations to her and I hope she holds that Honorable Mention high, like the Olympic torch, and lets it light her days and nights.

So another of my stories was rejected. And I have to have the Oregon Literary Fellowships (OLF) application in by next Friday, if I'm going to do it. I've wondered whether to try or not. One friend told me it was very difficult to get and very few are selected and it was way too much work. He applied once, years ago, and it was not worth the effort, he thought. Another friend who has read a lot of my work encouraged me to do it. And I first heard about it from a published writer who thought I might want to give it a shot (my words, not hers). And I asked another published writer-friend-mentor for advice and, while she doesn't know anyone who has ever won one so she doesn't have any specific advice, she said it would be good to try and gave me some advice about the submission from an editor/judge-of-a-different-residency experience standpoint.

And here I am in the cafe with the women studying about Chi and sad about my piece not being published and looking at the two sets of poems and two personal essays and one more short story that are out there being considered. And I just finished pasting and editing my writing sample submission for the OLF into a new document. I will read it aloud later to find places where more tightening or other editing is required. I made more notes for the questions I have to answer.

And I will submit. I will give it a try even though part of me is in that post-rejection what's-it-all-for-anyway-no-one-will-pick-me mood. I am resilient and I will keep on trying.

As my writer-friend-mentor who moved away to Santa Fe said, "I don't think there is any harm in applying. It is a lot of work, but I think sometimes the process helps clarify a project and gives us a deadline for the story rewrites. I think you have as good a chance as anyone." She's right. So far this has helped me come up with an intent for my writing, something I've been unable to put into words. Until now.

Reject. Reflect. Rewrite.

Submit.

Ah, the life of a writer!

What are two or three of your contradictions right now? Go: write!

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Short Story Contest

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Just a week left on this one. I stumbled upon it in someone else's blog. A no fee, open topic, open genre (except no erotica) literary fiction contest.

Lady Glamis (Michelle Davidson Argyle) is having a short story contest; below is an overview of the guidelines. Click for the full details , including the prizes.

(1) Contest is open until June 1st.
(2) Open to all genres and subjects except erotica.
(3) Stories up to 7,500 words.
(4) One entry per person.
(5) Email entries to annie.louden [at] gmail [dot] com with SHORT STORY CONTEST and the name of your entry in the subject header. Paste your story into the body of the email, with your name, contact email, word count, and title.
(6) Winners announced on Wednesday June 3oth.
(7) Stories are judged for: quality of prose, creativity, and the ability to engage the reader within 7,500.

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Poetry Out Loud

The semi-finals were great in the POL first two rounds tonight. Tomorrow morning the field will be reduced to 6-10. Some of the competitors were amazing; they all did a great job.

It's nice to see the numbers expanded from last year, too.

How cool that poetry recitation is being revived. Even though interpreting poetry (into ASL) has its own special challenges, I still enjoy doing it.

Yes, I'd come back for a third round next year.

Blog Tour and Book Giveaway

Be sure to check back on March 29th. Published author Bonnie Hearn Hill will be stopping by on her blog tour to talk about her new Young Adult series, Star Crossed, and to discuss the next steps authors can take after they've written to "The End."


As a part of this event, there will also be a book giveaway. Keep your eyes open for details and the chance to win a copy of Bonnie's newest book!

Photo Caption Contest: Win Fabulous Prizes

Here is a simple, easy to use, quick and no fee contest! And what a great picture.

WOW! Women On Writing Blog: Photo Caption Contest: Win Fabulous Prizes

Manuscript contest

AWP Award Series series begins accepting submissions in January

The Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) is a nonprofit organization of writers, teachers, colleges, and universities. AWP sponsors an annual competition for the publication of excellent new book-length works—the AWP Award Series. The competition is open to all authors writing in English regardless of nationality or residence. The Donald Hall Prize for Poetry is an award of $4,000 and publication for the best book-length manuscript of poetry. This competition is open to published and unpublished poets alike. The Grace Paley Prize for Short Fiction awards the winner $4,000 and publication. Winners in the novel and creative nonfiction categories receive a $2,000 cash honorarium from AWP and publication. The Award Series conducts an evaluation process of writers, for writers, by writers. AWP hires a staff of “screeners” who are themselves writers; the screeners review manuscripts for the judges. Typically, the screeners will select ten manuscripts in each genre for each judge’s final evaluations.

Go to the AWP website for more information, including formatting and other guidelines.

submission opportunities

With thanks to Creative Writers Opportunities List (crwropps) :

The Chariton Review Short Fiction Prize
http://tsup.truman.edu/chariton/guidelines.asp
Deadline: August 31


multigenre contest: CWC, Inland Empire
http://www.angelfire.com/amiga/iecwc/contest.html

contests

Art Affair
http://shadetreecreations.com/ArtAffair_Announcements.htm
2009 Poetry Contest
Entries must be postmarked by October 1, 2009 and should be unpublished and/or
unaccepted for publication when entered into the contest.

2009 Western Short Story Contest
Art Affair’s western fiction contest (maximum: 5,000 words) is open to any
writer.
Entries must be postmarked by October 1, 2009 and should be unpublished and/or
unaccepted for publication when entered into the contest.

2009 (General) Short Story Contest
Art Affair’s short fiction contest (maximum: 5,000 words) is open to any writer.
Entries must be postmarked by October 1, 2009 and should be unpublished and/or
unaccepted for publication when entered into the contest.


The Writers Workshop of Asheville
Short Fiction Contest
http://www.twwoa.org/
FIRST PRIZE: $300
SECOND PRIZE: $200
THIRD PRIZE: $100
Ten Honorable Mentions

Deadline: postmarked by August 30, 2009.


The Journal Award in Poetry, Ohio State University Press
http://www.ohiostatepress.org/index.htm?/books/series%20pages/poetry.html

Entries of at least 48 typed pages of original poetry must be postmarked during the month of September. Entries postmarked later than September 30 will not be accepted.


Zugenruhe
online poetry journal seeks submissions for inaugural issue

Zugenruhe is now open for submissions of poetry.
Zugenruhe is an online journal of international poetry, poetry of exile, and poetry of environmental memory.
Please send 3-5 poems in an attachment to
(replace (at) with @) for our inaugural issue.
We are looking for your best work on global themes, poetry that is rooted in the particulars of place, and poems that explore nature and environmental issues in a global context

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