Writer’s Mail
Tuesdays with Story
July 8, 2016
“Right you lot, five minutes to get those pies out or it’s the workhouse for the lot of you.” – Mel Giedroyc, The Great British Baking Show
1st/3rd continues to be THE place to be on Tuesday nights, with a large group gathered around the tables in the back to discuss writing.
Pat’s two poems were, overall, received well, although many thought “Duke” was a pet. Some questions about the use of “tar baby” being a racial term were raised. But that’s poetry, folks!
Amber’s Chapter 3 of The Dragoneer was received well. Hannah really enjoyed it, but found the protagonist to be more guarded than she would have liked, but perhaps that’s just the character and she will change as the story continues. Kashmira and Pat like the subtle introduction of sexual tension to the work between the main character and a set of twin brothers. Shel had an issue with the hammer Moira carried hitting her on the thigh and how she carried it. John had a question about the dragon biting Moira and when it happened relative to the beginning of the story, essentially spoiling it for everyone 🙂
Shel’s “random thought” brought up a lot of good discussion about how the book could be organized (or not), the voice should be changed (or not), and whether explanation should be given for each pearl.
Kashmira’s novel end moved everyone. Many commented on the single person perspective of the salt march to be very effective.
John’s chapter from Broken did confuse a few people with the horse names and some people gave suggestions for solving the problem. A couple wanted more description of Leviathan. All agree the ship section was well done.
Randy’s chapter wasn’t read by all, but there was a lively discussion about the “woman’s point-of-view” for a character. We talked about books to help with fundamentals like Strunk and White’s Elements of Style.
Who is up Next?
July 19
Mike Austin (chapter 13, Before I Leave)
Millie Mader (poem)
Hannah Marshall (poems)
Nora O’Reilly (chapter, Bill McCormick’s Bliss)
Eva Mays (chapter 2 rewrite, Dhuoda)
Judith McNeil (short story, part 2, “Just Visiting”)
Amit Trivedi (chapter 25, novel)
August 3
Pat Edwards (???)
Bob Kralapp (???)
Randy Slagel (part 4, Watered-Down Witch)
Amber Boudreau (chapter 4, The Dragoneer)
Kashmira Sheth (YA novel chapters, Turban Boy?)
John Schneller (chapter 4, Broken Rising)
Jerry Peterson (???)
A Debut Novel by Age 15
While most coming-of-age stories are written from the safe distance of adulthood, one teenager is exploring the emotional rollercoaster of adolescence even as he goes through it. With his first novel Voltage recently out on Kindle, the fledgling author talks about finding his story and the inspiring example of his mom, novelist Jessica Park. http://thestorybykindle.tumblr.com/post/144474054950/a-debut-novel-by-age-15-while-most-coming-of-age
Top-Ten Writing Contests
One of the best ways to get recognized as a writer is to enter a writing competition. Of course you are not guaranteed to win, but if you do you will be able to use that to add to your credibility once you are ready to publish – it is also great practice!
The Writer’s Digest: This well-known publication hosts an annual competition in most popular genres and their website allows easy entry with all the terms and conditions. The 1st prize is $3000 and the top 25 all get something. Moreover the top 10 all get published in the Writer’s Digest. .
The Missouri Review – Editors Prize: This is an annual competition and calls for submissions of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. There is a $5000 prize in each category
The Anderbo.com Self-Published Book Award: Any self-published fiction, non-fiction or ebook can be entered. There is a $500 prize.
The Pinch Literary Awards: This is for fiction and non-fiction writers and the prize money is $1500 and a publication.
Read the full list at http://www.nownovel.com/blog/top-10-writing-contests/
Tuesdays with Story 
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