Letters Here, Letters There, and Contests

Sometime in the past year, writer and blog friend C. Hope Clark, posted about some of the letters on her keyboard being totally worn off. If I remember correctly, she also shared photos of them. I got such a kick out of it that I sent her a few alphabet stickers to cover those keys. 


Some of the letters on my laptop keyboard have now disappeared to the point of needing replacements. Although I know what letters belong to those blank and almost-blank keys, I'd still like to be able to look down every once in a while and see them again. So, I'm borrowing Hope's concept and sharing mine....with before and after pictures. 

BEFORE

AFTER

As you can see, I use the E, A, and S keys regularly. And the A has grooves on it, from my left pinky fingernail. Weird, huh? The W and D are getting a little worn, but they're okay for now. On the right side of my keyboard, the O, N, and K are getting pretty worn, too. Interesting.....

What about you? What are the keys you see wearing off the most?? It can give us an insight into how we write. 

~~~~~

And speaking of writing...Please check out Tiny Lights - A Journal of Personal Narrative. I have an answer included in: "As a writer, what are your priorities?" Don't forget....anyone can submit an answer each month! Your award? Getting published in an online journal. Getting your name "out there."

~~~~~

 A couple of writing contests I came across:

WRITER ADVICE ANNOUNCES ITS FIRST-EVER

Scintillating Starts

A new contest from Writer Advice

 PURPOSE: To win recognition for the opening of your unpublished manuscript or to get additional perspective, depending on where you are. If your opening is shared on Writer Advice, you’ll be able to tell prospective agents, publishers, and book buyers that you were one of the winners of Writer Advice’s First Scintillating Starts Contest. 

HOW IT WORKS: Submit the opening chapter or paragraphs. Show us how you grab the reader. Entice us. Make us want to know more.

We’ll send you an insightful, practical evaluation and publish the first paragraphs of the works we believe are strongest. $250 in prize money will be divided among those published.

JUDGE(S): TBA.

DEADLINE: October 15, 2012

FEE: $20

QUESTIONS? Write to Lgood67334@comcast.net. Please send your work through Submittable, only.

Questions? Click HERE.

Note from me: I think this sounds like a great contest! What a fabulous name for it! I plan on entering.

~~~~~

1^st Annual WNBA National Writing Contest 

The Women's National Book Association

http://www.wnba-books.org/contest 

Small fees and $250 cash prize plus publication. (This was found on Writer Advice.) Click on link for complete information.

"If writers stopped writing about what happened to them, then there would be a lot of empty pages." - Elaine Liner

** Friday Night Lights **

No, not the television show. Just a random title. Because I have De-Light-Ful tidbits to share!

* First of all, I want to mention Ellie Garratt's competition! Check out Ellie's blog and read all about her exciting publication news. In honor of that, she is having a contest which goes until September 21st. (And if her blog looks similar to mine, it's because we both have the same background...Books!

* When going through some papers on my credenza today, I came across a couple of pages I had printed some time ago. They have very good book marketing info, but I have no idea where I found them! I forgot to include the writer/blogger's name. AND, I have Parts One and Two, of a Three Parter! The title is: Pre Published - Lay the Foundation. Sound familiar to anyone?? Well....today, I did one of the things that was suggested. I joined Goodreads and Library Thing. They are both free. I didn't post much info, but will from time to time, I guess. The important thing is what the author of this article says: "You may not think you have the time, but if you drop in once a week for a few minutes you'll learn the ropes and meet people." ALSO, "Once you have the "go ahead" and your book has its final title, go to Goodreads and apply for an author page. They must approve it, but it's pretty easy."  I loved getting these tips, because although I think I'm pretty good at marketing, I hadn't heard of these and there's always new things to learn!

* Does your keyboard have letters that are practically worn off? Or have nicks, dents or scratches in them? I noticed recently that my laptop has 3 keys which are really nicked, due to my finger nails: "A", "S", and the Left Shift Key. Obviously, I use them a lot! I find it strange that I don't have the same condition on any of the right hand keys. Obviously, it must have to do with the way my fingers hit the keys!

* I have found that since being in The Zone, I almost feel compelled to rewrite 75% of my book! I read some of the older stuff, and think, "Wow, is that ever bad!" We shall see what happens.....At this moment, I'm just going to keep going from where I am! Forging Ahead!

Tomorrow I'll post about the 5 books I recently purchased AND give the details of my September Contest!

"We don't know who we are until we see what we can do." - Martha Grimes