Entering Writing Competitions

Yes, I'm still at it! There are currently a few going on with similar ending dates that really aren't that far away (one being midnight tonight!) so it's all been a little bit hectic. But I am enjoying it, in a 'Oh my gosh, I'm never going to get this done' kind of way.Well, apart from the synopsis writing times which a writing friend has termed 'Synopsis Stress' ' a very apt description.

I did get the Kobo/W H Smith Romance Writing Competition finished with a few days to spare, so I was pleased with that. This left me time (I use this term loosely) to start work on the Carina UK Christmas Competition. The due date for this is midnight tonight. No pressure. I'm pretty much done with it. I spent yesterday trying to work out the best one hundred word blurb to go along with it, and I think I'm there now. I need to go over the chapters again and just make sure I'm happy with them before packing it all off on its electronic way with lots of good wishes.

It's been an interesting experience writing 'out of season'. Although the last week or so, it's not been great weather here in the UK, so not that hard to imagine it being winter. But I wrote most of mine the previous week when it was in the high 20s, with sun beaming through the open windows. To help get in the mood, I was watching Christmas films - Love Actually, The Holiday, and Serendipity were the main ones. Mowing the lawn on a very warm summer's day whilst listening to Michael Buble's Christmas Album was also a new, and interesting, experience.  It did actually all help though and I'd recommend it if you're in a similar spot. Although it did occur to me that, although I was busy trying to get my head into a snowy landscape, for half the planet, I was already experiencing the correct conditions for Christmas! An Antipodean Festive Season can be pretty toasty! But the outline of the competition did seem to suggest they wanted a 'cold' Christmas setting, which is what I've gone for. Now I just have to hope that the judges like it!

Once this is on its merry way, I'll be getting my head down on the So You Think You Can Write competition. I have a LOT to do on this as, although only a partial is submitted, if you are chosen (pick me! pick me!), the rest of the manuscript needs to be ready. Bearing in mind so far all I have is notes, I need to get scribbling!

I hope everyone else's entries are going well. I'd also be interested in how you get yourself in the mood when you have to write something that's 'out of season'. Feel free to leave a comment below with any tips!

In the meantime, happy writing!

So You Think You Can Write (SYTYCW) - Boot Camp Two - The Sequel

Yesterday, Harlequin held their second Boot Camp of the Year the So You Think You Can Write (SYTYCW) Boot Camp  - this was the sequel!

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you may remember that I took part in last month's Boot Camp (post here) which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was interesting and fun, and good for motivation, plus I also connected with a few more romance writers whom I have kept in touch with on Twitter, so that was a really fun aspect of the day.

Last month I was lucky enough to have pretty much the whole day to myself and devote to the Boot Camp - although by the nature of it, you can dip in and out, which can be handy. This month it fell on a day when there were other things going on, so I wasn't as in depth with it, but I did still get to read all the blog posts, and most of the chats. There was one on the forum on the subject of research which I highly recommend. Reading about what other people do was both useful - and amusing!

Another fun part was the Twitter chat on 'hero and heroine inspiration' - participants tweeted pictures of actors/models whom they used as inspiration for different novels. Looking at pics of gorgeousness - what's not to like? I can certainly think of worse ways to spend time!

The whole thing is to help motivate romance writers, especially those taking part in Harlequin competitions. They also set a challenge each month in the Boot Camp - last month was to send in a first page, from which six are picked for critique on the site. This month's challenge was for a synopsis. I thought I'd have a shot at this. I didn't get picked last month but you've got to keep trying, haven't you? Because this was obviously a challenge that could take longer (is there anyone that enjoys writing a synopsis?), they opened the doors for this the previous evening. I pootled along and got a good half way through mine. It was going quite well and then, disaster! My WP programme just died. For no reason. I went to save it and it effectively told me: 'No, I don't want to.' And promptly shut down. Without saving my work. As it happened, I'd had a pretty rubbish day and the only thing that had gone well was that synopsis. And then it was just gone.

I realise I probably should have saved earlier, which I normally do and then at least I would have lost a smaller amount but still. It was pretty upsetting. By that point it was later in the evening and I didn't have time to start over again then and there. I decided to start again in the morning. Because of the time differences, I had a few hours in the morning to work on it before I needed to get it over for the challenge. However, it seemed the Writing Gods weren't in the same mood yesterday because, wow, it was hard going and it didn't sound anywhere near as good as the previous days work had. Also, with the other stuff going on yesterday, it was a bit harder to absorb into it. In the end, I decided that it just wasn't going to work if I rushed it. I actually have a couple of other WIPs, one of which the synopsis was pretty much done. I decided to tweak this, and make sure it looked ok and then sent that over.

As it was, after all the drama, mine wasn't one of the ones picked for assessment, but I was still glad that I submitted something. Just in case!

I don't know if there will be another Boot Camp next month. They did put out a survey asking what we'd like to see another time, so hopefully there will be more. They're definitely good fun and a good place to link up. May's one had a chat with Editors which was a good opportunity to ask questions that you might not otherwise get to ask, so I'm hoping they might include something like that again. I'll be posting on Twitter if I see any updates, so don't forget to follow me there.

Apart from taking part in the above, I have been really getting on with my writing, which feels great! It's been a bit nuts here because, apart from being up and down with being ill (finally got an appointment on Thursday, wish me luck!), putting in some new front garden borders and doing a bit of temp cover last week, I've been just so eager to get on and write, and read! Which is great! I think I'd lost that a little bit but it really feels like it's back at the moment, which is good.

Now all I need is an acceptance from somewhere to boost that...

Hi to everyone who took part in the Boot Camps and I look forward to carrying on our chats - writing, and non writing related, and good wishes to every writer out there. May you and your pen have a good day!

Happy writing!

Competition Update and So You Think You Can Write Bootcamp

Well, sad to say I didn't place anywhere in the Prima Flirty Fiction competition that I mentioned in a previous post. Obviously, it's disappointing but not necessarily surprising. From what I understand, they were swamped with entries so it was always going to be difficult. But it was still a good experience and it's good to have things out there, even if the chances are slim.

I've been trying to make an effort to enter more competitions and just generally submit things a bit more so far this year and, despite nothing having come of it at the time of writing, I'm still fairly pleased with my progress and efforts. It does at least make you feel like you're doing something towards the dream!

This week I also took part in the So You Think You Can Write boot camp  - this is an event that Harlequin holds fairly regularly. Throughout the day, there are various 'events' like a Twitter chat with editors, and another on the forum - allowing you to ask questions of the specific genre editors that you might not otherwise get the chance to.

During the day, you were also given the opportunity to send in the first page of a novel, of which 5 (which actually turned to 6) would be critiqued later that day on the site. I did enter this, again, for the challenge, but wasn't lucky enough to be one of the ones picked. Congratulations to those that did though, as it's a great opportunity - even a few short words letting you know as to whether you are heading in the right direction or not can make a world of difference.

It was a fun day, and I met a few other writers on Twitter through the event, so that was great. I don't know anyone IRL who writes, so it's great to connect with people in this way. The day starts at 5am EST, and some people in various parts of the world were up at an ungodly hour to take part. I would say that, if they stick to a similar schedule in the next one (June I believe), you can probably catch a few more hours sleep as everything stays on the site, and the first couple of events weren't time critical - just posts on the blog, etc. I'll certainly try and take part again next time though as I did enjoy it and the layout still lets you scoot off and get other things done as and when you need to.

If you also took part, I'd love to hear from you, and what you thought of it.

Until then, happy writing!