"Write now is good."

Writing projects for fun and profit

Photo: written by louveciennes

Deadlines are soon for a few of these, so read on and write quickly.

1. SMITH Magazine is featuring three ongoing writing projects:

° Six-Word Momoirs — A challenge to "define your motherhood experience in just six words." Contest deadline is May 8, 2008.
° Six-Word Memoirs — Their ongoing ultimate flash-autobiography contest. The Smith Magazine book, Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs from Writers Famous and Obscure, is currently on sale now and features many past submissions from readers. Sounds like they might be working on volume 2.
° Brushes With Fame — Ever ran into someone famous? Would you like to share your story? Here's a venue for you to do so.

2. McSweeney's has announced its "Amanda Davis Highwire Fiction Award." If you are a woman 32 years old or younger, winning this could help you complete a novel currently in progress. Deadline is May 1, 2008:

The Amanda Davis Highwire Fiction Award is a $2,500 grant given in memory of Amanda Davis. Amanda Davis was a very gifted writer and close friend of ours who passed away in March of 2003, at the age of 32. She was an irreplaceable person, one who created and nurtured communities wherever she went. She loved to write, loved being a writer, loved to read, loved the existence of books, and wanted happiness—personal, professional, spiritual, shoe-related—for everyone. She really did...

3. Personal Democracy Forum will be publishing "Rebooting America: Democracy in the 21st Century, an anthology of essays from leading thinkers and activists" and is accepting essays from the general public. Editors will pick three winning essays to add to the book. Click for more details here. Deadline is May 1, 2008.

Know of any other worthwhile projects/contests out there? Drop a comment and I'll list them.

Your tech life — unplugged

Photo: electric! outlet! by kandyjaxx

Organizational guru and blogger extraordinaire Sharon Sarmiento is featured in a Reuters article titled "Texting while driving? Time to unplug." An excerpt:

Sharon Sarmiento knew it was time to unplug when she realized she was blogging in her dreams and hearing imaginary instant messages.    

For Ariel Meadow Stallings, it was the hours lost while surfing the Internet that left her feeling like she had been in a drunken blackout.

Both women are part of a new grass-roots movement in which tech geeks, Internet addicts, BlackBerry thumbers and compulsive IMers are deciding to wrest back control of their lives by daring to switch off -- if only for a day...

The entire article is well worth the read. Even if not working directly in the tech industry, we are all influenced by technology. Use it wisely and in balance, or suffer ill consequences.

The article's title is helpful advice in itself. Texting while driving?!? Time to unplug, indeed.

Custom motivational posters for writers

Writers need motivation—always. It's part of the job. Finding what motivates one is key; however, writers can get sidetracked from writing while spending time "researching" what moves them to wordiness. But that is a post for another time...

Motivational mantras and quotations sometimes get me in flow, often the funnier, the better. Laughter dislodges writing blocks and gets my thoughts moving again. So when I found a site where I could make my own motivational posters, I went a little crazy. Silly crazy, that is.

Here are a couple I made. Feel free to be motivated by them, also. If you'd like to make your own, jump on over to the AutoMotivator.

This image came up randomly for the first poster I made, and interestingly, I have written a couple of posts about the monarchs' miracle migration to Mexico here and here. I find their journey and Mama Nature's mysterious processes inspiring.

Ah, funny but true. I'm still giggling softly to myself over this one. (P.S. I'm making a stack of even sillier motivational posters which I'm keeping under wraps. Perhaps I'll unveil them during the wordy mayhem of NaNoWriMo this November.)

So, what are you waiting for?

Thanks to the quality visual wit of [BB-Blog] for this find.

Now, THIS is a big turnoff!

Photo: Swamp TV. by James Good

A big TV turnoff, that is.

April 21-27, 2008 is TV Turnoff Week. Starting tomorrow, millions of TV gazers worldwide will dare to hide their remotes and cut the cord for seven days. Past reported results are astounding. Many have experienced:

- increased creativity
- more time with family and friends
- better quality sleep ... and more of it
- additional time spent enjoying the outdoors, often walking
- a greater sense of calm and relaxation
- the ability to sit, focus and read a book—something many had not done in years

Need some additional reasons to turn off your TV? Go to TurnOffYourTV.com.

TV Turnoff Week is every week for me. I don't watch TV at all (unless it's a DVD, something on YouTube, or something on at a friend's—I'm not anti-TV). In these times, it's difficult to unplug entirely, and there is some quality stuff worth seeing.

However, there is no way I would have time to blog or be involved in my other creative pursuits if I filled up my minuscule free time with TV watching.

What are your top priorities in your life? Is TV one of them?

Want to write a novel? Turn off your TV and use that time for writing instead. You may have a first-draft completed before you know it.

What does "ritN eng" mean to you?

This book's cover "stpd" me in my "ritN" and "editN" tracks.

Was it a published work which never met an editor? The official handbook of the International Creative Spellers Association? Or could this be expressed in ... text-message language (a.k.a., SMS)?

Jeremy at shape + colour explains:

Swiss graphic design and new media student Clément Gallet lays it all out it his new communication manifesto “ritN eng iz ded”. In it, he posits that the speed of communication is moving too fast for our traditional written word system, and he gives suggestions on how to streamline language to work better with our new communication methods: texting, Facebook wall posts, and Twitter.

One very successful novel has already been written completely in SMS. What will written language look like in 50 years if society's fast pace and technology's insistence on brevity win out?

Via NOTCOT

How do you make your book "social"?

Photo: Writer's block by A river runs through 

Writers love to write, though it's often hard work. Even when intense writer's block pays a dastardly visit, a reward waits on the other side: the sublime satisfaction of having blasted through the block and continuing on with the story.

Tangled plot lines and misbehaving characters keep authors awake at night, as can their own children, pets and other family members. (I know a cat who insists on getting brushed at 4AM...do you?)

Many aspiring writers, active in their quest for novelling greatness, have day jobs. These necessary vocations, often clocking in at 40-plus hours per week, unabashedly devour "free" time designated for writing.

Despite endless obstacles, writers press on.

When it comes to marketing one's own work, however, writers often dig in heels, faint or flee. That's why it is so valuable when a marketing guru turns a daunting process into something accessible, worthwhile, and perhaps fun.

Interested in learning how to market your writing, either right now or in the future? Then read the post "Social Books" by Sean Howard. Howard, who is Director of Strategy and Innovation at Lift Communications, has outlined the necessary basic steps for writers to use social networking tools in developing an online marketing program for their books. Thanks, Sean!

These days, if writers don't work hard to tell a compelling story about their writing, and get their books public attention, then their books won't get bought and read — no matter how great their stories are. Consider marketing as a necessary part of the authorship process; doing so will help insure that your books make it to your readers' hands, minds and hearts. 

Introducing "The Writer's Technology Companion"

The Writer's Technology Companion features practical advice for writers from a technology angle.

If you write in this day and age, you must be very tech literate. From having a blog to knowing how to use the track changes feature in Microsoft Word, tech know-how keeps a writer's skills sharp and helps any writer grow professionally and personally. It also helps in making connections with present work, future job opportunities and other writers.

Here are two recent posts from WTC; both are prime examples of its most useful fare:

° What Should I Write About in My Writer’s Blog?
° Should You Blog on Your Writer’s Website?

Another post worth checking out is 22 Blogs Every Writer Should Read. I'm proud to say that "Write now is good." is listed at #17 on the list. Many thanks for the recognition, WTC, and it's great to make your acquaintance!

To be real

Photo: Acme Oyster House Waitress by Candlemaker

A good friend told me this story. He heard it on NPR, and now I can't remember on which show and neither can he. Here is my retelling. (If anyone knows who originally told this, send the URL and I'll gladly link to it):

A family sits down in a restaurant and starts to look at their menus. After a few minutes, the waitress comes over and first takes the parents' orders. She then turns to the little boy.

"And what would you like?" she says.

"A hot dog," he says.

The father looks at the son and then says to the waitress, "He'll have the roast chicken."

The waitress then turns back to the little boy. "And what would you like with your hot dog?"

"French fries," he says, quietly, looking sheepishly at his father.

The father states, "No, he'll have the rice and broccoli."

The waitress, writing nothing down, then turns back to the boy. "And what would you like to drink?"

"Chocolate milk," the boy says.

"He'll have the plain milk," says the father, looking directly at the waitress.

"Alright. That'll be a hot dog, french fries, and chocolate milk for the little mister," the waitress repeats back. She turns and walks towards the kitchen.

The boys turns to his mother and whispers, "She knows I'm real."

When you write, think of whom you're writing for; picture your audience, and stay on course for them. Listen to people who give you feedback on your writing; they are giving you something of value, even if you may not agree with it, so be sure to take in what they are saying. Think of the people in your daily life, those who often become invisible.

These people are real. See them.

The next story you write

Photo: Awaiting a fairy by Tangent~Artifact (time out)

Question: What should I write about next?

Answer: Think of what you would most want to read.

Take a pen and a blank page, and precisely describe the most amazing, thrilling, moving, inspiring, insightful and life-changing tale you can dream of. When you are done with this description, make a quick list of major action points in the story; this is your first basic outline. Now, start writing that story!

The Web's massive effect on politics

Photo: Ariana Huffington Speaking by groundreporter 

Last Friday evening, I went to a panel discussion on "How the Web is Changing American Politics" at New York University. The panelists were Arianna Huffington of The Huffington Post, Micah Sifry of techPresident.com, Jay Rosen of NewAssignment.net, OffTheBus and NYU, and Lisa Tozzi of The New York Times' Caucus Blog. Jeff Jarvis of CUNY and author of the blog BuzzMachine moderated the panel.

The High Points:
The Web has dramatically affected the 2008 U.S. presidential elections. In fact, if it weren't for the Internet, Hillary Clinton would probably be the unquestioned Democratic nominee for President, said Micah Sifry. He described the deep network of grassroots supporters that Barack Obama's campaign has built by using the Internet. Because of blogging, the established media is becoming more democratic and more stories are being told. Sifry said that Obama is making fantastic use of technology and online communities.

Arianna Huffington described how Obama's campaign used Facebook to get out votes for the Ohio primary. By looking through all Obama "friends" on Facebook, his campaign picked out those in Ohio networks and then, by going door to door, encouraged them to vote. She's also starting an organization called "Partnership for a Poll-Free America" because she feels polls are so misleading in elections. Huffington also believes strongly that there is a truth in politics that is often not reported by mainstream media, and that blogging helps get that truth told.

Jay Rosen told how the Obama campaign hired Chris Hughes, co-founder of Facebook, to use community organizing to mobilize voters for Obama, and it's working. It's all about how to organize people, Rosen said, and because of this ground-level work, the elite cannot predict how the voters will vote this time. The race has too many transparency wildcards in it now. If Obama wins, he has a Web strategy in place to use technology in his presidency to implement his policies and make them work.

Lisa Tozzi explained how things work at the Caucus Blog, where reporters not only write full-length features but also regularly write short, quick blog posts (very unlike the traditional-print-newspaper process). News moves at light speed in the Internet age, and Caucus writers have adapted to get the accurate word out as soon as they can after it happens.

General Consensus:
Traditional media has been broken wide open and become democratized because of blogging, citizen journalism outlets, and YouTube. The power is moving from the elite to the people because of it. Look for more campaigns to be run using the Web in more sophisticated ways in the future. (But will we see fewer political commercials on TV from now through November? Stay tuned.) Though much already has been created using the Web, much more can and will be made — 2008 is just the first, truly Web-oriented presidential election. Now that politicians have experienced the Web's power, watch out for how they will use it in future national, state and local elections.

There was a lot more to this panel discussion than the few points I've described above (including how protesters in Tibet and China used Twitter to share news about political crackdowns there). This is a hot topic which affects many. If you're interested in seeing video of the event, citizen journalism site GroundReport is hosting the complete telecast.