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Why YOU Should Enter Writing Contests!

Why not?  What do you have to lose?  ALL writing is a risk.  Placing words on paper is a scary.  Writing those words from you soul into the atmosphere is brave, but actually printing them out and placing them into the mail for a contest is even MORE honorable and courageous. 

Have you ever entered a contest before?  Submit any creation for publication?  If you have, pat yourself on the back. Stand up proudly.  Take a deep breath and do it all over again.  Each time it gets easier to mail those entries off. 

Think of it as hope in the mail.  Or hope is at the click of your mouse, if you’re submitting through the Internet. 

Why do I speak of contests now?  Because once again it’s that time of year when our Mt. Diablo Branch of our California Writers Club’s April 1st deadline approaches for our Young Writers Contest.  Any middle school student who lives in or attends school in Contra Costa County may enter.  Just follow the guidelines and enter as many times as you like . . . in as many categories. 

Where are the guidelines?  You’ll discover them at the right-hand side of this blog as well as on this website:   http://cwcmtdiablowriters.wordpress.com/young-writers-contest/

I’m having a good time going through them now.   The good news is that most everyone is following the guidelines.  Remember to put your name and grade level on EACH PAGE of your manuscript please.  Thank you! 

If you have any questions, ask them here.   As soon as the contest deadline closes, I pass the entries out to the judges and the judging begins. It takes us a few weeks, so don’t worry.  We WILL read all of them several times. 

Next, the judges notify me who wins, and I call the winners.  Then I post their names here.  Honorable mentions get mailed at a later date, once the banquet concludes.  (The banquet this year is on May 19.) 

So get busy!  Write your best poems, short stories, and personal narratives.  Follow the guidelines very closely.  (They changed a bit from last year so read carefully.)     Most of all, have fun!

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Find the Comic In YOU!

We laughed our way through a terrific comedy workshop this past Saturday at the Walnut Creek Library with nearly sixty middle school students improvising, writing, and critiquing their way through humor.   There was enough talent in that room to produce several books, a magazine and a sitcom script or two. 

When I asked students to introduce themselves and share a moment of humor, one boy said, “My name is __________ (name protected so he won’t sue me) and I blew up my mother’s laundry room when I was four.”   Turns out the scientific genius was experimenting in his basement, so he wasn’t hurt in the procedure. 

The young man next to him stated, “My name is ___________ and I helped my brother blow up our mother’s laundry room.” 

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to meet the mother.  I wanted to find out what medication she was taking.  Did I mention these boys are available for stand-up?

After this group entertained me and Susie (Sarah Wilson www.sarahwilsonbooks.com ) as they performed a comedic drama improv with such advanced skills I wanted to call Hollywood, we left feeling elated and knew this group would go on to write and tell some very funny stories with the humor techniques we discussed and demonstrated. 

How can you be funny in your own writing? 

Look for humor all around you in your own life. 

Use exaggeration when appropriate.  Timing is important (read all of your work out loud!) and find examples of irony, satire and parody in books and movies so you can incorporate these in your own writing.

Have fun being funny!

1.  Write about a humorous memory from your past.  Read it out loud to make it as funny as it can be.  Remember that short words and short sentences work well in comedy.

2.  Watch http://youtu.be/q1mAGQAw3Oc
and use it to inspire a funny poem or story told in the point of view of a sloth. 

3.  Write a poem or story from the point of view from an object.  Remember to use his or her senses.  What does it really feel like to be this object?  Check to make sure you use action verbs!

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Make ’em Laugh! Free Comedy Writing Workshop!

What: Make ’em Laugh!  Write Funny: Learn comedy techniques from two published authors

Who: Grades 6 – 8                             

When: January 21, 2012  9 a.m. – Noon

Cost: FREE!

Where: Walnut Creek Public Library, 1644 N. Broadway, Walnut Creek, CA  94596 

977-3340

What makes readers laugh?  How can YOU create humor in your writing?  Develop quirky, funny characters through games, writing tips, techniques and exercises so you’ll produce a humorous plot, action and dialogue in a terrific page-turning story.

Two professional children’s authors who love writing share their best secrets on writing! You’ll get a chance to ask questions about the publishing world, write, play some games, meet other writers, and “talk books.”

 Led by children’s authors Sarah Wilson and Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff.  

Visit them at www.sarahwilsonbooks.com  and www.lizbooks.com

 Bring pen and paper and get ready to WRITE!

Register for the Walnut CreekJan. 21 workshop here: http://tinyurl.com/7humdhm

*** Special Note***  Good idea to bring a notebook or clipboard too, as we may only have chairs and not desks in this room.

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Full Disclosure

Since mid November, when I took a trek to a coastal women’s retreat, I haven’t spent a solid day home writing.  This is unusual for me, because my goal is to write all week days  in my home office.  I turn down invitations for coffee, lunch, and “going shopping with girlfriends.”   Weekends are my play time.  

But stuff happens. 

My birthday, appointments, a friend passes away, another friend comes to visit, someone needs help . . . you get the idea.  And Christmas looms so invitations appear that just come once a year.    “Only this time,” I say to myself.

But.  

The January deadline appears for two big projects.  

Ah ha.  I did it to myself.   This lack of time.  By saying yes to other obligations and to a fun social life.

We all do it. 

Where is the balance in our lives? 

Between giving to others and to ourselves? Between our household chores and our creative projects?  Between our day jobs and our writing? Between our social selves and our inner lives?  Between the noisy world outside and the life of silence we crave? 

What to do?  Make a list of priorities. 

Mine?  Two, outside of my family and friends.  My writing and helping young writers by way of the California Writers Club, Mt. Diablo Branch’s Young Writers Contest.  If any requests come to me outside of those concerns I will probably say no because I just don’t have the time or energy. 

Next, schedule in your calendar and your days.  What are you doing, hour by hour?  If you actually don’t know how your day is spent, write down what you are doing, hour by hour.  Took you fifteen minutes to unload the dishwasher?  Write it down.  Took you 30 minutes to sort, load and unload the laundry?  Write it down.  

If you are actually in your office trying to write but NOT writing, what is happening there?  Emailing?  Researching on the Internet?  Shopping?  Cleaning your files?   Keep track and see what you are doing.  Don’t feel too guilty you don’t write the minute you sit down at your computer.  I know someone who has to play computer games for 20 minutes in order to write productively.   Figure out what helps you work best.  Discover what helps you work with the fewest distractions.

I know that at this moment, half of my office is filled with wrapping paper, gifts, and CWC Young Writers Contest stuff.  The other half is my book project.  If I don’t organize my book project half-of-the-room first, I’ll never be able to settle down and write.   It’s how I work best. 

How do you work best?

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Funny but true: Wedding Snafu

Yesterday, my husband drove us in the car to complete errands, windows cracked open a few inches to allow the cool breeze inside. My right hand rested outside on the window frame. As the car picked up speed, it got a bit breezy for Bob, so he hit the power button window on his door. Only he hit the other button. It closed my window.

Zzzzt. The sound made me react immediately. I pulled in my hand so fast Bob whipped his eyes from the road.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“You pushed the wrong one. My hand was out there!”

“Oh, sorry,” he said, searching for the right switch.

Memories flooded back to our wedding day. My Uncle Arnold had painted a JUST MARRIED sign which we placed in the back window of our car. After the church service, on the way to the reception, a friend pulled up next to us at a stop light.

Mike had noticed our fallen sign. He opened the passenger door of our two-seater car, shoved my seat forward, forcing me nearly into the dashboard. I gripped the door frame for balance. Mike straightened the sign as the light turned green. He threw my seat back, and slammed the door. Mike jumped back into his own car. 

My husband was about to take off when he saw my face.

“Uh, bluh, glug . . .” sounds emitted from my mouth. They were sort of a sob/scream/gurgle. For once, pain made me speechless.

“What’s the matter?” my new husband asked. “

Uh, bluh, glug . . .” I clearly articulated.

Fortunately, our friends in Mike’s car saw my protruding fingers; Mike leaped out of the car to save them.

After I refused to go to the hospital, we raced to the reception hall where one of my bridesmaids, a nurse, assured me my hand was just badly bruised and nothing was broken. I kept an ice bag on my swollen hand for the rest of the day.

That wasn’t the only mishap of our wedding day, June 20, 1981 in Fresno, CA. It was 110 degrees, and I remember wondering if everyone in church could actually see the beads of sweat rolling down my back.

Before the church service, when my friend Carol, the pianist, asked me what time she should start playing the entrance music, I knew the answer. Being from a prompt Midwestern family, when something starts at ten a.m., it STARTS AT TEN A.M.

Carol played our cue at ten o’clock sharp. We made our way down the aisle.

We waited.

And waited.

The minutes ticked by.

Bob and I exchanged nervous glances. Where was the priest? Did he get an urgent call from nature? A rich, talkative parishioner stop by with an offer for a donation? Did the priest get cold feet?

Finally, after what seemed like an hour but was probably ten minutes, Father appeared, upset we started without him.

Obviously, he wasn’t from the Midwest.

Writing Prompts:

1. When has a sound motivated an action? By you? By a character?

2. Write a scene where a sound plays an important role in saving someone from emotional or physical pain.

3. Familiar scenes can trigger memories from long ago. Write a scene for a character which triggers a memory that is important to your character.

4. Write an important scene in your character’s life and have things go wrong. How does your character handle it? Throw obstacles in his/her way. First make the scene painful. Next, make it funny!

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California Writer Club Young Writers Contest – Check your newspaper THIS WEEK for the photo and article about the Young Writers Contest Banquet.  Jacquie Oliverius writes YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD and it’s in her column TODAY in the Pleasant Hill/Martinez Record.   Thank you Jacquie for letting me know!

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Of Tom Hanks, Publishing, and Your Summer Must List

In a recent issue of a Entertainment Weekly, celebrities were asked to name MY SUMMER MUST LIST.  Bravo for Tom, in listing BOOKS, BOOKs, BOOKS as one of his.

  Here’s what he wrote:  “I still carry a bag of books around all summer, as I am not enamored with the tactile experience of reading books on Kindles or iPads.  (Magazines, scripts, and newspapers, sure, but my policy on books is: Buy, Read, Keep.)  Waiting for a plane?  Book it.  Kids frolicking safely in the surf?  Check on them as you turn the page.  Fried clams taking forever to hit the table?  Finish a chapter.”

I have lovely memories of my son receiving gifts of books as a child.  What’s the first thing he’d do?  Crack it open, press his nose into the middle and inhale deeply.   The euphoria on his face said it all.

I love the smell of books too.  So does my dog.  At least the ones that come from used bookstores and the library, where many hands have touched them. 

Upon coming home, books in my arms, I’ll call to her. “Zoie!  I’ve got library books!”  She’ll zoom from her bed and bound over to the stack I’ve placed on the floor, like I’ve presented her a T-bone steak. 

Our favorite activity?  While I read these very books, after she thoroughly checks them out with her good sniffs, Zoie will curl up in my lap for a snooze.  

And what about the touch of the book itself?  The feel of the crisp paper, the joy of completion upon reading page after page.  The weight of the book in your hands; running your hands over the cover to feel its texture. Does it feel smooth?  Are the letters of the title raised? 

I will agree that for some huge weighty books, like the book recently released containing Mark Twain’s wonderful words and wit,  an electronic device would have been more convenient than setting it upon a pillow.  But then it would have deprived me of bragging rights.  Oh, poor me . . . (cue violin music) . . . holding up that huge book . . .

But I agree with Tom.  The actual book itself is an experience to be enjoyed.

My Summer Must List: 

1. Books: 

Besides reading a pile of books for research on a current project I’m writing, I’d love to take a break and read Betty White’s book, If You Ask Me:  (And of Course You Won’t) because I’ve always admired her work with animals and her work as a comedic actress.

Countdown, by Deborah Wiles, is about the 1960s Cold War era, and everything by this incredible author is terrific so I can’t wait to read this one.   This probably will be my first reward after I get some of my research done.

Modoc, The True Story of the Greatest Elephant that Ever Lived by Ralph Helfer.  A biography set at the turn of the century, I’ve heard wonderful things about this story and can’t wait to read it. 

2.  Movies

My goal is to see more old movies, because the scripts are delightful.  As I watch them, I pay attention to the story and character development just as I do when I read a book.

Movies I need to re-watch . . . Born Yesterday, Bringing up Baby, It Happened One Night,  Strangers on a Train,  oh my gosh. I shouldn’t get started.

I suppose I should actually go OUT to see a movie too.  Locally, we have a marvelous old theater with a huge screen that we adore.  A couple of weekends ago we saw Midnight in Paris, a must for anyone who loves literature and/or art.  If you can get past Owen Wilson always acting like Owen Wilson, it’s a terrific lose-yourself-in-the-film time.  I especially enjoyed Kathy Bates as Gertrude Stein.

3.  Spend time in nature.  In WARM nature. 

I love the warm weather, and I’m hoping our Northern California’s cold rainy May and early June will soon change.  But even if it doesn’t, long walks and communing with our natural parks and trails is on my must-do this summer. 

4.  Visit historical sites.  Local history in small towns is everywhere and it’s fascinating.    Talking with locals who have lived in one place forever are not only entertaining but the anecdotes and details may flavor one’s writing in the future.

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Check out this great blog about writing and publishing:

 The Passive Voice.  http://www.thepassivevoice.com/

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Young Writers

On Saturday,  May 21, the California Writers Club, Mt. Diablo Branch held it’s annual Young Writers Contest Banquet at Zio Fraedo’s Restaurant in Pleasant Hill.  The twenty-seven award-winning students along with their teachers, family and friends were invited to eat the delicious banquet Tony and his efficient staff prepared, receive their cash, and their lovely awards created by Joanne Brown.

Guest speaker editorial agent and former Tricycle editor Abigail Samoun spoke about actually being an editor.  To the threatening sounds of  the music known from JAWS, we saw on the screen before us an actual room filled with slush pile manuscripts. (Yes, we WERE frightened!  We could have gotten smothered by those stacks of large manilla envelopes!)  The young writers discovered that slush refers to  manuscripts sent to the publisher without an agent.    The audience learned how busy editors really are, and found out it can take years for a manuscript to turn into an actual book and appear on bookstore or library shelves.

Congratulations to all of the winners of this contest, and to everyone who took the big step and risk of putting pen to paper and writing.  Each time you bare your soul on paper, it is a risk.  You are brave!   Congratulations to everyone who entered the contest.  Each time you do something brave like this, you learn and grow.  We hope if you are a Contra Costa middle school student next fall, you will enter your short stories, poems, and personal narratives again.  It doesn’t cost anything but the postage.  And you can start writing this summer!  Hope to see you at our FREE July 27 writing workshop at the Clayton Public Library!

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On Tuesday, May 24, I visited Mrs. Laird’s fourth grade classroom and the students impressed me with their intelligent questions, comments and ease at writing.  The moment Mrs. Laird turned on classical music, the kids’ pens hit their paper and didn’t stop moving until the music came to an end. 

Wow!  Very cool!  Most classrooms I visit today don’t have time for writing, and when I ask them to pick up their pen to write, kids are plain stumped.  “How shall I begin?”  they may ask.  “What if I spell something wrong?”  They don’t realize that first drafts are the place to make spelling mistakes!  It’s okay!  It’s fine to be messy or to make a punctuation error.  In a first draft, you just want to WRITE! 

I was very proud of how well this class wrote, and how eager they were to share their writing.  It was wonderful how they included their personal thoughts and feelings in their words. 

At one point in my talk, I mention an author I interviewed for my book, The ABCs of Writing for Children.  Jane Yolen likes to say BIC is the most important rule for being a writer.  I agree!  What did the kids think BIC stood for?  They talked with partners and came up with some possibilities:

Brain in classroom

Butt in conversation         (Hmm.  This could be a funny story, but I’d hate to assign it . . .)

Butt idea chair

And finally, one group got the answer Jane came up with:  Butt in chair! 

How can you be a writer?  Sit down and write!  Turn off all of the distractions in your life and pay attention to the sounds in your head!  Write your thoughts, feelings, senses, and memories.  Create characters, stories, poems and combine them with art if you can.  Let your imagination run wild!  But you can’t do that if you don’t take time. Sit. Let you mind wander and pick up a pen.   

As one student told Mrs. Laird, “Now that Liz came to our school, I know what to write:  moments from our lives.” 

They don’t have to be big moments.  Some of the best writing can be a small detail that makes all the difference in your world.

Writing Prompts:

1.  Write about one small (or big) thing that happened today to make you smile.

2.  Take out the last story or piece that you wrote.  Now add a sensory description.  Is there a sight, sound, taste, touch, or smell you can add that will give your piece more depth and make the reader feel like he or she was really there?  Can you add more than one?

3.  Recently, I posted a photo of a gopher that my husband took onto an online sharing site. I thought a couple of people might think it was cute.  Twenty-five people began a discussion about it! Who knew so many people could talk so much about a little gopher?  Something so un-important became a heated discussion!  Write a conversation where you say one little thing and suddenly people react in ways you’d never imagine!

4.  Keep a diary/journal for one week.  You don’t have to write everything that happens to you.  Just choose one thing each day that you want to write about. What will you choose?  Whatever you choose, make the reader feel like he or she is right with you by writing your thoughts, feelings, and a sensory description.  You can even put in some dialogue!

5.  Write about an animal you have met or known.  Make that animal come alive!  Describe it.  Make it move.  How did it make you feel?

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Wimpy Kid Contest, California Writers Club Young Writers Contest Banquet, and Pleasant Hill History Contest

Enter the Wimpy Kid Contest!   $500 for you and $1000 for your library!

Deadline is June 10, 2011  For more information and guidelines, visit:

http://wimpykid.com/contest/

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Remember:    This Saturday, May 21, is the California Writers Club, Mt. Diablo Branch’s Young Writers Contest Banquet which will be held at Zio Fraedo’s Restaurant in Pleasant Hill. 

    • As we’ll have many guests, REGISTRATION WILL OPEN AT 11:00 AM, a half hour earlier than our regular 11:30 schedule.
    • To acknowledge this special event, the cost per guest is reduced to $20 per person, the equivalent of our regular member rate.
      • Sign-in:  11:00 a.m. – noon; Buffet Lunch
      • Presentation follows
      • Zio Fraedo’s Restaurant, 611 Gregory Lane, Pleasant Hill, CA, 94523

      About Abigail Samoun

      Abi has worked in children’s publishing for over a decade. During that time she’s edited board books, picture books, middle-grade novels, and early young-adult novels for Tricycle Press, Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Little, Brown. Her books have received numerous honors including a CCBC Charlotte Zolotow award, an SCBWI Golden Kite, a Pura Belpre Honor, a Smithsonian Notable, and a New York Public Library Ezra Jack Keats award.

      Abigail also edited the middle grade series Edgar & Ellen which has sold over a quarter of a million copies worldwide and inspired a cartoon series on Nickelodeon. She has just launched a brand-new children’s literary agency with agent extraordinaire Karen Grencik.

      For YOUR reservation, please send an e-mail to Joanne Brown.  [email protected]  by noon May 18.  Seating is limited. 

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    • Pleasant Hill History Writing Contest
    • More information will be posted here this summer, but in honor of Pleasant Hill, California’s 50th anniversary as a city, there will be a middle school writing contest with $ awards $ for essays about living in Pleasant Hill.  Students may research and interview people to discover the rich history of Pleasant Hill. 
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California Writers Club Young Writers Contest Winners

Congratulations!  

6th Grade Short Story

1st   Lauren Hui    “The Many Names of Shakura”   Gale Ranch   Teacher:  Sara Faidley

2nd   Molli Fagan  “The Link Between Us”   Queen of All Saints  Teacher:  Katie Perata

3rd  Lucy Murov  “Nola”      Pleasant Hill Middle   Teacher:  Lynn Buckingham 

7th Grade Short Story

1st  Lauren Furman  “The Girl in the Wind”  Stone Valley  Teacher:  Eric Rasche

2nd  Pooja Kini  “Invisibility is not a Super Power”  Gale Ranch  Teacher: Marcy Batza

3rd  Sarah Joo  “Chasing the Wrong Dream”  Diablo Vista  Teacher:  Mark Rathjen

8th Grade Short Story

1st  Piper Mik  “Through the Eyes”  Dorris-Eaton   Teacher:  Brad Breilein

2nd  Shannon Donley  “Escaping Society”  Pine Hollow   Teacher:  Ann Ellgaard

3rd  Brian Yu  “Eleven Years of Memories”  Los Cerros   Teacher:  Nancy Kaplan

6th Grade Poetry

1st  Jack Lamb  “Code Words”  Dorris-Eaton  Teacher:  Mary Dickens

2nd  Elizabeth Juranek    “The Battle of Day and Night”  Dallas Ranch  Teacher:  Kevin Landski

3rd  Christina Albrezzi  “In My Dreams”  Pleasant Hill Middle  Teacher: Nancy Alexander

7th Grade Poetry

1st  Michael Shi  “Lost in the Moment”  Windemere Ranch  Teacher:  Kim Vaiana

2nd  Danielle Siao  “I’m Sorry”  Black Diamond   Teacher:  Pamela Bartlett

3rd  Noah Jacobs  “My Grandparents’ Basement”  Contra Costa Jewish Day School

Teacher:  Erin Bloom

8th Grade Poetry

1st  Rocko Bauman  “JeJune Afternoon”  Prospect Sierra  Teacher:  Rinat Manhoff

2nd  Eric Sirott  “The Realm of the Assassin”  Dorris-Eaton  Teacher:  Brad Breilein

3rd  Michelle Liang  “A Forgotten King”  Foothill   Teacher:  Marilyn Hoffacker

6th Grade Personal Narrative/Essay

1st  Lauren Hui  “One Step Out”  Gale Ranch  Teacher:  Sara Faidley

2nd  Christian Schillinger  “Relevation”  Orinda  Teacher:  Bronwen Horton

3rd  Parinitha Mulaveesala  “Math and Music”  Dallas Ranch  Teacher:  Kevin Landski

7th Grade Personal Narrative/Essay

1st Ryan Chan  “Music from the Heart”  Windemere Ranch   Teacher:  Janet Sanderson

2nd  Connor Sinclair  “Big Mac”   Stone Valley    Teacher:  Eric Rasch

3rd  Samira Maboudian  “A Narrow Escape”   Orinda   Teacher:  Suzy Kisch

8th Grade Personal Narrative/Essay

1st  Katie Chan  “Conquering Hemlock”  Windemere Ranch   Teacher:  Randy Hart

2nd  Augustine Chemparathy  “Nothing Matters but the Message”  Gale Ranch  Teacher:  Pamela George

3rd  Alanna Keohane  “Don’t Look Down”   Windrush   Teacher:  Kai Marks

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California Writers Club Young Writers Contest – Winners

Congratulations!   This just in:  

6th Grade Short Story

1st   Lauren Hui    “The Many Names of Shakura”   Gale Ranch   Teacher:  Sara Faidley

2nd   Molli Fagan  “The Link Between Us”   Queen of All Saints  Teacher:  Katie Perata

3rd  Lucy Murov  “Nola”      Pleasant Hill Middle   Teacher:  Lynn Buckingham 

I will update you when the other categories are finished.  Congratulations to these winners!  There are several honorable mentions but I’m only posting the top three places due to my time constraints.

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