Interesting Writing Projects

Happy Friday, writers!  Today is a good day and I’m thankful. I’ve been working  on proofreading and editing a bunch of my formerly rejected fiction stories and fine tuning  selected poems for upcoming contest submissions.

Most of these  contests are non fee based and open to those of us who appreciate a financial boost from time to time, on this freelance writing road to acceptance. I hope you find something of interest:

http://writersrelief.com/peter-k-hixson-writing-award/

http://www.freelancewriting.com/writingcontests/072015-narrative-poetry-contest.php

http://writingcareer.com/post/121777231126/the-virginia-quarterly-review-reopens-for-prose

https://mastersreview.com/short-story-award-for-new-writers/

There’s something here for every writer and I know the writer in you can appreciate a good challenge as well as I do. So go at it. Flex your creative writing muscle and take a break from the mind suck that comes from writing your huge book projects.

“Or, is it just me?” 🙂

Here’s your writing inspiration for today:

“If you ever get stuck, ask yourself what happens next, then next, then next. Don’t get an idea for a situation; develop the arc for your story. Pretty much every story goes like this: Someone is complacent, they face a challenge, the challenge nearly beats them, they find a way to conquer the challenge, then emerge changed at the other end.” — Sean Platt

Do you pencil in small writings projects to take a brief hiatus from your huge projects or do you soldier on to completion?

 

 

 

September Writing Contests

Happy Friday, all! Let’s face it, writers cannot get enough of sharpening their skills by competing in writing competition. This is another arena for the creative to pit their abilities against fierce competitors for the big prize. Sometimes we do hit a home run and take home the trophy!

Writing competitions in any genre are beneficial to the creative because we can gauge our writing ability against the best of the best and still lose gracefully in the agony of defeat. We know that writing for us is a win/win, no matter if we place in the competition or not.

For those of you who want to compete for the prize or see how far your writing skills take you, here are three great writing contests you might enjoy entering in September:

Mslexia is holding a women’s memoir contest for women with a story to tell and who want to compete in the competition for their share of the monies. Go here for details- https://mslexia.co.uk/shop/ncomp_enter.php

Still working on your memoir and don’t really want to share your first draft for competition? How about sharing your dynamite opening paragraph instead? Go here to find out about your first memoir paragraph competition:
http://womensmemoirs.com/memoir-writing/pamela-jane-bell-announces-womens-memoirs-opening-paragraph-contest/

Creative Non Fiction Magazine is holding an essay contest in September called “Waiting.” Go here for guidelines on submitting to their essay contest-https://www.creativenonfiction.org/submissions/waiting

Entered a writing contest lately? Which do you prefer,those with or without fees? Share your experiences with us here on the writers blog and chime in on an upcoming writer’s debate where we discuss paying vs. non paying contest markets.

Contest Updates And More…

Happy Friday Everyone! You all know by now how much I enjoy creative writing contests. This year, my submission to Affiliated Women International “NAME” their women business store contest won third place selection- yay! Those who submitted their 2 page entry into The Mirror Monologues a few months ago, received an update from the playwrights informing us of the magnitude of entrants. We’re told our work is awesome-( paraphrasing here) and the final decision will be handed down in October. I’ve only written one-acts before and gotten ‘merit’ responses, so, it’ll be interesting to see how far my submission goes.

Two short story submissions were rejected (drat) but, I enjoyed writing under the umbrella of a 72 hour window where writers had to draft a story from scratch, taking cues from the competition book cover- such fun and showed that I could write a short story ( 1769 words) with a beginning, middle and end:) An awesome book cover and I so wanted to win it!

Enough crying over spilt milk, already. Let’s move on to even better contests cropping up for your summertime fun as you take a break from that book in progress deadline…

Bill Cosby has developed a fun way to promote his new book, I Didn’t Ask To Be Born (But I’m Glad I Was) by hosting a Cosby Sweater Tournament on his website. You have to vote for your favorite Cosby sweater in each bracket to be entered to win an autographed copy of his book.

Another Book Cover contest (won’t be entering this one) is Show Me Your Cover Contest by Sunshinestateromanceauthors.com.

July Heat Short Story contest (750) word count, deadline July 25th, at julyheat.blogspot.com

Assent Publishing “Rogue Writing” contest at http://www.assentpublishing.com or baddaybooks.wordpress.com for their guidelines.

Zoetrope; All-Story Short Fiction Contest at http://www.all-story.com/contests.cgi. The fee here seems to increase every couple of years.

My guest post is featured today at Monique Muro’s Passion Series Blog @ http://anovelquest.com/passion-series-clara-freeman/ Please stop by for a visit. It was a fun experience.

Okay, that’s it ladies & gents. If you’d like to add other contests to the list, please, don’t be shy. Who is in the mood for summer contests?

It’s A New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I’m so glad to be back with you guys another year. It’s been an amazing journey in looking back to 2012. Can you believe it’s 2013?! Still trying to wrap my mind around it:) Anyhow, I’m back with more stuff to talk about in this writing arena. To kick things off, let’s backtrack a moment to contest submissions. We talked about how it’s beneficial to enter contests, not only to win money (good thing) but to get your work out there , generate a buzz and keep your writing skills sharp.

When I recommend some of these contests, I’m usually one of the first to enter:) I love the thrill of writing competition, people:) Well, my results from the Missouri Review & Zoetrope Short Story contest came and I didn’t place. The essay contest for CostsofCare.Org, didn’t yield me the $1000 bounty either, but, the medical director and founder emailed me to say how my essay on saving hospital costs was 1 of 5 out of over 150 submissions to hold their attention…he wondered if I’d be willing to allow them to use it in further media exposure for Costs Of Care.org – well, yea!  

On New Years Day, the publisher of Bronze Magazine emailed me the link to my 2nd post for 2013! http://bronzemagonline.com/why-loving-yourself-makes-you-your-best-self/ hope you can take a stroll over to read and leave a comment.

My motivational column “Motivating Moment” debuted in the relaunch issue of Mirror Mirror Magazine and hit newsstands on the East Coast, January 2nd. Please pick up a copy or go to the website at www.mirrormirrormag.com . 

And the fun is not over:)  I’m blessed to be celebrating another birthday in the coming weeks! Have no fear ladies, we’re not getting older, just better:)  

Okay, your turn writers, what’s in your witches brew for 2013? Give us a taste!

 

Holiday Reads And Contest Submissions…

 

 Happy Saturday, Writers!

 

 

 

In order to become a great writer, we all know we have to love reading. I’m reading The Book Thief. It is an awesome story, set in 1940’s Nazi Germany and told through the eyes of “Death.” Don’t get morbid on me, now:) death takes on his duties via emotional glimpses not readily associated with his ominous rep…but death isn’t what readers will take-away from The Book Thief- it’s how death oversees a young orphaned girl’s adventures and misadventures in her life, as she encounters interesting characters whose presence helped shape her world. This wonderful work by Markus Zusak deserves its New York Times #1 Bestseller listing! 

 

Thanksgiving Day has come and gone and the leftover turkey is being reshaped into tasty dishes by way of our culinary skillls. I’m thankful and blessed to be a part of life’s transitions! As we press forward into the Holiday season of Christmas and cheer, let’s be safe, spend wisely and make wise shopping choices for the kiddies. Some of us are busy as Santa’s helpers trying to catch those early bird and doorbuster sales..

 

For those writers looking to generate a bit of extra cash after the holidays, I’ve penned a few contest suggestions. Pay attention to the deadlines, crank up the keyboard and submit your gems for consideration. What have you got to lose?

 

1. Cost Of Care essay contest – www.CostsofCare.Org

 

2.Authenticity For Women – www.authenticityforwomen.com

 

3.Ladies Home Journal- www.lhj.com/essaycontest

 

4. Women On Writing 2012 Flash Fiction Contest- http://wwwwow-womenonwriting.com

 

5.Kore Press- short fiction for female writers, deadline Nov 30th- http://www.korepress.org

 

I’ve entered Cost of Care, Ladies Home Journal and Women On Writing which are still open, but, check them out for deadlines. Authenticity for Women is a relatively new Magazine whose fall debut is past for the story competition, but is open to article submissions.

 

Good luck with your submission. Be sure to report back to clara54 and share your experiences…any writing advice, contest winnings/info, or words of wisdom to impart to new writers is welcome as well to this new forum for the writer’s voice!

 

Happy Holidays and keep writing!

Why Entering Contests Can Be “Fierce” For Your Business

I’ve put in a few “guest posts” over the last month and frankly, I’m tired:) But, people have been so generous at these awesome sites, that I’m working on another. Until then,I thought I’d gift myself with another of my guest posts don’t you love contests? Me too…

Suffice it to say I’ve been entering contests for a very long time, can you say, Sweepstakes Clearing House? Now that you have an idea of just how long I’ve been entering contests, let’s talk about how contests can increase your online presence and open the gateway to your business.  When entering contests, be selective.  Okay, so, through trial and error, I learned the Clearing House thing wasn’t exactly the way to go.

Ask what’s in it for you? Seriously, you’re just reversing the “contest protocol’ because contests are designed with the idea of self promotion in mind and you should know up front what your benefit will be.

 The more people participate, the more people will want to know who is behind the greatest contest ever! To be clear, the ruse/rule above applies to contests and not to your business.  Every entrepreneur knows that the client is always right and if they’re not, be tactful in your response in soling the problem. To be a success in business, you must be steeped in integrity and trust.

Now that we’ve gotten the preliminaries out-of-the-way, I’m going to provide a few important dos and don’t when offering contests and how the right approach to your contest will add fierce traffic and awesome clients to your  business Rolodex.

DON’TS

1. Don’t get all big-headed and think you’re the only fish in the sea with an idea for contest promotion: Businesses are competitive and contests are great incentives to keep abreast of the competition and gain more clients.
2. Avoid another book giveaway:  I’m a reader and I love books, but, with the onslaught of available down loads of ebooks from people sites, I’d pass up entering your contest.
3. Don’t overwhelm with details: Entering contests should be a breeze for the contestants.
4. Don’t charge an outlandish fee to enter your contest: I know this is business, not a writing competition, but, it is not cool to milk your contestants and take the ‘fun’ out of submitting.
5. Do not avoid answering questions about your contest, as you might have forgotten something of importance to the contestant.

DOS

1. Be original: don’t copy what Ms. Coffee is offering on her site. Do your research and come up with an original- make it their ‘must’ have.
2. Snoop: Okay, I said not to copy, I didn’t say not to check them out to see what you’re not going to offer as a great prize winner.
3. Advertise: How else are people going to know about your awesome contest? This is the time to use every social media outlet online and if you’re really proactive- offline as well.
4. Post a deadline and stick to it: When people are given instruction, they don’t like change. If you say the contest ends at the stroke of midnight, a week from whatever, darn it let it end on a week from whatever!
5. Have fun with it: Contests are meant to invoke happy endorphins-make it a fun and memorable process.

These are my experiences as an avid contest entrant and sometimes winner. Use them and your business and finance pockets could become a “fierce” force to be reckoned with!

That’s one of my pic taken on vacation-think it will place in a contest?
Photo credit: Clara Freeman-author

Places To Troll For Jobs

“Troll” is what I think is a cool writerspeak term I sort of borrowed from Deborah Ng over at her Deborah Ng Freelance Writing Blog…Let me be one of many writers who have visited Deb’ss blog to say, “what a great source for jobs!” If you’re a blogger, a beginner, or, seasoned writer, this is one of the places I’d recommend you go. Ms. Ng did recently announce on her blog that she won’t be spearheading the workings over there anymore and would be turning all things Deb at the site to her trusted assistant Jodee. Why? Because, Deborah Ng has been offered a writing opportunity that she just couldn’t pass up…Congratulations to her, although she will be missed, her choice for replacement , in my opinion, couldn’t have been better than Jodee. Go on over and find the job that has your name on it… My first client, albiet, short lived was found at Deborah Ngs Freelance Writing Blog…

For all of you aspiring fashion designers and environmentalist enthusiasts out there in the wild blue yonder, Yuli Ziv, the founder of MYITTHINGS have 2 contests in progress as I write. You will have to register an account to become a member of MyitThings, but, believe me, it’s well worth the bit of time it takes to create a profile. I’ve been a member for the last year and snagged the winning House article in Feburary’s contest! What are you writers waiting for? Yuli will be pleased to have you.

Clara.