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Announcing our second annual Burning the Midnight Oil Poetry Contest! Now accepting entries.
                                                                                                                                               
Amazing Story Fiction Contest is closed. Watch for results September 1, 2008.

Meet Andrew Blackman and read his winning first chapter of On the Holloway Road.

Check out the winners of our Novel Beginnings 1st Chapter Contest.

Take a writing class this fall! Building a Story From the Ground Up is open for enrollment. Classes work around your schedule.

Learn how to tell your story! Enroll in our Memoir: Writing the Story of Your Life class. We work around your schedule.

Visit our articles page and read our feature "The Problem with Self-published Books--and the Solution."

Questions? E-mail amy@thewritehelper.com.

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Thursday, November 29, 2007

Ah, the Joy of Writing--A Lot!

I had promised that I would check in concerning my novel writing adventures and NaNoWriMo. I really had every intention of updating my faithful readers with the latest details of word counts, word dilemmas, and just plain words. There is one good reason why I haven't--I've been writing! When you have a 1,667-word quota hanging over your head on a daily basis, you learn not to squander your time. Or at least there is less squandering. Less time for casual emails. Less time for cooking and cleaning. Less time for everything.

But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The end of the yearly grand experiment will be over tomorrow. And I am ready for it. As of today (still in the a.m.) I am at 42,814 words. Now before you go thinking that's quite an accomplishment, I need to be quite honest with you when I say, a good amount of that writing will end up in the compost pile. The point of the exercise, at least for me, was to discipline myself to write, good or bad. In the mood or not. Ignore the internal editor, which I can tell you I was pretty successful at doing.

While I'm not staring at a masterpiece (yet), it's been a good experience. One I highly recommend.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a novel to finish.

8:04 am cst

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Dispatches from the Edge
 
Some of you might be wondering how the write-a-novel-in-a-month experiment is going. Good, rewarding, bad, frustrating, exciting--it really depends on what day you ask me.
 
At times the experience has been thrilling, wondering what's around the hairpin curve in the road. Other times, particularly when I'm pounding out my word count at 12:30 a.m., trying to come up with something to write and prying my eyelids open simulaneously, I begin to question my sanity.
 
And, still other times, I have the satisfaction of a "good day." A day when the words flow and my main character is in the thick of a meaningful scene. I live for those days.
 
But I imagine you want to know solid facts. How far along am I? Each day's portion of words breaks down into 1,667 words. To date, I am at 18,358. For the math savvy among us, I'm 1,647 words behind--a little less than a day's worth. Plus I haven't tackled today's words either. (It's still early as I write this.)
 
As to the writing, some of it is good, and some of it is really awful. But what I am truly pleased with is that I locked the internal editor out of the house and bolted the door. She's pounded on the door a couple of times, wanting back in the house, but I'm not budging. It's a rough business writing a rough draft.
 
So I'll keep plodding and plotting along. I'll keep you posted. 
8:13 am cst

Thursday, November 1, 2007

All Aboard!
 
Greetings Writers!
 
Today I am pumped. I am excited. And I am . . . busy! Not only do I have the fun--and it really is fun!--of judging the poetry contest, but I am about to embark on my yearly pilgrimage to the land of NaNoWriMo. Don't know what NaNoWriMo is? Officially, it stands for National Novel Writing Month, which starts today. (You can still sign up, though.) The challenge is to write an entire novel (50,000 words) in a month. Sound crazy? You bet. Fun? Truck loads of fun! Several friends in my critique group have signed on, so we'll be encouraging each other. I might even have time to send you a few "postcards" from the hinterlands.
 
So watch out, world. I'm lighting my Pumpkin Pie scented Yankee Candle, putting on some Leigh Nash for mood music, and writing my heart out!
 
Want to come along for the ride? Visit the fine folks at NaNoWriMo and sign up today for an adventure. 
9:30 am cdt


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